How to Repair an Atlas H.O. Gauge GP 7 

Nice video! I'm also a Billings resident from the Heights. I really love how passionate you are with your hobby!

Congratulations on your auction success! It appears there's a real market for folks to buy locos whose repairs have been well documented and well implemented by a real expert they trust!

I've been watching this channel since its inception. It's a true pleasure to see toys and models from years past having life breathed back into them, no matter how rudimentary they may be. When I saw this thumbnail, I thought "wow, that's really new, and it's a REAL model!" That may sound a little snobby, but I started thinking about how old this particular model is and realized that it can now easily fall into the "classic" category. While today I mainly focus my interests in prototype modeling and recreating history from my youth in miniature, I have also owned and played with a lot of the exact stuff that sits on Ron's big shelf on his wall. Ron, thanks for all your hard work. Keep doing what you do. I really enjoy watching you grow and learn. I would really like to see more models from the last 3 decades torn apart and put back together. I'm glad this channel has been financially beneficial for you.

Your repairs and insight are much appreciated. 😊👍!

KATO made one of the best drives of that era rolls Royce drives of old

Enjoy your videos, loved trains as a kid, and lived next to the tracks for most of my life. The old Chicago Northwestern mainline to Milwaukee to Green Bay now Union Pacific. In the late 60's/70's I saw the Union Pacific Big Boy 4017 being pulled to the Green Bay Train Museum. You make it entertaining, I have boxes full of model railroad stuff that need fixing so I'll keep watching. Thanks

I have two Atlas GP-7's. Nice to see how to work on 'em. They both are the Central of Georgia which is a hard item to find. I just purchased another Atlas Central of Georgia RS-3. So now I have three Atlas engines. The two GP-7's were $75.00 each and I paid $129.00 for the RS-3. Prices certainly have risen over the years. Cheers from eastern TN

I have two Atlas RS3's from the nineties that still run beautifully. Very smooth and quiet. I installed Digitrax decoders back around 96 or 97. No sound of course. After I did that, I have NEVER had the shells off. They just keep running. Thanks for another great video!

Hey Ron just wanted to say I really enjoyed this new video. It was so Awesome. Take care and please keep up with the twisting of the screwdrivers. L8ter my friend.

Thank you for your very informational and interesting videos . I love watching them .

Love the older Atlas/Kato engines. Very good runners. Thanks for sharing.

Great video!..makes me want to go out find one that needs repair..and give it a try!..thanks for the inspiration

I stopped by RimRock Hobbies as I am passing thru town today, and was disappointed to find out that you don't work there anymore. :-( I bought some plaster and rock molds just to give em some business. I was visiting family out on the left coast and came thru Billings hoping to say hello. Wanted to thank you personally for all the informative, fun, and funny videos! This comment will have to do.

Watching you And SMT On these trains are spot on love Watching good Educating as Well.

Thank you for sharing. I have some older Atlas yellow boxes and they run really smooth, easy to add decoders as well. Enjoyed your video.👍

Went back to re-watch this one again. Great video Ron. As you mentioned I would like to see a late 70s or 80s Atlas repair. Take care, Jeff Hanna.

Good morning Ron.

Comp. Side is Component Side. It indicates which side of the board the electrical components should be mounted to.

Atlas is an awesome company

Thanks! Liked the B&W bit. You'll never get KleanStrip sponsorship if you keep kicking it over!

Hello my Friend! Many things happening here, little time for me. Very nice and resourceful video: your research was really good! I liked the way you explained the differences between the lines carried by Atlas. Your tips in disassembly the locomotive are very useful and the background on the GP7 very interesting. Kudos! It’s interesting to note that although the last run of the Atlas GP7 is from 2018 these are almost identical to the first run made by Kato in early 1990, the sole difference been the PC board DCC ready (and the fact they were made in China, of course!). Even to today’s standards the (original) Atlas (Kato) GP7 is a remarkable piece of engineering. By the way, receive my effusive compliments for your 6,140 subscribers! Take care Ron!

