MTH engines use fan-driven smoke units pulsed by an optic or mechanical switch in synch with the drive wheels.  Those are not the same as Seuthe smoke units which have no fan or pulsing mechanism.  Seuthe's vaporize smoke fluid constantly as long as there is enough, but not too much, smoke fluid in the unit.  I've installed Train America Studios fan-driven smoke units in S-gauge trains which are very similar to those that MTH uses in their O-gauge engines.  The units in their HO engines I'd imagine are scaled down versions of those.  Back to the original question, however, how often do you typically need to refill a Seuthe 22 or 23 smoke unit?  Thanks. 

Never mind.  The gold end cap does pop out with enough coaxing and with a flashlight you can see down the stack to a screw that holds the stack and the base plate it stands on to the boiler shell. 

How do you remove the smoke stack from an On30 4-4-0?  I have the 28302 and can get the stack to spin, but it won't lift up and off.  Neither will the gold end plate on the end of stack.  Are they held on somehow with a screw?  From the exploded view diagram provided with the engine it looks as though the stack (00T05) is pressed on top of the base plate (0AA04) and the top plate (0AA02) slipped into the end of the stack, but  but they're both holding on for dear life as if there's more to it than that.  Thanks.

I took a look in the AKL folder.  You're right, he did a great job on that 4-4-0.  Thanks.

Thanks.  My bad - - the walls of the cab are already green.  I joined the Conspiracy and will look up those photos.  Thanks.  I Google searched (Images) on "steam engine cabs" and found some good examples.  So far I painted the valve and control handles red and cut out the seat from the engineer's side so one standing up has an appropriate place to stand. 

Thanks.  I'll keep those factors in mind.  I'm also wondering how often smoke fluid must be added to these small Seuthe units.  I have Seuthe's in my AF TMCC Mikados and Pacifics, but they are considerably larger and not too much trouble to keep stoked.  However if in order to run these much smaller units one must stop to add fluid every couple or few minutes that's not what I want to do and would not be worth the work of installation.

I want to add smoke to an On30 4-4-0 into which I just added a light-steam Micro-Tsunami.  Which smoke generator would you recommend?  I am considering either a Seuthe #22 or #23.  Can I tie the smoke generator to the Micro-T for DCC controlled smoke on/off?  If so, how?  Or should I hard wire the smoke unit into track power with a simple micro slide-switch in that circuit to manually turn it on/off?  How much voltage typically is there across DCC rails?  I use an NCE PowerCab with an NCE 3A Smart Booster and a 16VAC power supply.  The #22 is rated for 10-16VDC/AC, the #23 for 16-22VDC/AC.  Here's a link to a Seuthe smoke units data sheet.  http://www.modelrailcraft.com/Articles.asp?ID=133 Thanks. 

Have any of you painted the interior cab and detail elements of a 4-4-0?  I like the piping, valves, etc, but you know they all sort of disappear in the darkness of the cab.  Pity.  I'm thinking of painting the walls of the cab interior green, some valve handles red, and maybe some of the backhead pipes dark gray in order to help these fine details get better seen and appreciated.  Have any of you done this to yours?  What would you suggest?  Thanks.

Got my Micro-T (with its 220 mF "no skips" cap) installed last night.  Let it run awhile.  No overload.   So far so good.  Sounds great too, even with Auto-exhaust.  Now to "tune" some CV's, add a crew, and decals.   There probably is room for a standard T, but the micro made matters even easier.  Just added an 8-pin NMRA plug to it and presto - - a great looking 4-4-0 American with terrrific sound and speed control.

Thanks for your reply.  Glad to hear one is working well for you.  I'm going to proceed with my plan to put one in my 4-4-0. 

Will an On30 Bachmann 4-4-0 overpower a Soundtraxx Micro-Tsunami? I have ordered one to add sounds to my 4-4-0, but read elsewhere that one person used a M-T in a Bachmann engine (HO or On30, was not clear) and found that it repeatedly shut-off (overheated) so they resorted to a standard Tsunami instead. Unfortunately, I don't think there's room for a standard Tsunami in the 4-4-0's tender. Thanks for your help.

Never mind.  I see in previous posts the B'man is going to provide us pics of the newly announced On30 items and address questions of dimensions and size.  Thanks.  Although according to those posts this would be or would have been about the time for sounds in the 4-4-0 to get announced - - right?  I think now what I really want is a plain wrapper 4-6-0 with sounds.  More waiting.   Oh well, I'm sure it will be worth it. 

The OF 4-4-0 appears longer than the IF version.  Is it longer?  If so, how much longer?  Can you provide or point us to any pics of what the 4-6-0 will look like?   How much longer until you announce 4-4-0's (IF or OF) with sounds?  Thank you.

David(UK) - - thanks.  Sounds similar to S-Helper's S-gauge 2-8-0 conversion to DCC.  They too use an intermediate board with an NMRA connector into which you insert the Tsunami leads and connector(standard size Tsunami since there's more room).  I like having all the CV settings and Functions of a full-blown Tsunami, so I think I'll go that route with an On30 (run on my layout as Sn42) 4-4-0.  Thanks again for your help.  I hope your hand mends well, your wife let's you back in the house, the cracked tile gets overlooked, and your 4-4-0 soon runs better than ever. 

Is the On30 4-4-0 wired with an NMRA-compatible 8-pin socket, so that I can solder a mating connector to the Micro-Tsunami's wire harness?  Thanks.