M.T.H. Premier Burlington Zephyr User manual

PREMIER BURLINGTON
ZEPHYR DIESEL ENGINE
OPERATING INSTRUCTIONS
This Premier Burlington Zephyr Diesel engine set is of sturdy ABS construction and
operates on any O-72 track system. This Premier Diesel Engine contains state-of-the-art
electronics with many built-in automatic features for incredibly realistic operation.
Despite these advanced features, the locomotive is easy to operate with any compatible
standard AC transformer that is equipped with whistle and bell buttons (see the
compatibility chart on page 23), and is compatible with most other 3-rail locomotives,
rolling stock, and accessories.
This locomotive is equipped with Proto-Sound 2.0 with Digital Command System
(DCS). This new system will allow you to operate your locomotive in Command mode
(when used with the DCS Remote Control System, sold separately) or Conventional
mode. Conventional operating features are described in the following pages, while the
DCS operating features are covered in the set of operating instructions that
accompanies the DCS equipment. Conventional Mode operation of this locomotive is
much simpler than operation of original Proto-Sound engines. For your own safety and
that of your equipment, please read the instructions before you operate this engine.

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Premier Burlington Zephyr Diesel Engine
Table of Contents
Set Up 3
Basic Operation 4
Throttle 4
Operation Buttons 4
Manual Volume Control 4
Proto-Sound 2.0 Operation 5
Activating Proto-Sound 2.0 Conventional Mode Features 5
Passenger Station Announcements (PSA) 6
Tips on Using PSA 7
Speed Control 8
Lock into a Direction 10
Reset to Factory Defaults 10
Automatic Sounds 10
Maintenance 11
ProtoSmoke Unit Operation 11
Lubrication and Greasing Instructions 13
Traction Tire Replacement 15
Headlight Bulb Replacement 16
Self-Charging Battery Back-Up 17
Troubleshooting 18
Compatibility 22
Transformer Compatibility Chart 23
Additional Features with DCS Remote Control System 24
Safety Precautions 26
Service and Warranty Information 28

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Premier Burlington Zephyr Diesel Engine
Set Up
There are a couple of simple steps you must take before operating this Premier
diesel.
1. Although the engine was lubricated at the factory, it is important that you
lubricate the chassis before operation. Lightly grease the outside idler and
drive gears marked “G” in Fig. 9 on pg. 13 with lithium-based grease to
prevent them from squeaking and to prevent premature wear. Use light
household oil and follow the lubrication points marked “L” in Fig. 8 on pg. 12.
Do not over-oil. Use only a drop or two on each pivot point.
2. Prime the operating smoke unit with smoke fluid before operating. Add
15-20 drops of smoke fluid through the front smokestack (see Fig. 4 on pg.
10), then gently blow into the stack to eliminate any air bubbles in the fluid.
3. If you choose not to prime the unit with fluid, turn the smoke unit switch
located under the engine to the OFF position (see Fig. 5 on pg. 10).
Running
the engine without a primed smoke unit may cause damage.
See the
“ProtoSmoke Unit Operation” section of this book for more information on
smoke unit maintenance.
4. Place the engine on the track. Plug in the wiring harness between each unit
(located underneath the couplers), then couple the unit together (see Fig. 1).
At this point, you are ready to begin running your engine.
Connect
Harness
Figure 1. Connecting the Units Together.

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Premier Burlington Zephyr Diesel Engine
Basic Operation
Throttle – Throttle up the power to your track. Give about 10-14 volts or
enough power so that the engine’s headlight shines brightly. Then put the
engine into motion by either firmly pressing the Direction button on your
transformer or remote once or dropping and advancing the throttle to put the
engine in forward.
Operation Buttons
Use the operation buttons on your transformer or remote as described below.
Horn/Whistle - To sound the horn, firmly press the Horn/Whistle button. The
horn will sound for as long as you continue to depress the button. It will stop
when you release the button. The horn has four different endings, depending on
whether you hold the button for less than three seconds, three seconds, four
seconds, or five seconds or longer.
Bell - To sound the bell, firmly press and release the Bell button. To turn the
bell off, press and release the Bell button again. The bell will continue to ring
from the time you turn it on until you press and release the button again to turn
it off.
Direction – Your train is programmed to start in neutral. The first direction
after neutral upon start-up is forward. Firmly press and release the Direction
button to allow the engine to move forward. Just as you must stop your
automobile between forward and reverse, this engine will not go directly from
forward to reverse; it goes into neutral between directions. If the train has been
moving forward, the first press of the Direction button will put the train from
forward into neutral, the second press into reverse, the third press back into
Manual Volume Control – To adjust the volume of all sounds made by this
engine, turn the master volume control knob located under the engine
clockwise to increase the volume and counter-clockwise to decrease the
volume (see Fig. 2).
Proto-Sound 2.0
Volume Adjustment Knob
Figure 2. Proto-Sound 2.0 Volume Adjustment Knob

