Post by graftonterminalrr on Nov 1, 2012 14:19:27 GMT -5
Well, the local MR club had a little sell-off of a retired member's collection (he has moved into an assisted-living complex and has had to sell his house). There were some good deals to be had for sure but in the spirit of helping out, I bought a 1970's vintage Atlas high-hood GP38 for $20.
Runs ok. It's an old Atlas Roco model and anyone who was in the hobby in the 70's can tell you that these were groundbreaking models for their time. A rudimentary can motor came with these locos and provided smooth, powerful characteristics not found in the Athearn locos of the time (Athearn revamped their motors in the early 80's to the gold-can design still seen today on the lower cost RTR line)
Amazingly, the passage of over 35 years has left this model remarkably unscathed. It is dressed in CN orange and black, and aside from a few CN-ish details (high hood bell and rerailers on each side), it's all stock. The extra details were Walthers Goo-ed into place, but for some reason came off pretty easily and did not damage the underlying surface. Kadees were installed and incredibly, weren't hacked into place.
Here's a representative pic from the hoscaletrains.net site:
So, the question is, what do I do with it? I'm not gonna leave it in the way-too-incorrect CN scheme. From the looks of things the high-nose GP38s were based on a Southern prototype - little SOU details appear molded in to the shell like walkway lights and an unpainted ACI plate on the side of the long hood.
I'm kinda thinking a simple SOU repaint and decal job, maybe add the SOU plows, horn, and some real quick detailing (grabs, lift rings and MU hoses). No need to go crazy on this unit due to its age and level of, um, "robustness".
What say you, dear DD forum members?
Runs ok. It's an old Atlas Roco model and anyone who was in the hobby in the 70's can tell you that these were groundbreaking models for their time. A rudimentary can motor came with these locos and provided smooth, powerful characteristics not found in the Athearn locos of the time (Athearn revamped their motors in the early 80's to the gold-can design still seen today on the lower cost RTR line)
Amazingly, the passage of over 35 years has left this model remarkably unscathed. It is dressed in CN orange and black, and aside from a few CN-ish details (high hood bell and rerailers on each side), it's all stock. The extra details were Walthers Goo-ed into place, but for some reason came off pretty easily and did not damage the underlying surface. Kadees were installed and incredibly, weren't hacked into place.
Here's a representative pic from the hoscaletrains.net site:
So, the question is, what do I do with it? I'm not gonna leave it in the way-too-incorrect CN scheme. From the looks of things the high-nose GP38s were based on a Southern prototype - little SOU details appear molded in to the shell like walkway lights and an unpainted ACI plate on the side of the long hood.
I'm kinda thinking a simple SOU repaint and decal job, maybe add the SOU plows, horn, and some real quick detailing (grabs, lift rings and MU hoses). No need to go crazy on this unit due to its age and level of, um, "robustness".
What say you, dear DD forum members?
