Swapping the engine body on 2 SW-8s

I’m sure others will post but to start the lights on ps3 are all led. You would probably need to move the lights from the ps3 shell to the ps1 shell otherwise the board might be damaged.

@NYCBuffalo posted:

I’m sure others will post but to start the lights on ps3 are all led. You would probably need to move the lights from the ps3 shell to the ps1 shell otherwise the board might be damaged.

You would also have to check the coupler/coupler voltage.  Older couplers  could be different.  

Stockyard express is showing the engine you want in cp rail according to mth web site

@Doug-Sr posted:

Stockyard express is showing the engine you want in cp rail according to mth web site

 

Nice find, but since I live in Canada, the shipping + conversion rate makes that far more expensive (by about $100) than getting this GM switcher from my local train shop.

@Mike CT posted:

You would also have to check the coupler/coupler voltage.  Older couplers  could be different.  

The coupler is attached to the chassis, not the upper body (which is the only thing I'd be swapping) so that's not a problem.

@NYCBuffalo posted:

I’m sure others will post but to start the lights on ps3 are all led. You would probably need to move the lights from the ps3 shell to the ps1 shell otherwise the board might be damaged.

Yeah, that was the only problem I could think of off the top of my head... I'm not sure how 'secure' those lights are in the body, but I'm hoping they can be carefully swapped as well.

@VonFrank posted:

I own an MTH Railking CP SW-8 from the late 90s. Its a great little engine but it has ProtoSound 1 and I'd love to be able to run it through DCS instead of conventional. My local train store is selling an MTH Railking GM SW-8 for a pretty nice deal right now. It comes with ProtoSound 3.

My question is, can I swap the body of my PS-1 switcher onto the frame and circuitry of the new PS-3 switcher? They are both Railking, they are both SW-8s, and they certainly look identical from the outside. I know I would have to paint the trucks black to match the CP colors, but that's a simple fix.

If this is possible it is a lot cheaper than buying a PS-3 upgrade kit and upgrading my old engine. Especially considering I can then re-sell the PS1 with the GM body to recoup some of the cost of the new engine.

I know this is a very specific question, but I'm hoping someone here has a bit of insight on this.

I have the exact same problem. I have the switcher and calf. Please post if it works.

Alright, so it's definitely possible, but there's a bit of work involved.

The headlight on the SW-8 is attached to the lower chassis, but the rear light is attached to the upper body. As NYCbuffalo mentioned, the lights in the PS-3 engine are LEDs while the old PS-1 engine uses standard incandescent bulbs. Aside from that, the PS-3 engine has the rear light wired to the main body directly, while the PS-1 body has an electrical contact plate to transmit power to the rear light when the body is attached.

So some swapping of components had to be done. I switched the rear lighting harness systems out between the two bodies, so now the LED is on the old body sitting with the new chassis. And vice-versa.

Aside from that, I swapped all of the wheel fenders and side plates (so that the color schemes match) as well as the railings. Put the engines back together, and they work like a charm! The only thing I have to do is paint the main chassis plate to match the original colors of each engine respectively.

All in all, without painting, it took about 3 hours of careful disassembling and reassembling. The only tools needed were a screwdriver and crazy-glue. For anyone else wanting to do this in the future, just take your time, keep your parts organized, and be careful not to snap plastic components when removing them.

John, thanks for the update.

Uh - paint the new GM version in CP?

The paint scheme you want is pretty simple and decals are most likely available (check eBay; Microscale).

This way you will have 2 CP switchers - one plain and one fancy - and some creative satisfaction.

@D500 posted:

Uh - paint the new GM version in CP?

The paint scheme you want is pretty simple and decals are most likely available (check eBay; Microscale).

This way you will have 2 CP switchers - one plain and one fancy - and some creative satisfaction.

If I couldn't properly swap the bodies, I was planning to do that. I've already re-painted 2 of my other engines and about 20 rolling stock, so it wouldn't be a problem if need be.

But.... this solution was definitely way easier. Especially since I have a switcher calf and matching the paint and decal style 100% exactly might have been a bit tricky. With this method I'm using the same engine shell, so its still identical. Also, I can probably re-sell the GM version with PS-1 for $100 - $200 CAD.

I'll post pictures of both engines once I'm done painting.