Rapido Trains FP9A Product Manualline

FRANÇAIS AU VERSO

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FP9A LOCOMOTIVE PRODUCT GUIDELINES

Thank you for purchasing this Rapido Trains Inc. FP9A locomotive! For almost six de­cades, Canadian National and Canadian Pacific fans have been unable to obtain ac­curate models of the FP9A, probably Canada’s best-known passenger locomotive. Our
model is an attempt to rectify that injustice. It has been designed from the ground up
as a London-built General Motors Diesel Division (GMD) FP9A. It is not an FP7, an F7,
an F9, an FP7 with an extra louver, or any other hodgepodge that has previously been
passed off as an FP9A. We hope that this will be the only FP9A locomotive that you
will ever need!

Our sound-equipped FP9A locomotive is powered by a Soundtraxx Tsunami decoder
and can be operated on DC or DCC layouts. We recorded the sounds ourselves on the
roof of FP9A #6505 at the Conway Scenic Railroad. You can watch our recording ses­sion on our YouTube page: www.youtube.com/rapidotrains. To enjoy all of the lighting
and sound features, you will need to use a DCC system.

Our DC-only model includes a 9-pin DCC plug so you can attach the DCC decoder of
your choice, such as the TCS T-Series decoders.

We stand by our products 100%. If you ever have a problem with your FP9A, or with
any other Rapido product, please call us or send us an email. Our e-mail address is
[e-mail]. Our toll-free number is 1 [phone]. If you are outside
of North America, you can call [phone]. We will do our best to help resolve
your problems to the best of our ability. If you send us an email and you don’t hear from
us within three business days, please call as we may not have received your email or
perhaps our response to you got bounced back to us.

CONTACT US!

Rapido Trains Inc.
445 Edgeley Boulevard, Unit 1
Concord, Ontario
L4K 4G1
Canada

Tel. [phone] - Toll Free 1-877-738-6445
Fax. [phone]
Email. [e-mail]

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Nomenclature ...................................................................................................4

Minimum Radius Requirements ............................................................................4

Changing The Couplers .....................................................................................4

Missing or Damaged Parts .................................................................................4

Checking and Adjusting your Locomotive ............................................................. 5

Wheelsets, Steam Connectors and Optional Details ...............................................6

Ditch Lights .......................................................................................................7

Roof Lights .......................................................................................................8

Removing the Shell ............................................................................................ 8

Operation – DC (Silent) .....................................................................................9

Operation – DCC/DC with Sound ....................................................................10

• Locomotive Address ............................................................................. 10

• “Firing Up” Your FP9A ......................................................................... 10

• Function Keys ......................................................................................11

• Prototypical Operation ......................................................................... 11

• Sound Volume Settings ......................................................................... 12

• Optional Horns ................................................................................... 13

• Bell Ring Rate ......................................................................................13

• “The Canadian” Consisting Operation ................................................... 14

• Factory Reset ...................................................................................... 14

• More Information ................................................................................14

Limited Lifetime Warranty ................................................................................. 14

Acknowledgements .........................................................................................15

Ditch Light Drilling Template and FP9A Decoder Wiring Diagram ..........................16

FP9A DCC FUNCTION QUICK REFERENCE

F0 HEADLIGHT (ON/OFF)
F1 BELL (ON/OFF)
F2 AIR HORN
F3 STRAIGHT TO 8 (ON/OFF)
F4 DYNAMIC BRAKES (CN USERS LEAVE THIS ALONE)
F5 ROOF LIGHT(S)
F6 DITCH LIGHTS
F7 RULE 17 HEADLIGHT DIMMING
F8 SOUND MUTE

F9 NUMBER BOARDS
F10 CLASS LIGHTS (OFF/WHITE/GREEN)
F11 BRAKES
F12 DOPPLER HORN (LONG-LONG-SHORT-LONG)

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NOMENCLATURE

So what is this engine called, anyway? The General Motors F9/FP9 manual refers to the
locomotive as both an FP9 and an FP9A… on the same page! Logically, as there was
no FP9B, there was no need to call this an FP9A. But logic rarely enters into railway
nomenclature. CN referred to its FP9As as both FP9A and FP-9A, but never FP9. CP just
called it a DPA-17a – which would be good to use, but then we’d also have to call it a
GPA-17a (or b, c, d, or e), and that would just get confusing. So we decided to call the
locomotive an FP9A, for no other reason except that we think it sounds nice.