I remember having one in Atlas Yellow box with a Kato drive in UP paint scheme, and it ran like a Swiss watch. Back in the day, it was better than Athearn due to the hood width, but there were some details that would date it by today's standards. The first was the diecast frame without any MU connections which made the pilot solid. The second would be the molded-on grab irons and lift rings. The grab irons and lift rings were not a deal breaker for me since many manufacturers didn't offer them as separate items during this time period. The only other manufacture that made a locomotive close to Atlas was Front Range, but I didn't ever find too many out in the wild. As far as buying one today if found, I would consider the purchase, but the modern offerings of Bachmann GP7/9 make an affordable option for buying this type of locomotive, also.

That locomotive is exponentially better engineered than ANYTHING Tyco ever did!

Atlas has been part of my R/R life for really long, long time. I have at least a dozen of their locos and I like them all. Atlas / Kato, ya can't go wrong with one of these. One thing about those Atlas locos is they have some of the finest "Thrust Washers" I've ever seen. Lovin the vids, great job on the research. Sometimes that noise is coming from the fly wheel rubbin a little on the inside body of those snug GP7 shells.

EBay auctions... yes, they supported you very well. Congratulations, wow! John p.s. 13:00 be sure you brush your teeth. My younger brother drank it like water. Mountain Dew has the most sugar in it... I laughed when you mentioned it because I also know what you had to do beyond getting your thirst quenched!

I really love your commentating.

Love the Case tractor on main street

Great video Ron. I'm always on the lookout for the older Atlas locos with "Japan" stamped on the trucks. KATO makes a very good drive. I just love to do just what your videos show, take 'em apart, clean 'em up, get them up and running like new. Fun times.

Great video. I learned something from each 1of your video.

Super video. When I was young, the price of this Atlas locomotive would have let my railroad own an Athearn Superpower F7A, a matching dummy F7B, and two Athearn matching streamline passenger cars. I always like seeing what is inside, and now I wish that I had picked the Atlas locomotive. P.S. The Athearn units survived, and still operate great. 💙 T.E.N.

Hard to Crack that shell! Nice restoration! 💯🫵✌️

Beautiful video, as Always!! Thanks

Great video buddy. Nice service job.

Besides the fact that people were supporting the channel by bidding more on those excellent engines...you got to also factor in, we all seen that these were serviced running engines. That will bring more then something that someone would put up for sale and not have step by step video of what was done and serviced.

In the 70s when I first played around with model trains the Atlas was the crem dela crem locomotive to get.

When a GeePs up for grabs I buy it lol. Still watching Ron🚂🇨🇦🇺🇲🙋

Ron you Rock Buddy keep up the Awsome Work.

Atlas is big in the N scale world, too, they used to import a lot of stuff from Rivarrosi back in "the day" before ConCor took it over. Kato made a lot of the early drives for other manufacturers in N scale as well.

Awesome video very informative thank s Ron

thank you for addressing coupler change, was not 100% sure about simply yanking the plastic pin out. The Maine Central mountain division ran from St. Johnsbury, Vermont to Portland, Maine, making an important port connection. Sadly, this through freight service ended in the mid-eighties (I think)… all the best from Vermont… btw, my Atlas is a Rutland RS-1.

Atlas is always good. The yellow boxes(roco and kato drive)is awesome. The same with Athearn blue boxes.

I have few atlas engines. Including a D. T. I. And N&W both DCC. And cpl other ones. I got them down with truck design. Atlas has oil hole in each truck. Most I have also have red gearing in drives.

I am clamped to these videos. Thanks!

Very nice loco good video on servicing etc ps maine central was a railroad that operated in the state of maine hauling mainly potatos love yr content

FYI, older Atlas in yellow box were made in 2 places. One in Japan, one is Austria., The Japan ones are made by Kato (says on the truck cover bottoms) Al though both are smooth Runners. By the Way if you see a Yellow bonnet F7 Santa Fe it will be an Austria one. I have 2 of them

Best running locomotives I got eight of them on my roster

Atlas is a solid product

Nice video Ron! I don’t own any Atlas HO locomotives, but do own a fair number of 90s Atlas/Kato locomotives and love them! They run like tanks! I have a couple of later Atlas Classic locomotives, two GP-7s.

Cool stuff Ron! I have two of these Atlas GP7’s in N scale, one Boston & Maine, and one Maine Central. Same paint schemes just different lettering, especially loved watching this one because Maine Central is my favorite railroad, and also because i don’t live far from the former MEC lines, in fact my profile picture is a Maine Central GP38. Awesome video!

