in stalling decoder in a Bachmann steamer

[vicsrc]

I just purchased 2 Bachmann steam engines
A 4-4-0 Union Pacific and a 4-4-0 Central Pacific Jupiter
Has anyone installed a decoder in them/
Did you have any Problems and what decoder did you use?

[ACY]

Which 4-4-0 is the UP? There are several Bachmann 4-4-0's

[Len]

If these are the 4-4-0 "American" locos, with motor in the tender and drive shaft to the loco, there are a few problems.

First, there's not a lot of space for a decoder. You'll probably have to use a Z-scale decoder, and even that will be a tight fit.

Second, it's a 'hardwire' installation, which means some soldering is involved. The the power leads have to be removed from the motor and spliced to the decoder inputs. Then the decoder motor leads have to be soldered to the the motor.

Third, the headlight is fed power directly from the front truck. Which means running new wires from the headlight to the decoder in the tender if you want to use the decoder light functions. Not simple, since the body is pretty much full with a case weight.

You can get a rough idea what this involves from the exploded diagram at:

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/HO_4-4-0_American.pdf

In short, can it be done and has it been done? Yes, to both.

Is it worth doing? Most folks would say no, but it's your call.

There was some discussion about this some years back on the Model Railroader Magazine forum. You can find that discussion here:

http://cs.trains.com/mrr/f/744/t/181866.aspx

Len

[Philc40]

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,24182.0.html

[Len]

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,24182.0.html

Nice job!

But it also makes my point. Connecting the headlight to the decoder isn't as simple as just running two wires through empty space in the loco shell. Rather than drill, I used a 'V' shaped carving tool that, had seen better days, to make a groove down the engineers side of the loco weight molding on mine. Then laid the wires in that, coated them with 'Weldbond' white glue to hold them in place, and reassembled after it dried.

Len