GP7 spares wanted, not anymore! update

nicebutdim

nicebutdim

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Hi all. A little while ago I obtained a very poorly looked after USAT GP7 that seemed to have more missing parts than a Ferrari left at the scrap yard (It was a good price and runs well, so no complaints). I contacted USAT (Charles Ro Supply Co.?) directly and managed to obtain quite a few bits, but some they didn't have in stock. So I am now desperately pleading if anyone could help me with the following parts:
The brake cylinders that sit on top of the loco (as opposed to the GP9's dynamic block that sits there).
The front horns (the double set on the short hood)
And the M.U. connectors that sit next to the fold down steps at the ends (the small semi-circular box that sits on the end walkway, not the sets of cables/air lines on either side of the coupling).
I'm not asking for freebies, fully willing to pay. It would be great if anyone here could help, but if not does anyone know anywhere else (preferably uk) other than USAT that may hold spares for this loco.
Many thank,
Tim
 
Re:GP7 spares wanted

Tim, Ozarks Minitures have Air horns. I believe a model shop in Kendal stock the line.
 
Re:GP7 spares wanted

Thanks Rod. The Air horn I should be fine for now, I'll check for the rest.

F.A.O Tony Walsham:
I've just opened the motor blocks and found the gears have split :@ :@ I saw somewhere else on the net that you have had great results with brass sleeves to repair this fault. Can I ask if you're able to supply some of these or what the internal diameter of the sleeve is so I could try making my own. I tried sending you a pm but I was unable to do so.
Many thanks,
Tim
 
Re:GP7 spares wanted

Thanks Nick :D
Near enough 9mm then?
 
Re:GP7 spares wanted

I have some spare wheels with rubber tyre grooves on, let me know if they will do the gears look ok, ​
​
pete
nicebutdim said:
Thanks Rod. The Air horn I should be fine for now, I'll check for the rest.

F.A.O Tony Walsham:
I've just opened the motor blocks and found the gears have split :@ :@ I saw somewhere else on the net that you have had great results with brass sleeves to repair this fault. Can I ask if you're able to supply some of these or what the internal diameter of the sleeve is so I could try making my own. I tried sending you a pm but I was unable to do so.
Many thanks,
Tim
Click to expand...

​
 
Re:GP7 spares wanted

MR SPOCK said:
I have some spare wheels with rubber tyre grooves on, let me know if they will do the gears look ok, ​
​
pete

​
Click to expand...
Thanks Pete, I've just been in contact with Resin d'etre who should hopefully be able to supply some new axle assemblies towards the end of the year, fingers crossed.
Seems the hardest part I'm going to find is the brake air tanks for the roof, which is also the most obvious missing part from the locomotive :wits:
 
Re:GP7 spares wanted

You could just spin them up on a lathe from some stock bar of either brass, ally or plastic. If you don't have access to a lathe then just use some tube with either a bit of filler or Milliput in the ends sanded to shape. You could use a bit of solid plastic rod mounted in a standard elecrtric drill, use a file then sandpaper to shape the end, then turn it round to do the other end. They would do for now and you could always replace them with genuine USA parts if they turn up?
Cheers
Rob
 
Re:GP7 spares wanted

I was seriously thinking about making my own too, Rob, and you've given me a good method of doing so. If I cannot find an original I shall certainly give it a go.
I just find it so hard to understand sometimes how some people can mistreat a model locomotive to this kind of extent.
Thanks,
Tim
 
Re:GP7 spares wanted

It's not necessarily mistreatment - as this seems to be a known problem it's more likely to be a slight design flaw/manufacturing error: eg. bore slightly too narrow or knurls on axles too large; or bad choice of materials which cannot take the strain of the tight fit and/or which degrade over time. Could be wrong type of oil or grease attacking the plastic.

I've got an Aristocraft tender with split axles where the central plastic part has cracked on every one: I found that the tube of a cheap pen and a dollop of epoxy resin was a perfect replacement!

In my other major modelling scale, N, the problem of split gears with a particular manufacturer has been well known for many years, and sometimes crops up in other brands too. Third party replacement gears for the older models are quite common. In some cases I've repaired tiny gears by squeezing them to close the split and gently melting the plastic with a soldering iron tip. Once I even cast a new 3mm dia. gear with a plasticene mould and epoxy, it's still running fine!
 
