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I recently started a scratchbuild boxcar project that I was initially going to put on 3 rail trucks, but decided to put on 2-R trucks instead. That lead to some browsing on the bay where I purchased a pair of Atlas F9’s from the 70’s. They should be here Wednesday, hopefully they run as well as the seller says they do… I’ve been doing some research on these engines so I’m mentally preparing for the possibility of split gears…

I will likely end up building a small switching/shelf modular layout in my basement… I’m thinking these engines should do well shuffling a few cars around…

I’ll post pics as soon as possible…

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I repair the split gears by carefully filling the shoulders until I get an interference fit, for K&S brass tube ( tight ) this pulles the gear shut, but has to be tight enough so it still fits tightly on the axel shaft, or ! you could buy new ones. The axels in the towers are plastic and can snap off, they can be replaced with 3mm steal shaft ( or a nail ) by drilling a hole in  the housing for a gentle push fit. The wheels are wrong for two rail track, the flanges are too thick, if the wheel is in good condition, you can machine the back till the flang is 1mm thick and then all is good for two rail points. Or !  buy replacement wheels. (NWSL gears and wheels ) The truck side frames tend to snap off. So this is how I fix that, and modify the electrical pickups.The angle is made from brass or aluminium edging tillers use, or some Plastruct plastic angle.Atlas F-9 Side Frame and Pickup Modification For $30-50 dollars you can get a lot of fun from these models, and it amazing how bullet prof they can be, and with detailing they can look great to.

cTr....( Choose the Right )

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  • Atlas F-9 Side Frame and Pickup Modification
Last edited by Stephen Bloy

Looking forward to when these engines arrive, then I’ll know what I’ve bought. Seller said both engines run well, hopefully they’re telling the truth…

I’m not opposed to tinkering with stuff, I would actually enjoy bringing them back up to par if they need work, and since I’m not worried about resale value I’m comfortable investing a little more money into parts…

Both engines are runners! The truck sideframes survived the journey. Between the two engines I have 6 split gears, so I’ll have to address that.

One engine has Kadee-style couplers in the factory truck-mounted boxes, and the other is missing the factory coupler boxes (and has no couplers).

There’s a bit of detail work needed on both engines, but nothing serious. The nicer one is missing a horn, and the worse one is missing both horns, the window glazing, and the number boards…

I’m thinking I might end up eventually repainting them, but I’m going to focus on the mechanical side of things first…

I enjoy fixing up old stuff, so I’m very happy with these locos!

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OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
www.ogaugerr.com

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