I recently did this exact conversion for a friend.  First thing I did was remove the Tyco trucks with their truck mounted "talgo" couplers.  This leaves a gapping hole in the frame bolster.  I filled this hole with the appropriate diameter styrene rode and glued it into place.  I cut the rod off flush with the existing bolster.  Next, after the glue had dried, I drilled a #50 hole in the center of the rod.  I then tapped it using a #2/56 tap.   I used a #2/56 screw to mount a pair of Proto2000 70 ton freight trucks.

To add couplers, I installed Kadee #148 whisker spring couplers in the provided Kadee coupler box to the car's underframe.  To mount the coupler/box to the frame, I simply positioned the box on the car's underframe and marked the center hole location of the coupler box.  I then drilled a #50 hole into the underframe and threaded it with a tap.  Once installed, the coupler height was at perfect height when checked with a Kadee height gauge.

The replacement trucks, couplers, and mounting screws cost approximately $10. But, that is a small price to pay because the sentimental value to the person is priceless.

Good luck,

Tom

Yes, you can do the lifetime warranty for $25.  That's exactly what I did for a 4th Shay.  However, it took them 2 weeks to acknowledge receipt of the item.  This was done with a postcard stating it would be a minimum of 8 more weeks until I could expect any further information about it.  So, I am going to have a loco out of hand for around 3 months.  On the others, I simply found it better to purchase the drive parts and do the work myself.  That way, I would only down for a couple of weeks total.  But, I am a highly skilled and very experienced modeler and have the tools and experience necessary to perform the work.  (No, I am not boasting.  I just want to set the expectation that tearing into this loco should not be considered a trivial task)

Regards,

Tom

Removing the boiler is very difficult.  If you haven't taken locos apart before, don't do this as your first one.

First, to minimize the potential for damage, you should remove all 3 truck from the frame.  At a minimum, you need to remove the front and middle truck to get access to the screws that hold the cab and boiler to the frame.  The exploded parts diagram that came with the loco is helpful to identify the exact screws you need to remove.  You want to be careful and not remvoe the screws that hold the motor/mounts to the frame. As I recall, there are 5 screws that you have to remove to free the cab and boiler from the frame.  The screw holding the front of the boiler is hidden by the electrical pickup plates for the front truck.  You need to slip this plate off the bolster to get access to the screw.

All 3 trucks should be powered.  It sounds like you have cracked drive gears.  The parts store sells a replacement kit that provides all 3 geared sideframe assemblies.  I think it costs $30 plus shipping.  You might as well replace all 3 while you have the trucks off the loco.  Only a single screw holds the sideframe in place, but the truck wants to completely fall apart when you do it.  Work slow and carefully.

In total, you can expect the entire process to take you at least 2 hours.  That's how long it takes me, and I've already done two and I have a third Shay I need to repair later today.

Good luck,

Tom

If your project requires more than 6 wires, SoundTraxx sells a similar harness/socket set that supports 9 wires.  It's the same price.  I've used it when I've added working marker lights, cab lights, and firebox flicker to locos.

Tom

You do understand that the prototype E60 is an electric powered loco?  As such, it does not have the typical diesel prime mover sound.  This rules out any of the Soundtraxx Tsunami decoders.  I suggest you take a look at ESU LokSound USA's web page.  I believe they offer sound decoders for some electric locos.  However, you are going to need to remove the existing decoder and replace it with the sound decoder.

Good luck,

Tom

I suspect a potential motor failure.  One of my DCC installation clients recently shipped me a Spectrum K4 Pacific with factory Tsunami sound to investigate a similar problem.  They said they purchased in back in 2008, but had only run it 10-12 hours until recently.   They went on to say that as they began to run it a few weeks ago it began to run slower and slower and after about 5 more hours total run time it ceased running.  The sound continued to function, but no movement.

I first suspected a cracked axle gear, but it was fine.  I then inspected the idler gears and they were fine as well.  Lastly, I tested the motor (I had to remove it to get access to the idler gears).  It would only run if I gave the flywheel a little twist.  It then ran very roughly and without any power behind it.

