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although it declined to purchase any units equipped with steam generators. Other big purchasers
include the Baltimore & Ohio (57), Canadian National (52), Canadian Pacific (35), Ferrocarriles
Nacionales de México (70), Louisville & Nashville (53), Missouri Pacific (102) and the Pennsylvania
RR (36 in ABA formation). All of these except the PRR acquired both freight service FA-2/FB-2s and
dual-service FPA-2/FPB-2s.
CHECKING AND ADJUSTING YOUR LOCOMOTIVE
We try and make sure that every locomotive is perfectly up to spec before it leaves the factory, but
if the assembly workers danced the night away to the rockin’ tunes of Wowkie Zhang the night
before your model was put together, there may be a couple of bugs. Doing a quick pre-service check
will solve most operational glitches.
• Check to see that all wheelsets are correctly in gauge using an NMRA RP-2 Standards
Gauge. Should any of the wheelsets be out of gauge, then remove the affected wheelset
from the truck by prying off the bottom lid of the gearbox with a small flat screwdriver. The
wheelset can be regauged by grabbing each wheel and twisting. Reverse the steps to replace
the wheelset, and ensure the gearbox cover is snapped into place before placing on the
track.
• Check that all underbody piping and appliances are firmly installed and clear of the track. Of
particular note are the air hoses on the ends of the locomotive and both coupler trip pins.
Bend up any low coupler trip pins so they don’t interfere with your switches and crossings.
We recommend using Kadee part #237 (Trip Pin Pliers) or Micro-Mark part #80600 (Trip
Pin Bending Plier).
• Make sure that the trucks swivel freely and without binding. If they catch on anything, check
to ensure that the ends of the trucks don’t bind against any underbody piping or conduit. If
they do, see that everything is firmly installed.
MISSING OR DAMAGED PARTS
If you open your FA-2 or FB-2 box and discover that something has obviously been bumped in
transit and is damaged, please contact us. If a part has broken off, the easiest way to reattach it is with
a drop of white glue. You can’t ruin the paint finish with white glue. If you don’t like to touch your
model trains, you are welcome to send the engine back for us to glue that doodad back on with
white glue. But if you do send it back to us for us to put that one part back on and other stuff falls
off when we send it back to you, then tough tooties. We’re not fixing it again.
We try to make our models courier- and mail-proof, but there really is no way to protect a model
from damage when it is used in a game of football at the UPS or FedEx distribution center. Model
trains generally don’t survive well after being “spiked” because Tony scored a 2-point conversion to
give the warehouse handlers the victory over the truck drivers. Although argued, there was no flag
on the play.
More information about our limited lifetime warranty and parts diagrams for the FA-2 and FB-2 can
be found towards the end of this manual. Since there are so many optional parts the one small bit
that you just lost might not be on the diagram. In that case, just call in to our parts department and
tell them that you need the little thingy that attaches to the bracket on the do-hicky above the
whatchamacallit. They will ask you whether you need the right-hand or left-hand part. Be sure to
have that information handy.
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