After 15 or so years of not having a layout, I (re)built The Trainwreck (footnote 1) for the Colorado & Appalachia. Given the multiple house moves and time involved, as well as technical advances, I have several PS1 and non-functional engines that I'd like fixed or upgraded to PS3. They are:
- MTH N&W Y6b #2195 PS2. Seems dead, Jim. Tried new battery, opened it up, fiddled. Doesn't do a thing. Just sits there. Might be fixable, or perhaps a PS3 upgrade candidate.
- MTH N&W 0-8-0 scale switcher #244 PS1. Runs actually pretty great for PS1; but would love to upgrade this to PS3. I've attempted to find a source for the newer PS2/PS3 versions of this and have failed.
- MTH Reading Crusader PS1. Suffers from the "power pickups located too close together" issue (footnote 2). Would consider selling, but might want to upgrade to PS3, along with having pickups installed on tender.
My advice requested is:
- Feasibility of upgrading each of the above?
- Better off just buying new engines? Money IS an issue, of course. The Y6b is a favorite, would hate to retire it.
- Should I try an upgrade myself? I'm a software architect, not an EE, and from previous experience I can generally build or fix anything, but the first time or two "there be dragons".
- How long does an upgrade take for a newbie?
- Reputable MTH certified repair shop recommendations? I'd prefer to ship off all three to be upgraded (Y6b: fixed if possible).
Thanks!
Footnotes:
- The 'wreck is a an 50 year old 8x12' shed, modified to be 12x20. It does triple duty: Trains, bar and plant nursery. See pic.
- I have several MTH engines that can't make it thru switches because MTH didn't put pickup rollers on the tender. I solved this by modifying a work car and aux tender to send power up to the engine/tenders. Works well and looks decent enough.