Re:GP7 spares wanted

I had all my GF n gauge gears split, at least the fix with Bachmann gears was quite easy to do.
It's not the gears that have got to me with this loco, it's the mistreat that has resulted in nearly 20 items of detail and mechanical bits 'missing' or damaged. I've got to give USA trains a big thumbs up though, they've managed to sort out alot of the missing bits, and not too expensive either.
It also has a sound unit fitted, although not working fully. I've never seen one like it before, and cannot find any references on the 'net to it. There are 2 speakers, one in the fuel tank and a smaller one mounted below one of the fans, the circuit board with white plug in connectors and the sound chip mounted with GP written in white paint on the chip. There is also a 4 AA battery block plugged in to the sound board, obviously to keep the sound running when stationary? Any ideas?
9d19880130be4d21b27a92de2d772a3a.jpg

EDIT; After posting the picture, which is now magnified on here, I saw the PH Hobbies Inc. printed on the bottom right corner, and have found a little information on it. :thumbup: :rolf:
 
Re:GP7 spares wanted

nicebutdim said:
It's not the gears that have got to me with this loco, it's the mistreat that has resulted in nearly 20 items of detail and mechanical bits 'missing' or damaged.
Click to expand...

Ah yes, I see what you mean. I don't understand how some folk can neglect such expensive models, I'm always so careful with handling and servicing etc. I guess sometimes it can happen with equipment used in a public or commercial environment, but you don't expect it with privately owned stuff.
 
Re:GP7 spares wanted

Well, found some corroded connectors on the pcb and the battery holder for the sound. Cleaned them up and put it back exactly the way it came apart. Then it released it's special smoke, so no sound for this GP7. It looks like the poor thing has been left either somewhere very damp or may have been submerged at some point, as there is a lot of rusted screws and corroded connectors and solder joints. I'm gonna stick at it though, I'm fully set on getting it back to how it should be again and running perfectly. :D
 
Re:GP7 spares wanted

Good luck!

Must admit I enjoy resurrecting old stuff and getting it working again, I find it very satisfying. Probably why I used to like doing the free "Loco Doctor" service at my old club's annual exhibition.
 
Re:GP7 spares wanted

Right, it seems I'm not going to be able to obtain a USAT set of brake cylinders for the roof, so here's another plea of help.....please could anyone who has a GP7 take some pictures of their roof tanks looking from different angles, and try to give me some measurements too? I'll need to know the diameter of the cylinders, their length and whereabouts and how they are mounted to the roof.
Sorry to be asking for so much, but it seems even USAT themselves have given up with trying to locate any spare cylinders.
Many thanks,
Tim
 
Re:GP7 spares wanted

That's excellent, thanks Rob. See, I never even knew there was 4 of the cylinders on the roof, I thought there was only 2. :D
 
Re:GP7 spares wanted

For further information, PH sound systems (Paul Housey) are no longer in production.
Although I have one fitted in a Aristo RS-3, which works fine.There were a lot of failures and problems with them. Hence the cessation of supply.
I have managed to ind a couple of bits of info for you. Check out these links.
http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/aff/36/aft/120677/afv/topic/Default < Link To http://www.mylargescale.c...afv/topic/Default
http://www.girr.org/girr/tips/tips11/ph_hobbies_tips.html < Link To http://www.girr.org/girr/...1/ph_hobbies_tips.html
Rod
 
Re:GP7 spares wanted

Sadly the one one in mine didn't work very well from when I first tested the loco, sounding more like a machine gun than a diesel loco. Fresh set of batteries and clean terminals killed it completely, which was a little disappointing, but I was warned before that it may have been terminal to begin with.
I would just like to say a massive thank you to JonathanJ and Mr Spock for their help with some parts, it's very much appreciated guys.
Tim
 
Re:GP7 spares wanted

An update with this loco. A huge thank you to everyone who helped out with getting the GP7 back to how it should be, it really is very much appreciated.
I don't have any pictures of the before, I wish I had now, but it really was in a right state. Here's the after pictures though;
a75e64377f104cc78f202f389fdbe93f.jpg

I can't add more than one pic per post, so will do a couple of posts instead.
 
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