MINIMUM RADIUS REQUIREMENTS

Being a reasonably small, 4-axle unit, the FP9A will have no problems navigating 18”
radius curves and #4 crossovers. If you want to run passenger trains on anything tighter,
you are in the wrong scale. Try N, Z or T and stop bugging us.

Even though our model has a sprung buffer plate, the FP9A very much prefers broader
curves, especially if coupled to another unit or to full-length passenger cars. For tight­radius curves, we include an extra long-shank coupler in the box to prevent interference
with the rear buffer. There is a long-shank coupler installed on the front so the trip pin
won’t interfere with the pilot. If you don’t use delayed uncoupling, you can swap this
long coupler out. We include an extra medium-shank coupler in the box: you can snip
off the trip pin and install it in the front of the locomotive for more realistic close coupling
in the front.

CHANGING THE COUPLERS

Changing the couplers is very straightforward. Place a white table cloth on your work­bench or kitchen table. Place a foam cradle (available from Micro-Mark, product
#80784) or a thick-piled hand towel (not a tea towel!) folded over a couple of times on
top of the table cloth and lay the FP9A on its roof. Alternatively, you can place it up­side down in the foam insert inside the wonderful multi-purpose box that the loco came
in. Use a small Phillips screwdriver to unscrew the coupler box and slide it out without
destroying the surrounding details, especially the yoke surrounding the rear coupler.
Swear loudly when the yoke snaps off. Snap the lid off, replace the coupler, and snap
the lid back on. Slide the coupler box back in and replace the screw. Pick up the FP9A
and look around the white table cloth for all the little roof details that may have fallen
off. Glue them back on with white glue. Hey – don’t say we didn’t warn you! And on
that note…

MISSING OR DAMAGED PARTS

With about 300 individual detail parts, the FP9A is a stupidly complex model. To pre­vent inevitable frustration, we recommend checking your locomotive as soon as possible

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to ensure that everything is where it should be. We try to catch all potential issues at the
factory, but with literally thousands of locomotives in each production run it is possible
that the odd problem may slip past our quality control inspectors. They do karaoke at
night and can get tired during the day. Please cut them some slack. At least they know
all the words to the newest Lady Gaga song.

A bigger issue is damage in transit. 99% of all locomotives are perfect when they
leave our warehouse. But our gentle courier and postal carriers like to use our models
to practise for the Rugby World Cup, so between our warehouse and your front door
chances are this FP9A has been used in a 300-yard field goal attempt and spiked into
the floor during a victory dance by Doug in Receiving. No packaging is designed to
survive such punishment.

If bits come loose in transit, they are easily reattached with white glue, such as Weld­bond. We prefer Weldbond over CA because it works just as well for most layout sce­narios and is very easy to clean up. There is no risk of damaging the paint job – just
wipe it up with a bit of warm water on a paper towel. If the courier companies have
been really cruel and there are a lot of parts loose, please contact us. You can send the
locomotive back and we’ll glue all the parts back on and pack the thing in a mile of toilet
paper before sending it back to you. As an added benefit, the toilet paper may come
in handy for other purposes as well.

If any parts are missing or broken, please call or email us. We’ll happily send you free
replacements. We aim for 100% customer satisfaction…

…with one exception. If you are one of those people who calls us because the bell is
slightly crooked and you don’t want to move it back into place with your finger, please
go away.

CHECKING AND ADJUSTING YOUR LOCOMOTIVE

We try and make sure that every locomotive is perfectly up to spec before it leaves the
factory, but if the karaoke was particularly good the night before your model was as­sembled there may be a couple of bugs. Doing a quick pre-service check will solve most
operational glitches.

• ChecktoseethatallwheelsetsarecorrectlyingaugeusinganNMRARP-2Stan­dards Gauge. Should any of the wheelsets be out of gauge, than remove the
affected wheelset from the truck by prying off the bottom lid of the gearbox with
a small flat screwdriver and then spreading the sideframes slightly. The wheelset
can be regauged by grabbing each wheel and twisting. Reverse the steps to
replace the wheelset, and ensure the gearbox cover is snapped into place before
placing on the track.

• Checkthatallunderbodypipingandappliancesarermlyinstalledandclearof

the track. Of particular note are the air hoses and steam pipes at the rear end of

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the unit, both coupler trip pins and sump tank underneath the fuel tank. A small
drop of CA-type superglue will sufficiently hold any loose parts securely. Under
the body who cares if you spill a bit?

