Lionel American Flyer ES44AC Diesel

After Lionel introduced the American Flyer SD70ACe diesel locomotive in 2012/2013 (see my Lionel American Flyer SD70ACe 2013 post for more details), Lionel completed the release of the Norfolk Southern's Heritage Series of locomotives while continuing to add to the line-up of new American Flyer diesels with the introduction of the GE ES44AC in 2013 followed by additional ES44AC paint schemes in 2014 -- see Lionel's blog posts here and here. Like the SD70ACe locomotive, the ES44AC locomotive is all new tooling in S scale with lots of advanced features including the ability to run on NMRA DCC controls (as well as other control systems) and the ability to install scale wheelsets and couplers.

At the time the ES44ACs were initially released, I acquired one of the units in the NS Southern green livery, but never had a chance to open the box due to a move that was in process. Recently two additional ES44AC locomotives -- one in in NS Central of Georgia livery and the other in NS Interstate livery -- appeared on my doorstep. It was time to get them all out for conversions and test runs. True to the SD70ACe example, Lionel delivered a nicely tooled locomotive with a lot of extra features. My modeling interests tend toward DCC control, scale wheelsets and more prototypical couplers, so I was excited to see another newer vintage diesel where all of these are supported.

If you're interested in the specific features of the AF ES44C and/or use on Lionel command control systems, please read Lionel's blog posts mentioned above and other reviews available. This post will focus exclusively on my experiences with conversion to scale wheelsets, coupler conversion to Kadee 802/807 couplers and use of this locomotive on NMRA DCC-compatible DCC systems.

Conversion to Scale Wheels

When Lionel released the SD70ACe locomotive they made an extra part (Lionel Part Number LNL6409879625 - MSRP $29.95) which is a set of 6 drop-in replacement wheelsets to convert the locomotive to scale wheels. This same part number is used on the ES44AC for the conversion, with the part description being updated to be "S Scale Wheels SD70ACe/ES44". These can be obtained from your local hobby shop (I obtained mine from Des Plaines Hobbies) or directly from Lionel Parts. Installation is not documented in the user manual, but installation is very straightforward. And if you have converted any S Helper Service diesel locomotive to scale wheels, the process is very similar.

Unscrew the ten screws and remove the metal plate covering the axle area on the front truck. If you are careful, you can leave the screws in the metal plate as you remove it. One at a time, remove the hi-rail wheels and insert a replacement scale wheelset, being careful to ensure the same orientation of the wheelset as concerns the gear placement.

Also on each truck one of the middle screws will have a small washer/o-ring under it. Be careful not to lose it, forget to put it back in, or place it under the wrong screw. In my conversion, the o-ring remained in the correct position on one truck, and on the other truck the o-ring stayed under the screw when I removed the metal plate. Repeat the process for the rear truck. One of the wheelsets in the rear truck and the replacement

set have a black band around the center of the axle, so be sure to put the replacement wheelset with the black band in the same location in the rear truck. The red arrows in the picture of the truck and the picture of the replacement wheelsets highlight the axle with the black band. The green arrow in the picture of the truck highlights where I found an o-ring in my truck. BTW the hi-rail wheelsets can be returned to the same container in which the conversion wheelsets came for storage.

Installation of Kadee 802/807 couplers

The next step is installation of more prototypical couplers. For my railroad and this locomotive I'll use Kadee 802/807 couplers. To make this change basically involves three steps:

1. Removal of the AF electrocouplers
2. Mounting the Kadee couplers
3. Installing the Coupler mounting bracket on the locomotive

These steps are documented in Operation on NMRA DCC-compatible systems

More information:

• Norfolk Southern's Heritage Locomotives
• Review of Lionel American Flyer SD70ACe with Scale wheels

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M.T.H. Locomotives - Electronics

Like many in the S community, I'm patiently waiting for the return of the S Helper Service product line and new S offerings from M.T.H. As the pre-order date for their first catalog has just passed, I'm really hoping there was good interest shown by the S community.

One of the areas I am very interested in is the electronics they will include in their locomotives. Between the advanced sound decoders on the market and the advances that Lionel delivered, M.T.H. has a high bar to reach. Like Lionel, M.T.H.'s 2013 catalog items in the Locomotives area are being delivered in one of two ways -- either with a set of electronics to handle all sound and power needs, or delivered as dummy non-powered units.

From the M.T.H. 2013 catalog (starting on the inside cover), every powered M.T.H. locomotive will include their Proto-Sound 3.0 sound and control system. Specifically in the catalog their EMD F3A and F3B powered units will feature Proto-Sound 3.0 units which

"offers authentic EMD 567 prime mover sounds, a first generation diesel horn and bell, crew and station sounds, and the ability to maintain any speed down to 3 scale miles per hour".

