Re: To Upgrade or not to Upgrade

Richard InmanOGR Forum Member

I recently purchased a used beautiful Union Pacific Premier Challenger in perfect condition. What is unique about this Challenger is it was the first generation released by MTH with the original QSI Proto 1 (not the later MTH version of Proto 1). It runs great, the bell doesn't work unless in neutral and does get stuck ringing if you start the forward movement before shutting it off LOL. Chuff and whistle are great, but nowhere near as good as the Proto 2 or 3. There is no verbal dialogue I can find. It has 2 sueth smoke units in it. They work great. My question is this, do I upgrade it to Proto 3 with the vastly improved sound and other features, or leave it alone. With what I paid for the engine, if I have it upgraded, I will still be at half the cost for a new proto 3 Challenger. In one way the engine is a classic, in another way the new technology is superior and the sound and features area vast improvement, I would love to be able to stop it without running through the button pushes to get it moving forward again. Just seeking some of your counsel.

3 hours ago

❤️ 0

Original Post

Replies sorted oldest to newest

Mikado 4501OGR Forum Member

It depends on how sentimental you are to the model in question and how much work and funds you'd be willing to put in to get it to the point you want to get it.

Some older models I leave as is not just for sentiment, but the costs and time to upgrade them sometimes outweighs the benefits.

MTH Proto-1-era models (Premier and RailKing) are a bit more of a job to keep the old QSI electronics running compared to the Lionel electronics of the day, but the sounds are still pretty solid. If you are okay staying with conventional control, I'd say keep it as is, but if you're serious on command operations, it might be worth the upgrade. As is, the locomotive has an awesome motor and drivetrain design that should last forever.

Be forewarned, on these older MTH engines, you'll need to get a new fan-driven smoke unit to replace the old Seuthe smoke units and work with PS3, which means you'll also need to find a way to mount it and, in the case of the Challenger, a new top funnel piece to feed the smoke out of both stacks. This for me was the most difficult part when it came to upgrading these models.

3 hours ago

❤️ 0