Mr Bachman: Ordered a Wabash Heritage eng, and the top color is a green instead of gray. I checked the internet pictures and it is gray, and the proto picture on your site for parts shows this eng and it is gray in the photo. Please explain as this is the second Heritage eng I have and was happy with the first one (PRR). This is a beautiful engine with the gray top. Bill

Bought a PRR S2 some time ago and was dissapointed that the sound volume was very low even though it was cranked. The horn was especially low. Decided to see if I could replace the speaker and decided to try drilling out the approximately 1/8" hole in the speaker box. Experimented with larger bits and stopped at 1/4," as it didn't need any more volume. Sound about doubled, and now run it with reduced CV's. Very pleased with results. Horn was distorted with old settings, but now is not with lower setting even though it is much louder. Bill

Does any one know if the DCC only equipped GP 9s are machined so one could add sound. Are the frames and components like the ones with sound. Bill

 Richg: You mentioned that the readings between your expensive meter and the harbor freight(which I use)is very close. Does the readings always go to the high or low side, and can you give a estimate on how much to allow for if they are consistent. Thanks Bill

Needing a caboose for my EM-1, I dug out some old brass cabooses I've had for about 35+ years. The wagon top seems to be a I-5B as built. Although from the info I have found it only lasted with the 15' wheel base for a year or so. After looking at the possability of stretching the base to19', it just won't work, even by cutting down the steps as the protype C 2506 had done to it, as there is no room for the trucks to swing behind whats left of the steps. There is a book out there on B&O cabooses out of print with plans for a I-5B with dimensions. Can any one tell me how wide the end platforms were after the widened the wheel base to 19' (I-5BA?) and what color were the cabooses in 1940, brown or red? Seems the I-12 wagon top would be a good candidate for a quality offering for a Spectrum line of equipment. Bill

Have re soldered all connections, checked all sub circuits for continuity, light bulb lights when directly hooked up by passing device in gray wire from connector plug under cab and swapped out tender with 2 other, same type engines, and they work correctly. Manufacture has no answers. The problem stays with the locomotive, as swapping other working tenders does not correct the problem. Problem is in neutral, light does not come on dim, and when in forward, only comes on dim. Reverse light works OK, but headlight is out instead of dim. When hard wired by passing some sort of device in series with the gray wire to the headlight, light is on all the time on what appears a little less than bright except when cancelled by F-0. The device in the line must be bad, but don't know what it is or where to get one, except to order a complete wire harness, and as of now don't even know if it's available. It is medium blue in color, is about .060. dia, about 3/16" long with 3 black bands in the center and a black band on each end, one of them a little narrower than the other. I thought it might be an inductor since all colors are the same. Meter shows a resistance of .10 on the 20K scale when checked.  This is the only thing I can think of as to be the problem. Any answers out there. Decoder working fine. BILL

Any one know what colos were used on the caboose markers for the C&O and N&W. Bill

What are the sizes of wire used in DCC applications for HO size decoders and motor connections. Can't find this info on the form search. Bill

Lettering a few cabooses for my EM-1, and need to know the size of the "linking 13 states" herald used by the B&O. The larger one appears to be 36" in dia. How large is the slightly smaller one. When did the smaller one replace the larger one. Having some decals made. Bill

Please Mr. Bachman ( if your as old as I am you will remember dancing to a tune with a title very similar to this. Hope if brings a smile) If you would bring out a Spectrim PRR H9s or H10s 2-8-0 with the same quality as the EM-1 (one of the best engines I ever purchased) you couldn't keep up with the orders. They used them for switching as well as road engines. There are probably more PRR modelers than most other roads combined. That's why sales are so high. Just get the whistle right. One of the roads that I know of, the Western & Allegheny, bought some second hand showing that the short lines also had them. Great short line engine. Bet this post will draw a few pages. Bill

Gentleman: I am replacing the internal sound and DCC decoder in the tender with a Tsunami TSU 1000 Heavy Steam. This is my first venture with this sort of operation. Do any of the componants in the engine need removing, or do I just wire it in to the old wire harness in the tender? Any thing to be aware of?  Is the speaker the best on the market? Since there is plenty of room in the tender, would adding a baffle to the speaker help with the base tones? Bill

Brand new to this form. Received my EM-1 this week, and it is one of the best running engine out of the box I have.  Feel the headlight is to bright but can't knock it down. CV 52 shows a range of 0 to 255 and defult of 64. Tried over and over to enter CV 52 to reduce brightness, but it wont take. Can change the address so I'm accessing the board. Am I missing something?  Bill