After purchasing two first run Cab Forwards when they hit the market, and spending countless hours rectifying their many problems, I decided to give a new run a try. The engine, for a plastic model, is beautiful and well detailed and is equipped with an excellent Digital Sound Decoder by Soundtraxx. The good points stop here.
After running for just a few minutes, the body gets very warm to the touch and the engine slows to a crawl. Yes, I did oil as recommended before use. It appears it is underpowered and further inspection finds a dinky little motor that does appear to be too small for it’s application.
I found no faults with the Tsunami DSD sound system, however, it looks like the installation in the tender was done in a rush and not by a qualified tech. My first runs I mentioned earlier were pristine and done with care.
There must be a better way to quality control these units, both engine and tender, before getting to us operators/collectors. This is a lot of money for what we’re getting. Intermountain Railroad is a very good company and I hope they can get these problems resolved.
The engine was operated on DCC with NCE’s PH-10, but no DC test was performed as I use DC for train control. Braking. Initial draw on take off .6 amps and at speed .4. As engine ran for approximately 5 minutes amperage had raised to .8-.9. Not all results will be the same with different engines and operating equipment. I will endure and make this thing run!
