The 2-10-2 tender has a chamber below the coal load.  I don't know if this was by accident or design but my 1" round speaker is going to fit very well in the enclosed area below the coal load.  I got re-supplied today in solder and cement as well as getting another very small drill bit to perforate the coal.  When I hear from you email I'll hope to be most of the way done.

Inside tender, back side of coal load chamber.  Hole needed to run speaker wires.





Rick

Photos were grabbed and thred was bookmarked.  Thanks for your time & trouble.  It is appreciated.

Rick

Good Evening,

Inside my 2-10-2 Light Steam Locomotive tender I've run across a lone Red wire that looks as though it may have been soldered to the nut and screw it is laying beside.  It's the Red wire on the left side of the tender ending at the shiny screw.  If you have been in your 2-10-2 tender and recall where this should lay I'd appreciate in knowing.  The exploded view pdf doesn't show the insides of a DCC wired tender.  I'm adding a Tsunmi TSU-1000 for Heavy Steam Sound Decoder with the assistance of many here.

If you know if this Red wire should or shouldn't be attached to the nut or screw post it here or send email.




Thanks-
Okie Rick

I didn't have any help today but will have some helping fingers tomorrow.  I have a list of stuff to be picked up in town tomorrow before my help arrives.  I need a new low voltage iron and some small diameter solder, rubber cement, heat activated shrink-type insulating material and a smaller drill bit than I have if there is one.  I need to get the speaker housing beneath the coal load ready for it's install and perforate the coal load.  It's made easy by Bachmann on this tender.  It flips up to reveal the working space.

I did run across one thing I need to clear up on the wiring of the tender.  Examining it tonight I found a red wire which appears as though it should be soldered to a screw tip but has come lose.

In the photo below there is a lone Red wire on the left hand side looking towards the front of the tender that appears to end right at the shiny nut and screw.  Without my magnifying glasses on I can't tell if it has ever been soldered to the screw.  My help yesterday said it looked like it did.  I'll post this elsewhere and/or call Bachmann but I need that information for sure.



Once I find that out, perform a bit of surgery and place an audio implant in I'll be ready to test it on a DC track.  I've learned a lot of "what to do" and "what not to do" in this little exercise.  I purchased the EZ Command DCC Controller System today.  I'm ready for stuff to get noisy in here.

Thanks-
Okie Rick with a mouthstick

I'm looking for speaker wires.  Tsunami says use two purple wires for the TSU-1000 S (Heavy Steam) Sound Decoder.  I have 3.  Two purple and a white coming out the capacitor end (left hand end) and one purple, one green coming out the JST to NMRA harness end (right hand end).  (note JST to NMrA harness is installed in this photo).



Which wires to use?

Thanks-
Rick

Bob or all you others,

In all your world travels, have you taken the time to climb aboard the 844 from Denver to Cheyenne (during Frontier Days) for it's journey from Denver to Cheyenne and back?


I'm 56, the only trains I've been on were parked on Santa Fe or KATY siding in Dewey or Bartlesville, OK.  When I was 7 I was given a used bike.  Ma & Pa said, "Stay away from the tracks."  Translate that to juvenile Okie-ese and you get something like "it's your hide on the barn door if you get caught."  I've climbed in, over, under and walked down both steel and wooden boxcars, stock cars, tankers, gondolas of various heights and even ridden my bicycle on a flatcar.  When work trains or switch engines were left on siding we'd walk the catwalk all around the locomotive.  That was always a spooky thing to do as it seemed those diesel locomotives could come alive any time.

The Santa Fe "Streamliner" as we knew it decked out in Red and Silver war bonnet colors pulling glistening silver cars and a caboose ran North to KS around 6:30am each morning and ran South in the late evening.  This particular train was traveling at 60+ mph as it blew through the little town of Dewey.  Years later passenger service was replaced by freight service that ran South at 4:00pm.  By 197o high speed freight service was down to once a week running at 9:00pm Friday nights.  When with friends we'd go out on the Caney River train bridge and hang onto 12" I beams to keep from "getting sucked under the train."  According to one's parents, in an effort to keep you off the RR tracks as a youngster, a train passing you at any speed would suck you under if you were close enough.  This area is serviced by a private RR now, still traveling the old Santa Fe route from Independence, KS to Tulsa, OK.  It travels by at just barely more than a fast walk.  Track upkeep isn't their number one priority.  If one can catch it they will allow you to ride topside.  I've often seen teen agers, homeless and migrant Hispanic heading North on a slow train.

The last steam locomotive in Washington County, Oklahoma now on display in Bartlesville, OK.





"Johnstone Park is home to the only Santa Fe engine 940 series in existence. The 900-class/940 series were the first locomotives to burn fuel oil instead of coal and were synonymous with the Santa Fe engine. Built by Vulcain, this Santa Fe engine, built in 1903, was originally a compound steam locomotive, and later converted to a simplified locomotive that could burn diesel. It has 2/10/2 wheels (2 pilot, 10 drivers and 2 trailing). Also to be seen at the park is the restored Hulah Santa Fe Depot (a #1 Santa Fe Depot), built in 1923. Both have been relocated to Johnstone Park as reminders of the important role each played in the development of the area."



