Athearn GP38-2 -- some info needed


E

eberners

New Member
My Athearn GP38-2 has a bent underframe, and I'm sure there is no way to fix it. It happened as I was using a drive pin punch to drive out the pegs of the motor mount pads. After I got them out I found that the motor mount pads had been glued in. Does Athearn do that? -- I don't really need to know now.

So now I'm looking for a junk GP38-2 that I can get a good frame from, or else a good GP38-2 that I can put my shell on.

My loco is stock number 8013 and came in a box that says "The future of model railroading". Do I need another GP38-2 from that same production run, or will my shell fit any Athearn GP38-2, or will any GP38-2 underframe fit my drive parts -- motor, trucks, etc.?

Ed Berners
in South Bend, IN
 
Thank you, Andy -- I have found a few GP38-2 locos on eBay with stock numbers that seem to be from the same production run as mine.
 
And I should add that my questions are about the Athearn HO version of the GP38-2, not the 59' 2" prototype. I just don't know if all Athearns used the exact same underframe.
 
The Athearn motor mount pads are not glued in. They have a sort of mushroom head shape on the pins that pops through the holes in the frame and keeps the motor in place. I have an older Blue Box GP38-2. It has the older rounded open motor. Not having a newer version to compare it with I don't know for sure if the frame was altered for the motor when they started using the flat sided motors. I do have some switchers both old and new and besides the motors there is a difference in the flywheels. Older ones have tapered flywheels and the newer ones are not tapered. New flywheels can work in the older frames by opening up the tapered holes in the frames to clear the straight sided flywheels. Since you have found a direct replacement you won't have to be concerned with the differences. Just something to keep in mind if you pick up some bits and pieces and want to put together a running locomotive.
 
Thanks, Mike and Hank, for your info. My motor mounts were really glued in, and I don't think that Athearn did it. When I drove the pins out of their holes, the mounts are so flexible that the pins came out with the mounts still attached to the frame. When I tore the mounts off of the frame, a bit of mount material remained stuck to the frame. When I scraped that off, there was glue underneath. Glue had been applied to the outside of each motor mount pad. I'm pretty sure that my case is unique.
 
Would think that Athearn is no different than EMD. They use the same frame for different models & not "reinvent the wheel".
 
Well, Andy, you are probably right. I'm in a situation where I have to buy a whole GP38-2 just to get a good frame, so I want to be sure, and there are some for sale that came from the same production run but for a different road, but that's doesn't matter except I will have to paint the frame to match my loco..
 
Well, Andy, I have not seen a frame for sale on eBay. A search turns up horns and handrails. I did not know there are Yahoo selling/buying sites -- thanks, I'll see what I can find. I do know that Athearn frames at Athearn are sold out.
 
Andy, I couldn't find anything on Yahoo. Then I put > Athearn frame < into Bing and it came up with a link to eBay that showed me a whole slew of Athearn frames, but none were mine. The pictures were good enough so I could tell. Still, now there is hope. Thanks for that tip that got me to search for frames.
 
Thanks, Brakeman. Somehow I missed your msg until a notice turned up in my email. After the tip from Andy I found that frame and the picture is good enough so I can tell that my frame is not the one with a short tank. Until now I didn't know there were short and long. But, now I know how to search eBay for frames.
 
Let me know if you are able to find a frame. I have an RTR Athearn GP38-2 that I stripped but am not going to use. All the parts are there except for one battery box plate. I would sell you the whole deal for $35 plus shipping and you can just remove the body and put the whole frame, trucks, and motor under your body. This is a GP38-2, so if your unit is a plain GP38 you would need to exchange the trucks, as this engine has Blomberg Type-M trucks with a single brake cylinder and a single shock on the outside. Let me know if you are interested - I can post pictures of the unit if you need.

Let me know if I can help,

-bill
 
Thank you, Bill, for that offer. My GP38-2 is Athearn stock number 8013, so I'm looking only for units that begin with 80 and came in a box that says "the future of model railroading". My trucks say SRL7207 and have two brake cylinders.

I put "Athearn underframe 46729" into Bing and turned up a hobby shop that has one on a for sale list. I'm waiting for an answer on whether they really have one.

When I started this search I found out that Athearn frames are sold out at Athearn so I thought I had to look for used locos. Then this forum clued me in to what everyone else does -- they look for parts on eBay and anywhere else they can think of. That was news to me!
 
Thanks for the picture, bill -- I see its number is ATH77155. I want to find an ATH80xx. There are two on ebay now, so one of those is the way I would go if I decide that I can't find just a frame very soon. Thanks for all your info.

Ed
 
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