Hello.
Three years ago I purchased a Heritage Berkshire, exactly the item 30016, Nickel Plate Road #717. Today, I’ve seen the Walthers/Life Like one on the Complete New Product Guide .pdf file, downloaded from Walthers website, showing a “New Pilot Truck” advertisement… So, why this new pilot truck? Does the old one have pilot truck operating problems? Would you tell me if new Berkshire has been improved in other characteristics?
Thank You.
My new Heritage NKP Berkshires have the roller bearing front truck as on the later prototypes.
The older Lima locomotives did not have this feature when they were new. Is that the feature you have mentioned??
If you have the first version, did you get the drivers replaced??
The new Heritage 2-8-4 have better looking drivers, the tires on the drivers are wider than the first ones that came out. The first ones looked like they where running on the wheel spokes , where as the new ones have a thicker rim from the wheel spokes to where the wheel contacts the rail.
The front truck is now closer to being correct for the C&O Kanahwa engines.
Sound is pretty good but will probably be better with the upgrade chip installed IMHO.
Jim
I have installed the QSI upgrade chip with the alternatem chuff on one of my Berkshires and it really is much better running and the sound is much better.
I must get more.
I have the DC version of the NKP 765. I put a decoder in it and swapped the headlamp bulb with a 16 v lamp… to my great disappointment the heat of the lamp melted the beautiful headlight in just a few minutes of running! My bad (but I just followed L-L’s Decoder instructions for lamp replacement) [banghead]
Just yesterday, Walthers sent me a replacement smokebox front that is the later version with the Mars light above the headlight! I’m happy with this although none of the pieces are lettered and I’ll never be able to reproduce the nice screen printed numbers as applied by the manufacturer. When I do the new headlight I’ll use a 3mm golden white LED!!
Has anyone noticed, or is it just me… that both the classification lights are “right handed” meaning that on one side the lenses are correct, one to the front one to the outside. but on the left side the lens is facing inward toward the smoke box door. The parts diagram shows a right and a left hand class light but both examples I have are wrong. Take a close look and let us know!
Does anyone have advice for me to wire up the Mars light? I’ll have to run another wire from the decoder in the tender to the smoke box… Hope it isn’t too big of a project.
Thanks, ED
I checked one of the new Berkshire’s and the classification lights are right and left sided type versions on my engine. The are small and someone probably assembled the one you have incorrectly.
The wiring for the mars light function depends on the type of DCC decoder you installed in you model. If you use a function and set the CV’s for the Mars light, you should be able to wire an LED up to function with a 680 oam resistor. I would use the SMT LED prewired for the installation in the Mars light.
I’m sorry, above all with CAZEPHYR… Excuse me, but in the last message, I’ve gotten wrong with push-button, so that I’ve superimposed my message to your one, linking each other.
No Problem. My front trucks have not given any problems, but they are very light and I image they could be a problem.
You might try and add some weight to the front truck if it is giving you problems.
CAZEPHYR
I was wondering if they changed the whistle on the new chip and if they added the cylinder blowdown when the engine starts to move. The whistle on the old chip just doesn’t sound quite right IMHO. I installed the upgrade in my 2-10-4 C&O Texan and it really sounds and runs good.
The next upgrade I will use the chip extractor tool that I finally found!
Thanks Jim
The whistle is not changed on the upgraded chip. The problem with the whistle is it is much too throaty. At speed, the NKP whistles did chang pitch, but the recording has way too much of that throaty sound. The 800 series Berkshires that came from the W&LE road did sound like the chip recording. I have a recording of one of those engines in 1956 and it is almost a dead ringer for the P2K sound chip.
If you don’t have the mars light version like I have, you can use the USRA light mike chip since you can change the chuff rate on the new one. Even so, order the chip with the alternate chuff or you will be disappointed, at least I would have been. I ordered all of mine with the alternate chuff and it is much better than the original. The bell is the other sound that is not correct with the NKP sound. The S3 NKP Berkshires came with the air ringer inside without the bell moving. The sound is for the bell that swings back and forth so you get the double ring. The new chip has three options for the bell you can choose, but none are the air ringer type for the stationary bell that the NKP used in later years. The early ALCO build NKP Berkshires did use the moving bell ringer and the sound would be more correct for those. I have one of the ALCO built NKP Berkshires, but have not installed sound in that one. All of my pictures of the NKP were of the early ALCO build engines since I lived near the St. Louis main line and I
Jim
They added the cylinder cocks open sound when starting, but have not changed the whistle.
Many addtional features are in the CV’s and they are a great improvement.