Just curious what the opinions are on the older Walthers SW1 switchers. Good runners? Accurate? Problems? Thanks.
Tom
Hi Tom -
I have a number of these SW1’s. They are EXCELLENT runners - very smooth. I have a large inventory of DC and DCC engines. Without question, these units are far and away the very smoothest low speed engines I have - including all the newer DCC units from P2k, etc. etc.
The very first units had a (word escapes me) nylon or plastic tube joiner between the motor shaft and the geared truck(s?). Walthers quickly changed this to a U-joint, and the improvement was breathtaking. Be sure you are buying one with the U-joint.
Also, I’ve found in my dry climate, the U-joint on some of these has become loose. Walthers has always been quick to send me replacements (last time two years ago).
I cannot say enough about this fine engine. The very best runner, nothing out there even comes close.
Dick Chaffer / Bozeman
i have one in the NYC livery and it is among my favorite locomotives. the detailing looks pretty good to me and the little beast is big for it’s size, if you know what i mean. it runs extremely smooth and slow and will pull about anything i want to put behind it. performance is a bigger issue to me than detail.
i think it pulls better than the P2K SW’s and almost as well as the Kato NW-2’s. it is pretty heavy and that accounts for it’s good traction and lack of stalling.
i was a bit noisy at first but i fiddled with the universals a bit and it quieted down to an acceptable level. it still has a bit of a buzz at high speeds but that is not noticable during the course of regular operations.
in closing, i can’t pass up the opportunity to get in this jab. it is probably the best thing i ever bought from walthers and they have gone downhill ever since. i know some guys think they only had a few bummers but it felt like they sold most of them to me.
today, milwaukee-tomorrow, the world
grizlump (professional victim)
My one and only Walthers SW1 was one of those early ones with the tubing connection. I replaced the drive connection with parts from NWSL. It used to run kinda poorly. Now it runs great. The conversion isn’t as easy as it would appear, but if one pays careful attention to detail, it works out. I’m not at all regretting having this little guy. I only wish it was available with sill-mounted handrails. Good ones.
By the way, the frame is metal, so it’s got a good bit of weight. And no traction tires–hooray!
Ed
I have 4 of them and love them. The drives I believe were made by Roco in Austria. They’re a good drive but make a very small noise when driven fast, but they’re a switcher so they shouldn’t go very fast. The only problem I’ve ever had is with the grease that comes in the gear towers. For some reason all the ones I have, the grease in them turned to something like concrete. If you take it apart and clean out the factory grease and replace it with La Belle they work almost as smooth and quite as a Katos. Just be carefull of the brass pick-ups that ride on the inside of the wheels. They are delicate and will bend easily. I use thin pieces of masking tape to tape them to the gear tower base when replaceing the wheel sets. When the wheel sets are in, carefully remove the tape. I put sound in all mine and replaced the tall stack with a short one from the Kato NW2(someone makes a brass one) to back date it. Walthers used to offer a universal kit to replace the rubber drive tube for free.
Walthers used to offer a universal kit to replace the rubber drive tube for free. They no longer do this. Where can one get the kit now? I have a BN that needs to be updated.
Thanks,
Mark
Mark,
If the Walthers universal kit proves unfindable, you might try doing it with Northwest Short Line parts. On their site, they have a “tutorial” on doing it. That’s the way I did it, and it worked out nicely.
Ed
How can I tell from looking at the outside of the switcher if it is one that has a U-joint on the inside? A LHS usually wouldn’t want to pop off the shell out of fear of ruining handrails, etc… Is there a production # or something?
Well, I know that mine will pull 10 NMRA wieghted 40-50’ cars up a 2% grade on a curve…
The Roco FM switcher by Walthers is pretty good too.