First, I have managed another of my "nothing for everything" trades and traded a sinle Life-Like N Scale GP38 for a Bachmann HO GP40-2 from a department-store trainset. The GP40-2 came to me 'equipped' with a Digitrax DH140 4 function decoder.
As shown in the image, the GP40-2 also came with a low gondola and a caboose, all in UP flavors. The two vehicles also have a UP badge on them and are true HO scale, not Mathcbox or Hot Wheels, which are 1:80 scale, not the correct 1:87. Those two vehicles are "Trident" and from the old price stickers on the box, were $15 each 10 years ago.
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I have found a flea market a few miles from my home which seems to have been there for years and I simply didn't know.
I went rummaging through there over this past weekend and found a jewel (at least I think so..). One particular vendor has a number of HO pieces of various health. I looked through them and popped the shells off each one that I could. One had fly wheels and all-axle drive, the others had trainset motors (all in one truck).
The hobby-grade loco was the only one without a price on it. I asked and was told that it didn't run, so he was only asking $5. I figured even just for the 5 pole skewed motor and flywheels, it was worth it.
Turns out, I was right :D The loco is an Athearn Blue-Box FP45.
(stolen from an ebay listing.. sorry seller >.< )
The reason it does not run is because there is supposed to be an electrical wiper clipped to the top of the motor which rides on pads protruding from the top of each truck. The chassis is all metal and carries the power to the other side of the motor. The wiper is missing.
While working on the loco to try to clean it up a little, I tried pushing the press-fit motor mount out and it crumbled in place... I asked on a friendly website and wsa helped to find a source of replacement parts and can get both the wiper and the motor mounts for less than I paid for the loco! $4 for both items, plus shipping. I await my birthday money on the 28th ;)
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The deal I mentioned for the GP40-2 modified itself to become a FAR LARGER deal and now includes a multitude of unlisted "as-is" vehicles and random HO 'stuff' as it is shipped to me in exchange for work done to install decoders into the other party's N scale locomotives. As I receive those vehicles I will TRY to catalog them. I want to start trading them out for either locomotives with or without DCC (with, preferred as I cannot run analog with my DCC command system), or loose decoders of any make (preferably TCS, preferably not Digitrax) with any number of functions (the more, the better ;) )
I had intended to add the catalog of vehicles to this post as well but now that I have it typed up, it is realllly long, so I will give it it's own post and keywords and will update it via comments as time passes.
Mike from DieCastoms.
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