Scrap Yard Report: Walthers Alco FA/FB Chassis

 Greetings All,

Scrap Yard Report: Walthers FA/FB Chassis

This is a follow up to my prior post highlighting the NYC Alco F series and focuses on the Walthers Mainline models that I mentioned in that post.

In the book Penn Central Bi-Annual by Robert H. Reid author Lt. Jay Potter, USN, in his "New Haven Region, 1969- Motive Power In Transition" article described the New Haven RR as a "corporate pack rat" after the PC took over NH operations and found many derelict locomotives sitting at Cedar Hill Yard in New Haven CT.

When examining my own train storage I started feeling like the New Haven of old. It was time to clean out and scrap the derelict locomotives which had no chance of returning to service that I've been storing for years. 

Their locomotive trusts have long since expired and these six Walthers Alco FA/FB chassis plagued with zinc rot were deemed surplus and ready for the scrapper.

Units affected by the zinc rot include a pair of FA and FB Lehigh Valley units that I reported on in this 2012 blog post

 

With much of the chassis removed I was able to put the shell back on. But this was a temporary fix.

 

Below is an FA chassis that has been ground down and continues to expand and crack. 

The rear of the FA unit. I cut the rear with a hacksaw to try and fit it under the shell and salvage it for continued use. 

This is a B unit that broke apart when the ends were being ground down. I used some sort of weld compound to hold it together.  

After coming to realization that none of the units in this box of stored chassis were ever going to be put back under a shell it was time to remove the usable components and scrap them. 

Like the Penn Central in their 1974 movie for congress to get additional funds I've begun the process of removing any parts that may be used in the future. Note the chassis is just breaking apart as I remove the parts.

Just prior to Christmas I purchased two new in the box old stock Walthers Mainline FA-FB units to keep some of my existing fleet in service like NYC FA1 #1000 which was a gift from wife on Fathers Day in 2002. It was just recently was detected with zinc rot and received one of the new chassis.

On January 25, 2022 two Walthers FB units purchased on ebay arrived. These are the older horn hook coupler units which I hope will continue to be zinc rot resistant.

As luck would have it one of the FB units trucks had broken off from the frame and needed replacement. To the new bag of salvaged parts I went and the repair was was made.

Both FB units have been lubed, have Kadee #5 couplers installed and their circuit boards double taped. The circuit board holds the motor in place and and the original tape lost its adhesiveness.  

The shells should go under EBRR and LV B unit shells returning the EBRR to an A-B-B-A set and the LV to an A-B-A set. 

Like my good friend 1:1 Sir Neal said "There is only so much you can do" with these engines and he is completely right. That said I can't help that I really like these engines and want to keep the consists in running condition.

 

The extra shells could end up being paint projects that will require additional chassis and the quest for clean power chassis may only be paused at this time. The newly added power chassis may find their way temporarily to consists other that the EBRR and LV. We shall see what develops.

Thanks for reading!!!

See ya soon!!!