"1909 Atchison, Topeka and Santa Fe/Missouri-Kansas-Topeka Railroad Depot. Known as a Joint Agency Depot, its unusually large plan allowed other train agencies (Katy Line) to share the facility. It has been beautifully restored and currently houses the Bartlesville Area Chamber of Commerce and Convention and Visitors Bureau, Bartlesville Community Foundation, Bartlesville Development Corporation and the Visitor Information Center."

Looking for a train...

Okie Rick

EVERYONE told me to scrap my brass and buy 83 or 100 Nickle Silver track.  I have enought NS for one 8'x4' layout using 3' long Flex Track.  You know, I put together a 4'x8' Brass DC layouts using switchable turnouts and it worked.  It was all Tyco stuff, too!

Go with brass till you gather some NS track.  Stay with one "type' - track on ties or track & ties on a formed base.

Get some HO 'stuff' and get your feet wet.  Too much will come all to oon...the more you do, th moe you'll want to do.

Have fun!
Rick

Someone take a look here & tell me if it's a 0-6-0 with a Vanderbilt tender or a 0-6-0T.

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewProd&productId=1640

Is it here?  Available?  0-6-0 with DCC onboard?  Yes, it has no elephant ears but X-acto and Hobby Lobby can fix that.

Rick
-

Yampa & pd,

Looking at this it appears to be 100% push button.  If I was going to select something by pressing 1 would I:

press once to latch down, press again to unlatch (#1 key stays down and releases on a second press or tap) or is it more physical.

Remember - I'm playing with the end of a mouthstick.  Like one finger poke at a time.


Rick

Right, I'm putting a Heavy Steam decoder in the 2-10-2.   The Russian 2-10-0 at Medium Steam will be a later project.

This weekend will be spent shopping for an EZ DCC Command Controller, getting some fresh track layed and researching some EZ Command compatible switchable turnouts.

Okie

I planned on trying the 2-10-2 DCC decoder in the Russian Decapod.  I'm not flush enough to afford the 2nd Tsunami right yet and am hoping the Bachmann DCC board works in the Russian.  I ordered 2x of the Digitrax harness and speakers asking for one "they" at Caboose Hobbies thought would fit in a 2-10-0 Russian.  Roger talked to me quite a bit.

The Russian tender innards to be fit with pulled DCC from 2-10-2 then at some later point to be Tsunami-ized.






Thanks folks-
Rick...waithing on a UPS man...or woman.

Yampa and all-

I ordered the Tsunami TSU-1000 S (for Heavy Steam Locomotives), two JST to NMRA wiring harnesses and two speakers.  The 2nd harness and speaker is for my Spectrum 2-10-0 Russian Decapod Light Steam that's "DCC Ready."

The 2-10-2 with DCC Onboard waiting on a TSU-1000 S and Digitrax JST to NMRA wiring harness:



Black DCC decoder at the left:





More when I finish up here and start with the 2-10-0 Russian.

Thanks for all your help,
Rick

Another Steam Question...

The locomotive in question is a Bachmann Spectrum 2-10-0 Russian Decapod - Nashville, Chattanooga & St. Louis® #953 (with cap stack).  It is "DCC Ready."  I had my Russian tender taken apart to see what "ready" looks like.  There was a PCB with an 8-pin socket with a male 8-pin plug occupying it.  The plug has 6 pins - some pins soldered to others.  I'm wondering...does all this locomotive need to becomes DCC is a DCC decoder?

bad photo but...




And after becoming DCC is it a Sound decoder away from having sound and DCC?

thanks-
Okie Rick

Does your transformer / power pack have a "Momentum" switch on it?  If it does try turning it Off.  My Proto 2000 2-10-2 with DCC & Sound reacts a little faster with it off.  BUT...that's a part of the fun of DCC & Sound, sitting and listening to the od iron steamer come to life, building up a full head of steam, whistles & bells as it pssssssssss leaves the yard and chuffs it's way to HO gauge top speed.

I'm in the same boat - trying to decide on which DCC Command system to invest in.

You drink coffee?  Get a cup, start your locomotive, let it do what it can on a DC track.  Enjoy your coffee.

Luck & enjoy,
Rick and stick

I called Bachmann today and talked to Customer Service.  He verified that the 2-10-2 Light with "DCC ONBOARD" did have DCC loaded & ready to go.  I seized the moment (a bit a drama here for you fellows) to tell him I was ready to add Sound to this locomotive.  He referred me to Soundtraxx as that is who is their main Sound supplier.

I called Soundtraxx, explained to the guy I was speaking with about my Locomotive & tender wiring situation - which plugs went where & where they originated.  He suggested the Tsunami TSU-1000 for Heavy Steam - that the DCC decoder onboard beneath the tender cover had an 8-pin connector with a wired plug in it.  Take the tender apart, plug in the TSU-1000 where the plug is now and add a speaker - usually a 1" round because of little available space.  Re-assemble the tender, plug it in and listen to over 22 steam sound effects including whistl, bell, air pump, exhaust chuff, coupler, brake squeal, water hatch opening, water filling, steam release, cylinder cocks, snifter valves, brake release, side rod clank, Johnson bar/power reverse, blower, injector, pop valve and Fireman Fred.

The TSU-1000 is the purple unit.  I have it on good authority - step up here Yampa Bob - there is an 8-pin socket on one end to plug into the PCB of the DCC decoder board. 

Now can someone tell me where that lone wire on the other end goes?

Courtesy of Walthers.com...




Thanks-
Okie Rick 'n stick