My first PS-3 engine arrived the other day, and I couldn't wait any longer to tear it apart!
So off came the shell, just to see what was inside.
Here is the PS-3 board in its holder:
Interestingly it is about 85mm long x 33mm wide x 35mm high.
The heat sink sticks out a little farther at the front end of the mounting bracket.
The board footprint is about the same as a PS-2 3 volt set, but it is slightly lower, which should make it easier to fit inside a tight engine.
And its only one board, not two.
And the best part: no battery!
This next picture was a bit of a shock.
Notice the break in the gray plastic piece in front of the motor.
This would normally have been a plastic shroud that extended up to above the motor, to shield it from view through the cab windows.
But in this engine it has been cut down (rather crudely I might add) presumably so as to not interfere with the engineer figures in the cab.
And it got broken in the proocess.
The only reason it was not removed altogether is that the cab interior lights are mounted on each side of it, just in front of the screws.
Here is a view of the connector board for the front cab and ditch lighting harnesses.
I had to unplug the ditch lights as the harnesses are a bit on the short side.
Here is a view into the cab with the aforementioned shroud cut down.
I must say I rather prefer it to the bulky plastic shroud, but I wonder how the engineers feel about the large black flywheel spinning rapidly between them?
Overall I must say I really like the engine.
It runs well and looks really good to me.
The sounds are good, and the smoke unit puts out like any other MTH.
And this is only a cheapo $300 railking engine.
The manual says it will operate on AC or DC, and it can run either DCS or DCC at the flip of a switch.
Looks like PS-3 will be a good thing.
Rod
