Help with Atlas HO "S2-S4" ALCo please

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Charles Smiley

Charles Smiley

cspmovies
I want to detail and repaint the shell but I can't figure out how to get the shell separated from the chassis. I don't want to force things and damage something.

There is only one small screw on the belly and removing it seems to not release the shell. The walkways seem to be integral with the motor-truck-chassis and all made of metal.

Has anyone done this and know the secret?
 
Hi Charles, :)

Could you post a few closeup pics?

Coincidently this evening I just figured out how to remove a "mystery" shell on my EMD 40 by slipping an Exacto knife blade up the sides to release four internal locking tabs.
 
They come off the same way P2K shells do or Katos. There are tabs that lock to the chassis. The front ones are under the front radiator detail. Squeeze under the radiator and lift the front away. If it's an older model, the walkway may be part of the chassis casting, and you'll have to remove the motor & trucks to repaint it.
 


Tooter - It's all black "seamless" so it doesn't reveal anything. I've run a #11 Xacto along various edges and it's so tightly made, it's as if it was cut out of one piece of material. It's ingenious - like a Chinese puzzle-box.

Espeefan - I'll try that and it had been in the LHS for about 4-years so I guess that's an older version. It has molded-on grab irons and it needs SP-specific paint & detailing. It runs GREAT! It never stall and it has good low-speed gearing.
 
Espeefan said:
They come off the same way P2K shells do or Katos. There are tabs that lock to the chassis. The front ones are under the front radiator detail. Squeeze under the radiator and lift the front away. If it's an older model, the walkway may be part of the chassis casting, and you'll have to remove the motor & trucks to repaint it.

Just did mine by rocking cab off (after removing handrails from cab) then the long hood lifts off back to front. See attached picture.
Is mine a new or old version?
Anyone ever get the rear headlight to work?
Click to expand...
 
Yes I have made LEDs to fit the headlight opening on the Atlas S Series loco.

S4LED2.png


S4Cab1.png


S4Cab3.png


S4Cab2.png
 
The conversion

Thanks for the Tab tip. I got the old shell off.

I adapted a brass shell from an crummy running old model to the Atlas chassis. I still have a few things to work on but it's a better looking model than before.

I changed the LED to a YeloGlo high intensity type and it sure made a difference.

Chas.
 
If you wish to add DCC, you'll have to take out the board with the headlight on it, and mill the frame or get the NCE ATL-SR decoder.

The rear headlight is nothing more than a clear piece of plastic window glass. You can add an LED behind the glass, or you can replace the glass with a turned down LED like Mark did.
 
Quote: "If it's an older model, the walkway may be part of the chassis casting, "


Indeed it was an older model with he walkways cast as part of the frame. I don't think Atlas offers anything like this ALCO amymore - at least in the Walthers 2010 catalog.

The PC board has all surface-mount components -- as opposed to some of my older P2K locos with big old 1N4001 expoxy-DO-7-case diodes.

I plan on having an industrial section for this thing to run on DC for now.

Chas.
 
The older model, made by Roco, will say ATLAS on one side and AUSTRIA on the other on the bottom of the engine, and comes in a yellow Atlas box

The newer model, made by Atlas themselves which is an upgraded Roco tooling, will say ATLAS on one side and CHINA on the other, and can come in a yellow OR red Atlas box

The newest one is a re-run of the newer model and comes in a black box that says ATLAS CLASSIC. It is simply a re-run with new paint schemes, and crisper re-issues of the older ones.

The newer one features actual grills (the grills on the top of the long hood, not the side) which are molded to have slots in them to look like grills, rather than a slab of plastic with a grill pattern molded on as with the older version. The newer version also features a different electrical pickup arrangement (which is actually worse than the old one). The older version has the wipers on the backs of the wheels, and the newer version has the wipers on the wheel treads.

All three versions come with scale width handrails, and do not have a rear headlight.
 


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