I'm looking at purchasing this engine. Two questions, how do you get to the battery in it and will it run on 036 curves? Also, for those who own it, do you like it?
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I own this engine. It runs fine, but it must have a fully charged battery or a BCR unit as if the battery is low or dead you will scramble the computer chip on this Proto-1 engine, So, you remove the tender body by loosening the four screws on the tender bottom and you put a fresh MTH green battery in place. Much better is a J & W Electronics BCR capacitor that will solve any battery issues forever. Do NOT run thisengine with a dying or dead battery. You will get the three "Clanks of Death." and then you have to reprogram the chip. It isn't broken, only scrambled. I don't think it will run great on 36" curves. Except for the initial battery issue, I like the Shay a lot. The BCR units cost about $25.00 and can be purchased from train stores or from J&W Electronics on their website. If you have additional questions reach me at: milt@paiger.org
Will it run on 036?
No. It has a hard time with 42" curves.
Gene Anstine
grfd59 posted:No. It has a hard time with 42" curves.
Gene Anstine
Ah alright. I'll have to skip this until I get larger curves.
Most MTH Premier models, which are scale sized, and full-scale Lionel models won’t run effectively or at all on 36-inch curves. There are a few exceptions, but all with short wheel bases.
You’ll probably have to stick with traditional sized models for those curves.
Jim R. posted:Most MTH Premier models, which are scale sized, and full-scale Lionel models won’t run effectively or at all on 36-inch curves. There are a few exceptions, but all with short wheel bases.
You’ll probably have to stick with traditional sized models for those curves.
True. I've ran the premier CNW E4 Hudson on 036 a few months ago, it ran fine on the curves but it didn't like my switches. Was thinking the shay would be the same but I guess not. I run fastrack on my layout. I'm looking at adding 044.5 inch curves on my outside loop to run bigger equipment.
