Lionel's Lionmaster Class A locomotive from 2002 is a wonderful engine and I love mine, especially since I don't have the room to run scale stuff. But two things bothered me a little, the smoke didn't "puff" and, when running in TMCC mode, the noisy whirr of the "wide open" fan motor was bothersome, especially when the engine was idling. Fortunately there is a fix...our own gunrunnerjohn's Super Chuffer unit!
Now I consider myself a pretty competent model train mechanic and at least average in soldering skills but, at best, electronically "challenged". I studied the instruction sheet, read the Chuffer threads on OGR forums, asked GRJ questions (John is great to work with!) and was able to accomplish the install myself. What a difference! Now I really love this locomotive!
I didn't take advantage of the Rule 17 headlight feature as I didn't change out the original incandescent bulb but did attach the necessary wires to the board for future use. I mounted the S-C on top of the factory wire bundle with a few strips of 3M double stick mounting tape. I also incorporated an old MTH two wire speaker harness/plug from the parts box to facilitate an easy disconnect for the fan motor if needed.
All in all a straightforward install and I'm very happy with the results. Kudos to John and to Hennings!
