General Problems and Inquiries
Sorry - We are completely out of warranty parts and we can no longer service HO Scale TurboTrains.
Replacement Gearboxes
Sorry - Replacement TurboTrain gearboxes are no longer available.
Installation requires moderate to advanced modeling skills and illustrated instructions can be downloaded by clicking the link below. Our shopping cart may still have some bugs in it, so please bear with us as we tweak it and please let us know if you have any trouble with it.
Operating Manuals
To view the files, you will need Adobe Reader. Click below to get it. 
To download the Functions Guide only, click on the image below.
Functions (English)
DCC/DCFunctions (Français)
DCC/DCProduct Support Updates
CORRECTIONS TO PRINTED MANUAL
DC Function Charts The DC function charts in the manual included with your TurboTrain have function 5A while at idle listed as "Engine Shut Down". This is incorrect - 5A toggles between American and Canadian announcement modes. To shut down your TurboTrain, press the Shift button 3 times. Factory Reset in DC Mode It has been brought to our attention that the instructions for resetting the Turbo back to the factory defaults in DC mode are not completely clear. Hopefully the instructions below are a bit clearer.
- Turn on the power pack. Move the throttle slowly up until you hear the Turbo sounds start. Make sure the Turbo is in idle and not moving.
- Turn off the power pack (leaving the throttle setting as it was) and wait 2 seconds.
- Press and hold the Shift Key on your DC Sound Transmitter while you turn the power pack on. When you hear the Turbo bell chime intermittently, release the Shift Key. Wait 2 seconds before pressing any other buttons. Note: Program Mode is a slow process.
- Always wait 2 seconds after pressing a button. Do not press any button within that 2 second lag time. When pressing buttons, hold for 2 seconds. keep it well pressed or the circuitry may read that as the button being pressed twice, causing an error.
- Press and hold the Shift Key for 2 seconds, then release. Repeat 4 times. After the 5th time, the headlights and sounds will turn off momentarily and then come back on again, and the turbine sound will at the medium setting.
- To return to the Run Mode, turn the power pack off, then wait 2 seconds before turning the power pack back on.
Breaking in your TurboTrain We have recieved a number of comments that the TurboTrain doesn't run as well as some were hoping out of the box.
The TurboTrain is an incredibly complex piece of engineering, and the addition of the traction tires only makes it more so. But much like most other locomotives, there is going to be a period of time before the grease in the drivetrain liquifies and the gears smooth out enough to allow for smooth operation.
It is a good idea to break in your TurboTrain completely if you are planning to run it. We recommend running it at about two-thirds power for about 15 minutes in each direction, then another 15 minutes in each direction at full power. Doing this will ensure that the grease gets to where it needs to be, and that the gears are well meshed.
Note: we've found that not enough grease was added at the factory to some of the power trucks. If you're having trouble even after breaking in the train, we suggest adding some medium oil (such as Labelle 107 or Hobb-E-Lube HL663) to the gears to get things moving again. Opening up the gear case at the bottom of your Turbo's power truck will not void your warranty.
Traction Tires All of the Canadian Turbos are equipped with a single traction tire on each of the driving axles out of the box. During our initial testing, we found that it was necessary to do this when running a full 9-car train. We have since found that changing the lead axle of each PDC to a regular drive axle will help your Turbo track better, and will still allow it to pull a full 9-car train around just about any layout. CV Values We have had a number of customers tell us that they have found that changing a couple of the CV values will result in a train that starts and stops much more smoothly. You will need to have both of your PDCs on a track that is connected to a DCC system to make these changes. CV2 = 8 CV3 = 20 CV4 = 20 CV5 = 16 Please feel free to try different values and report back to us with your findings. If for some reason they don’t agree with your TurboTrain, you can reset them to the factory defaults with a DCC system by assigning a value of 1 to CV125, or with an analog system by following the steps above.
