Posted By desertrat53 on 01/11/2008 11:50 AM
I just received one of these last week from St. Aubin's Las Vegas. I run only battery power and will set up a test section to apply 12v to the track and see what it'll do in the real world. I am planning a visit next week to the local dealer/installer for AirWire to discuss equipping this loco with their system and possibly converting my USA GP30, GP38 and a Mighty Moe from LocoLinc to AirWire.
Ok, the decision has been made to work with the AirWire system and using a QSI sound board. I am in a 4-week line for this to take place - after experiencing the usual lack of throttle response with my LocoLinc on my USA's I am pretty pumped at having a loco that goes-slows-stops when I say, not if/when it thinks it should. My 4-6-2 is clearly marked as the "new version" which to me signifies better drive wheels and wiring. That part remains to be proven - I did followup on my original post and isolate a section of my outdoor track, apply 12VDC to the track and watch her go. So I am ready to see it run with some sort of control, not just 0-100 and 100-0 scenarios. I found I need to adjust my track a bit - improve my entrances/exits from a bridge to prove 'swing-arc' clearance but otherwise, seems to handle the real world quite well. At the same time I did see only a slight bit of slowing on a couple of sections of curves that are less than the recommended 6-1/2'. I ordered a replacement set of center drive wheels from Aristo with an eye to removing the flanged area by grinding/finishing - this will not impact the power pickup for those applications where track power is being used - thus permitting only 4 flanges to control the lateral movement of the drivetrain. Should this not work as I anticipate, I can always retreat to the original wheels. I noticed similar arrangements on a couple of Bachmann and on Hartland (I think) locomotoives, which I suspect was for the same effect. Hopefully in about 5 weeks or so I'll know if all this pans out the way expected. Kinda like waitng for Christmas all over again!
Stay tuned...