what to do with this Atlas Gp38


S

stang_crazy

Member
So i have a chassis from an atlas master series GP38

all there is to it is the chassis, the trucks which each one is missing a sideframe, the motor, decoder & wiring.


would it even be worth getting the parts to at least complete the chassis for this thing?

If I could at least find a complete shell, walkways ect & the 2 side frames and under chassis tank covers id just turn it into a dummy and use the motor and decoder for something else.

any opinions.
 
You could always sell it to me! or...

Atlas sells decorated shells now, but I didn't see any GP38/40 shells listed right now. I've got a complete GP40 shell, painted for CP rail...

There is a guy on evilbay that sells atlas parts, so you should be able to find the leftover bits you need to get it running again. They are great runners and definitely worth getting it working again.
 
i know just to get all the small parts needed for the chassis, not counting the side frames, weight and a few small other things was i think about $23.00 before s/h then since the shell, cab, walkway ect are all seperate im gonna say maybe another $20.00 for that stuff?

just seeing if its cost efficent to rebuild or buy another, id personally like to get it going my self.

Ill just have to do a total tally of the cost and see for sure.

Also I see they offer the GP38 in N scale, lil small for this frame though, i emailed them to see if it might be available in the future.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
If it were mine I'd hang onto it. One day at a show or a LHS that has a white elephant table you might run across some trucks, sideframes, or even a whole loco for short money. For what you need you don't have to hold your breath waiting for another Master Series. A Silver Series shell or even a Trainman shell ( you will have to add grab irons to this ) will work. Trucks and sideframes are the same across the board. I'm in the process of rebuilding an old MRC/Lima Alco C420 that I shelved a looong time ago for needing axle gears and some other work. If it wasn't for the Sagami can motor and brass flywheels it orignally came with I would have junked it.
 
well i just priced everthing out to complete the chassis including fuel tank and all truck detail parts. Also this includes everything to make the worm gear assemblys, screws, weight set 2 side truck frames, ect....

it would be $26.25 Not to bad in my opinion. Also looks like they have everything so thats good.

then all i would need is a complete shell with everything. Like mention above they are offering painted bodys complete with everything now. But no GP38's the more detailed ones like a sd35 is $35.00

But im waiting to hear back if they would even have a complete body with parts undercorated.

So at the most id have $50-60 in the complete unit. which isnt a deal since you can get em on ebay complete in the box for that price, but i could say i pretty much built it lol or like mike said i might end up finding a complete shell assy at a show or on the bay one of these days.
 
$26 to get an Atlas DCC chassis running that only then needs a body isn't that bad in my book. The satisfaction of building it back up and doing up a shell whether new or a used one is very rewarding. Spread the costs over a period of time and it won't seem so bad. Just don't add up all the receipts when you're done. LOL ;)
 
It's well worth it. You can pick up shells at train shows and often find them at e-bay or HOYardSale. The Atlas Trainman line shels are cheap and you get the fun of ading your own details. It always makes me feel better to occasionally kitbash together something in today's RTR world.
 
jbaakko said:
In theory, yes, in real life, with some work. I'm not sure how similar the Atlas trainman GP38-2 chassis is to the GP38's.
Click to expand...

hmmm I found a guy with complete gp38-2 shells undecorated for $13.00 thats why im worndering & there at a dang good price i dont have a atlas gp38-2 frame to compare, the only thing i need to know is if the length is the same everything else about it looks identical.

if anyone has one of each they could measure or compare id greatly appreciate.
 
Well im happy to say that the atlas GP38 frame is complete after my order of parts came in from atlas today.

It went from a frame, with a loose motor and 2 trucks jsut hanging by the wires

to this
DSC00543.jpg


I do have to contact atlas about my order though as the sent me 2 sets of female drive shafts ( needed 1 set of female and 1 set of male)

also does anyone know about the boards in these its a # 341 is it a dual mode decoder or is it just a board thats dcc ready. Looks to me that it just has a jumper in it right now.
 
it's a dual mode decoder. There are 6 sockets and the "jumper" position determines which mode the engine will run in. If the plug is in the 4 "outer" (away from the middle of the board) sockets, then it will run on DC. If the plug is in the 4 inner sockets, then it will run on DCC. Do not attempt to run the engine on DC mode with the plug in the DCC sockets, or you will release the magic smoke.
 
diburning said:
it's a dual mode decoder. There are 6 sockets and the "jumper" position determines which mode the engine will run in. If the plug is in the 4 "outer" (away from the middle of the board) sockets, then it will run on DC. If the plug is in the 4 inner sockets, then it will run on DCC. Do not attempt to run the engine on DC mode with the plug in the DCC sockets, or you will release the magic smoke.
Click to expand...

thanks, do ya know how to reset the decoder adress by chance? I tried it on DCC and nothing works. Plus i dont know what it was set to, would like to go back to factory setting or even change it to a number i know.
 
Well, make sure that it is in DCC mode by moving the plug. (in your picture, it is in DC mode)

After that, you should be able to overwrite the address.
 
hmm, I don't know then. Go to Atlas's website and go to the support section for DCC to see if theres any instructions on resetting the decoders.

CV 8 to 8 does not work for atlas dual mode decoders (at least I don't think so)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.



Back
Top