Tinplate Traditions 400e User manual

Tinplate Traditions®
400E Contemporary Steam
Passenger Station Announcements Operating Instructions
Thank You for purchasing the 400E Contemporary Steam with
Passenger Station Sounds. The engines durable Tinplate body is sized
for operation on Standard Gauge Track. This Standard Gauge Tinplate
Traditions® Steam Engine contains state-of-the-art electronics with
many built-in automatic features for exciting 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 15), and is compatible
with most other 3-rail Standard Gauge 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.
WARNING:Do not lift this engine by its handrails.
They cannot support the weight of the engine.
OPERATING
PLEASE READ BEFORE USE
INSTRUCTIONS
www.mth-railking.com

TABLE OF CONTENTS
Set Up
Lubrication and Greasing Instructions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .3
Basic Operation
Throttle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Operation Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Volume Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .6
Proto-Sound® 2.0
Activating Proto-Sound 2.0 Conventional Mode Features . . . . . . . . . . . .7
Passenger Station Announcements (PSA) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .8
Tips on Using PSA . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Speed Control . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9
Lock into a Direction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Reset to Factory Defaults . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Automatic Sounds . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .10
Maintenance
Smoke Unit Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Replacing Smoke Unit Wick . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .11
Light Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Self-Charging Battery Back-Up . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12
Removing The Battery . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .13
Troubleshooting . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14
Transformer Compatibility Chart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .15
Additional Features with DCS Remote Control System . . . . . . . . . . . . .16
SERVICE AND WARRANTY INFORMATION
CAUTION: Electrically Operated Product:
Not recommended for children under 10 years of age. M.T.H. recommends adult
supervision with children ages 10 - 16. As with all electric products, precautions
should be observed during handling and use to reduce the risk of electric shock.
WARNING: When using electrical products, basic safety
precautions should be followed including the following:
·Read this manual thoroughly before using this device.
·
M.T.H. recommends that all users and persons supervising use examine the hobby
transformer periodically for conditions that may result in the risk of fire, electric
shock, or injury to persons, such as damage to the primary cord, plug blades,
housing, output jacks or other parts. In the event such conditions exist, the
transformer should not be used until properly repaired.
·
As with all electrical appliances, this product should not be left in operation when
unattended.
If you have problems you cannot resolve by using these directions contact
e-mail: [email protected] or phone: [phone]
Tinplate Traditions® 2

Lubricating the Internal Gearing and Flywheel Bearings (Fig. 1, #3)
Remove the two thumb screws and remove the gearbox cover to expose the
gears and flywheel. Apply lithium based grease to the gears and two drops
of oil to each of the flywheel bearings.
Lubricating the Side Rods (Fig. 1, #4)
Apply a drop of oil at each of the screws that attach the side rods to the drive
wheels. Wipe away excess oil with a cotton swab.
Lubricating the Leading and Trailing Trucks (Fig. 1, #5)
Apply a drop of oil to the axle holes and to each of the side axle bushings in
the leading and trailing trucks. Wipe away excess oil with a cotton swab.
Lubricating the Pickup Rollers (Fig. 1, #6)
Apply a small drop of oil at the axles of the pickup rollers. Wipe away
excess oil with a cotton swab. The rolling surface should be free of oil.
Tinplate Traditions® 4
Apply oil axle holes
Apply oil side axle bushings
Apply oil pickup rollers
Apply oil to the
Flywheel Bearings
Apply oil to each Siderod Screw

Basic Operation
Throttle
- Throttle up the power to your track. Give 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 decreasing the throttle to off then increasing the throttle until the
engine begins to move.
Operation Buttons
Use the operation buttons on your transformer or remote as described below.
· Horn/Whistle
- To sound the whistle, firmly press the Horn/Whistle
button. The whistle will sound for as long as you continue to depress the
button. It will stop when you release the button. The whistle 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 neutral, and the fourth back into forward. To prevent accidental
high-speed start-ups, this engine is programmed to restart in neutral each
time the track voltage is turned off for 25 seconds or more.
Volume Control
- To adjust the volume of all sounds made by this engine,
turn the master volume control knob located under the cab clockwise to
increase the volume and counter-clockwise to decrease the volume.
Tinplate Traditions® 6
Turn Clockwise to increase volume
Turn Counter Clockwise to decrease volume

