Bluebox SD9

I'm a big fan of how fellow modelers and bloggers John R and Ralph V make creative use of vintage models, especially Athearn bluebox locomotives. I used to do a lot with them, and I still have quite a number that I built in the 1970s and early 80s, but I've begun to realize that at 70, I'm less able to do some of the delicate and tedious work like assembling the handrails. So I passed on one of my last unassembled locos to John R, who has done a fine job finishing it and posted about it. The good thing about getting old in this era of the hobby is that I no longer need to assemble handrails with recent locos!

But as I move through the locos I have and install DCC, I've come to some of my own bluebox collection. About ten years ago, I found this DM&IR SD9, a bluebox that had been custom painted, at a swap meet for what I seem to remember was a distress price. As a DM&IR fan, I grabbed it without thinking too much farther, and thereafter it sat in my own virtual swap-meet-in-the-closet.

When I pulled it out yesterday, I could see how beutifully it had been done. Beyond the paint, the guy had added a brass horn and even sanded down the molded-on end ladders and replaced them over the decal stripes:

I originally thought the guy had sold it because newer SD9 models from Proto and Broadway Limited had made his wide-body version obsolete, no matter how nicely it had been finished. But once I put it on the test track, I discovered the reason for the distress price. The motor wouldn't turn over, even though the guy had done work comparable to the paint job upgrading the chassis:

Not only did he install a can motor, but he really went above and beyond by replacing all the Athearn stamped-metal current pickup system with hardwired connections to the motor:

So I debugged it bit by bit. It looks like the lube, whatever he used, had completely hardened around the worm and the worm shaft, so I disassembled the trucks and cleaned off the old lube so the worm would turn. Things moved under power after that. But the motor bearings were completely dry, and the motor screeched when it ran -- this is a sign of dry motor bearings. In extreme cases, the screech is very hard to get rid of and requires much re-lubing and running in. I had to do this here and spent several hours running the loco back and forth.

At this point, the loco still chatters somewhat at high RPMs, but at switching speeds, it's very smooth and quiet. Here's the chassis after I installed a Digitrax DZ126:

Considering how the lube had hardened and the motor bearings were completely dry, the guy must almost never have run it even after he did such a great job painting and remotoring it maybe 35 years ago. I'm glad I was able to bring it back to life. I used to do custom work like this, but I'm no longer physically as able to do this kind of thing, so it was great to be able to bring this one back!

But then I thought about some of the bluebox SD9s that I repainted and detailed for SP. Maybe I'll pull these out soon.

Also I now remember that in an Emery Gulash video, there's a sequence of DM&IR SD9s pulling a freight through the Detroit River tunnel while on lease to the New York Central. Apparently these got around in the winter months when the lakes were frozen.