Are MTH Premier SD60M shells interchangable
I have the MTH No. 20-2595-1 Premier Line Harley-Davidson SD60M freight set from around 2005. I ran it a few times before the circuit board fried. At the time, it was already out of warranty. I looked into having the board replaced, but it cost too much. More recently, I started looking into it again and was quoted $300 to $400 if the parts could be found.
I’m considering buying a used MTH locomotive and swapping the body shells or having the board swapped and reprogrammed. If I go with a shell swap, are all Premier SD60M frames the same? Can I use the donor frame of an SD40, SD50, or another engine equipped with ProtoSound 2.0 or 3.0? What about the frame from an MTH RailKing diesel locomotive?
Another idea: Do you think I should go outside the model railroad industry and have the board rebuilt by a computer tech? — Joe Salerno, Brooklyn, N.Y.
The MTH No. 20-2595-1 SD60M frame won’t match up with either a Premier SD40 or a SD50 frame or a RailKing frame. The length of these models varies; also, the shells’ mounting locations vary. They won’t line up with the SD60M mounting studs on the shell.
Your best bet is to locate another Premier line SD60M. Then it should be easy to swap body shells because they have the same mounting holes.
If you find an operating ProtoSound 2.0 or 3.0 model of any of these diesels, you can transfer the internal electrical components (lights, tach reader, speaker, and ProtoSound 2.0 or 3.0 board/holder) to the dead SD60M frame you hope to bring back to life. In addition, you’ll need to re-flash the chain code to the board and upload the correct sound file to it.
Another option is buying and installing an MTH No. 50-1911 ProtoSound steam kit. You can get them from MTH for $200. According to the MTH database, your SD60M should have a ProtoSound 2.0 3-volt board. Bruk suggests the ProtoSound 3.0 steam kit because it uses the ProtoSound 2.0 3-volt connectors on the board. It’s basically a plug-and-play with the original harness in your engine; therefore, it ought to be less expensive for you to install one of the steam kit than paying a technician to handle that task.
After installing the kit, you update the chain file and upload the correct sound file. One disadvantage of using the ProtoSound 3.0 kit is its lack of LED lighting, as opposed to the No. 50-1912 diesel kit with it. But it’s a different board design and not a “drop-in.” You may have to gut the engine and install everything.
You may consider changing the speaker, as well. In most cases, the ProtoSound 2.0 boards fail because the speakers fail and so take out the audio amp on the printed circuit board or even the entire circuit board.
These audio amps are not readily available anymore, which may be why you have to go to ProtoSound 3.0 or salvage another working board. After installing it, you must update the chain file and upload the correct sound file. Good luck.
