Century Club II Train Master questions

@Steaming Jon posted:

I picked up one of these engines just before Christmas… the set number is 6-18340, and I believe the part number of the engine is 6-18342.

Overall I love the engine, but I have a few questions…

First one: can I easily change the initial direction of travel? I have the “trailing” unit from the set but not the lead unit, therefore it starts in reverse to allow it to operate properly in conventional mode with the lead unit. I believe that if I swap the leads on both motors it will start in forward, but what about the directional lighting and mars/gyro light? It’s a very minor annoyance, so if it’s at all difficult to change I’ll just live with it. I suppose it’s theoretically possible that I might come across the lead unit at some point, and then it would be nice to have it functioning as designed without having to un-modify it, but that’s definitely not going to happen anytime soon…

Second: I was running command (legacy) at the club and the rear coupler fired randomly releasing the train twice. Thankfully I noticed before the engine made it all the way around the loop and rear ended its train… I’ve had the shell off and didn’t notice any obvious wiring issues. I don’t really have any use for the remote couplers, so I’m wondering if I could just unplug the coupler and secure the plug to prevent unscheduled uncoupling?

This is a really cool engine, I love the demonstrator paint scheme!

I have these engines , for direction you can program the start direction. As for the coupler issue, make sure you are running in TMCC not legacy. That can cause issues.

Thanks for the reply!!

Follow up questions: How do I reprogram the start direction? Can it be done with a legacy system and cab2 remote? I will try a search for the manual for the set, would be nice to have it anyway…

As for the coupler issue… it hasn’t happened in conventional. I don’t have any command system at home so I only run command at the club. There we use Legacy with cab1, cab1L and cab2 remotes. Initially I was running the locomotive with a cab2 that was in TMCC mode if I remember correctly. At some point I switched to a cab1L. I believe one uncoupling event happened with the cab2 and one happened with the cab1L, but I’m not 100% sure of that… also- both events happened in the same spot on the layout… that makes me think it might be layout-related which leads me to the “solution” of unplugging the coupler so it can’t trigger…

Update: made it back out to the club tonight, ran the engine on a different track and had no problems with uncoupling. Seems to confirm that it’s a signal/interference issue, not a problem with the engine…

I did notice a new problem though. The sound was getting more “raspy/tinny” the longer it ran. I’m hoping it’s just a speaker or connection issue and not the board itself… I’ll post updates when I get the chance to dig into it…

@Steaming Jon posted:

I did notice a new problem though. The sound was getting more “raspy/tinny” the longer it ran. I’m hoping it’s just a speaker or connection issue and not the board itself… I’ll post updates when I get the chance to dig into it…

I had to replace the original speaker in both of mine when I got them. The surround on the speaker was brittle and cracked- that's probably the same problem you are facing.

Basically just like this in this topic- the exact same size and type of speaker with a clear edge that gets hard and brittle.

https://ogrforum.com/...5#177821131060679465

I’ll bet that’s what’s going on! I’ve repaired many stereo speakers over the years with bad surrounds… that would definitely be consistent with how this engine sounds…

Vernon Barry for the win!

The hunt for a speaker begins…

Edit: Lionel has the speaker in stock!!! (Ordered)

https://www.lionelsupport.com/...OUND-BABY-FAT-BOY-_2

SPEAKER / 8 OHM 2.0W / 40MM ROUND / BABY FAT BOY

Should be able to find 40mm 8Ohm speakers at many suppliers.

I have a ton of the ERR speakers that are that size, and they don't use that brittle clear surround that the current Lionel ones do.

Of course I ordered the Lionel speaker just a few minutes before GRJ chimes in… haha…

I suppose I could cancel the Lionel order, I do like the idea of a better quality surround… is there a noticeable difference in sound quality between the two?

I think the difference is just the speaker cone is supported by material that is less likely to dry out and crack.  OTOH, it took it a number of years to do that, so you're probably good for a few years.

The speaker came in today, got it swapped in and it sounds great!

Thanks for the help!!!

So there’s a few minor cosmetic issues with this engine…

1) each pilot is missing one footboard and the front pilot is missing a couple air hoses

2) one number board is missing on the long hood

Solutions:

1) order one new pilot from Lionel for the front, and combine the two original pilots into one complete pilot for the rear. (Part ordered)

2) I don’t have a solution for this one… Lionel doesn’t list the number boards separately (shell would be $180+tax, which is not worth it for just a number board, and it’s not even available anyway…). I do have a post in the wanted section, but finding someone that just happens to have one lying around is probably less likely than finding the proverbial needle in a haystack… We shall see what happens with this one, unfortunately the hole where the number board would be actually bothers me a lot more than the pilot issues…

Did you ever figure out how to change the initial direction of travel of your train master? I have a similar issue with the trailing Century Club PRR shark.

@ncdave posted:

Did you ever figure out how to change the initial direction of travel of your train master? I have a similar issue with the trailing Century Club PRR shark.

I haven’t figured that out yet… I searched the interwebs for programming the initial direction and came up empty… I know that if I swap the leads on the motors themselves it would run forward-first, but I don’t know how to make the lights function properly… if I figure anything out I’ll definitely share it here…

Thanks!!

@Steaming Jon posted:

I haven’t figured that out yet… I searched the interwebs for programming the initial direction and came up empty… I know that if I swap the leads on the motors themselves it would run forward-first, but I don’t know how to make the lights function properly… if I figure anything out I’ll definitely share it here…

There is no programming that's going to make it run in the opposite direction with all the lights following along.

In order to reverse direction, you'd swap the motor leads, coupler connectors, and headlight leads.

The number boards are fairly easy to fabricate for these kinds of mounts.  I use a thick piece of salvaged plastic to make the actual board.  Then I print the numbers white on black using Microsoft Word and glue them to my fabricated board.  A coat or two of clearcoat and I glue my new number board into the shell.

I was hoping for an easy solution to making the engine start in forward. But it’s not a big deal to change direction on startup with the Cab2. I purchased a B unit to go along with the A unit. The B unit is mismatched to the A unit. So I’ll have open  up the B unit see if I can reverse the backup light and coupler to match the A unit. Shouldn’t be too hard. I hope!

I didn’t think about the couplers, good call! I’ll have to look into swapping the wiring over on mine…

As for the number board, I’m missing the whole thing, not just the “lens”…

Oh, the whole board.  That's a little more difficult, maybe a 3D print.  I don't see those listed separately, and all the number boards for a trainmaster are out of stock anyway.

Yeah, I wish it was just the lens… would probably be a good 3D print project, but I don’t have the software, hardware, and know-how to make that happen myself… at least it’s on the rear of the locomotive…

As for the wiring, I think it might be easier for me to just put it in reverse on the remote (or swipe the throttle a couple extra times) than swapping a bunch of wiring and hoping I don’t mix up any of it… bonus points for not having to un-modify it if I ever decide to get the lead locomotive to complete the set…

The pilot came today! Was a bit of an adventure swapping it out… I took more apart than I had to because I missed the motor screw under the pickup roller but I eventually figured it out… it’s all back together and I don’t have any left over screws!

That just leaves the missing number board as the only problem with the engine, and I know a guy who might be able to help with that…

Trainguy Ken or AlanRail can probably make you a 3d printed number board holder.

Thanks for the leads! I’ll follow up with them if my friend can’t help me…