Does anybody own one of these and if so, what is your opinion of it? If you don't own an RS-3, do you own a different Weaver diesel and what is your opinion on that one? I thank all in advance for your replies.
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I have an older one with chain drive I actually liked them better for creeping along at a slow speed. It is on my dead track right now. Something happened to the drive and I have not had the chance to take it apart yet. I still like them I also have some of the older GP-38's...................Paul
I have owned a Weaver RS3 since they were first manufactured in the early 1980`s. It has the tower/chain drive which many have complained about. I had Weaver replace the cracked sprocket around 1990, and it has been a great runner ever since. I love the fact that it runs at nice slow prototypical speeds due to the gear ratios it came with. The only disadvantages are: the hood is very narrow (scale) and i've yet to figure out how to add sound to the TMCC i've already added. It appears there's no room. Also the pilot needed to be opened a little to get enough coupler swing for 042 curves. Current production has addressed these issues and as soon as i find one at a price i can afford i'll be adding another one to my roster.
jackson
This is a newer RS 3 with twin verticle motors, flywheels, and an EOB drive system. Works well, on par with most all my speed control engines.
a weaver diesel runs like a williams but with tmcc and sound. all weaver diesels have no smoke units.
Almost bought the older horizontal motored unit (even took it over to the test track at a show). It's the most accurate scale model of the RS-3 out there. It's also the poorest running RS-3 out there. Meant for two rail with wide curves and very light loads.
Current Weaver with twin vertical can motors is the best of a bad bunch. It runs as well as any of the other loco's with this drive and it's reasonably accurate in terms of overall shape and details. Prototypes had a lot of options on the tankage under the frame and the hoods were narrow and short making installation of flywheel equipped motors and electronics challenging. The Weaver unit makes the best of these compromises.
Paul: I agree with most of the comments here. I, too, have the RSD4(/5) with the two vertical shaft motors. Mine is, and you're gonna like this, is in the Milwaukee Road's Hiawatha colors, that is with the orange body, a maroon stripe above that but with a gray hood top. Looks pretty snazzy and it's correct, too, because the "road" used this type of engine for branchline passenger operations. Looks great in front of four or five mixed Milw Rd cars, pulling the train with it's long hood forward. Mine has TMCC with ERR speed control and it runs and sounds just fine. One other feature that I like is that you can actually see through the cab to the other side, unlike one of the aforementioned competitor's model that continues with the side of the hood inside the cab. Yeah, it doesn't have smoke, but half the time I forget to "feed" my smoking engines so you don't see any smoke out of them, either. I suppose, if I ever think it's important, that I could drill out the"stack" and install a small smoke unit.
Paul Fischer
