S-Helper Service SW9
Awards
This model won the "S Scale Locomotive of the Year" in 1999, as voted on by the readers of Model Railroader magazine.
Product Review
This model was reviewed in the October 1998 issue of Railmodel Journal.
Details
The first run of this locomotive did not have the EMD builders plate on them. They were added with the second run.
Operator's Manual
Disassembly
The method shown for how to disassemble the trucks of the SHS F3 and NW2 by Peter Vanvliet will not work for this SW8 locomotive.
Wiring
The three wires coming out of the cab are: common, rear headlight, and cab light (NW2 shown in photo, but they are identical).
(photo © Peter Vanvliet)
Self-tapping screw for contact strip.
(photo © Sam McCoy)
Printed-circuit Boards
The next photo shows the circuit board is for the AC or DC powered, non-sound version (part #653-X00????).
An external link about Replacing the PC Board.
Soundtraxx Tsunami Sound
These are the instructions for installing the Soundtraxx Tsunami (first-generation) into this locomotive. The article was written by Bill Clark and made available by Don Thompson. Tsunami Installation Guide
Don Thompson provided the Configuration Variables (CV) settings with which the models were configured when they were shipped from S-Helper Service: Tsunami Configuration Variables (CV) Settings.
QSI Revolution Sound Decoders
Don also provided the document for installing the QSI Revolution sound decoders: QSI Installation
DCC Installation
An external link about Installing a Lenz Gold Decoder.
An external link about Installing a Lenz Gold & SoundTraxx DSX Decoder.
Repainting
Micheal Ostertag shows how to disassemble this engine and remove the paint.
Spare Parts
The bell sprue that S-Helper Service sold to Dave's Twains & Twacks, if you are looking for one of these.
(photo © S-Helper Service)
Shane Lambert reported that he was able to solve a cracked universal gear issue by replacing it with this NWSL part: part #488-6
(photo © NorthWest ShortLine)