Hello fellow model railroaders and good evening,
I recently won a bid on eBay for the original MTH Premier Union Pacific Challenger #3985 from Spring 1994. And for an item that's 24 years of age, it runs flawlessly and in great condition, too. I apologize for the lack of pictures/video as I've been busy managing classes.
As I ran it on a strip of Lionel track I noticed a sharp difference compared to the videos I've seen. The bell on the engine runs constantly and the cycle (of the engine's bell sound) resets at every change in direction. Pressing the whistle or bell buttons on my Z-4000 transformer will trigger the whistle sound. It's because this is the very first edition of ProtoSound 1, made for compatibility with Lionel postwar transformers, absent of a bell button.
There exists a ProtoSound v1.1 update chip exclusively for the 1994 Challenger with which the bell can be turned on/off and also includes the passenger station sounds. I saw it once before, a lot of 2 on eBay a few months back.
If anyone sees or has one, can I please have any information or offers on obtaining it? Anything helps and thanks in advance.
