Some interesting assignments have come my way through this web site. A number of additional engines are in the rehab queue. There have been two P2K units and two Athearn blue box units in the DC configuration being prepped for the possible addition of DCC or the equivalent. Because of this, additional chart activity has evolved to provide further understanding about the how to compare the unit performance both before and after the service activity.
Additionally, Two sound engines with Rail Pro modules installed have been brought to my attention. One of them an Athearn Genesis GP9 has just stopped running altogether, The second, a P2K GP9 runs fine, but tends to stutter across powered frogs. In both of these engines, the problem is more than just a simple tuneup.
The new chart representation consists of putting the maximum, minimum and average results of brand like engines to compare with the results of the engines being worked on. These results are super imposed on the results of all of the engines in the data base of engine tests. This creates a templet of ten charts for each brand like group. As received and the after tune up results can then be presented on these templets to better demonstrate the value of the work. A couple of these resulting charts are show below.
I the case of one of the Athearn blue box engines above the initial tuneup results were disappointing. Visually the tuned engine ran “smoother” and appeared to run better. However the data did not show the expected improvement. Because of this, the truck gears and tower gears were replace, with improvement in the data that exceeded previous improvements. Clearly a lesson to be learned here.
The activity with the Rail Pro engines has the potential for a number of interesting results. Stay tuned.
These engines in this discussion are from clients who contracted me because of this sites exposure. The cost of the repair is $25 per engine plus the cost of any parts. That includes the shipping back to you. The cost of the shipping to me is paid by you the customer so it s part of the cost, but I do not invoice that cost. If the unit can not be fixed or the job is too extensive, I will return the engine at no charge, the return shipping is on me. I give discounts for multiple engine tuneup/rehab orders.These prices and considerations are for domestic US customers. I will work with international clients, but the shipping issue needs to be established based on weight and location.
If you have a problem engine, feel free to contact me here ggnlars@verizon.net
Thanks for your time.
