So I picked up my RK F-3 ABA last week and had an opportunity to give a test run this weekend. My Impressions are:
- I can confirm that the sound in PS-3 is definitely off a little, but not across the board. The bell and engine sounds, for example, are loud and crystal clear but the horn is somewhat muffled. It just doesn't have the blast that my PS-2 E-8's have (or any other PS-2 engine I own, for that matter). I can compensate for it to an extent by lowering the volume on the other sounds and cranking the horn to 100, but it only helps some.
- Visually, it's fine. Definitely not "premier" level, but good for me and the kids. Enough detail to keep it interesting, and the paint job is great. Didn't realize just how long 40 inches is on the layout, and I may end up running it A-A moving forward.
- It runs smooth - REALLY smooth. 3 scale MPH gets it moving without much hesitation and at 5 MPH it's silk. At the moment, I've got a mix of ten or so boxcars hooked up and performance is solid across the board. Forward, reverse, turnouts in both directions - no issues.
- This engine has the worst, and I mean THE WORST PFA freight announcement I've ever heard. I didn't think it could get any worse than the stooge on my RK Allegheny who manages to spill water on his feet, but the entire sequence is wrapped around... wait for it... a downed tree on the tracks! Literally, its "Hey, there's a tree on the line!!!!" and then the crew decides after calling it into dispatch that they can move it themselves. So the doors open, there's a pause ( I assume they go move the tree...) they come back, tell dispatch the line is clear, and head on down the line. That's it. I don't buy these things for the PFA experience, so it's more humorous than anything, but who thinks these things up? My SD70 has a nice, meaningful rap, and most of my passenger engines are good as well, calling out names of nearby towns and such. Unless I'm missing something, this one is a dud. May have to download something new at some point.
Overall I really like it and it will be a fixture on the layout, but I may have to resort to doing my own voice-overs
