Received my ER Pennsy 5 stripe sharks last week. I got issues with appearance but these can be fixed or lessened. The biggest problem is the noise these units make. Sounds like a blender on puree. Anyone get one from the first run? Does yours emit a high pitch whine? Does the noise lessen as you break them in. These units seem to have a very low gearing which necessitates a high motor speed and seems to be the main cause of the problem.
I think it is both the high gearing ratio and some resonance of the plastic shell. I have two set sfrom the first run, both have this "blender sound". But they run well, at least on my mini test layout . HTH, Christoph
I'm not familiar with these engines. Is there enough clearance between the shell and the motor/weight to add some tape to dampen the resonance???? What I visualize is medical cloth tape or masking tape, depending on the clearance, stuck to the inside of the shell to absorb the sound vibrations.
I have two pair of the first run. The noise comes almost exclusively from my A units, the B's are almost as quiet as Atlas/KATO. Thus I think part of the problem is that something about the shape of the A shell amplifies the sound. Personally, I like the noise. They sound more realistic to me. KATO/Atlas are too quiet for my taste.
Maybe I just got lucky,but I've got three pair of the first run and they are smooth as silk. Can't wait for the next run, these are a baldwin freaks dream.......
I saw an ABBA set of Pennsy 5 stripers [second run] running on an Ntrak setup at a train show. They were very quiet. Much more so than mine. So I will disassemble them and look for whatever is causing the problem. I will advise the board of what I find.