• Makesurethatthetrucksswivelfreelyandwithoutbinding.Iftheycatchonany­thing, check to ensure that the brake cylinders and their associated piping do not
interfere with any of the underframe components.

• Therearbufferplateshouldmovesmoothlyandspringbackquickly.Ifnot,there

may be binding – check for flash or plastic shards that may cause any interfer­ence.

WHEELSETS AND STEAM CONNECTORS

The Rapido FP9A is equipped with solid stainless steel wheels. They cost us a mint, so
we hope you enjoy them. Plated wheels have a tendency to flake off after heavy use,
and we want you to use your FP9A for a long, long time. These wheelsets will not flake
off. The downside is they can’t be chemically blackened, so you will probably want to
tone them down with a bit of grimy black paint. Just remember only to paint the wheel
faces and to clean the wheels immediately after painting.

Like our passenger cars, the steam connectors are not installed on the model. These are
V-shaped parts that you can install at each end of the locomotive. For detailed instruc­tions on how to do this, please call or visit our web site.

OPTIONAL DETAILS

Depending on the paint scheme and locomotive number, your FP9A may include a
whole whack of optional details for you to install if you wish. Please refer to prototype
photos to determine which details are appropriate. The best site on the internet for CN
FP9A photos is cnrphotos.com. For CP FP9A photos, the best site is cprdieselroster.com.
Each of our FP9A locomotives has been matched as best we can to a prototype photo. It
is possible that the photos you have are not from the same era and therefore some of the
details will differ slightly from what details are included and/or installed on our model.

The rear FP9A buffer is sprung. That means the FP9A can be close-coupled to a Rapido
F9B, FPA4, FPB4, or another Rapido FP9A and it will have no trouble on medium-radius
curves.

The diaphragm is not installed for two reasons. Firstly, CN and CP both removed the
rear diaphragms of the FP9A locomotives soon after delivery. They were an unneces­sary maintenance headache and the railways did not see the need to keep their crews
protected from the elements seeing as they regularly had to get out to line switches,
couple/uncouple cars, clean signal heads, and sign register books anyway. Secondly,
in order to have functional diaphragms we would have had to make large cuts into the

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rear of the unit, which would have looked extremely silly once you took the diaphragms
off. If you are displaying your FP9A locomotives or you have 96” radius curves, you
can attach the diaphragms with white glue or CA.

Also please note that we have tooled up several different nose variations of the FP9A.
The noses differed according to the delivery date and over the lives of the units. The CP
and CN noses also have considerable spotting differences. For a master class on the
differences from locomotive to locomotive, please visit our web site and go to the FP9A
pages.

To give you an idea of some of the variations we have tooled for this project: five different
winterization hatches; six different noses; five different roof-mounted cooling coils; two
different horns; two different headlight housings; three different ditch light styles; two dif­ferent steam generator vents; two different pilots; and even two different styles of rerailer!

DITCH LIGHTS

You do NOT need to remove the shell to install the ditch lights.
Every FP9A model comes equipped with working ditch lights from the factory, but they

are hidden inside the nose so you can’t see them! This is because not every FP9A had
ditch lights installed. Initially, CN used ditch lights travelling west of Jasper through the
mountains. Starting in late 1955, the ditch lights were mounted onto a metal bracket
and attached to the front of the locomotive above the buffer. From 1964, CN began
to retrofit all of its FP9As with ditch light brackets, and two separate ditch lights were
installed when needed. If you would like ditch lights on your CN FP9A, the appropriate
style (or styles) is included in the box.

CP only started installing ditch lights on its FP9A locomotives in the mid-1970s, well after
the introduction of the Action Red paint scheme (with 5” nose and end stripes). CP went
with a high-end luxury approach and mounted the ditch lights permanently. If you have
an Action Red model with 5” stripes and you want working ditch lights, the ditch light
castings are included in the box.

Did we mention? You do NOT need to remove the shell to install the ditch lights.
To install the ditch lights on your CN model, use the supplied drilling template (the plastic

thing in the box with six holes in it). Of the centre four holes, the lower holes (closer
together) are for the early style ditch lights and the upper holes (farther apart) are for the
later style ditch lights. The outer two holes are for CP. Rest the drilling template on the
front buffer, and make sure it is straight. Using a small diameter drill bit (such as a #78)
in pin vise, drill a pilot hole in each of the two holes for your chosen ditch light style.
Then remove the template and complete the holes with the correct size drill bit. For the
early style ditch lights use a #52 drill bit and for the late style ditch lights use a #60 drill
bit. Dip the end of each ditch light casting in white glue, wipe off the excess, and shove
it into the hole. That’s it – you now have working ditch lights.

