Smoke Unit Cover
Wick in
Poor
Condition
Wick in
Good
Condition
Sounds
In this mode, sound are pretty much automatic. If you're moving, you'll hear
chuffing sounds. If you increase or decrease the throttle quickly, you'll hear labored
or drift chuffing, respectively. Of course, if the engine has been sitting for a while, the
engineer may open the steam cocks and release the moisture, don't worry, he never
forgets to close them.
When your sitting at idle, there may be some maintenance done. You could hear
someone dopping the siderods or checking the water level in the tender and
filling it if necessary. Don't worry, all of this and more is just a normal part of
everyday operations.
When your moving at a pretty good clip and you reduce the throttle quickly, you
may hear the brakes squeak and squeal as the engineer applies them. Of course,
they'll stop when the engine does. If things get too noisy, just
locate the volume
potentiometer on top the tender (underneath the hatch)
and adjust the volume
from maximum down to off, whatever suits you. Turn it counterclockwise to reduce
the volume or clockwise to increase it.
When you turn the smoke on, just give it a few seconds
to warm up. It doesn't start instantly. Once you see
smoke gently streaming out (or not if you prefer) snap
the coal detail back in place and away you go.
Once on, like the sounds, the behavior is fully automatic. The model will puff out
smoke in exact synchronization with the chuffing sounds and driver rotation at 4
per revolution. Amazing!
When the output begins to diminish significantly, add 10-12 drops to recharge the
unit. Again, give it a few seconds to warm back up. The cool fluid slows the
action for a few seconds. Also, watch out for bubbles that may block the stack.
You may need to gently blow down the stack to clear it.
M.T.H. HO 4-8-4 GS-4/ GS-6 Steam Engine
15
Smoke
Smoke control in the Protosound 3 (2 rail as
well as 3 E+ models) use a potentiometer for
smoke control (exactly like volume control).To
increase or decrease smoke volume, simply use
a Phillips head screwdriver to turn the
potentiometer clockwise (increase output)
or counterclockwise (decrease output).
Running the engine without
a primed smoke unit may
cause damage
Smoke
Potentiometer
Smokestack
Volume
Potentiometer