Are their nylon-geared MPC-era GG-1's to avoid?

as far as I know....the 8850 PC has metal gears,the 8753 has plastic (nylon) gears.I have been running the 8753 since I got it in 1977,no problems...just take it easy no long trains,it will last no problem...any MPC GG1 is good.....joe

joe krasko posted:

as far as I know....the 8850 PC has metal gears,the 8753 has plastic (nylon) gears.  I've been running the 8753 since I got it in 1977, no problems.   Just take it easy- no long trains, it will last no problem...any MPC GG1 is good.....Joe

Thank you!

joe krasko posted:

as far as I know....the 8850 PC has metal gears,the 8753 has plastic (nylon) gears.I have been running the 8753 since I got it in 1977,no problems...just take it easy no long trains,it will last no problem...any MPC GG1 is good.....joe

Same here. No issues with the nylon gears and it pulls really well.

I had a 8150 that would easily pull 22 freight cars with no effort.

Knock on wood;  I have not any problems with nylon geared MPC era GG1s and I have a bunch but I have a had a good deal of trouble with the MPC era FM Trainmasters in the Jersey Central and Southern Railway liveries as well as a MPC Great Northern EP5.  The worm wheels cracked in all of them and needed replacement with brass components.  All are now running great.

Some time ago, I had an interest in these GG1s. My best remembrance is that the black 8850 PC came either way-some with nylon gears and some , metal. As I remember, I inspected at least 50 of them at various shows and that is what I found. I guess that it is possible that the nylon ones were each exchanged with the 5 stripe tuscan 8753-but that would be odd. The green 5 stripe 8150s all had metal gears as I remember.  I agree with everybody that these are nice pullers and if taken care of ( especially not pulling a string of die cast hoppers  ;o) ) are not likely to strip the nylon gears.  turtle7

I had the black 8850.  My dad purposely avoided the 8753 because of the nylon gears, although they weren't a problem in any of our lighter MPC diesels.  I once tested my GG-1 with a spring scale, and it generated 3 1/2 pounds of pull.  Enough for about 100 plastic cars!

I think I recall that the ends of the armature shafts were visible through the bottom of each power truck.  Due to an error when MPC resurrected the design, the shafts were made too long on both the 8753 and the 8850.  This issue was corrected with the green 8150, although it didn't present any operational problem that I know of.  Great locos!

I purchased the 8753 GG1, new in 1978, from the original Nicholas Smith store at 11 th and Arch, in Philly.  Had the gears repaired maybe a year or so later by a local service station in Horsham, Pa.  I had been running it hard, pulling five or more aluminum cars.

My like new 8150 stripped the brass gear in the front truck.  New gear $5, quality wheel puller $35,  test of patience $$$$.

I have all of the MPC GG1's, Diesels that have the Nylon Gears. No issues with any. Go for it!!!!

The Tuscan MPC GG-1 is perhaps my favorite locomotive (and my wife's as well, and she's very particular). The pulling power exceeds any train I could assemble on my home layout.