Recently, I bought an Atlas USRA steam switcher off ebay at a very decent price. When I received it, it had DCS in it. The tender frame is stamped "MTH Trains" underneath and of course the electronics are DCS.
The seller said it had TMCC in it but didn't know if it worked because it sat on a shelf for many years and he didn't have anything with which to test it. When I placed it on the track, it ran great, complete with a puffing smoke unit. It did need a new battery so it's been replaced with a BCR2.
Did Atlas put DCS in some of these locomotives? The TMCC locomotive smoke units blow smoke constantly, but the DCS version puffs in sync with the chuff. Both TMCC and DCS versions have four chuffs per rotation. Does anyone know what the deal is with these models? It would be interesting to know a little history about these steam switchers. Thanks.
-Ralph