FYI as far as steam being replaced, That actually was going on before diesels were a thing. I read about it in the Locomotive Cyclopedia of American Practice (1929 edition, there are others as well, FREE to read PDF on Google books, also great to read about steam engine design) Electrics already in use in NYC to keep city clean were also being used in tunnels and hills and found to be better. It is why you have all those electric lines on east coast (GG1 lines) Now as far as diesels replacing steam it took some time (WW2 put a kink in it) First issue was horse power replacement. Real trick was MU units. Steam engines were about 5000-6000 HP so you needed those 4 unit lash ups to compete. The first major set was the F7 (rare to see picture of pulling freight) It was great and reliable BUT no so much for switching. This is where the RS1 came in. The first dual purpose road switcher that could do switching and haul trains on the road. WHY, because the body allows you you to see both directions which the F7 could not. EMD answer was the BL2, it was nice BUT nightmare to service, so the next design was the GP7 and it was boght because of the bad engine design of the RS series. FYI RU-vid channels "History in the dark" "AmtrakGuy365" "Cowl Unit Productions", "The Imagination Station (great info on steam)" is where I saw some of this great info

If it's gotta direct style light board, you *have to* put DCC in it! A Loksound board and cube speakers will make this one a banger!

When an athearn anyting was 1299 and Atlas engine was $25. They were like the best diesel locomotives you could get outside of brass locomotives.

I don’t believe I own an Atlas HO Locomotive… Well, I think I’m going to receive a delivery of at least one, today. Yup!! Just got the Email it’s just been delivered. Ok, so now I got an Atlas. I think there’s a Walthers and a Life-Like in the package also. Gonna be busy this weekend!!!

I thought I had heard that Atlas had asked or worked with KATO to build drives for their loco's. I want to say iwas the 1990's maybe? I was really surprised when I bought and Atlas RS3 a few years ago at a train show. When I got it home and opened it up, it was a KATO drive

I have a couple Atlas N-scale locos - a GP9 in SP Black Widow livery (DC) and an S-2 in SP Bloody Nose livery (DCC w/sound). Both are good runners, especially the S-2 - I've yet to find a DC locomotive that creeps like that thing does.

Very similar to Athearn drive tower.

Thanks for doing this, this model is on to buy list, WP 703, I'll purchase one when that time comes. Which trucks do you prefer for maintenance? Athearn's Blue Box style or the one from the Atlas Classic line? Thanks again for sharing this with us.

The Kato drives are slightly more powerful than the version made in China, but the body shell details ae slightly better than the basic Kato model. I have both versions.

I have what I believe to be an sw7 Switcher, and the couplers on this Switcher locomotive are mounted on the trucks. Not body mounted, is there a way to body mount couplers to a locomotive? Especially if they're somewhat of a lip where the coupler should go?

That Kato drive looks an awful lot like an Athearn, but maybe everyone copied that, as it appears to be the standard drive in everything (or similar designs). Actually the noise it makes also sounds alot like my Walthers engine. Really winds up!

Very Nice! Could you tell us where you get that superlube grease and the carbon conductive grease from? Thanks for sharing!

I had a buzzing problem with my AHM Burlington Northern 1998 and it was buzzing and it wouldn’t move. Do you know how to fix

Ron did you find some RC motor cleaner?

Are you related to Derik on vice grip garage, you remind me of him. Love your videos been watching since you started just never commented. I have some rare mehano sets you can only get in Canada, Look out for the Presidents Choice Train sets they were sold in Canada only you will thank me later.

Find yourself an Atlas yellow box locomotive those were from the 70's.

Kato is pronounced Kah-toe and it's a Japanese company.

🚂

I probably would of trashed it a lot work just to take the body off ! 😮

All you needed to do remove the couplers body lifts right off.

Nice plug with the auctions. Excellent way of involving your target audience...

Do you have train from 2004?

your presentation is not up to the standards of earlier critiques. had you looked at atlas exploded diagrams, you would see how easy it is to service the atlas gp7. are you in a bad mood today?

That's awesome that fellow model railroaders help by overpaying! Only way I'd do it on purpose is to help out! Ron, are you gonna do a video on an entry-level Bachmann F9? I've got a couple that I could use your tutorial on! Keep up the great work! 🚂🚃🇺🇸🇨🇦