ALCO DL500 trucks.


J

jagc1969

Member
Hello,

I have got an old Lima's ALCO DL500. It is an old model, featuring one of these circular engines that is attached only to one of the trucks. I want to modify this model and, among other things, rebuild the mechanical part with a modern engine and traction on both trucks. I can't find trucks for DL500 in HO scale. My question is : are there any other trucks I could use ? What is your advice on this?

Any suggestion will be much appreciated.

Thank you very much.

Regards from Spain.

Juan
 
From my limited knowledge - It appears to me that a truck from the PA series is the same?

Maybe you should just replace the whole frame and trucks with like a Proto2000 PA - if the shell of your model will fit?
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Sirfoldalot said:
From my limited knowledge - It appears to me that a truck from the PA series is the same?

Maybe you should just replace the whole frame and trucks with like a Proto2000 PA - if the shell of your model will fit?
Click to expand...


Thank you very much for your help , sir !

My knowledge of American locomotives is quite limited (for the moment).

Thanks a lot !

Kind Regards,

Juan
 
This could be the locomotive Sherrel.

16299445930_da023a62b0_b.jpg 21672934546_43136fdcf4_b.jpg

The trucks do looks similar to the DL109

DL-109.jpg 8189356609_c0548b9b94_z.jpg
 
Last edited by a moderator:
Chet, those 2 top photos are of the 44 class diesels, NSWGR in Australia. They were based on Alco DL500B "World Series" and built by A E Goodwin Ltd in St Mary's NSW. I will do some checking, see who makes or made the models here, but the trucks do look very similar to PA's.
 
tootnkumin said:
Chet, those 2 top photos are of the 44 class diesels, NSWGR in Australia. They were based on Alco DL500B "World Series" and built by A E Goodwin Ltd in St Mary's NSW. I will do some checking, see who makes or made the models here, but the trucks do look very similar to PA's.
Click to expand...

In fact what Lima did was to use the shell of the Australian DL500 and paint it in RENFE's livery.

1800_Lima.jpg

My intention is to modify also the shell and the painting, leaving it as if it was the aspect of the original DL500 that was used here in Spain as demonstrator, back in the 50's . But I also want to change all the mechanical and electronical parts so this old model can have a second life. It's kinda an exercise for me..
 
Ah! So that's where you are. Was wondering. I call them the "cheeky' Alcos, because of the puffed up looking corners on the front. Seems these Alcos found favor with othe state govt owned railways here. This picture is of Australia National "World Series" ones, using similar colors as your RENFE. Australia National (AN) was formed from the state owned lines of South Australia and Tasmania. Maybe you could look at the Proto 2000 PA models for a frame/motor/drive combination. In europe, those locos have also been modelled by Marklin and it's 2 rail brand, Trix. I know the Trix ones are very nice and heavy too, but that's partly because they use a diecast shell. The Proto models have a plastic shell but the chassis is heavy, as it fills most of the shell anyway.

greg_20_sa_950_955_604_mile_end_loco_depot_1988.jpg
 
tootnkumin said:
Ah! So that's where you are. Was wondering. I call them the "cheeky' Alcos, because of the puffed up looking corners on the front.
Click to expand...

We called them "morritos" (I guess it's similar to "cheeky"). :) Wonderful picture, by the way.

This was the one that started all here in Spain. The demonstrator DL500 engine.

RENFE_DL500.jpg

This engine was know as "Marilyn" here , due to its way of moving and its origin. It was renumbered as 1600 when it was finally bought by Spain. It was the engine that started our "1600" (later 316) series.
This is how it looks now at the Railway Museum.

RENFE_1600_actual.jpg

A more powerful batch of engines were purchased to ALCO and renumbered into the "1800" series.

RENFE_1800.JPG

And later some engines, similar to the "1800" but with two cockpits and some other modifications were purchased. This was the 2100 (later 321) series.

RENFE_321.jpg

The Spanish firm Electrotren did recreate these engines quite recently in H0 scale :

RENFE_Electrotren_316.JPG
RENFE_Electrotren_318.jpg
RENFE_Electrotren_321.jpg

And they are fine models, indeed. I've got several of them. The issue is that Electrotren was bought by Hornby and since then purchasing spare parts from Electrotren is like winning the lottery...
I think I have managed to get a couple of trucks today, but they have to confirm me this point... Yes, nothing to see with the way you make business, guys...

And the Lima model is quite old and I don't want to spend more money making the modifications than an Electrotren model would cost me. It would make no sense. As I said before I want to make this modification as an exercise, a practice if you want.

Don't tell anyone in Spain, but I pretend to convert the Lima model into the original "Marylin"... :)

Thanks for your support !
 
jagc1969, Toot, and Chet -- Thank you all very much for making this a GREAT thread!

The photos and history of this locomotive is most interesting. I was not aware that Alco even made a DL500 . Shows you what little I do know!

jagc1969 - I wish you much success in obtaining the parts you desire, and hope that you will keep us aprised of the progress.
 
Sirfoldalot said:
jagc1969, Toot, and Chet -- Thank you all very much for making this a GREAT thread!

The photos and history of this locomotive is most interesting. I was not aware that Alco even made a DL500 . Shows you what little I do know!

jagc1969 - I wish you much success in obtaining the parts you desire, and hope that you will keep us aprised of the progress.
Click to expand...



Thank you very much, Sherrel. And thanks to all of you , guys, for helping me on this issue . I will let you know how the things are going on...

Kind Regards !
 
Juan - Good luck with your project. The trucks on the DL-109 and the DL500 do look alike. If they are not an exact match, they should be close enough I hope. Now comes the fun of trying to locate the side frames and or trucks. Post some photos as the build progresses.
 
Hi Chet.

I've got the side frames, but not the trucks yet. I hope Electrotren (Hornby) decides to sell me a couple of them, but they have to confirm this.
I will post photos.

Thanks for your support !
 
Just to let you know I followed up at the club today, where one of the members was running 2 HO models of those SAR/AN 930class DL500 locos. The truck wheel centers over the two outer wheels was 48mm. A company called TrainOrama makes them and the NSWGR class 44 variant. Quite a discussion began about the number of countries that used/use them. Pakistan being one and others in Europe and also South America.
 
tootnkumin said:
Just to let you know I followed up at the club today, where one of the members was running 2 HO models of those SAR/AN 930class DL500 locos. The truck wheel centers over the two outer wheels was 48mm. A company called TrainOrama makes them and the NSWGR class 44 variant. Quite a discussion began about the number of countries that used/use them. Pakistan being one and others in Europe and also South America.
Click to expand...

Oi !

It looks that TrainOrama has sadly gone out of business last year...

Sherrel has shared a link to a page where you can find a full list of DL500 across the World.

Thanks a lot for your help !

Regards,

Juan.
 
Yeah, I didn't check out Sherrel's link 'cause of all the stupidness going on at the club yesterday, and I didn't know that about TrainOrama either, funny that no-one mentioned that at the club. A shame 'cause they are nice models.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top