 Again from the text on the inside cover page of the catalog:

"Our Proto-Sound 3.0 sound & control system enables M.T.H. locomotives to run in every S gauge environment: conventional AC or DC, NMRA-standard DCC, or our own DCS digital command system.

With a conventional AC or DC transformer, Proto-Sound offers diesel motor sounds that ramp up and down with engine speed...You'll also hear squealing brakes whenever an engine slows down or stops. In addition, the Proto-Speed control acts like the cruise control on an automobile, helping your locomotive maintain a constant speed regardless of hills, curves, or heavy loads -- at any throttle setting from a 3 mph crawl to full throttle.

Add an M.T.H. AC transformer equipped with whistle and bell functions, and you can experience a much larger range of locomotive sounds: horn or whistle, bell, passenger station announcements or freight yard sounds, crew conversations and typical engine sounds such as air pumps...

If you operate with Digital Command Control  (DCC), you'll find Proto-Sound 3.0 locomotives take full advantage of the capabilities of DCC and are completely compatible with all DCC motive power. In fact Proto-Sound engines are already equipped to use DCC functions 0 through 28, to full advantage of newer DCC controllers that use the full range of NMRA standard functions.

To experience the full capabilities of Proto-Sound 3.0, add the M.T.H. Digital Command System (DCS) for full command control and an even larger range of sound and control features." (note: Pages 2 and 3 of the catalog provide a detailed view of Proto-Sound 3.0 features, along with a table of the DCC enabled features.)

At several points on pages 1-4, it notes that more details can be found on their web site at www.mthSgaugetrains.com. The nice thing about the online catalog is that you can click on any catalog item number and get a detailed page for that item.

The Proto-Sound 3.0 system really seems quite comprehensive. As always I'm even more interested in the reality of the delivered models. Until the S locomotives are delivered, the best I can do is review written material.

One data point that I do consider very useful is what they are delivering with Proto-Sounds 3.0 in their HO engines. Model Railroader magazine in the July 2013 issue (pages 64-65) has a detailed review of M.T.H.'s new HO scale Proto-Sound 3.0 equipped GP35. While it might not be an exact match to the S gauge unit, I suspect it will be close to the capabilities of the Proto-Sound 3.0 units in the S gauge models. The Proto-Sound 3.0 system is noted in Model Railroader's review as a highlight of the model. Find a copy and read the review for more details.

Also in the same review it is noted that the M.T.H. GP35 user manual is downloadable from mthHOtrains.com -- here's the GP35 Owner's Manual direct link. This provides considerably more insight into the specific DCC features implemented in the Proto-Sound 3.0 unit for the GP35. Again the DCC implementation looks pretty comprehensive -- including a number of advanced DCC features like user-defined function mapping, user-defined speed curves, and active functions at the consist address that are found in many DCC Sound decoders along with some M.T.H. specific DCC controls.

A little more to think about while waiting for the delivery of the models!

Enjoy!

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S Scale Product Database Project adds SHS F-7A & F-7B

All EMD F-7A and F-7B units produced by S Helper Service have been added to the Locomotives section of the S Scale Product Database Project, including photos for most of them.

Use this link for S Scale Product Database Project

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All EMD SW-1s produced by S Helper Service have been added to the Locomotives section of the S Scale Product Database Project, including photos for most of them.

Use this link for S Scale Product Database Project

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UPDATE #2: Observations on the Lionel American Flyer SD70ACe Diesel Locomotive with Scale Wheels

This message is an update of a message I distributed earlier through the S Scale Yahoo group. The update is  based on additional observations & operations with the Lionel American Flyer SD70ACe.  As a result of additional deliveries from the good folks at Des Plaines Hobbies  & Port Lines Hobby Supplies, I've now got the benefit of three units to use & examine.  Run time of the units continues to increase. My updates have been edited into my  original message and the message is now divided into specific sections. Some of the updates are as a result of additional examination and testing I've done, while others are due to specifics inquiries from folks on this list, friends' comments, and direct emails I've received.

I must say that overall I am very happy with the locomotive. It is a very nicely detailed loco and runs very well. As with any model, it's all about compromises and choices that the manufacturer makes. IMHO Lionel made a pretty good set of choices at a very reasonable price point.

Since there have already been reviews of the Scale version of the SD70ACe posted by Rich Gajnak on the O Gauge Railroading (OGR) forum and by Ed Loizeaux on the S Scale SIG web site, I will try not to replicate that material here.

Here's some additional observations I have: 

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Locomotive Update - SHS SW-8s added to S Scale Product Database Project

All S Helper Service produced EMD SW-8s have been added to the Locomotives section of the S Scale Product Database Project, including photos for most of them.

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Locomotive Update - SHS NW-2s added to S Scale Product Database Project

All S Helper Service produced EMD NW-2s have been added to the Locomotives section of the S Scale Product Database Project, including photos for most of them.

Use this link for S Scale Product Database Project

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