DCC 4-8-4

[McCullough]

Question: Can the 4-8-4 steam loco provided with item no. 00922-Overland Limited, be converted to DCC? If so are there any instruction avail thru you to make this conversion. Which decoder would be best for this conversion if it can be done?

[ABC]

It can be done, but would be a very tough job due to the lack of space and the need to hardwire it due to the fact that it is not DCC ready. Any HO scale decoder would suffice if you plan on putting it in the tender and wiring the tender for pickup. Otherwise, you will probably have to use a N scale decoder, but you'll have to make sure it can handle the amps your loco draws.

[Jim Banner]

Any locomotive in H0 or larger can be converted to DCC.  Some just take more work than others.

The tender should have lots of room for an H0 decoder and while tender pickups are a nice addition to any locomotive, adding them to a locomotive that already has an abundance of pickup points would be gilding the lily.

I would recommend a decoder with BEMF control.  Set up properly, such a decoder will give superb low speed performance without sacrificing anything at higher speeds.

As a point of interest, what DCC system to do you use or plan to use with this locomotive?

Jim