Proto Upgrade to DCC

Life Like made a very nice looking collection of locomotives when they brought out the Proto 2K. I have converted 6 so far including GP's, FA 1&2's and a S3. All required the new gears, thorough cleaning of the gear tower and improving the electrical. I add sound in all my locos so removal of some of the frame is also necessary but easily accomplished with a Dremel.

I have also done the same with Proto 1K locomotives (F3, C Liner and RDC). The RDC has its own drive system that is generally flawless. The F units and C Liners are built on the same drive as the GP's and FA units. There is more room inside these, so sound is added with no modification of the weight. The Proto 1K are also available on eBay and generally can be had for less than the Proto 2K units. The money saved in purchase price I put towards detail additions to emulate the prototype.

I add additional lights as per prototype with SM LED's. I also change all head and back lights with SM LED's and add a SM LED in the cab that is heavily resisted to keep the intensity down

With a bit of judicious weathering all of these locos are easily as good as some of the better current locos on the market.

Proto Upgrade: Excellent Article

The closeup photos and step-by-step explanations are superb. I learned a great deal. THANK YOU!

Excellent

A very well-written and useful article for fans of the P2K Geep.  I have been modifying and rebuilding them since they first appeared on the market and learned a couple of new techniques. Very good photos and explanations.

Build your own stay alive

For those with more time than money (like this build), combining this with the June 2019 MRH "Build your own stay alive" can unlock even more features with a capacitor-ready decoder. The Back EMF and the stay alive work hand-in-hand for spectacular performance at low-speed switching.

Many of these techniques also

Many of these techniques also of course apply to the Athearn BB/RTR drives that the Lifelike drive is derived from. 

Helpful Walk through the update process

Thank you for taking time to walk us through the breakdown and update process on these locos.  They certainly are cheap enough to pick up on eBay, and these update help improve their usability. The fact they were manufactured in a broad array of roads makes them particularly appealing in the hobby!

P2k Geeps

I just went through the process of repairing three in Santa Fe zebra colour scheme & one in blue & yellow bookends. Did the as described stripping down, removed all the peanut butter grease with isopropyl alcohol, replaced all the axle gears with Athearn replacements (yes, all axle gears were cracked). Finally a re-lube with LaBelle 106 & 108. They now run sweet as, and as per the article a small investment vs buying brand new replacements.

DCC Loco on a Budget

What a great article!  Thanks for putting these tips into a single article with photos to lead the way.  We Lifelike/P2K owners have all done some or even most of this to keep our geeps soldiering on and this will be a great reference for years to come.  My tuned up geeps with DCC (and some detailing) still get compliments at my club. The Lifelike geeps were revolutionary when they came out and I am still impressed with their looks and their performance using  these tips.

Thanks,

Joe