Hello everyone:

I have done some locomotive building for the Tonopah and Tidewater Historical Society, located in Death Valley Jct., CA.  They are currently building an HO scale model railroad replicating the T&TRR in the mid 1920's on the property of the Amargosa Opera House.  To model the Bullfrog Goldfield RR locomotives, which interchanged with the T&TRR, I use Bachmann's  tall 4-6-0 (63" drivers) coupled to an MDC / Roundhouse Vanderbilt tender, to which I added Tsunami TSU-1000 Medium Steam decoders and Railmaster Hobbies ported speakers.

I had a friend mill out the tender underframe, which I then drilled holes into to fire the speaker down toward the track (a typical install); I then installed the decoder.  Locomotive apron rests fine upon tender support, and the unit looks pretty decent as BGRR #11.  There should be some pics on the internet -- many folks visiting Death Valley stop by to take a look at the layout.  I can post a pic or 2 when I get back out to the junction and take some.  A pretty simple install now that I think about it. and loco sounds really nice.

Michael McAnally
Pahrump, NV

Hello:

I also installed a LokSound Select micro into the 44 tonner, after researching quite a bit on the web.  Runs and sounds great---just do a web search -- multiple sites come up.

Mike
Pahrump, NV   

Hello:

Long time lurker, but now that Bachmann has announced the new American, I can't wait!!  I've done a couple re-motors / DCC / Sound ala Harold, and they are nice runners.  As for the wheels, yes, anything bigger than what's on there now.  As for the V&T, most of their loco lead wheels, as well as tender wheels, were 26"; 30" would seem appropriate.  Just my inputs.

Mike
Pahrump, NV

Hello:
I am a frequent "visitor" to ebay, and have made quite a few purchases.  There are some "very" good deals on new equipment, all manufacturers, which are covered by the factory warranty.  As stated prior, "buyer beware"--I myself stay with the above 98% feedbacks, and have not had any troubles-
Mike
Pahrump, NV

Hello group:

I would like to thank both members of this forum who responded to my inquiry, and shared their experiences.  Upon further investigation of my own locos, I have determined that the wiring to the plug was indeed bridged at the solder connections; also, the  wiring itself had somehow managed to "rub itself" out of its insulation, so there were some bare spots, which apparently contacted either the loco or tender frame.
I have since gone into the loco, and re-wired the connections to the plug, and all now seems to work great!
Again, thank you all for your inputs-I really do appreciate it.

Mike

Hello:
I have a friend that has a couple of the DCC OnBoard FTA locomotives, which seem to run pretty rough on DC.  I found that these locos do not have flywheels, which help to smooth things out.  What I did for him was to program them on DCC-adjusting CV's 3 and 4, or acceleration and deceleration-this seemed to help smooth things out a little bit, as they do seem to operate a little smoother.  If you have access to someone with a DCC system, you might give this a try.
Hope this might help.

Everyone:
I am not putting down Bachmann-I am an HO scale modeler, and their Spectrum equipment is FANTASTIC!!  I was just inquiring into their N scale equipment--
Mike

Hello all:
I have somehow unsuccessfully attempted to put 2 different make decoders (a TCS and a Digitrax) into 2 different DCC ready J-class 4-8-4's.  Both units ran a couple of loops on DC (for testing), before the decoders smoked and burned up.  It seems that the wiring used between the locomotive and tender are nothing more than bare wires, with what appears to be some kind of "chalky" covering / insulation over the wire (flakes off if moved around too much.)
I have since removed the decoders, replaced the jumper plugs, and all seems to work as it should.  As far as I know, DC is more forgiving than DCC.
I was just wondering if anyone else has had the same or similar problem with a DCC ready loco, or am I the only one?
Any thoughts / inputs are more than appreciated.
Thank you all for your time and consideration,
very respectfully,
Mike
Pahrump, NV

Upon further research in this forum, I came across this photo instruction for the install:
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,2676.0.html
and believe that I can now change to DCC--
Mike

Thank you for the reply.  I did check the instructions, and I guess they through me for a loop when step 3 states to "Connect the wires directly to the decoder wires..."  From what I can ascertain, I need to solder the decoder harness wires directly to the PC board, following the included diagram.  Thanks again for the reply--
Mike

Hello everyone:
I have a  Spectrum 4-8-4 J-Class loco, which is advertised DCC ready.  I have done a few decoder installs before, but opening the tender on this loco shows a PC board I am unfamiliar with-no standard 8-pin NEM socket.  Instead, it apparently has 2 sets of inline sockets, with what appears to be phosphor bronze clips over the PC board-the included manual doesn't seem to be much help, as it states to connect the wires together. I was wondering if anyone has installed a decoder into this loco, and if they might have any suggestions?  Any help / input is greatly appreciated.
Thank you in advance for your time and consideration,
very sincerely,
Michael
Pahrump, NV

Just an update, finally, to what I did install in my 4-6-0, with the early Baldwin tender: The TCS (Train Control Systems) MC2P-SH fits GREAT!! Check out their website www.tcsdcc.com, click on the link for HO installs, and scroll down to the installation pictures / instruction.  I posted the photos, and, as I stated earlier, fits GREAT!! Loco runs fantastic.
Michael McAnally 

I attempted to put a Digitrax DZ125PS decoder into my 4-6-0, 52" drivers, early Baldwin tender, which means that it is very cramped inside.  The Digitrax has the NEM 652plug, which, together with the stock Bachmann PC board, sits just too high to reseat the tender body without some modification.  Since then, I have opted for the TCS MC2P-SH, which "fits like a glove!!"  This is a basic 2 funtion decoder, with BEMF.  Their website is : www.tcsdcc.com.  Comes with a 1-yr "goof-proof" warranty, and are very simple to program.
Hope this helps-
Mike

I too have a couple of the 4-6-0's, tho convert to DCC.  I ordered the Digitrax DZ125PS, which has very minute dimensions, according to the manufacturer.  1" harness-should be enough room to fit in the low early Baldwin tender-will write back when it comes in and let you know...