Unexpected Kato #2 - Another GP35 arrives.

I noticed this mysterious unboxed locomotive on ebay, advertised as an unknown make and model, I could see from the picture that it was a GP35 and the running number matched the Athearn Wisconsin Central GP35 so I assumed it was an Athearn RTR model.

It arrived today and turns out it is actually a repainted Kato, very nicely detailed and in good shape.  A bit of a surprise and a pretty good result as I paid less than £20 for it, and Kato GP35's generally go for at least £40, even repainted.

The only damage is a broken rear porch handrail, the top rail is split on the right-hand side and will need to be patched or replaced.   The original owner also fitted an all-weather window that has dropped off and needs re-glued.

It's a beautifully smooth running engine, but I haven't had a chance to look under the hood yet, and I suspect this engine probably won't be the later DCC friendly version.  I may have to invest in a new lighting board for it.  

The Kato website has some details on how to fit DCC to the original release GP35 and SD40's here (link).

Another Cheap Geep

I spotted this Athearn RTR GP35 on ebay with a very low buy-it-now, I'm guessing the seller based the price on the going rate for a wide-body blue box model.

This one is in better shape than the Western Pacific one I bought a few weeks ago.  The handrails are a bit loose and will need a spot of glue to hold them in place, the pilot steps are missing on the long hood end and slightly bent on the front, and there is no front coupler (the previous owner has chosen to superglue a stack of black plasticard to hold the shell on - a bit random, but easily fixable).

It's a nice model, but as I already have the WP one, and the Kato shell as projects, I will most likely fix this one and add it to the 'for sale' pile to go on the club table at the show in September.

Athearn RTR GP35 - Project Locomotive

Another cheap geep for the Peoria project.  This one is an Athearn RTR GP35 in Western Pacific silver and orange livery. 

The ebay listing advertised it as a basket-case but this locomotive is actually in very good shape.  This is a reissue of the old Rail Power Products shell, with some extra detailing and see-through fans.  The chassis is DCC ready and it's a nice little model.  The only issues with this one are missing coupler pockets, snapped handrails and a front truck with damaged sideframes.

The previous owner has broken the sideframe mounting pins and then attempted to fix the problem by drilling holes through the plastic and using plastruct tube to refit the frames.  It's a bit of a mess of glue and plastic, so the easiest way to fix it will be a replacement truck (any Athearn GP7 or F7 truck will fit).  So it needs a little work, but for the price it was a steal.

Photograph of High Hood N&W #1309 from http://www.nwhs.org/

I plan to turn this loco into a high-hood N&W unit, the handrails will either be glued back together or replaced with brass wire and I will fit a Cannon high nose.