Bill and Ben and other thomas engines

[Sailorsam]

Hello Thomas Fans.

I have just bought the  Bachmann Terrible Twins,   Bill + Ben and i am wondering which decoder would best fit these small locos.  I have the Bachmann Thomas fitted with a Hornby decoder, but was thinking that the twins are a bit smaller than Thomas and there might not be much room in them.  Any help on this would be good thanks.
I have tried Googling for an answer but only get the general decoder fitting sites which arn't specific.

[SodorAdventures]

I dont understand what makes them terrible, but I will awnser your question. No, I do not think there is enough room for a decoder, or a regular size decoder, for that matter. Check the sheets that came in the box, in-between the cardboard.

[Sailorsam]

Thanks for the reply, i looked at the sheet and it appears to be just an exploded view for parts reference. There is a part that looks like the circuit board for the chokes and suppressors etc so that might need to be removed to create some space.  I have had to remove this from several DCC ready locos to make room for a decoder.

[JD417]

sorry SA, but there is room there just needs to be moving of the main circit board to the side and then the decoder could fit nicely right next to it but as long as the cab is closed like normal ones (unlike mine haha) it should look no different but run very nicely dccified

[therailwayinspector]

I dont understand what makes them terrible,

I think what is meant there is they are usually known as the terrible twins, not the models are terrible. 

[SodorAdventures]

I dont understand what makes them terrible,

I think what is meant there is they are usually known as the terrible twins, not the models are terrible. 

   oh I see!

[Sailorsam]

Exactly what i meant, they are mischievious engines.  Thanks for the replies to date,  i'll be tackling them as soon as i get a couple of decoders, i think i'll run them in tandem as i've seen them in the shows like that.   It might let them run better over points etc as 0-4-0's can be a bit iffy on insulfrog points. We'll see what happens,  is it worth semi permanently coupling them together with a small plug and socket underneath somewhere for better reliability of power supply. 

[Sailorsam]

Hello again, i now have the decoders for Bill and Ben.  Can anyone offer any help on removing the body so i can fit the decoder, i have removed the couplers and the 4 screws holding the body on but the front of the chassis won't drop free.  Is there another screw i've missed or is there something to do with the eye movement linkage etc.

[Anthony P2]

you have to remove the faces. it's really hard to do this with out scratching the face.

[Sailorsam]

Thanks,   how do you remove the face please??

[Sailorsam]

OK,   i got the face off and the chassis came away easy as, looks like the decoder will fit in the cab ok. thanks for the help.

[Anthony P2]

when converting Bill and Ben did you remove all 3 capacitors? i'm converting my thomas engines to DCC and wasn't sure on how to do it with the twins. when you have finished converting them tell us how it went, we all would like to know. 

[Sailorsam]

Hi all,  yes i did remove everything,  the circuit board and all the caps.    I wired the decoder directly to the pickups and the motor. I then placed both locos on my programming track and set them up the same (as one) after first checking that they ran the same way etc. They seem to run ok but being 0-4-0's they are a bit iffy on my insufrog points. I might look at coupling their pickups together for better power reliabilty, (my track needs a clean so that isn't helping). I'm not sure how i might do this, anyone got any ideas??.  A small plug and socket underneath maybe or some sort of wipers under the rear of one loco rubbing on contacts under the front of the other.  I know that whichever loco i put at the rear will want a turn in front and they will argue over it!!!.

[Sailorsam]

Hi all,  having had the twins on my layout for a litle while now i find they are still hesitating on insulfrog turnouts. The front loco will stall and then get pushed off by the rear loco. Then the rear one will stall and then get pulled off by the front loco.   It looks like i'm going to have to hook the two of them up semi permanently electricaly.  Do i use a small plug and socket underneath or have any of you got a better idea, thanks.

[jettrainfan]

Ever think about trying an N scale decoder?