Atlas HO FP7

[antoniofp45]

Hello Crew,

Photos: I've had this HO Atlas Roco-powered 70's vintage FP7 for a very long time. It is a smooth runner, in spite of its age. It was on my "Going to sell off" list as I've updated my fleet with newer motive power.

Well now with the prices of groceries and utilities grinding my budget, I'm having a change of heart and am considering sprucing up this unit and converting it to DCC.

Yes, I've read the harsh criticisms: "Crude 70's tooling.....Wrong grills.....Molded handrails.....Dynamic brake fan is incorrect.....Steam generator incorrect..... and, of course, the squinty-eyed windshields.

Most of the critiques are accurate, yet, I think that with some fidgeting/tweaking it could look a little better. One issue that I see as a "bugger" is that the shell is held on to the frame via the skirts; which I'd like to cut off to make this a late 1960's-era unit.

If you have any tips or guides regarding these units, or any links to related articles, I would be very grateful.

Thanks!

[slowfreight]

I would suggest starting by tearing into it. By the time you cut off the skirts and stare at the frame, ideas will start coming together.

Having cleaned up some of my old blue box units, I find it really satisfying to elevate some of these older models into the modern age.

[mvlandsw]

I like to glue blocks of styrene into the corners of the shell and use screws through the frame to secure the shell.

The rear end couplers need to be modified to get the correct coupling distance between units. I use KD European adapter coupler mounted with a screw right behind the coupler head.

Mark

[lvrr325]

The problem with removing the skirts is you'll need to cut some kind of channel under to represent the top of the fuel tank.

These share some components with the Roco-made GP38. GP40, SD24 and SD35. The weaknesses on these are plastic pins holding the trucks on which can break, and metal press-fit tires on the insulated side wheels which can come off. I think the DCC convert is fairly straight forward, the motor may already be isolated.

[antoniofp45]

Gentlemen,

Thank you for your feedback as they're a starting point.

Regarding the fuel tank area channel on each side, I can horizontally groove out the area with a rotary cutting burr. Of course the tabs that hold the shell on each side would disappear. Mark, good idea but the challenge seems to be the question: "How to make the screws nearly invisible?".

I'm not faulting Atlas as neither they (nor us here) likely wold not have imagined that, decades later, the level of detailing and dimensional accuracy of scale model train would eventually far surpass that of the top-tier brass models of that time period.

[cera2254]

You may be able to use a countersink on the holes with appropriate screws to keep them hidden.

[scl1234]

Jan 29, 2023 21:26:11 GMT -8 lvrr325 said:

The weaknesses on these are …. metal press-fit tires on the insulated side wheels which can come off.

I’d consider this, finding a substitute for the axle/wheel set up, a first step before any time/money is spent on upgrading the shell.

The open-frame Roco motor used on 8000 Series FP-7s is an improvement over the motor used on the SCL FP-7 in the original post…but the same old wheels are used.

I don’t believe Atlas Kato Geep wheels are compatible.

[lvrr325]

The ones I fixed I just put a dab of CA on and let it flow around the wheel then pressed it back in place.

After Atlas, Con-Cor imported these engines, plus some of the former Model Power E's. Then there is still a later version of some of them sold directly by Roco; the GP40 was offered in sets with DCC.