FACTORY STEAM DCC WITH SOUND LOCO HELP

[darticus]

I am working with steam and wondered if any new N locos have come out in steam with factory DCC and Factory sound. I'm out of the loop for knowing whats on the market. I thought you guys would know. I might be forced to get a diesel which would fit into the late steam era if you could recommend a brand and name with factory DCC and factory sound. Any help would be great. Thanks Ron

[railtwister]

Hi Ron,

Owing to the fact that speakers fitting into N scale locos must be so small, performance of on-board sound in N scale is marginal at best,  due to limited volume and bass response. That is why Soundtraxx and Digitrax are jointly developing an under-the-table sound system that uses transponding to direct the sound to multiple speakers mounted strategically under the layout, making it seem as if the sound follows the train as it progresses around the layout. Right now, it's pretty pricey, but hopefully prices will come down as development continues.

Bill in FL

[darticus]

Maybe I should rephrase this a little. I want to add another loco to my track which is small and DCC run. I like steam and I have a N scale challenger, N Walthers 2-8-8-2, a Bachmann N Spectrum heavy mountain with a Digitrax DCC and sound decoder, and a Spectrum N N & W with a Tsunami 750 installed. Something else would be nice to add this year. A Stream loco is my favorite to add but if I find an easy install DCC and Sound diesel I would give it a shot. A factory install would be the way to go but if its a real simple DCC AND SOUND plug and play this would be OK. Maybe suggestions will be easier if I try an easy DCC sound install. Gotta be easy plug and play. My other installs were too much worry. Thanks Ron

[skipgear]

First of all, Railtwister has obviously not heard the Walthers 2-8-8-2 with QSI sound it it if he thinks sound in N scale is not viable. I would put it up against any of the HO sound systems out there.

The only thing steam coming down the pike with built in sound in the near future is the Intermountain Cab forward and they may be 6 months or more out.

The only diesels with factory installed sound available in the near future are:

*Athearn F/FP45 (recent batch just hit stores a while back)
*Athearn F59PH (Just announced more roads this month)
*Broadway Limited E6A/B (supposed be here by Jan 1, not holding my breath)

As far as adding sound, you are pretty safe with any Kato diesel and the MRC drop in sound decoders. They take from minimal to zero modification to install. Just make sure you get the 18 or 1900 series decoders. They are the latest sound system and are much better than previous offerings. Check MRC's website to see what decoders they offer and then decide if there is a loco that you want from their availabiliity.

[darticus]

Do you have a  Walthers 2-8-8-2 with QSI sound still available? Thanks Ron

First of all, Railtwister has obviously not heard the Walthers 2-8-8-2 with QSI sound it it if he thinks sound in N scale is not viable. I would put it up against any of the HO sound systems out there.

The only thing steam coming down the pike with built in sound in the near future is the Intermountain Cab forward and they may be 6 months or more out.

The only diesels with factory installed sound available in the near future are:

*Athearn F/FP45 (recent batch just hit stores a while back)
*Athearn F59PH (Just announced more roads this month)
*Broadway Limited E6A/B (supposed be here by Jan 1, not holding my breath)

As far as adding sound, you are pretty safe with any Kato diesel and the MRC drop in sound decoders. They take from minimal to zero modification to install. Just make sure you get the 18 or 1900 series decoders. They are the latest sound system and are much better than previous offerings. Check MRC's website to see what decoders they offer and then decide if there is a loco that you want from their availabiliity.

[skipgear]

The Walthers Heritage 2-8-8-2's w/sound have been sold out for years now. I really wish they would do another run or a run of the Berkshires with sound and the improvements that were done to the 2-8-8-2.