The Weaver diecast 2-8-0 locos came either with the SAW board or the EOB board. I have picked up three of these diecast connies for as little as $100 on eBay knowing they had some sort of problem. For some reason these things suffer from all sorts of little maladies. The Pilot deck is potmetal less than 1/16" thick they snap off quite easily. Of the three I have one has the pilot deck broke off the other two were bent down enough that the pilots rubbed the rails and sparked continuously. The pilot deck is easy enough to remove and heat on a small sheet of metal till it returns to flat. If you feel lucky cold bend it back but as thin as it is you risk it snapping and then the repair is much more difficult. I know the trick of clamping between wood and tightening the clamp slowly. It is to slow and is no guarantee you won't break it after a week of tightening slowly. I heat them from the bottom and have not needed to repaint one so far. One of mine has a loose rear drive wheel. I will have to make a brass insert to press in before that driver can be re-quartered. One concern is that I may have to re-quarter all four axles. A model loco can run quite well with drivers which are not quartered a perfect 90 degrees as long as all axles are out the same amount. I made my quartering jig and it is not easily adjustable so after I quarter the first one if the drive binds it is easier to re-quarter the other three axles than any other solution. As for the tether which will not stay plugged in there are a few solutions one is to cut the heat shrink off the tether and tie the bundle with heavy black thread about every half inch. Then paint it black. This makes it much more flexible. The other part of the cure is to make a hook that is secured by one screw on one side of the plug and left free to rotate. Plug in the tether and then flip the hook over it now it cannot pull out in the curves. The best cure is to order a tether and plug from MTH but it is much more work. If you like to tinker this loco should keep you smiling for years. They are very attractive well detailed little locos and suited to small layouts with sharp curves. They run well when running but are a bit of trouble to keep on your available motive power roster. j
