Help installing ERR Cruise Commander - M circuit board in my K-Line Hudson K3270-5434S

First step is to download the Cruise M manual from http://www.3rdrail.com/err-3rdrail/

You will find its simply the matter of removing two connectors from an existing board, removing four screws, removing the existing board, installing the new board in its place. Replacing the two connectors you first removed and finally adding a third connector to the new board and making a single soldered connection.

It will be pretty well illustrated in the manual.

Pete

 I would go to 3rd rails site and look over the installation manual. The K-Line Berkshire I did was pretty straight forward to do. The engine came with cruise. After many years the factory board went up in smoke. One mod you may want to consider. Is Gunrunner Johns Chuff Generator. This will give you 4 chuffs like a real steamer rather than 2. 

 There is another option. K-Line offered a Cruise kit for both the Hudson and Berkshire. The K-Line cruise I thought was the best at one time. Very smooth in the 128 step mode.  With a few wire swaps you could obtain 4 chuffs.  The engines suffered more from being slightly underpowered motor wise than anything and the cruise trying to make up for it. The advantage of the K-Line package is that the instructions are specific to your engine. I have one I’m saving for a spare. They are available. In fact there’s one on that famous auction site right now.

Both will require some skills for the install. I would opt for the ERR cruise M with GRJ’s chuff generator. But there is an option that maybe a more easy install with specific instructions. Just no support as K-Line is long gone.

Thank you guys for your help, I certainly appreciate it. Where do you buy Gunrunner John's chuff generator?

Dave_C posted:

  There is another option. K-Line offered a Cruise kit for both the Hudson and Berkshire. The K-Line cruise I thought was the best at one time. Very smooth in the 128 step mode.  With a few wire swaps you could obtain 4 chuffs.  The engines suffered more from being slightly underpowered motor wise than anything and the cruise trying to make up for it. The advantage of the K-Line package is that the instructions are specific to your engine. I have one I’m saving for a spare. They are available. In fact there’s one on that famous auction site right now.

There were good K-Line ones and bad K-Line ones. All the K-Line ones I installed were the bad ones - jerky, surging, rough running. The ERR Cruise Commander M is VASTLY superior in its performance.

Haawk58 posted:

Thank you guys for your help, I certainly appreciate it. Where do you buy Gunrunner John's chuff generator?

You can get them from Forum sponsor Hennings but unless you also change the smoke unit you will only get the 4 chuff sound. The smoke unit in that engine will still only emit two puffs of smoke with every driver revolution.

Do some reading on the forum on smoke unit replacements before diving in. That will not be plug and play like the Cruise M install.

Swapping in a Cruise M is like changing your air filter. Installing a smoke unit is like swapping your 6 cyl for a V8.

Pete

Norton posted:

Swapping in a Cruise M is like changing your air filter. Installing a smoke unit is like swapping your 6 cyl for a V8.

In some cases, a turbo-charged V8.

 Chuff-Generator

Super-Chuffer II

Here's a K-Line Makado that was upgraded with the full package, ERR cruise, Chuff-Generator, Super-Chuffer, and of course a fan driven smoke unit.  Obviously, it's on the outside track, someone just horned in on my picture when I was shooting this one.