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By the way, you do NOT need to remove the shell to install the ditch lights.
The outer holes on the ditch light drilling template are for installation of CP ditch lights.

Rest the drilling template on the front buffer, and make sure it is straight. Using a small
diameter drill bit (such as a #78) in a pin vise, drill a pilot hole in each of the two holes.
This last step is particularly easy to do if you have three hands, so that probably rules
out most of our customers. Anyway, remove the template and finish the holes with a #53
drill bit. Dip the end of each ditch light casting in white glue, wipe off the excess, and
shove it into the hole. That’s it – you now have working CP ditch lights.

To operate the ditch lights in DCC, use function 6.

ROOF LIGHTS

The sound-equipped CP FP9A comes with a working roof-mounted searchlight, which
can be operated using F5 on DCC layouts. Some CN FP9A locomotives have roof­mounted strobe lights installed at the factory. However, there was no room for us to
install LEDs for these without obliterating the cab interior detail. If you have a CN FP9A
with strobe lights and you want them to function, the best thing to do is actually to re­place them.

Aberdeen Car Shops produces HO scale fink lights: aberdeencarshops.ca. These are
amazing hand-made strobe lights designed specifically for CN locomotives including
the FP9A. If your FP9A is sound-equipped, our decoder already has a function output
programmed for strobe lighting. Cut off the factory-installed strobe lights and drill out
the mounting holes. Install the fink lights and bend the LED leads out of view. Solder the
leads to the F7 and common outputs on the decoder. See the wiring diagram on page

16. Note: the terminals on the decoder are labelled F7, but the functions work on F5.
That’s it – you now have working strobe lights.

For warranty information on what may happen once you decide to open this thing up,
see below.

REMOVING THE SHELL

Installing working strobe lights or a DCC decoder involves removing the shell. This is a
real production. Here’s how to do it. If you damage, destroy or immolate your engine
in the process, it is unfortunately not covered under warranty; once you open it up, you
are on your own. That being said, if you break some bits and we have them available
we will of course be happy to send you replacements.

Place a white table cloth on your workbench or kitchen table. Place a foam cradle
(available from Micro-Mark, product #80784) or a thick-piled hand towel (not a tea
towel!) folded over a couple of times on top of the table cloth and lay the FP9A on its
roof. Alternatively, you can place it upside down in the foam insert inside the wonderful

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multi-purpose box that the loco came in.
Remove both coupler boxes and slide them out from your locomotive. Then remove the

four shell retention screws – they are located on either side of the locomotive immedi­ately aft of the plow-pilot and on either side of the twin air tanks just behind the fuel tank.

Once you have done that, you will need to spread the shell a bit to unlock the tabs hold­ing the shell in place – you may find that using a couple of toothpicks is the easiest way
to do this. Pull down slightly on the rear truck and the guts of the locomotive will slide
out from the back.

Please be aware that because of the fit and design of the locomotive, there is a chance
that the pilot – which is glued in place – may stage a breakout and try to escape from
your workshop as you remove the shell. Similarly, the front buffer plate really likes to
go walkies. Thankfully the pilot and the buffer plate tire easily and, once they land, will
not make any more attempts to leave. Pick the parts up off of the floor/table/chair/
your lap/your ear/bookshelf and place them on the white tablecloth we conveniently
told you to lay out. The parts are easily reinstalled with just a couple of small dabs of
CA-type superglue to the top of the part.

OPERATION – DC (SILENT)

If your FP9A locomotive is not equipped with a sound decoder, it should function like
most other HO scale locomotives. The gear ratio is 14:1 so it may MU (multiple unit)
with your existing fleet. Put it on the track. Give it some juice. Watch it go.

In DC, the following lighting features are included:

• NumberBoards:alwayson

• DitchLights:alwayson(shouldyoudecidetoinstallthem)

• Headlight:ongoingforward

• Rearlight:ongoingbackward

• Classlights:theseareinstalledandwired,butwillnotworkinDC.Ifyouare

installing a DCC decoder, connect these to an available function output. Note
there are both white and green class lights installed on the model.

