I recently picked up a beautiful Weaver 1320LP Soo Line EMD 40-2. This is my first model locomotive. I bought it used and, naturally, it didn't come with the operating manual. I've searched online using Google, but no luck in locating a manual. Does anyone have a manual they could share or sell? I'm also open to any suggestions to assist in finding one. I want to use this beauty to it's full capacity and maintain it properly and fear I cannot do either without the manual.
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Basil, I have that SD40-2 loco, from the early 90's, in SAL livery. Bought it from a small Weaver dealer in Maryland named Mike's Train House (now MTH). It is an outstanding loco and gets used fairly regularly. Still has the original traction tires and has given me no problems. Originally mine was horn only, but I upgraded it to DCS over 10 years ago. I'll take a look around and see if I can find the manual, but I have a lot of train stuff filed () away and may not be able to find it.
Thank you very much for even looking! I am completely new to this hobby, having dug my old Lionel 8500 out of storage I restored it and then essentially went crazy buying stuff. I went from having a few plastic cars and that 8500 to a full train of O gauge and a bunch of track, mostly Marx 034 or 36 and switches. I have an old 75 watt transformer, but by simply turning the dial I get bells and engine sounds as well as travel, of course. I'd love to maximize the use of this SD40-2, though, as the little I get from it is awesome to me.
Basil -
I'll look for my manual, also, but we'll see - I got mine second-hand years ago and I may not even have it.
The loco is very simple (assuming that it is stock), and is built like a tank, in a good way. The Weaver SD40-2 (built by Samhongsa, I believe) is a good place to start in 3RO. It's accurate, also, with more than enough detail for me. There is not a lot in the manual, as I recall - but, still good to have, especially when starting out.
I'm not having any luck finding in in my pile of manuals. It might be in the box, which is under a few hundred boxes. I am sure we could find a DCRU manual, which is the reversing unit that came with it. Do you have locomotive sounds (engine, bell, horn) or just horn? The loco is really very simple, and we could answer any questions you might have.
I expect any Weaver diesel manual from the early 90's would suffice.
Thanks for looking! I have engine sounds and a bell. I don't know if I have a horn. My transformer doesn't have a button for a horn, etc. When I turn the dial, the diesel powers up and a bell rings. If I turn the dial down, the air brakes sound, if off then on, the engine starts in forward. Foremost, I'd like to clean the body. I'm nervous to take ot apart. I'm not sure which screws hold what. There is also a bell looking silver colored button on the bottom, I'm curious what that is. I can post pics, if I'm being confusing.
My SD40-2 did not have all those sounds. Anyone having a manual for a loco equipped with the QSI DCRU sounds unit should be able to provide useful info. I don't recall any such silver button on mine; I'm not where I can look.
Perhaps you guys can help with these couple of questions : 1. In the first picture, what is that silver bell-shaped thing for? 2. In the second pic, what does that flat-head screw do? In kind of looks like a tension screw of sorts.
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Well, i found a guy selling one on ebay and he scanned and emailed it to me. Problem solved. Now if only i could figure out what those two items in the pics are for.
Basil posted:Well, i found a guy selling one on ebay and he scanned and emailed it to me. Problem solved. Now if only i could figure out what those two items in the pics are for.
first pic: scale size bell,just like the prototype.....2nd pic ,screw is volume adjustment for proto sounds speaker.....make sure the 8.4 battery in it is charged before you run it further....i have about 15 of these weaver sd 40s in my collection.......easy way to tell if your engine has proto-1 or reverse unit w/horn is the latter has manual couplers...-Jim
Jim, a Weaver would not have PS1; it would have a QSI unit. Now QSI did make the early versions of PS1, before MTH & QSI got involved in a lawsuit.
I'm not sure how to tell whether the battery is charged or not. I know this: this loco runs and sounds awesome. I removed the base and upon seeing that there is a computer in there, I put the top back on without touching a thing. I don't know if it has a horn as i have no way of activating a horn right now. I do the coulers are electric as there are two wires soldered to each. And I have no idea how to activate those, either. If you cannot tell, I'm a complete and utter noob. I bought this because the owner said it worked and it's Soo Line. Love at first sight.
The Weaver engines have QSI’s OEM sound chips, but an MTH ProtoSounds [1] chip will slip right in, too.
DAB
Many of the sd-40 engines had MTH protosounds. This was a result of a deal worked out between Mike Wolf and Bob Weaver.
Zombie thread! What's cool is that I ended up getting an owners manual through this post. Even better, Gunrunner John ended upgrading it to PS2 over a year ago. Now I have another one that is PS1 and locked in nuetral. I'm thinking of upgrading it to PS3.