First things first

I cut out the circuit board and removed it, took the weight off and sent it to a buddy to cut it up:

Next, I popped out the trucks and took them apart in order to replace the wheels and clean and lube the gears.  This is why I needed to clean and re-lube the gears:

 And here is one reason I decided to replace the wheels:

Replacing the wheelsets

I replaced the wheels and gears between the wheels with NWSL parts.  Here is a side by side with the old and new wheelsets:

With the gears cleaned and re-lubed, I put the trucks back together:

Tomorrow I'll weather the wheels while they are in this state of easy access and once that dries, I'll get the trucks back together completely.

Already wondering "What???"

I thought I would buy the Genesis motor to replace the existing motor.  I figured I might as well replace the worm gears with Athearn parts, too.  But of course, the worm gear connections don't mesh with the P2K universals.  But further to that, I thought the Genesis motor would just drop into the mounting holes from the old motor in the frame.  Alas, not so much as the Genesis motor is much smaller and the mount is different.  The four pegs, though, can align with the holes, but the problem is some metal pieces of the chassis don't seat in the holes. 

So, do I grind part of the chassis out to get them seated in the holes, or do I take off the mount and fashion my own mount?  I can't visualize the vertical distance of where the drives will need to come off the flywheels to align with the trucks.  The wimp in me says to just put the old motor and drive back in, but I don't want to do that.  I want to figure this out.  Any suggestions would be welcome.

Well.....you wanted to learn

Well.....you wanted to learn the skills. Just kidding.

Lessons learned with this project will reward yourself with future projects. Disassemble, inspect, test, buy new stuff to replace broken stuff, reassemble with testing each step, program, enjoy the fruits of your labor.

Why not replace the original motor with the same motor? Is the original motor bad? Are you upgrading to LED lights? 

Keep us posted on the updates.....

You are correct

I didn't go into this thinking it would be a breeze.  I did think the drive train would be the easiest part, though.  Detailing the shell will be more challenging.  The original motor looks a little worse for wear, honestly.  I figured I would replace it with a smoother runner as why replace all the other parts if you leave an older, less efficient motor in place?  One consideration is getting the full NWSL drivetrain, including motor and saving this Genesis motor for a blue box I have, but we'll see if I can make this work.

I will definitely be replacing the lights with LEDs.  The challenge is getting the dual light look in the nose typical of these locos, but I have an idea for that.

Motor mount problems

If the old motor worked, I would try clearing it up before grinding the frame and mounting the Genesis motor at the right height. The old motor looks like a large Athearn motor, here’s how to clean it and tune it up.  https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/rebuilding-and-detailing-athearn-switchers-12206976 The only difference between the various sized athearn motors is the length of the magnets, armature and case. If the engine doesn’t run well after that, then consider using the Genesis motor.

I might

just clean up the motor anyway to do it, but my fear with this one is the universals in these seem sketchy.  I've heard of lots of cases where they just break apart and I can see why.  Maybe there is a part to replace them for the existing motor, I just haven't found it yet.  

scary project

the one thing to do is, when you hit a snag, stop for a while, think.  don't try to push through. take your time thinking it over and you will come up with an answer.

Ed

I cleaned up the original motor

and it does actually run fairly well, but the Genesis motor is still smoother and quieter.  I'll have to consider Ed's advice and take my time to decide which way to go with it.

test its current draw

Trucks are done

I finished weathering the trucks tonight and have them all re-assembled:

 I see from the picture I have to adjust the journals.

Now I can move on to detailing the shell while I contemplate the drive train.  I'm thinking I'm just going to go ahead and replace the old motor with the Genesis motor.  I'll play around with it a bit more, but I think if I put some styrene in the area and remove the motor mount, it might just stick down with some adhesive foam tape.  The trick is to get it straight and true, but it would then not require milling the frame.  And if I give it a go and it doesn't work, I can completely reverse it with no ill effects.  But I need a couple dogbones to link the new motor and new worm gears.  Getting those the right length might be fun...

Why not make an adaptor out of styrene for the Genesis motor?

The newer Athearn motor mounts use screws coming up from the bottom of the frame to hold the motors in place.  If the Genesis motor is too small, build up a thicker motor mount to raise the motor up to properly align with the drive shaft.  You could even use double sided tape to mount the motor instead of the Athearn motor mounts. 

Exactly where I'm going, Russ

That is my plan after reviewing everything last night.  

Twin headlights in the housing

Thanks, Vince

I missed this comment until now.  I appreciate the heads up as that will save me some mucking around and probably several dollars for the swear jar.