N scale tenders DCC ready? Probably not...

[railtwister]

Some of the N scale tenders available for separate purchase are listed in the catalog as being "DCC" ready and are slightly higher than those listed without the DCC notation, yet they all seem to have the same two conductor drawbar arrangement. I have recently purchased a "DCC ready" 2-8-0 (WM #761) and it also has the same drawbar. How can a tender be listed as DCC ready with only two connections to the loco? For DCC in the tender there would need to be at least four connections between the loco and tender (5 if you want a headlight). If the decoder is on board the loco, as is suggested in the 2-8-0 instruction sheet, then the tender is not really DCC ready, though it MAY provide all wheel pickup. A truly "DCC ready" tender should also have some form of plug inside for the decoder, in addition to more connections between the loco and tender. Can Mr. Bach-man shed any light on this?

Also, this loco is listed in the catalog as having an operating front coupler, which it clearly doesn't have, since it is a dummy one piece molding and is rigidly inserted into the pilot. There is a Rapido style coupler with a snap in shank included as an extra part in the box, presumably for replacing the dummy, but since it also snaps in rigidly, it should hardly be called operating (actually, any Rapido stlye coupler, even one with a full vertical range of motion, should NOT be referred to as "operating"!). Any locomotive, especially a 2-8-0, needs to at least provide for installation of an operating front coupler (hopefully a Micro-Trains unit) in order to be fully functional...

Regards,
Bill Nielsen
Oakland Park, FL USA

[fieromike]

The "DCC ready" tenders are most likely very similar to the tender that came with your 2-8-0.  Either that, or they have a pc board and plug hidden inside with the drawbar supplying track power to the board in the tender.

The more adventurous have been replacing the dummy pilot coupler with a M/T 903/905 Z scale coupler.  It does involve a bit of fitting and removing the back wall of the coupler pocket.  IIRC, you also have to trim the trip pin so it doesn't hit the pilot.  Semiautomatic couplers are better than useless ones...

[skipgear]

The tenders are fully DCC ready......for the new batch of loco's from Bachmann.

The 2-8-0, 4-8-2 Light Mountain, and 2-6-6-2 are DCC ready but the decoder installs in the loco. These tenders will still connect and work with them but the proper way to install a decoder for them is under the boiler. No need to unsightly wires between the loco and tender with them.

The 4-8-2 Heavy Mountain (already has a decoder in the tender) and 4-8-4 J Class have a 6 wire umbilical cord that plugs into the tender.  This plug is in all the new tenders except the slope back as there is barely room for a decoder in that one, let alone a circuit board. The other tenders have a light board with 7 solder pads for a standard decoder to be installed. I am guessing that all new releases from Bachmann will have this same connection method. Theses tenders are just a sign that Bachmann will have DCC onboard equipment coming sooner than later.

My only complaint with them is that they need to offer the female plug for the tender so we can do our own unbilical cord conversoins in other loco's. Right now, there is no way to use the nice plug system provided.

[railtwister]

Skipgear,

Thanks for posting the photos, as you may have guessed, I haven't gotten to the point of opening the tender up on my 2-8-0 just yet. Your photos have answered some of the questions I had, especially after seeing them also prompted me to more closely inspect my newly acquired N&W "J" loco. Now, this brings me to ask another question, does the medium tender painted for WM that is sold separately, have the loco's road number printed on it's rear side, or is it unnumbered? I have another, earlier run 2-8-0 with a different road number whose tender was damaged, and I'd like to replace it. I'm sure that there is a standard plug out there (probably for a computer circuit board that fits the Bachmann "fingers" on the new board, but finding it may be an issue...

I still think it's a bit of a stretch to refer to a rigidly mounted Rapido coupler as "operating", and I probably will replace it with one of the MT "Z" couplers.

Thanks for your help,
Bill

[skipgear]

I have tried and tried to find those plugs. Digikey, Allied.....etc. etc. don't have header card sockets with the plug spacing that Bachmann uses. I have found an OEM supplier that makes the spacing but they don't sell to the consumer and Digikey want's a 100 piece order to mess with them.

Most peoples solution to the 2-8-0 front coupler is a 905. I think the add copy for the loco is a cut and paste from the HO version and they forget to edit the coupler statement.

[andrechapelon]

Also, this loco is listed in the catalog as having an operating front coupler, which it clearly doesn't have, since it is a dummy one piece molding and is rigidly inserted into the pilot. There is a Rapido style coupler with a snap in shank included as an extra part in the box, presumably for replacing the dummy, but since it also snaps in rigidly, it should hardly be called operating (actually, any Rapido stlye coupler, even one with a full vertical range of motion, should NOT be referred to as "operating"!). Any locomotive, especially a 2-8-0, needs to at least provide for installation of an operating front coupler (hopefully a Micro-Trains unit) in order to be fully functional...

Regards,
Bill Nielsen
Oakland Park, FL USA

I'm taking a break from HO to try my hand at N. I just completed an install of the MTL 905 coupler on the 2-8-0. Here's a link to the Atlas forum where there are some nice photos of an installation. I used these photos to help me with my installation: http://forum.atlasrr.com/FORUM/topic.asp?ARCHIVE=true&TOPIC_ID=49869 (page down toward the bottom).

A couple of caveats follow. You've got to be careful not to cut too much off the coupler pocket or you may lose the spring. That's exactly what happened to me on the first try. My second attempt went considerably better. The reason that the rear of the coupler pocket need to be cut is to clear the frame of the pilot truck. Work slowly and carefully and you should do OK.

The other caveat is that I would recommend removing the air hose from the pilot and setting it aside. I didn't and mine took a hike while I was working on it. Fortunately, I later found it and it now resides where it belongs.

I found it much easier to do the work with the pilot assembly removed. I also found that light is at least as critical as magnification and wore one of those LED lights that can be worn on the head and aimed right where you're looking. Mine looked like this: http://www.heartlandamerica.com/browse/item.asp?PIN=78328&DL=GAW1&SC=WIG20001&; . However, I bought it at one of those stores that sells overstock from other stores and paid only about $5 for the thing.

Andre