All Nation NW-2

[bob turner]

Hard to believe nobody else has an AN NW2 - this one is unpowered, which is ok, since I can only run three or four at a time. Needs new paint, but I am going to preserve the decals and re-do the black.

[ScaleCraft]

looks like he's still at it. more posts now empty.

back through at least January.

You're talking about posts disappearing on NK, not here, right?

And.....Martin is back. Posted in 3-rail this morning.

[bob turner]

He never left there.

This is not the last of my NW2s (SW1?). But you get the idea.

[R.K. Maroon]

I like the SW-1, Bob. Did you do the modifications yourself?

Like many, I have owned many General Models / All Nation NW2s over the years. I will post a few, starting with this one:







Sorry for the fuzzy photo of the underside. I find it interesting that one finds lot of these with two power trucks. In my experience, a single-powered truck is more than enough for switching an industrial area or handling a local freight, even with the old heavy models on my roster.

Jim

[J. S. Bach]

I have three of these and each one has a different drive.

[ScaleCraft]

I have three rail vertical motor, three rail horizontal with single truck drive, 2-rail with vertical single motor, horizontal motor, I THINK they're all straight cut gears, some still with speedometer cable driveshafts.

Jimmy's Santa Fe has delrin chain, and I think I have some of those power blocks, but NONE installed in any NW, SW, F-3 or even the GP9.

[R.K. Maroon]

By my count, Atlas produced their SW series of switchers in over 50 different paint schemes and road names. I would bet that the GMC/AN NW2 has been decorated in that many and a lot more. Here is one in C&NW:



One does find a lot of these with a stock drive configuration, but of course there are others that have been modified. Here we see a can motor added with some changes made to hold the motor in place:



Note that the original fiberboard chassis bolster plates have replaced with metal ones. How the trucks are insulated is not clear to me. The modeler also soldered the nuts one the truck bolsters to hold the sideframes on. This is, presumably, to help maintain just the right about of screw tightness on the sideframes.

Jim

[ScaleCraft]

There are a lot of variations. Straight gears, angled gears, delrin chain, single power truck, double power truck, vertical and horizontal motors.
The vertical motors....some are sprung on one axle of the truck. Slotted housing, big U-shaped spring. Some have the added weight kits, some do not. There are lead blocks that fit into the ends of the housings held in with a through-screw. Clearanced for the sprung axle. And nonsprung...weights are not clearanced.
Fun? Fitting a headlight in an SW version with vertical motor. Motor is right up against the back of the radiator.

I know from personal experience single drive NW and SW's don't pull worth a crap.
I used to haul them out to Stivers for ops, and geez, wheel spin central, even with sprung truck and added weight kit.

Double drive, no weights, more than double the tonnage.

Yeah, kicking a couple of cars around a level yard, okay. Get it out on the non-level road, no.

[J. S. Bach]

By my count, Atlas produced their SW series of switchers in over 50 different paint schemes and road names. I would bet that the GMC/AN NW2 has been decorated in that many and a lot more. ...snip... Jim

One of mine is done in D&H, I do not remember if they even had any of them.

[bob turner]

Photos, please, JS?

Maroon - my SW-1 appears to be original All Nation. I got it for five bucks at a swap meet.

Dave - I too have had trouble with Diesel models not powered on all drivers. I try to have six gearboxes on the E7s, PAs, and SDs. The Sunset Y1 needs a chain drive in each mechanism - fortunately I have two, so they can double-team a string of six K-Line Empire Builder cars. Still need to build a steam heat car like Pete did for my GN passenger train.

[R.K. Maroon]

Here is one painted in a "home road" subsidiary of the PRR:





Somehow I owned this one for awhile, but I don't recall how or why it arrived nor how it departed, though I would bet it was an eBay sale that sent it on its way. As seen below, it's equipped with dual chain drives:



The biggest knock on the chain drives is the tendency of the lower (or sometimes upper) sprocket to split. I have learned sleeve them in metal to reinforce them. I don't have any good data on whether that is an effective solution over time and load. The ones I have seem to have held up, but they don't have a whole lot of run time.

[R.K. Maroon]

Here is one in SCL:





Somebody put some quality time into this one. I would rate this as better than the average bear. This has a pair of the helical-gear drives:



Those might be sintered wheels, which would be less than ideal. A modification to add wheel wipers for all-wheel pickup would be a particularly good idea as compensation for the sintered wheels, which tend to spark and pit, which only causes more sparking and pitting.

[De Bruin]

Oooo...... sweat looking NW, and yeah those sintered wheels are terrible.

[HONDO74]

There has been speculation that Lionel used a General Model Corp NW-2 on their 48/49 show room layout. In the picture it looks to be white or gray. Does anyone now for sure what it was ?

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/res ... o-622-nw-2

[bob turner]

I have heard the same rumor - but there are dimensional differences. Maybe somebody has one of each, for a side-by-side photo?