frame. It’s a tight fit, but slide the body straight upward. The cab is a separate piece, but the running boards/walk- ways are molded integral to the body. Various details, such as the radiator walkway, sand fillers, horns, etc., are separately applied pieces. Once the body is off the running gear, the inside shows a typical can motor/flywheel and drive shaft to gear towers on each truck with power distributed to the four wheels by idler gears. Electrical wipers on each side of the
truck pick up power from all eight wheels. There’s a flat, compact DCC de- coder on top of everything; the can mo- tor sits low in the frame to allow room for the speaker enclosure between the end of the motor and the front truck gear tower. All in all, it’s a neat and masterful layout of electronics and me- chanicals, and it appears easy to get at all components for servicing. There is a bit of wiggle room inside
the cab for some rudimentary cab de- tailing and a few carefully carved-to-fit figures. The glazing is flush all the way around. I plan to replace the couplers with Kadee No. 58 couplers, which are closer to scale size and my preference on locomotives since they get so much attention. This will require replacing the E-Z Mate coupler box with a Kadee box; the copper springs will not fit in the E-Z Mate box. With the body back on the chassis, it
is most important to hear how this fine little switcher operates. Bachmann recommends “a good elec- tronically regulated power pack, preferably one that supplies smooth fil- tered d.c. power.” (All this and more in- formation is in the provided quick start guide.) In d.c. mode, I used an MRC Controlmaster 20. To get things going I had to advance the throttle a bit more than on a “non-sound” equipped Kato or Atlas locomotive to get the sound to come on, then a bit more to get the S-4 moving. I’ve found this higher starting voltage to be typical of recent DCC ready/equipped locomotives when op- erated in the d.c. mode. As you initially advance the throttle, the headlight comes on, followed by the sound of the prime mover idling. So, how is the sound? First let me give you Bachmann’s de- scription for the S-4 sound system, found on their website. “Starting in 2011 Bachmann Standard line HO lo- comotives come with an optional SoundTraxx digital sound decoder that Bachmann refers to as a ‘Sound Value’ option. This decoder offers many great features that SoundTraxx customers have come to enjoy including: Hyper Drive technology, two Hyperlight equipped lighting outputs, three selec- table horns or whistles, true polyphon- ic sound with prototype specific prime movers or exhaust chuffs.” RAILROAD MODEL CRAFTSMAN
With that in mind my first impres-
sion was simply that the sound was pretty awesome, as in “Wow!” I was to- tally floored when the 539 rumbled to life. That marvelous signature sound of the Alco 539 loping/whistling/me- chanical idling that at times sounds as if it were about to stall immediately took me back to E-Port. In a word, it is wonderful. This SoundTraxx sound system nails the 539 perfectly, at least to my memory. Advancing the throttle engages the
bell, and, just before inertia is over- come, a couple of single chime horn blasts warns those around to get out the way. There are eight notches to the throttle, and the blend of prime mover and turbo at acceleration is exquisite. Once a speed is achieved, the sound idles back in a very realistic manner. After this, minor throttle adjustments result in a most wonderful symphony that only an Alco 539 during accelera- tion can provide as the engine revs build. (Yes, I guess I do like it.) The S-4 easily handled a train of
eight cars around my layout, albeit I have no grades or really sharp curves. The engine is light when compared to other models which have die-cast met- al chassis and sound system speaker enclosures on board, and there isn’t much room inside for additional weight. If the engine hits dirty track there is
a sudden and complete drop in sound, but when the sound re-activates it does so where the last setting was and does- n’t just return to idle. A run around the layout with a track cleaning car result- ed in flawless performance with the S- 4. With DCC clean track is important, too, so maybe the locomotive was try- ing to tell me something. The system is realistic, not to men-
tion nostalgic, and it is simple to oper- ate right out of the box. This is a tremendous amount of bang and glori- ous 539 sound for the buck. Like any- thing sold electronic today, be it com- puter components, a smart phone, tablets, etc., there is a quick start guide packed along with the isometric drawings, warranty and warning sheet to DCC compliances and requirements. The quick start guide is easy to under-
stand and leaves few if any stones un- turned. The sound system in the locomo- tive is pre-set and the quick start guide will further assist you in its operation. It will also guide you to the Bachmann and SoundTraxx websites for all of the vari- ous functions and settings when used with a DCC system. As a real sound and DCC novice (I can barely crawl), these websites provide a tantalizing glimpse into a world I had until this purchase merely “considered.” For the first few nights of operation,
KUAZ was conspicuously silent in my layout room. Now it is low background
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