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 tap the Bell
button once followed by 2 quick taps of the Whistle button while the
engine is moving. Tap the buttons quickly but allow approximately ½
second between each press. 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.
Tinplate Traditions® 8

button press. Two whistle 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.
Note:
When speed control is turned off, the Proto-Sound 2.0 system will
limit the volume in order to operate more smoothly at lower voltages. Full
volume is restored upon reactivating speed control.
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 whistle 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.
Tap buttons quickly but allow ½ second between each press
Two Horn Blasts
Repeat to Return
to Normal Condition
(indicates change is made)
Place Engine
in Neutral
=
Tinplate Traditions® 10
Tap buttons quickly but allow ½ second between each press
Two Whistle Blasts
Repeat to Return
to Normal Condition
(indicates change is made)
Place Engine
in Neutral
=

chassis and inspection cover screws, lift
the inspection plate away and inspect the
wick. If it is darkly discolored and hard,
it should be replaced.
Replacement parts and wick replacement
instructions are available directly from the
M.T.H. Parts Department.
Light Replacement Instruction
The locomotive's lights are controlled by a constant voltage circuit in the
engine. They are easy to remove and replace when they burn out. Simply
unscrew the bulb that needs to be replaced from its socket and replace it with
another.
Self-Charging Battery Back-Up
The special NiCad 7-cell 8.4v self-charging battery in this engine improves
performance at any speed. It ensures that power to the sound system will
remain on during directional changes or when travelling over dirty track or
switches. The self-charging battery system is automatically turned on or off
whenever track power is turned on or off.
Track power (when applied) recharges the battery, which should last for up
to five years, and the special NiCad battery is a dry battery that should not
leak or cause any damage to your engine. However, even this special battery
will eventually wear down and need to be replaced. When you notice that
your engine sounds seem distorted or garbled at low voltages or become
silent when power from the transformer is turned off, test the battery to
determine whether it should be recharged or replaced.
·
Put the engine in neutral and leave the track voltage at 12 volts for 15
minutes
Tinplate Traditions® 12
Replace the headlamps
with M.T.H. CI-0000001
clear lamps.
Replace the red firebox lamps
with M.T.H. CI-000007
red lamps.
Follow the
directions on how
to remove chassis
under Removing
the Battery page 13
to access the bulbs.
Remove 4 screws to open smoke
stack and replace wick
Fig 5

Remedy
This is normal behavior. To prevent accidental high-speed start-ups, Proto-
Sound 2.0 is programmed to start up in neutral anytime track power has been
turned off for several seconds. See the "Basic Operation" section for more
details.
Remedy
Reverse the transformer leads
You may be pressing the button too quickly. Try pressing the whistle button
more slowly, taking approximately one full second to fully depress the button.
Remedy
Reverse the transformer leads.
You may be pressing the button too quickly. Try pressing the whistle button
more slowly, taking approximately one full second to fully depress the button.
Check the wiring of the separate button.
Remedy
Cab Chatter plays only in neutral at random intervals.
Remedy
The engine is locked into the neutral position. Follow the procedure in the
"Lock into a Direction" section.
Engine speed must be below 10 scale mph (approx. 10 volts or less in
conventional mode).
Remedy
Proto-Sound 2.0 volume is set too high. Turn the volume control knob on the
bottom of the chassis counter-clockwise to reduce the volume.
Remedy
Check to be sure the battery is installed and fully charged. See the "Self-
Charging Battery Back-Up" section.
The battery may be dead or need to be charged. See the "Self-Charging
Battery Back-Up" section.
Proto-Sound 2.0 is designed to continue to sound for a few seconds after
power to the track has been shut off.
Remedy
Proto-Sound 2.0 has a built-in random number generator that randomly
selects each sound clip to play. Because there are a limited number of sound
clips available in each FYS sequence, it is probable that some of these sound
clips will be repeated from time to time.
So that FYS effects can be as realistic as possible, Proto-Sound 2.0 disables
the reversing unit whenever FYS is enabled. This way the engine remains
still at its stop as the operator cycles through the FYS sequences.
FYS is programmed to start ringing the bell at that point. After
approximately 15 rings of the bell, it will automatically turn off.
Because FYS must control various effects in each sequence, Proto-Sound 2.0
takes control of these sound effects until you exit FYS.
Starting Up
When I first turn the power on, the engine
will not begin to run. I have to turn the
throttle off and then on again to get the
engine to operate.
Whistle
When I press the whistle button, the bell
comes on instead.
I can't get the whistle to blow when I press
the whistle button.
Bell
When I press the whistle button , the bell
sounds.
I can't get the bell to ring when I press the
bell button.
The bell won't work on a separate bell
button.
Cab Chatter
Sometimes the Cab Chatter sounds don't
play.
Lock-out
I can't get the engine to run after I power up
the transformer. It sits still with the engine
sounds running.
The engine won't lock into forward, neutral,
or reverse.
Volume
The sounds seem distorted, especially when
the whistle or bell is activated.
Battery
The engine will not leave the neutral on
start-up.
I get no sounds when the engine shifts
between directions.
After I turn off my transformer, my engine
continues to make sounds before quitting.
FYS
The FYS sounds occasionally repeat
themselves.
One in FYS, the engine doesn't go into
reverse.
When the FYS enters its last sequence the
bell automatically comes on.
When FYS is enabled, pressing the whistle
and bell buttons has no effect.
Troubleshooting Proto-Sound® 2.0 Problems
Although Proto-Sound 2.0 has been designed and engineered for ease of use, you
may have some questions during initial operation.
Tinplate Traditions® 14