Our factory-installed circuit board in equipped with a 9-pin decoder socket. To install a
DCC decoder, simply plug the decoder into the appropriate 9-pin socket on the circuit
board. If for whatever reason you choose to use a decoder that does not have a 9-pin
plug then you will need to purchase an adapter harness, available from many different
decoder suppliers.

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OPERATION – DCC/DC WITH SOUND

We have made every effort to provide a sound decoder that is as accurate in sounds
as our model is accurate in looks. The decoders fitted to our FP9A models have been
produced exclusively for Rapido by Soundtraxx using their Tsunami technology and in­corporating our unique sound recordings from FP9A #6505, complete with its original,
unmodified 567C prime mover. We have incorporated several features in this decoder
to better match the operation of the prototype FP9A. In addition, the Tsunami decoder
has many features that allow you to customize both the sound and the operation of your
decoder to suit your tastes.

LOCOMOTIVE ADDRESS

Your Rapido FP9A comes from the factory with a decoder address of 3. We suggest if
you are using DCC control that you first test that the locomotive responds on address 3.
Once you have verified that the locomotive is responding you should assign it a unique
address (normally the road number of the locomotive) before going any further. This
can be done either on your programming track (recommended) or on the main if your
system supports programming on the main. Be aware however that if you do program
the locomotive on the main and you have any other locomotives assigned to address
3 (the normal default address for new locomotives) that ALL of them will likely also be
changed to your new address!

“FIRING UP” YOUR FP9A

When you first place your Rapido FP9A on the track or when you power up your layout
the FP9A will be silent. Don’t panic! This is normal and saves wear and tear on the
eardrums when you have a large fleet! To activate the sounds simply enter the locomo­tive address into your system then send it a speed command, such as advancing then
stopping the throttle slightly. Once the locomotive receives a speed command it will go
through its start-up sequence and come to life.

If you want your loco to go through the start up sequence and immediately start idling
as soon as you power up your layout, then you can change the setting of CV116 to 39.
If you make this change, then find that having your entire fleet of FP9As idling at once
is too loud (you did buy more than one we hope) then you can set CV116 back to its
default value of 7.

Visit rapidotrains.com/signup to subscribe to our free email
newsletter, Rapido News. That way you’ll never miss an­other product announcement or update again.

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FUNCTION KEYS

Your Rapido FP9A includes several standard functions and a few functions unique to our
model. Here is a list of all the function assignments:

F0: Headlight (on/off)
F1: Bell (on/off)
F2: Air Horn
F3: Straight to 8 – See information below.
F4: Dynamic Brakes (CN didn’t have them so CN guys leave this alone!)
F5: Roof Light(s) (where applicable)
F6: Ditch Lights (where applicable)
F7: Rule 17 headlight dimming – dims headlight when meeting an opposing train.
F8: Sound Mute
F9: Number Boards
F10: Class Lights – cycles from off to white (extra train) to green (second section follow-

ing). To go from one setting to the next simply apply F10 again. More info below.
F11: Brake Release/Squeal
F12: Doppler Horn – Activating F12 as you near a grade crossing will start a long-long-

short-long grade crossing horn sequence complete with a Doppler effect. This is not
fancy programming in the decoder. It’s a recording of the real thing.

PROTOTYPICAL OPERATION

F3 – STRAIGHT TO 8: This unique feature simulates the prototypical operation of the

FP9A locomotive. CN, CP and VIA engineers did not slowly go through the notches if
leaving a station on a clear signal. They would put the locomotive straight from notch
2 to notch 8. Similarly, when approaching a station (especially in commuter service),
engineers would go right back down to idle and coast to a stop. This sounds very differ­ent from a typical freight engine slowly notching up to 8 and back down again. When
F3 is selected, applying any throttle to the locomotive will cause the locomotive sound to
ramp up quickly to “Run 8” (full power). If you decelerate, it will go right back down to
idle. If you push F3 when the locomotive is at notch 8 and then you decelerate, it will
notch down normally. Note that this function controls the sound only and not the motor
speed. Motor speed is still controlled using the throttle settings as normal.

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F9 – NUMBER BOARDS: These should generally be left on, unless the locomotive
is shut down in the yard. We’ve kept the number board function separate from the
headlight because a) you don’t want a lit headlight on a trailing unit, and b) often the
headlight is turned off during station stops. In both of these situations, the number boards
remain illuminated.

