Can item #51517 have a decoder installed into it?

[BlueFox]

Can item #51517 (Rio Grande® (Flying Grande) 2-6-2 w/SMOKE & TENDER which I assume it to be only a DC loco) have any of these Bachmann decoders installed into it: #44925 (wire harness), #44926 (NMRA 8 pin plug), #44913 (wire harness), #44915 (NMRA 8 pin plug).  I have all 4 on hand, brand new, never used, they are all 1 amp, 2 function decoders.

[Jerrys HO]

I don't know if this will help but go to general discussion and check the post entitled Prairie 2-6-2 sounds like almost the same question.

[ACY]

Yes, you can use the larger one with harness, but you should wire the tender for pick up if you do so, otherwise you will see poor results and the loco may actually run worse then before.

[richg]

I did not see a diagram for the 2-6-2 but the diagram for the 2-6-0 with smoke does not seem to have enough room in the loco and no connector. The tender has no wiring or connector and probably no pickups and might have plastic wheels. There toy like locos can be difficult to convert to DCC.
The 0-6-0 looks to be the same basic frame.
Open your loco and tender and take a look. That is what I do for any I would like to install dcc into. I figure if you have the decoders, you have done DCC installs before.
Some of the standard line use simple metal strips on each side of the loco to pickup power from the metal drivers and can be questionable.
Is your advertised as DCC ready or DCC on board?
From what I see in the Bachmann product list, it is not.

Rich

[Jerrys HO]

Your correct Rich it is not dcc ready or equipped. I have the dcc on board UP and a Rio Grande like he has and I am also gonna give it a go that's why I referred him to the other post. It's not about money for me just the experience I will gain and it looks like Jonathan has done an excellent job with his Prairie which seems to me to be the same chassis.( I think)

[richg]

I have put a DZ125 into a couple Bachmann just to see if I could. They had to be hard wired which was not an issue. The lousy pickups are though. I would never consider smoke as it causes more issues than I care to deal with.
But we are just playing with trains.

Rich

[Jerrys HO]

my 0-6-0 looks like the decoder is where the smoke unit would be. I am not a smoker either. Had smoke on my O scale and it did not look realistic. Back to the decoder could this be an n scale decoder in where the smoke unit goes?

[jward]

the dz125 is a digitrax z scale decoder. it's one of the smallest on the market.

[jonathan]

As a few have mentioned, I just finished tinkering with a 2-6-2 Prairie.  Based on that, here are my thoughts:

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,17316.0.html

One could indeed put a decoder in the locomotive itself.  With a small decoder, it could be positioned in the smoke unit receptacle, once the guts are removed.

Personally, I would put the decoder in the tender; plenty of room in there--a speaker could also be mounted, pointing up through the coal load.  There are plenty of examples on other websites.

With the shell removed, you can see the motor tabs at the very rear of the frame, touching the frame halves.  One could use a little tape to isolate the tabs.  I don't know if you would have to completely disassemble the drive mechanism to isolate the motor.  I haven't decided about a decoder or sound, yet.  It should be pretty easy to connect the decoder to the frame halves, using the t-nuts that hold the frame together.  Jim Banner has posted demonstrations of this method in Bachmann diesels.

You definitely need to add tender pick up to the loco.  The six drive wheels are not enough pick up for the loco to run smoothly, especially over turnouts with unpowered frogs, like my layout.  This is well worth the effort. My Prairie, now an 0-6-0 D-30, will not creep like a Spectrum, but it does run pretty smoothly once you get around 5-10 scale mph.

I filed a gap in front of the tender, just over the coupler tab, or whatever you call that crazy connection between the loco and tender.  This is where I ran the wires from the tender to the locomotive.

I recommend adding weight anywhere you can.  It does help.  I put some weight in the shell domes and the former smoke unit.  Make sure the metal weights don't touch the frame, to prevent shorts.

For all this effort, Bachmann already carries the 0-6-0 with DCC.  I would happily send you my lead and trailing trucks (with screws), if you want to bash a DCC on board 0-6-0.  Send me personal note and we can work out shipping costs.  Won't charge you for the trucks.

Regards,

Jonathan