i ordered a Walthers new issue SW1 in Milw. livery. in my oinion, they seem to be a good buy, with the new drive train and all. plus the old '90’s bodies are supposed to snap right on. any one else have any input on these models? an SW1 is a rarity to get anyway. the only problem would be squeezing a sound decoder and speaker into them. regards, michael
I have the original SW-1 in SOO livery. Walther’s issued an update kit to replace the rubber tube with a real universal. Mine ran well without it but I installed the kit anyway. I really like mine.
If you happen to remove the body, take a pic. I would like to see the drive on the new one.
Jim
FYI: The update kit is no longer available from Walthers for the older SW1s. I had to order the replacement U-joint from NWSL. It works just fine.
Installing a decoder in the older Walthers SW1 was a challenge - i.e. apart from converting it to DCC. According to the Walthers web site, the new version comes with a “Factory-installed 8-pin DCC plug”.
Most likely, room under the hood will still be pretty tight. Any speaker for a sound install will have to go in the cab area. I would also presume that the chassis won’t have the heft (weight) that the old version did.
Tom
It shouldn’t be that hard. If I can shove a Tsunami 750 into three Bachmann 0-6-0T’s, then it should easily go into a SW-1. (you might have to turn the decoder sideways)
Just measure the width of the cab roof before you buy. If it’s 1" in any direction, you’re set.
| 827001 | TSU-750 EMD 567 |
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hi Jim. glad your a Soo fan. i model the mid-sixties R/W era. had a Soo SW1 #320 myself. sold it on Ebay tho. didn’t want to fiqure out how to model that walkway/grating gizmo on front of hood top. can’t send any photo as yet, model not out till late March '13. Model Railroader mag will probably have a review of it later, showing the drive. happy Soo’ing. btw, i pre-ordered the Milw. version just for old time sake and display. regards, michael.
I have been waiting a long time for someone to release this model again. I am amazed that BLI or Bachmann never released this engine. Almost every switcher made by EMD has been repeatedly made except for the SW-1. I hope they release it in B&O and undecorated so I can paint and decal one for the Winchester & Western RR.
Jim
hi Jim. i actually was hoping for an un-dec version, and i think it should have been offered. my favorite EMD switcher believe it or not. the Wisconsin Great Northern scenic rr up north in WI here runs an ex-Milw SW1 plus a spare. rode in brakemans seat with engineer on a out and back run. purred like a kitten! rocked like heck on the old rail. the engine was older than i was by 6 years. 1940. regards, michael.
Yea, I was disappointed that an undecorated version was not made available, either. Perhaps if it sells well enough, Walthers will have that and a few additional lines (e.g. NYC) for the 2nd run.
Tom
I have 3 of the older SW1’s and put Lok-sound decoders in 2 of them and an old soundtraxx LC decoder in the first. The Lok-sound decoders run and sound OK but the next one I do will have a Tsunami in it. I put a Tsunami in a Kato NW2 and am very impressed with sound and the way it runs, it sounds alot better than the Lok-sounds do but then again the Lok-sounds are the older ones too. I don’t know why Walthers would redesign the chassis of the SW1’s when the old ones run so smooth. Let us know how the new one runs when you get it.
Well, there’s the Lindburg, AHM, and the Walthers. That’ll be three. Now, it’s true, only one is worth buying, but…
Ed
Model Power also sold a clone of the AHM model.
You are right about the Lindburg version which had a cast metal body if I recall right, try to find one without the pilot steps being broken off. I found two of them and both had damage to the pilots and the detail is no where near the Walthers engine. I imagine it would be a nightmare to try to install a DCC sound decoder in it. The AHM had pizza cutter wheels and probably a pancake motor which drew way to many amps to convert to DCC plus the crude detail of the times. That leaves the new Walthers SW-1 as my engine of choice for now. I missed out on the first run and hope to get at least two of this run. I will have to strip the paint off both of them and repaint both of them in B&O royal blue and letter one for B&O and one for Winchester & Western.[:)]