Not as Good....

[LotoQuestions]

Not as good as it once was.
I thought I would be asking advice on adding a decoder to a 40+year old dual motor Athearn DD40 ..................

Opened the shell up and wondered why all the mould was covering the motors ......

Well something caused the outside cover on the motors to disintigrate into a bunch of magnetic filings.

Perhaps there was contact and some sort of electrolysis between them and the steel? weights that were in the top of the shell.

Anyone replaced the notso old motors and flywheels from a more recent version and want to get rid of them??

New stuff is better for the most part anyway ... DCC, Flywheels, electronics, knucle couplers, RP25 wheels, molds, painting etc. etc..

take care ,,, ken

 

[UP2CSX]

Sorry to hear that, Ken. Over the years, storage in a humid environment can cause electrolysis to set in and run dissimilar metals. The good news is that you can get new motors from Athearn at a reasonable price. Just check their web site for prices.

 

[bigford]

i have a motor that should fit your dd40

 

[LotoQuestions]

Thanks ....

Jim, checked the Athearn site and they don't list motors specifically for the DD40 - I will send them a note and like the light bulbs I required they might just send a pair. I like that price better!

Bigford ??, this is HO? - I was hoping to use twin motors as original but might end up making a deal with you - thanks..

I think really that the time may be up for this unit being powered - I will have to check the entire mechanism very carefully before investing any more time, money or aggravation in it.

thanks ,,,, ken

 

[Rico]

Checking the entire mechanism is a wise move, I'd hate to think you might spend more on it than it's worth. Sometimes even old locos, with or without sentimental value, can end up costing twice the price of a new and improved version.
I decommissioned a fairly new Athearn unit today, never could get a mysterious noise figured out so now it's a motivationaly challenged (dummy) unit.
I can't even offer you the motor as it sounds like a coffee grinder!

 

[NYSW F45]

could you install 2 of the newer style athearn motors and wire them to one athearn decoder?

 

[LotoQuestions]

new motors and decoder

could you install 2 of the newer style athearn motors and wire them to one athearn decoder?

Steve ,,, thanks ,,,,,Probably ...... That would be the best scenario depending on the linkage to the gear towers .....

and of course assuming that the rest of the mechanism is workable....

take care ,,, ken

 

[bigford]

"you could install 2 of the newer style athearn motors and wire them together".

ken thats what i started to do. i got a athearn dummy cheap at a train show
and started to buy the parts needed, made it as far as the trucks and i could not find the gears i needed, So every thing was boxed about 10 years ago
now all i can find is the shell and one motor