Advice on MTH 30-1287-1 locomotive

@tsheridan posted:

I’m not knowledgeable about the newer technologies

Then do not buy it.

I'm being dead serious- you may not understand the variations of PS2 controls that were used and the risks and inspections required to ensure your purchase doesn't just burn up the first week of operating it. Really simple- based on the number alone, if someone called me and did not have internet and the first digits of a railking started with 11 or 12 (30-12xxxx-x) I know that's a PS2 5V and would tell them either get one heck of a deal on it (dirt cheap to compensate for the repair and upgrade that might be required) or just pass.

#1 PS2 can run in conventional. In fact all MTH engines ever made can run in conventional.

#2 PS2 engines all have a battery and given the age, that battery is probably shot. At a bare minimum, it needs inspected and validated before using the engine. If it already leaked and corroded the harness, that can be a problem.

#3 PS2 5V engines with Wincap brand capacitors are known to have an extremely high failure rate. Again at a bare minimum before ever powering the engine, one should closely examine the PS2 5V board, determine the brand of caps and look for swelling of the known to fail 330uF 35V cap.

#4 Another hugely common failure is the flaking magnet on the speaker. This at a bare minimum results in bad sound, but far worse can short the speaker to AC frame common and blow the amp or the entire electronics.

Vernon makes some valid points.

If you're willing and able to uninstall PS2, and skilled enough to install a Dallee electronic e-unit (about $60), you'll end up with a die-cast, dual-motored Big Boy that runs decently, albeit silently, on O31 curves.

If I take the Becker Grand Prix stereo out of my Mercedes, it's still a Mercedes.  Modern trains aren't collectibles in the sense of art, coins, etc.  You're buying a 21-yr-old toy, or perhaps even a piece of consumer electronics.  All of these considerations should be priced into the deal.  It comes down to your appetite for risk vs. the seller's, and your opinion of the item's intrinsic value, vs. the added value of the electronic features.  As the great Mike Brady once said, caveat emptor!