Arnold-Rapido FA2 Resurrection

[nickelplate759]

In another thread I mused about bringing an old Arnold-Rapido FA2 into the modern world.  I've decided to go ahead. I'll show progress here, but it will be sporadic.

I purchased it in the 1970's from the old America's Hobby Center store (mail order) in New York.  I'm pretty sure I paid less than $10.  It's a heavy beast - I once pulled 70 Atlas ore cars with it at an Ntrak show.

Originally it was painted Penn Central and looked about like this (not a photo of this particular FA2, just a picture I found):
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I repainted it many times in the 1970s and 1980s and ran it a lot. Now it looks like this:
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It's been a box ever since.  The goal here is to allow it to run on a DCC layout with Atlas Code 55 track.  I plan to repaint it as well, but am not sure yet what scheme to use.  I'm not going to try and improve the details - the whole thing is a single metal casting, including all details - but I will add horns (the originals are lost).    I'm going to do something simple for paint.   NKP never had any, so that's out.   I might do Penn Central, similar to the factory paint job, but I'm leaning towards NYC Cigar Band <edit> at least there is some overlap between the NKP and this scheme. </edit>


The first order of business is to fix the flange depth.  I decided to replace the wheels rather than turn them down.  They're oversize - the prototype was 40", these are closer to 47" - so on a suggestion of someone on TRW I bought HO 26" wheels from NWSL.  Here's a comparison of an original wheelset and an updated one:
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That's as far as I've gotten today.    I've already figured out that a Digitrax DZ126 will fit in the fuel tank without any other modifications, so after testing on DC that's next.

My blue and red paint job was done with Floquil - any suggestions on a good stripper?  There is NO plastic in the body at all, so I'm not too worried about damaging it.

[GhengisKong]

I just stripped some Floquil from a couple of shells just alst week using 91% isopropyl.

[nickelplate759]

Oh - and since Floquil isn't around any more, I'll finish with my go-to Tru-Color paint, but it will need a good primer.  Any suggestions (besides Rustoleum) for something that will stick to the metal casting as well as the Floquil did?

[peteski]

One possibility is a self-etching primer in a spray can.  Those are usually available from body shop supply stores (not the regular car parts stores).  My neighborhood store sells spray cans of SEM brand self-etching primer.  Or how  about using the Tru-Color primer?  To be honest, any type of primer should work well. Even the ones you buy an a car parts stores.  The important part is to make sure the metal is clean, and degreased.

As far as paint strippers go, with a metal  shell there are many options available. Pretty much any non-caustic stripper will work.  Like the ones available in car parts stores, or if you want a hobby stripper, there is ELO (Easy Lift Off) from Testors (ex Floquil), Wash Away Paint Remover from Scalecoat, or even high-strength Isopropyl Alcohol.   Or even generic lacquer thinner or acetone.  Floquil is an enamel so it will come off in sheets (not dissolve).

I'm curious why you had to buy H0 wheels from NWSL?  Don't they sell 40" diameter N scale locomotive wheels?

[nickelplate759]

...
I'm curious why you had to buy H0 wheels from NWSL?  Don't they sell 40" diameter N scale locomotive wheels?

'cause the original wheels were close to 47" scale ( 0.293" ), and if I put 40" wheels on the axle then the axle drive gear teeth would reach below the railhead.
The HO wheels are 0.300" - close enough!

[nickelplate759]

Just confirmed it works on DC  - just needed a little lubrication.  Still sounds like my coffee grinder though (it always did).  DCC conversion next!

[nkalanaga]

That first picture looks an awful lot like mine - the first true N scale loco I owned, also bought from AHC, probably in 1969.

Were there any problems changing the wheels, or was it a simple"pull the old off, stick the new on" job?

As for stripping it, I remember using hardware store paint stripper, the kind used on big metal things.  As Peteski said, it's solid metal, so you can use almost anything.  If you want to be careful, I imagine it's a zinc alloy, so anything safe for galvanized steel should be safe here.

[Point353]

Just confirmed it works on DC  - just needed a little lubrication.  Still sounds like my coffee grinder though (it always did). 

Try using Labelle 106 grease.

[Doug G.]

"Zip Strip" to strip the paint. It will strip any kind of paint.

And I fervently believe you should return the scheme to black-with-white-lettering Penn Central wonderfulness.



Also, does it have the same cup gear mechanism as other Arnold locos? If so, the majority of noise comes from the motor gears driving those cups. I have used heavy silicone lube like the stuff used in remote race car transmissions to quiet them down, admittedly with varying degrees of success.

Doug

[spookshow]

I've never understood why these things are so noisy, but it's definitely not due to cup gears.



-Mark

[nickelplate759]

That first picture looks an awful lot like mine - the first true N scale loco I owned, also bought from AHC, probably in 1969.

Were there any problems changing the wheels, or was it a simple"pull the old off, stick the new on" job?

As for stripping it, I remember using hardware store paint stripper, the kind used on big metal things.  As Peteski said, it's solid metal, so you can use almost anything.  If you want to be careful, I imagine it's a zinc alloy, so anything safe for galvanized steel should be safe here.

I used an NWSL puller to get the old wheels off, and a Panavise to press the new wheels on.  There were three slightly tricky parts:
1. the NWSL plastic bushings are soft enough that it's possible to press the wheel on crooked.  If that happens and you can't fix that in the vise, start over with a new bushing.
2. two of the axles didn't have chamfered ends, and I couldn't press on the wheels without destroying the bushings.  I chucked those axles in a drill and chamfered them with a diamond-encrusted file (they're steel), then they were fine.   Fortunately, the loco has 8 wheels and NWSL sells bushing in packs of 16.
3. Getting the wheels properly gauged on the axle takes some fiddling, because the new wheels are thinner than the old.  I used the Puller to move wheels out, and gentle taps with a plastic-faced hammer (on a wood block with a hole drilled for the axle to slide into) to move them in towards the gear.
You have to both get the gauge right AND get them properly centered on the axle.  It sounds harder to get right than it was - just keep checking your work.

[Philip H]

Just confirmed it works on DC  - just needed a little lubrication.  Still sounds like my coffee grinder though (it always did).  DCC conversion next!

I have an atlas/roco GP30 that @wm3798 decoderized for me years ago with the same affliction. I think it’s a feature not a bug - sound equipped before there was sound!

[Mark5]

The Arnold locos back then had all metal gears - I had a "GP7/9" back then - what a racket!

Cool what you did with the wheelsets.

I've often toyed with getting the FA just because ... 

Mark

[peteski]

Yeah, the all-metal gears are likely the cause of all the noise.  I also see what looks like poor design: both the worm and the worm gear look to me made from brass.  They are supposed to be made from different materials, or they will wear down quickly.  But I guess in model train application, that might be acceptable.

[Doug G.]

I've never understood why these things are so noisy, but it's definitely not due to cup gears.



-Mark

I am red-faced. I knew that was the mechanism in these and forgot.

Many early N scale locomotive mechanisms had pretty loose tolerances which greatly contribute to noise what with all the parts clanking around in loose bearings and gears with loose meshes and such.

Doug