I am in the process of building a new HO layout. It will be set in the Colorado mountains.
I want to use a Durango Silverton locomotive and tender and passenger cars. The only locomotive I can find in HO scale is the "Durango Silverton" train set from Bachmann. Blackstone has one, but wrong scale.
A couple of questions:
1. Can I purchase JUST locomotive and tender and passenger cars? NOT the track and power supply.
2. Is that Bachmann locomotive offered with DCC? Sound, lights. etc.?
3. Can DCC be installed either before or after purchase?
Thanks in advance for any info.
Banjoman
Amazon seems to have the complete set for sale. I did some searching. It comes with the 2-8-0 which might be capable of being converted to DCC and sound if you have the abilities. No mention of DCC ready so do not assume. I could not tell if wires ran between the loco and tender. You could ask a question if you know how to use Amazon. I buy a lot through Amazon. Free shipping if you have Prime.
Good luck.
Rich
According to the Bachmann on-line store the loco in the HO 'Durango & Silverton' set is DCC ready, with an 8-pin socket for the decoder of choice. No menition if ready for a sound decoder without modifications.
https://shop.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=1796
Len
If the tender has a speaker hole, SoundTraxx has recommendations for decoder and speaker at their site. Just remove any capacitors from the PC board. The two Inductors that look like resistors are not an issue. I have done a few other Bachmann steamers a few years ago.
Just remember. When you pull a shell on a DCC loco you should have some DCC knowledge.
Rich
As near as I can tell from searching around, the loco was once available separately but is no longer available. There are some 2-8-0's with sound with different road names available in places if you wanted to reletter one for D&S. The cars can still be had separately.
Thanks for all the info!
Mike
Regarding whether the Durango & Silverton connie is DCC ready or not I would suspect that all Bachmann connies would be the same. Many years ago I worked in the auto repair business and the wiring harnesses from the auto factories for individual makes and models were all the same. If a customer ordered power windows and doors, air conditioning, power steering and brakes or whatever, the wiring harness had the proper harness connections to just plug the appliance into the system. Having a separate harness for each optional system added additional complication and expense. Based on that, I suspect Bachmann has one wiring harness for all connies and add either a decoder or a dummy plug to the existing connector. Just my two cents, Paul G.
Banjoman,
There is a DC Bachmann 2-8-0 with smoke and light on Ebay, as of 2/23/21. It has a Great Northern badge; possibly repaintable.
Look on the left side by the smokebox. If the air pumps are there that is the old connie, not what you want at all, PaulG