F10 – CLASS LIGHTS: The class lights are the little lights above the number boards.
In normal scheduled passenger service, these lights should be turned off. We all like
to turn them on because they look pretty, but for prototypical operation they should be
off most of the time. The white class lights are used when the train is running as an
unscheduled train. This would rarely be used in passenger service, but both CN and
CP ran their FP9As in freight service on occasion. At those times you’ll want the white
class lights turned on. The green class lights mean that there is a second section of the
same train following. These were used frequently during the high seasons in the 1950s
and 1960s but were rarely used after that. We did not include red class lights. These
are only used when the locomotive is pushing a train in push-pull configuration. The
only place this would have been used in Canada is Canadian Pacific’s Montreal-Rigaud
commuter line, which normally had FP7As assigned rather than FP9As. The three of you
modelling this line can make your own red lights.

SOUND VOLUME SETTINGS

The sound volumes on your decoder have been pre-set at the factory to levels that we
found comfortable on our test tracks. This is considerably quieter than what you are
probably used to when first turning on a sound-equipped locomotive, because we feel
that most locomotive models are set to ABSURDLY LOUD out of the box.

Sound levels are very much a matter of personal taste (especially if you are going deaf
like we are), and what sounds great in one layout environment may sound too loud or
too soft in another. Fortunately all sound levels can be easily adjusted to best suit your
own requirements and we recommend that you experiment with different settings if you
don’t care for the default levels.

To set the volume levels go into the program mode on your DCC system (refer to your
system’s manual for instructions on how to do this as each system is slightly different);
enter the desired CV number; then enter the desired levels (0-255 in all cases). Note
that this can be done either on a programming track or on the main (ops mode) if your
DCC system supports programming on the main.

We strongly recommend that you keep notes on which settings you have changed and
which values were used. If you ever need to do a reset on the decoder (see “Factory
Reset” below) then having good notes will allow you to easily re-enter any changes that
you might want to keep.

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CV 128 – Master volume (Factory setting 192, available settings 0-255)
CV 129 – Horn volume (Factory setting 175, available settings 0-255)
CV 130 – Bell volume (Factory setting 35, available settings 0-255)
CV 131 – Prime Mover volume (Factory setting 180, available settings 0-255)
CV 132 – Air Compressor volume (We don’t recommend you change this.)
CV 133 – Dynamic Brake volume (Factory setting 92, available settings 0-255)
CV 134 – Radiator Fan volume (Factory setting 100, available settings 0-255)
CV 139 – Brake Squeal volume (Factory setting 128, available settings 0-255)
CV 140 – Brake Release volume (Factory setting 64, available settings 0-255)
CV 143 – Sarco Valve volume (Factory setting 25, available settings 0-255)

OPTIONAL HORNS

Your decoder comes pre-loaded with optional horns which can be used to customize
your decoder. The default horn is the Holden M3H, which was installed by GMD
when the locomotives were built. CP FP9A locomotives were delivered with the identical­sounding M3HR (one bell reversed), and starting in 1961 all CN FP9A locomotives also
received this variation.

We also include an optional Nathan K3L (used by VIA Rail Canada) and a Nathan
K5LA (used by some tourist railways after the FP9As were sold by VIA).

Horn selections are made in CV 115. A value of 0 will activate the Holden M3H; a
value of 1 will activate the Nathan K3L; and a value of 2 will select the Nathan K5LA.

BELL RING RATE

Our bell sound is also recorded from a real FP9A and at its default setting rings at the
same rate as the bell on the loco that we recorded. You might think the bell sounds
fast. That’s probably because you are used to freight locomotives or modern passenger
locomotives. The FP9A did indeed have the fast bell that is on your decoder. We re­corded three different FP9A bells and they all rang at roughly the same rate. Obviously,
different locomotives had slightly varying rates, especially if there was a bad air leak!
You can customize the ring rate of the bell sound by entering a value of 1-5 in CV 114.
The default value is 1.

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“THE CANADIAN” CONSISTING OPERATION

If your FP9A locomotives were included in Rapido’s “Canadian” passenger train set then
they incorporate special CV settings to simplify the lighting operation while operating
together in a back-to-back consist. You will first need to create a consist. Please see
your DCC system manual. Note that our decoders support both basic and advanced
consisting.

Once the units are consisted you will note that several of the lighting functions have been
set up for easy operation. The headlights (F0) will switch direction from one end of the
consist to the other when the consist is reversed, but the back-up lights will remain off as
would be prototype practice. When the number boards are turned off or on (F11) in
one unit the other unit will automatically turn off or on to match, again matching proto­type practice.