Additional Features Accessible with the DCS Remote Control System:
While conventional mode operation of a Proto-Sound 2.0 engine yields
wonderfully realistic sound and several train control features, command
mode operation allows the user to access a world of command functions
never before accessible to O Gauge railroaders. With the addition of the
DCS Remote Control System (including a DCS remote handheld and Track
Interface Unit) users gain many advanced features, including:
· DCS Proto-Speed Control
- Establishes desired locomotive speed in
scale miles per hour increments via a thumbwheel control and allows
operator to set maximum speed and acceleration/deceleration rates
· Locomotive Lighting Control - Remotely controls locomotive lights
·
Emergency Stop-Single button push stops all Proto-Sound 2.0 trains but
does not turn off the power
· One Touch Global Mute/UnMute
-Single button mutes or unmutes all
DCS-controlled locomotives' user-defined actions, including sound, lights,
and smoke
· Proto-Dispatch Operation
-Public Address-like feature allows users to
speak through locomotive speaker during operation
· Proto-Cast
-Allows users to play audio recordings through locomotive
speaker during operation
· Proto-Doppler Sound Effects Set Up
-Users can configure locomotive for
Doppler Operation, including setting distance points for Doppler start,
repeat, and stop modes
· Independent Volume Control
of Engine Sounds, Bell, Horn & Whistle
for each Locomotive
· Proto-Effects™ Set Up-User can select individual Proto-Effects™
operations to be active or inactive, including cab chatter, train wreck
sounds, and wheel clickety-clack sounds
· Direction Control Set Up
-User can set initial individual start-up direction
(start in forward or reverse) for double-heading operations
· Locomotive Consist Set-up
-User can determine locomotive values for
consist make-ups, allowing multiple locomotives belonging to a consist to
operate together
· Query Locomotive Information
-User can query locomotive
programming to learn locomotive address and engine data information,
including scale miles traveled
· User Can
Query, Set and Operate Track and Accessory Interface Units for
Programming Digital Command Operations for Accessories and Track
Switches
· User Can Script, Record and Playback Train Routes
Operating instructions for all DCS Command features will accompany the
DCS remote control equipment.
Tinplate Traditions® 16

SERVICE & WARRANTY INFORMATION
How to Get Service Under the Terms of the
Limited One-Year Warranty
For warranty repair, do not return your product to the place of purchase. Instead, follow
the instructions below to obtain warranty service, as our dealer network is not prepared to
service the product under the terms of this warranty.
1. First, write, call or FAX M.T.H. Electric Trains, 7020 Columbia Gateway Drive,
Columbia, MD 21046, (Tel: [phone]; FAX: [phone]; e-mail:
[email protected]), stating when it was purchased and what seems to be the
problem. You will be given a return authorization number to ensure that your
merchandise will be properly handled upon its receipt.
2. CAUTION: Make sure the product is packed in its original factory packaging
including its foam and plastic wrapping material so as to prevent damage to the
merchandise. The shipment must be prepaid and we recommend that it be insured. A
cover letter including your name, address, daytime phone number, e-mail address (if
available), Return Authorization number, a copy of your sales receipt and a full
description of the problem must be included to facilitate the repairs. Please include the
description regardless of whether you discussed the problem with one of our service
technicians when contacting M.T.H. for your Return Authorization number.
3. Please make sure you have followed the instructions carefully before returning any
merchandise for service.
Limited One-Year Warranty
All M.T.H. products purchased from an Authorized M.T.H. Train Merchant are covered
by this warranty.
See our website at www.mth-railking.com or call 1-888-640-3700 to identify an
Authorized M.T.H. Train Merchant near you.
M.T.H. products are warrantied for one year from the date of purchase against defects in
material or workmanship, excluding light bulbs and traction tires. We will repair or
replace (at our option) the defective part without charge for the parts or labor, if the item
is returned to M.T.H. Electric Trains within one year of the original date of purchase. This
warranty does not cover damages caused by improper care, handling, or use.
Transportation costs incurred by the customer are not covered under this warranty.
Items sent for repair must be accompanied by a return authorization number, a description
of the problem, and the original sales receipt from an Authorized M.T.H. Train Merchant,
which gives the date of purchase. Call 410-381-2580, fax [phone], or e-mail the
Service Department at [email protected] to obtain a return authorization number.
This warranty gives you specific legal rights, and you may have other rights that vary
from state to state.
Service Department
M.T.H. Electric Trains
7020 Columbia Gateway Drive
Columbia MD 21046-1532 www.mth-railking.com