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Premier Burlington Zephyr Diesel Engine
Proto-Sound 2.0 Operating Instructions
This manual contains the operating instructions for Proto-Sound 2.0 in
conventional mode only. Instructions for accessing DCS command mode
features accompany the DCS Remote Control System equipment.
Because Proto-Sound 2.0 is an all-new system developed by M.T.H.’s own
research and development team, it operates differently from original
Proto-Sound. Most Proto-Sound 2.0 features are automatically enabled, and
the reset state has been eliminated, so there is no need to program features as
with original Proto-Sound. Although the new system is easier to operate than
original Proto-Sound, you should read these instructions thoroughly before
using Proto-Sound 2.0 features in order to prevent harm to yourself or your
equipment.
Activating Proto-Sound 2.0 Conventional Mode Features:
Proto-Sound 2.0 features are activated by sequences of Bell and Whistle
button pushes described below. Please read the full descriptions of each
feature before using it. To use these buttons to activate features rather than to
blow the whistle or ring the bell, you should press the buttons for a shorter
time (1/2 second); you may need to practice your timing to make this work
smoothly.
FeaturetoBeActivated:
PassengerStationAnnouncements
Speed Control On/Off
Lock into a Direction/Unlock
Reset to Factory Defaults
Button Code:
1 Bell, 2 Whistles
1 Whistle, 2 Bells (from Neutral only)
1 Whistle, 3 Bells
1 Whistle, 5 Bells (from Neutral only)
PSA Code Timing
Total Time Lapse: 1 Seconds½
Tap
Bell
Quickly ½ Sec.
Pause ½ Sec. Pause
Tap
Whistle
Quickly
Tap
Whistle
Quickly

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Premier Burlington Zephyr Diesel Engine
Passenger Station Announcements (PSA):
Your engine is equipped with a sound package of passenger station
announcements that you can play when you pull into a passenger station.
Each sequence described below will play as long as it is left on, randomly
generating sounds, but be sure to allow approximately 30 seconds between
the button pushes described below to allow the PSA sufficient time to run
through each sequence.
1. To cue the sound system to play the PSA, quickly but firmly press the Bell
button once followed by 2 quick but firm presses of the Whistle button while
the engine is moving. As soon as you have keyed in this code, you will hear
the announcement for the upcoming stop and the bell will begin to ring.
2. Press the Direction button or drop and advance the throttle once to stop the
engine. This will trigger the first sequence of PSA. The reverse unit is
temporarily disabled so that the train will not move as you use the Direction
button to trigger the sounds, and Proto-Sound 2.0 has disabled operator control
over the Whistle and Bell buttons until the full PSA sequence is complete.
3. After waiting about 30 seconds for that sequence to run, press the Direction
button again to trigger the second sequence of PSA.
4. After about 30 seconds, press the Direction button again to trigger the third
PSA sequence.
5. Again, after allowing about 30 seconds for that sequence to run, press the
Direction button one more time to trigger the fourth and final PSA sequence.
You will know it is the final sequence when you hear the “All Aboard!” call.
The bell will begin to chime and within a few seconds, the engine will start and
move out on its own at the current throttle setting, in the same direction it was
traveling when you began the sequence. Once the bell turns off, the operator
regains control of the transformer’s bell and whistle buttons and can ring the
bell or blow the whistle as usual.

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Premier Burlington Zephyr Diesel Engine
Tips on Using PSA
• You can terminate PSA at anytime by turning off power to the
track for 15 seconds.
• You do not have to be in Forward to use PSA. At the conclusion
of the full sequence, the train will pull away from the station in
whatever direction you were going when you activated the feature.
• You can use PSA even if you are double-heading with another
engine. If the second engine is not equipped with PSA at all, you
must remember not to leave the throttle at a high voltage level once
you have stopped the engine to run the PSA. Otherwise, the engine
without PSA will begin vibrating on the track as its motors strain to
move the train, since they cannot be automatically disabled during
the PSA cycle. If the second engine is an original Proto-Sound
engine equipped with PSA, you may choose to disable it when
used in double-heading operations, so you will not experience
competing PSA sounds. To disable PSA in an original
Proto-Sound engine, see the operating instructions for that engine.
• PSA can be triggered from Neutral. It will operate the same as if
triggered while in motion except that, at the conclusion of the PSA,
the engine will depart in the next direction of travel, as opposed to
the direction it was traveling before entering Neutral.