Note that the class lights are still controlled individually as these would be lit on only
the lead unit of each consist. To turn the class lights on simply call up the address of the
lead locomotive then hit F10 to cycle through the optional colours as described above.

If you decide that you do not want to utilize these features they can be removed by
programming both CV21 and CV22 to a value of 0. If you decide that you later want
to add these features back in simply program CV21 to a value of 127 and CV22 to a
value of 49.

FACTORY RESET

If you need to revert to the original factory settings on your decoder simply program
CV30 to a value of 2. Note that this will cause all of your new settings to be lost, so you
will need to reprogram any settings that you want to keep. You did keep notes like we
suggested earlier, didn’t you?

MORE INFORMATION

While addressing the features that most modelers will need for normal operation, these
instructions have covered just a small number of the many customizable features of
your Soundtraxx Tsunami decoder. For advanced users who want to more fully explore
the capabilities of the decoder we suggest downloading the “Tsunami Diesel Technical
Reference Manual,” available from the “Manuals” page of the Soundtraxx web site at
www.soundtraxx.com.

LIMITED LIFETIME WARRANTY

We will do our best to solve any problems or issues that you may have with your FP9A
locomotive. If your locomotive has any defects that originate from the factory, we will

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repair your locomotive using new components or replace it outright should a repair not
be possible. However, we can only replace your locomotive while we have additional
ones in stock. We normally keep spares for up to six months after a model is released.
If you purchased this locomotive or first opened it after that time, it is possible that we no
longer have any replacements and that a repair is the only option. Please give us a call
or write us an email, and we will see what we can do to help you out.

There are a number of things that this warranty can not cover. If you FP9A arrives with
a couple of loose grab irons or underbody bits, there is a very good chance that you
can effect a repair in less time and effort that it would take to contact us. Don’t be
afraid to do some model railroading! White glue, such as Weldbond, works wonders
for securing all sorts of parts and will not mar or damage your paint. However, if parts
are missing that is another story – call us or send us an email and we’ll send you some
replacements.

Of course, damage caused by trips to the basement floor, running your locomotive
around 18” radius curves at ridiculously high speeds, throwing it to your friend across
the room, picking it up with wet paint on your hands, or any other damage caused by
you that we haven’t been able to cover here is not covered by the warranty. However,
if catastrophe does strike and your locomotive gets damaged, please give us a ring and
we’ll do our best to help you out. Yes, even if it was your fault we will try our best to fix
your locomotive for you. Don’t be shy!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

Over the last three years, many people have helped us make this FP9A model a reality, and we
could not have done it without them. A special thanks to:

Jon Archibald, Bram Bailey, David M. Bedard, Marcel Blair, Tony Bock, CNR Historical Associa­tion, CP Historical Association, Paul Cervenka, Steve Cheasley, Conway Scenic Railroad, Bill
Darnaby, Dan Dellunto, Steve Dominguez, Ted Ellis, Exporail, Greg Gormick, Paul Hallet, Ed
Hawkins, Ena Herman, Gord Hilderman, Kevin Holland, Huang Yao Wen, Don Jaworski, Andrew
Jeanes, Mark Kaluza, Ken Lanovich, Patrick Lawson, Al Lill, Dave Lisabeth, Dave Love, Steve Lu­cas, Sidura Ludwig, Bill Morrison, Jakob Mueller, Rory Murchison, Jeff Pinchbeck, Matthew Reid,
John Riddell, Michael Rozeboom, Mike Salfi, Theresa Schneider, Brian Schuff, Ron Sebastian,
John Sheridan, Barry Silverthorn, Blair Smith, Matt Soknacki, Dan Szabo, David Taylor, Toronto
Railway Historical Association, Chris Van Der Heide, Barry Williams, Yan the Man, Colin Zuo.

We’ve no doubt forgot a few people so please email us and shout a bit and we will apologize
profusely before offering you free stuff. And of course we’d like to thank Richard Longpre, who
translated these instructions into French without hesitation despite the fact that we only gave him
about 17 minutes in which to do it. In fact, we left it so completely to the last minute that we had
to hire seagulls to stuff the instructions into the FP9A and Canadian packaging while on the boat
en route for Canada. Special thanks to them too.

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FP9A DECODER WIRING DIAGRAM