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pigskin going for a touchdown. We’re assuming you don’t want to do that, so the
SW1200 should be picked up carefully. The fuel tank and the middle of the long hood
are both easily accessed and well balanced — if your hands are big enough, the best
way to pick up the unit is to grab it from above with your thumb and forefinger on either
side of the lower edge of the fuel tank. Always make sure your hands are free of shmutz
before touching your engine.
If you are taking your SW1200 to the club all the time and regularly handling it, stuff
will break off. Sorry. The little bits are made of plastic and metal with glue, which is all
a bit fragile. We attempted to make the small parts out of unobtainium and use Steady-
State Micro Welding to install them. Unfortunately, the unobtainium was unobtainable.
We suggest wrapping your SW1200 in a plastic bag before placing it in the packaging
or in your holder so you can catch bits that fall off. White glue is the recommended
adhesive for reattaching the bits, although you can also use CA if you are very careful
and very brave.
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 Jason or Bill was in the factory when your model was being assembled
there may be a couple of bugs. They are always breaking stuff. 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 and then spreading apart the sideframes. 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
it 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 the steps.
If they do, see that everything is firmly installed.
MISSING OR DAMAGED PARTS
If you open your SW1200 box and discover that something has obviously been bumped
in transit and is damaged, please contact us. We know that some of you don’t like the
