Manual for Atlas UP SW9 no. 6129-1

I have the 4 page owner's manual for a 6128-2 PRR SW9, which also had the Dallee electronics/control.   I recently converted the unit to TMCC, manual is of no value to me.

Wow, I appreciate it! Any problems with the Dallee electronics, aside from its incompatibility with TMCC?

Jim R. posted:

Wow, I appreciate it! Any problems with the Dallee electronics, aside from its incompatibility with TMCC?

Poor at best. Apparently they would lock in one direction.  Mine had problems from the beginning.

Yep just plain nasty, sound was terrible and the thing wouldn't reverse with out a struggle....  No room for a TMCC upgrade as well.  The good stuff,, it was a great puller and very smooth if you could get it to reverse. Mine is now a dummy with lights.

Gregg posted:

Yep just plain nasty, sound was terrible and the thing wouldn't reverse with out a struggle....  No room for a TMCC upgrade as well.  The good stuff,, it was a great puller and very smooth if you could get it to reverse. Mine is now a dummy with lights.

I was able to install TMCC, a tight fit. biggest project was installing the speaker in the fuel tank.  Newer ERR electronics is smaller.   Here is a slideshow of the rebuild, a fun project.  Atlas had a special bottle board that fit the SW9 frame/hood.

The Atlas electronics installed was from a forum member who had installed ERR electronics in an SW9.   Atlas uses ERR for the new models of the SW.  

Labor intense, time consuming project.

Nice job...Did you do the couplers as well?

Mike CT       Who was the forum member who installed the ERR system for you

Gregg posted:

Nice job...Did you do the couplers as well?

Yes, the couplers were from Atlas, as was the speaker.  I also replaced all the lighting with 18 volt bulbs.   TAS, (Train America Studio had done a lot of these conversion.  Atlas provided new frames, that TAS used for the upgrades. 

MR-150 posted:

Mike CT       Who was the forum member who installed the ERR system for you

I installed the electronics pictured, which were original TAS electronics that Atlas used.  My SW's are old, but as I mentioned Atlas now used an ERR package.     I did install ERR in a very small Rich Yoder GE 44 tonner.  Pictures this file.  Also a labor intense, time consuming project.

I noticed some strange behavior already.

I set one switch so that it would move forward once power is applied. I set the other switch to lock its direction when running on my home layout, which has an electrically isolated 90-degree crossing for a special-effects feature that can cause power interruptions with certain short wheelbase locomotives.

Despite those settings, the model still slips into neutral sometimes, forcing me to press the direction button to get it moving again. 

If your having trouble with F-N-R cycling...

try this...I have 2 of these...lower the volume on the unit and you will find that it will cycle much better.

Jim,

I bought one of the C&O versions of the switcher when it first came out. One of things folks learned real quick - if the sound is turned all of the way up, the engine will stall on switches and cross-overs if there is a momentary lost of power. The way to fix the problem is to turn off the sound because the engine has a very very small capacitor in it to handle power drops but that power also tries to feed the sound during a power drop and the capacitor is not strong enough to feed power to both the engine and sound board.

To turn down or off the sound, take a small flashlight and look down the two smoke stacks on top of the engine hood. In one of them, you will see the top of a very small screw. That is the volume adjustment. It takes a very small flat blade screw driver to fit into the stack. I wound up having to turn the volume completely down (off) in order to have the engine make it thru my Ross switches.

Bottom-line, I decided it was more fun to watch the engine run successfully than listen to a not very good sounding engine!!! About 10 years ago, I sold the engine to a friend is a C&O fan with the warning about switches.

Look closely near the two large capacitors, red and black wires to the speaker, the sound adjustment screw.  These models were manufactured 1998/1999.    2000/2001 saw the first TMCC SW9's.   The top mounted speaker was probably a good idea/v.s. the speaker in the fuel tank, but there is very limited room under the hood. IMO.

taycotrains posted:

If your having trouble with F-N-R cycling...

try this...I have 2 of these...lower the volume on the unit and you will find that it will cycle much better.

Thank you for mentioning that tip. I have a really nice PRR SW9 from Atlas that would not reverse with any predictably. I did the volume adjustment, basically shutting it off and now the locomotive runs and reverses perfectly. Thanks again.

Tom

Thanks for the replies and advice, guys. It leads to one more question.

I noticed that the twin smoke stacks are a separate plastic casting. Are they designed to easily be removed to access the volume control? I don’t want to start tugging on them without knowing for sure.

Jim R. posted:

Thanks for the replies and advice, guys. It leads to one more question.

I noticed that the twin smoke stacks are a separate plastic casting. Are they designed to easily be removed to access the volume control? I don’t want to start tugging on them without knowing for sure.

