I'd like to add a sound decoder to a Hawthorne Village train and I'm hoping Soundtraxx has recordings from the original locomotive.

I'd like to add sound to my On30 rail truck without changing the stock appearance.

Does anyone have experience doing this?


I see that SoundTraxx's TSU-1100 looks small enough to fit in the decoder box, and version 885004 comes with the Galloping Goose #5 engine and 'awooga' horn files, but if I go that route which speaker should I use and will I need any other accessories like the speaker gasket or can I simply mount the speaker in the box if it will fit?

(I've never added sound to a loco before.)

My Heisler was programmed to whistle automatically when starting to move and stop, but I don't have access to the sheet the guy used to do this.

I like the simplicity of this arrangement, but not the fact that it uses long blasts to signal going forward instead of short toots like it does for reverse and stop.

The long ones sound melancholy to me, is there a way to set forward to two short toots instead of two longs?

I found this set at my local model train store, tried looking it up online but info seems scarce.

I thought it might be a Hawthorne Village item, but it's not on the Bradford Exchange site with their other trains.


Mostly I want to know if there were more cars out there I can add to the set.

I'm trying to program a locomotive with this decoder in DecoderPro, but I don't know which version of Bachmann decoder to select.

"Read type from decoder" says it's either a 2 or 4 function model.

I'm trying to program my new articulated in DecoderPro and I'm unable to change the speed tables.

I've tried auto-detecting the decoder, and it says it's either a Bachmann 2 or 4 function decoder, but neither setting lets me change the speeds.


I've read that the tender comes in two versions, mine has an 8-pin decoder connected to a 21-pin adapter board.

So yesterday I bought a factory sealed rail truck, and of course the first thing it did on the programming track was split a gear.

The trouble is I have two others and they all seem to have the same problem:  Resistance in the drive line.

The motors spin freely when I disconnect the drive shaft or run them without the differential cover installed.  But when fully assembled they either make a grinding noise or don't run at all.

Before I disassemble this new truck and hope the white plastic or metal gears I've tried in the other two work better, does anybody have advice for resolving the problem?

In the past I've had to swap the cab and footplate to get the look I wanted, and that left extra wiring to deal with.


Now that I'm upgrading my roster to sound models, I'd like to request a run with the headlights from the 0-4-2 Porter models swapped in please.

I just ordered a 12-driver articulated, and looking at the exploded view diagram the tender appears to have a speaker installed and the 21-pin interface.

If it doesn't support the module, would I be able to swap the tender for a 2-4-4-2's without modifying the wiring harness and get sound that way?

When looking at the exploded view diagrams, I see a component called "E. CAP" under the water tank.

My non-sound Porters don't seem to have a keep alive pre-installed, is this a feature I'd gain if I upgraded to a sound model?

I'd like to add a Keep Alive to my Heisler, but I don't know where the blue and black wires should go.

The easiest method of installation looks to be slipping the wires into the sound module plug, but I don't know which pins/holes are +12v and ground...

What purpose does the resistor serve?  (I assume that's what the circular thing is between the motor leads)

I'm preparing to convert mine to DCC and I question whether I should leave it there or remove it.

Where does the sound module go?


I want to model the converted switcher in the picture below, and having DCC built-in would be an advantage. (Assuming nothing important is in the smokebox since I have to clear that for a scale V8 engine.)

My first thought is that the sound module and its speaker go in the tender, but I'm hoping that's not the case since the prototype doesn't have one.

I'm wondering if anyone knows what the piston-to-wheel gear ratio is on the On30 Heislers?

My sound module's default chuff rate is close to 1:1 but I know most Heislers drive shafts make 2 to two and a half revolutions per wheel revolution, and I'd rather not risk voiding the warranty on my new loco to count the teeth in the trucks.

Can they be used in a locomotive that isn't supposed to sound like them?

I think it would be a laugh to use the Whitcomb module in my Heisler or perhaps a 2-6-0 when they're released.

The modules appear be identical in form, and I imagine the functions are the same (just with different sound files) but I don't want to ruin my locomotive by blindly trying it.

I have 5 passenger cars and they like to come undone from each other and my 2-6-0's tender on some of my 18" E-Z Track sections.

I have verified that the couplers are the same height and the rail ends are even.

Is there something else I can try aside from buying wider curves?

I've acquired some older passenger cars that have Mark I couplers and I'd like to upgrade them to Mark IIs.  My LHS closed down years ago so I can't compare the lengths in-person without driving for an hour in light traffic.

I know I need to get over shank couplers, but what length will match the originals?

Thank you in advance.

I've decided to bite the bullet and convert my mogul to DCC. After researching how, and seeing the tight clearances inside the boiler, I have my eye on a 1-amp, 1.25 amp peak Z-scale decoder. (Digitrax DZ126T)  Will that be enough to drive the motor or should I look for a 1.5 amp decoder?

Your NMRA brochure said they were scheduled to come out in October of last year, do you have an updated release estimate?

How many of these did Bachmann make?  I just got a Roaring Ridge set that comes with the yellow combine, coach, and observation car and I'd like to complete the train.

I've tracked down the separate-sale baggage, combine, coach, and observation cars (The duplicates I got in the set have different road numbers) but is that all of them or did I miss any?