New Atlas Release of GP-9's

[alco539]

Since it looks like the new release of the Atlas GP-9 is shipping. I was wondering, if anyone who has received theirs, has noticed any changes, appearance or running abilities.

I assume that this release is from a different vendor or factory. I know that Atlas would be on top of the situation, but there's always a chance something could slip pass.

Charley.

[BarstowRick]

Mine is sitting just off shore from the Long Beach Harbor. A wait and see unless the ship gets diverted to another port.

You do recognize a joke when you see it...I hope.

[douggosha]

Hehe.

Headline: Big Bear Lake Man Arrested Breaking Into Shipping Container In Harbor To Get His Toy Train"



Doug

[alco539]

I'll answer my own post, since I guess nobody bought any.

Well I ask the question because, I had reserved two at BLW back in the spring, then cancelled them. I didn't think they would ever get here, but then I had second thoughts and reserved just one. Pete sold out "fast" and I thought I'd missed the boat with BLW, my own fault. I didn't know if it was really worth it to me to get one. I have some early GP-7/9's from China and several late models. I called BLW and Pete's brother said they hadn't shipped all the orders yet, and mine came today.

It seems pretty much the same, paint is good, runs smooth, perhaps smoother than my others. The fuel tank was poorly fitted, held on with two sided tape, like Mark (spookshow) found and reported in his review. Why the tape? I removed the tape and the tank snapped right on. I did have to clean some casting flash off the inside bottom, easy fix??

The big difference is the the motor is molded in black plastic. When Atlas change to the "scale speed" motors they molded them in gray plastic so one could tell them apart from the standard motor, molded in black. That is what has been reported on the various forums, and it seems in practice to be true.

Houston there may be a problem! This locomotive doesn't speed match very well with my late model GP-7/9's, it's faster by quite a bit. However, it's slower than my early run GP-7/9's, so about half way between the two! This is in DC, so you guys with DCC can change CV's to match it better. Is this a problem? Beats me! If the motor was gray, I would chalk it up to differences in the mech's, there's nothing new there, some have more friction, motors vary also.

New factory, different motor winding machines, etc, etc, etc. I don't want to start something, but I just want some others to check it out. I'm not sending it back, but I may need another to mu with this one, hello Santa!

Regards Charley.

Addendum: The handrails and stanchions look heavy too. Thick paint? A GP-9 48342 ca. 2005 I have, measures .019" railing and .030" stanchions, color molded in. New release 2012, .023" and 035", painted. By comparison, the Bachmann RS-3 is .016" and .018". I guess the new factory had to re-tool the handrail molds, or primer plus paint adds up? I guess .023" is still better than the old Atlas/Roco GP-9 at .030" and other "old school" N loco's. Again, What Say You?

Addemdum 2: The listing on the Atlas web site doesn't say "Scale Speed Motor" question answered about the motor.

[KIM]

One solution to the speed problem would be to run it in a trio with a fast engine at one end and a slow engine at the other. This one would compensate for the variances in the other two. ;D ;D ;D

[alco539]

Hi Doug,

I usually coupled the faster locomotive to the train, so the load slows it down. Also, there is an optimal voltage that they are better matched. This info is not original to me it's "old news" as Model Railroader answered the question in the 70's, or someone did, sometime.

Anyway, this GP-9 is a little too "far off" for the my usual tricks, but it runs good, better than the first run GP-7/9's. I do have DCC now, if I want to use it, but I don't use it much. I stlll prefer DC analog operation.

Also, another difference between it and the older releases. The die cast frame fits the body shell better, it even has tabs that hold the shell at a consistant height. My oldest GP's, the body shells are somewhat loose, and don't fit well. They tend to ride higher at the short hood end. Now that I have this version, I'm going to check out the differences on the inside of the shell, to see what the "hold up is", LOL.

Regards Charley.

Addendum: The tabs were added to the DCC ready chassis, so the new factory didn't change it. I didn't notice them on the last loco I received, before this latest release. I just want to keep this straight.

It appears that, not many on this board have bought this new release. I know that BLW and MBK has sold "many" by watching the quantities decrease. I quess it doesn't matter, since it's nice to have anything coming from Atlas.

[bsklarski]

Other than the slight burning smell that disappeared after a few laps on one of them, no nothing out of the ordinary.