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Premier Burlington Zephyr Diesel Engine
Speed Control:
M.T.H. engines equipped with Proto-Sound 2.0 have speed control capabilities
that allow the engine to maintain a constant speed up and down grades and
around curves, much like an automobile cruise control. You can add or drop
cars on the run, and the engine will maintain the speed you set.
While the engine is programmed to start with the speed control feature
activated, you can opt to turn it off. This means the engine’s speed will fall as
it labors up a hill and increase as it travels downward. It is also affected by the
addition or releasing of cars while on the run. To maintain a constant speed
when speed control is turned off, you need to adjust track voltage yourself.
When speed control is off, the volume will drop to allow for better low voltage
operation. Full volume is restored upon reactivation of speed control.
To turn speed control on and off, put the engine in neutral, then press the
transformer’s Whistle button one time then immediately press the Bell button
two times. Two horn blasts will indicate that the engine has made the change.
Repeat the 1 whistle, 2 bells code to return it to the other condition. You will
want to do this during the initial neutral upon start-up if you ever couple
this engine to another engine that is not equipped with speed control to
avoid damaging the motors in either engine. Each time you shut down the
engine completely, it will automatically turn speed control on.

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Premier Burlington Zephyr Diesel Engine
Lock into a Direction:
You can lock your engine into a direction (forward, neutral, or reverse) so that
it will not change directions. To do this, put the engine into the direction you
want (or into neutral to lock it into neutral), run it at a very slow crawl (as
slowly as it will move without halting), and quickly but firmly tap the Horn
button once followed by three quick taps of the Bell button, allowing
approximately ½ second to lapse between each quick button press.
Two horn
blasts will indicate that the engine has made the change.
The engine will not
change direction (including going into neutral) until you repeat the 1 horn, 3
bells code to return the engine to its normal condition, even if the engine is
kept without power for extended periods of time.
Reset to Factory Defaults:
To override the settings you currently have assigned to the engine and reset it
to its factory defaults, while in Neutral tap the Whistle button quickly once,
followed by five quick taps of the Bell button, allowing approximately ½
second to lapse between each quick button press.
Two horn blasts will indicate
that the engine has made the change.
Automatic Sounds:
Certain Proto-Sound 2.0 sound effects automatically play in programmed
conventional mode conditions:
Squealing Brakes
play any time the engine’s speed decreases rapidly.
Cab Chatter
plays at random intervals when the engine idles in neutral.
Engine Start-up and Shut-down
sounds play when the engine is initially
powered on or is powered off for five seconds or more.

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Premier Burlington Zephyr Diesel Engine
Maintenance
ProtoSmoke®Unit Operation
This Premier diesel locomotive contains a Proto-Sound 2.0 controlled smoke
unit that outputs smoke through the smokestack on the roof of the engine. The
smoke unit is essentially a small heating element and wick that soaks up and
then heats a mineral oil-based fluid that emits a harmless smoke. The smoke is
then forced out of the stack by a small electric fan. Smoke volume is
controlled by the Proto-Sound 2.0 system.
With a few easy maintenance steps, you should enjoy trouble-free smoke unit
operation for years.
When preparing to run this engine, add
15-20 drops of smoke fluid through the
last smokestack (see Fig. 4). We
recommend M.T.H. ProtoSmoke, Seuthe,
LGB, or LVTS fluids. Do not overfill the
unit or the fluid may leak out and coat the
interior engine components.
If you choose not to add the fluid (or have
already added the fluid but choose to run
smoke-free), turn off the smoke unit
switch located under the engine (see Fig.
5). Failure either to add fluid to the
unit or to turn it off may damage the
smoke unit heating element and/or
wicking material.
When the smoke output begins to
diminish, add another 10-15 drops of
smoke fluid or turn the smoke unit off.
When storing the unit for long periods of
time, you may want to add about 15 drops
of fluid to prevent the wick from drying
out.
Add Smoke Fluid
Figure 4. Add Smoke through the last
Smokestack
Smoke Unit
ON/OFFSwitch
Figure 5. Smoke Unit ON/OFF
Switch