You should be able to insert a very small screw driver down the front stack to adjust the volume control, without removing the hood twin stack piece.  If the unit was an SW8, there would be a single stack instead of the twin stack. 

Krieglok posted:

taycotrains posted:

If your having trouble with F-N-R cycling...

try this...I have 2 of these...lower the volume on the unit and you will find that it will cycle much better.

Thank you for mentioning that tip. I have a really nice PRR SW9 from Atlas that would not reverse with any predictably. I did the volume adjustment, basically shutting it off and now the locomotive runs and reverses perfectly. Thanks again.

Tom

I'm glad I was able to help...I understand that when these came out close to 20 years ago they retailed for over $300.00 ! I wouldn't have know that because back then I was only buying postwar. I guess like all conventional engines the prices went in the tank with the popularity of TMCC ...I don't even particularly care for this RR but for $60.00 (at Saturday York) it caught my eye and is one of my favorite switchers !!!

Yes, they are really great looking models. The detail is really great. I have a mix of conventional, TMCC and MTH locomotives, so I didn't mind the conventional running only on this engine.

I bought the Atlas PRR version and was so disappointed with its performance, I bought a new Lionel Legacy NW2 to takes it place. 

Now the Atlas SW9 runs great...without the crappy sound. I am debating whether to keep it or not at this point...

Tom

as mentioned elsewhere, I was waiting on the completion of a deal on a pair of these.  Well, it happened.  A Pennsy and NYC SW8, both with the finicky Dallee electronics .  Once underway they,re torquey little jewels, with the ability to crawl at CC speeds.  I have been familiarizing myself with the internals of the NYC example while I do some improvements to details.  LEDs replacing the original lamps are the first upgrade in the plans.  O n order are ERR Cruise Commander Lite components for both switchers and will also add their sound to at least the first conversion.  Judging from the bulk of the early TMCC in MikeCT's example the CCLite should simplify the shoehorning procedure greatly.

Pretty much spent today surgically altering the cab greenhouse plastic to fit more flush with the outer walls......a giant step closer to realism in this area.

Bruce

Huh, I was looking online for a manual for this and found only this thread. Mine seems okay, so far, but was just wondering what the two switches did on the bottom.

SNG-- NO SNG   applies to TMCC electronic.  NO SNG   conventional use.

RUN  PROGRAM  allows for changing the unit/locomotive Number.  Each unit/locomotive can have a specific number, Originally 1 through 9.       Today??? I think ???  1 through 99.   RUN PROGRAM:  Also provides a method of regain-ing (reprogramming),  the electronics when all goes hay-wire. 

Do a search   Lionel Document 71-2911-250   The Complete Guide to Command Control.  Literature that came with the original Cab1/Command Base for Trainmaster Command Control set.  (Dated 1998 or 1999).

No, the Atlas SW8 switches are not related at all to Lionel TMCC.

Here’s closeup of the instructions for those switches. One switch controls whether the locomotive starts in forward or neutral. The other locks the loco in one direction.

I’m also including photos of the entire manual.

Oh, cool. Thanks. That sounds relatively safe to monkey around with.  (though not incredibly useful.)

There is a date in the casting, fuel tank of the SW unit.   2001 or 2002, may be the first Generic Lionel control and sound.    Another indication of an early 1998 or 1999 Atlas SW was the location of the speaker. (Front top of the engine compartment) Unfortunately these early (Dallee) drive/sound units were poor at best.  Even, as a 25 year old model, the slow moving, horizontal drive, is still, one of the best, drive systems available, O-scale models. IMO, Mike CT.  Have fun with you new model.

If you have a pair of these as I do, how about making a dummy of one of them, gut the powered unit except for motor and drive, and bulbs, remove the "dummy's" motor and all possible drive elements that don't hold the trucks in place, and putting all the ERRCo Cruise Commander works in the dummy, using the existing Atlas front headlight bulbs as your "front and rear" lights (if coupled cab to cab), putting speaker in dummy fuel tank area.  I gather there's no room for ElectroCouplers, so you'd need to keep the existing 3 rail couplers for switching?  Seems one has enough pulling power that this would make a useful switcher, and they are very nice models.  Someone must have done this before me.

It's challenging to put ERR or TMCC in the '98-'99 model because along with a lack of space, the hood is die-cast metal, and the handrails are not insulated from it.  The cab is plastic; perhaps you could put the antenna there.

When the 2nd batch came out circa 2001, Atlas was accepting the first-generation frames to be remanufactured so that they could more easily be upgraded to command control.  You had to send your frame back to the factory.  I didn't follow through, so mine is forever stuck as conventional.  Still one of the best diesel drives in 3-rail O gauge, and they sell every one they produce.  Good quality is always in demand!