After disconnecting the motor leads I took the motor to my workbench and began to test it again on DC.  After a few moments, large amounts of smoke began to come out from the motor.  When I twisted the motor shaft in my fingers, I discovered what I judged as excessive shaft play fore and aft.

As has already been suggested, mute the sound (F8) and attempt to determine if you can hear any clicking, binding, or grinding.  If you hear nothing, I would suspect a motor failure.  You may need to tear into the loco to isolate and fully test the motor.  Of course, you can always go to the Bachmann service page and follow the instructions there for having the loco repaired or replaced under their limited life time warranty program.

Good luck,

Tom

Yes, I tend to agree with your wiring identification.  In theory, the red track pickup wire should trace to the right rail (+) and the black to the left rail (-).  You will need to determine the positive and negative motor connections.  Otherwise, the loco's physical direction of travel and lighting will not match the indicated direction on your DCC throttle.  The same is true for the lighting if the loco uses an LED.  Of course, you have a 50/50 chance of being right so worst case you will simply need to reverse the orientation of the wires if the loco travels in the wrong direction or the LED won't light.

Tom

Yes, if you remove the plug in the middle of the board you should find an 8 pin NMRA-style socket underneath.  In theory, you could simply wire the sound decoder to an 8-pin plug and plug it into the socket.

However, if I was going to install a decoder in this loco I would hard wire it.  You should be able to trace and identify each wire by how/what it is attached to on the board.  You simply need to unsolder each wire from the board (one by one) and solder it to the appropriate corresponding decoder wire color.  Cover each solder joint with shrink tubing.  The existing board is very crude and there is no telling what components on it could conflict with the Tsunami's circuitry.

If the loco uses LEDs for lighting, you will need to install a resistor on both the white and yellow wires to reduce the current going to the LEDs.  A value between 780 and 1K ohms will work well.  If the loco uses 12v bulbs for lighting, no resistors are required.

An alternative to cutting holes in the tender floor for the speaker would be to mount it facing upward under the coal bunker.  Then you need to use a pin vise with a #78 drill bit to drill dozens of holes in the coal load to allow the sound to escape.  I did this on a K4 for one of my clients.  I drilled the holes in the "cracks" between the lumps of coal.  I tended to do this at the intersections of lines and this tended to make the holes less visible.  If you do mount the speaker to the floor, you can mount the existing weight on top of the speaker enclosure using doublesided foam tape to secure it.

Good luck,

Tom

Bob,

I want to give you a qualified maybe.  I've added sound to one of these locos, but there were a couple of different production runs and I don't know when your loco was produced.  If it is the older style that employs the split frame design, the motor is not isolated.  Here is a link to the TCS site's installation pictures showing this loco.  While this is for a non-sound installation, you can get an idea of what you need to do to isolate the motor.

http://www.tcsdcc.com/public_html/Customer_Content/Installation_Pictures/HO_Scale/Bachmann/K4_Pacific_4-6-2/bachman_n_scale_k4_pacific_4_6_2.htm

Because of the color coding concerns you mentioned, I don't see how you are going to avoid opening the loco.  You will need to trace each wire to ensure it is actually connected to the point you think it is.  If the motor and track pickup wires get crossed, you run the risk of "toasting" the decoder.  I never rely on Bachmann's color coding because they do not always comply with the NMRA wire color standard.

However, if you truly want to avoid taking the loco apart, I suggest you first install an inexpensive non-sound decoder as a test.  If the loco runs and the decoder doesn't go "poof" then you know the motor is isolated and the wiring/color coding is correct.  Better to find this out on a $15 basic decoder than a $100 sound decoder.

Again, I always take the time to physically trace the wiring and test it with a multi-meter.  That's the only way to conclusively know the wiring is proper before installing and powering-up the decoder.

Good luck,

Tom

Ray,

Are you unhappy with the brightness of the LED or the color?  If it is color, you may be able to remove the lens from the headlight casting to gain access to the LED.  I usually do this by working the tip of a #11 exacto blade around the edge of the light casing.  You could then "snip" the LED leads at the outside rear of the casting and push the LED out towards the front.  You could then install either a sunny white or golden white 0603 SMD LED in the casting and connect the wires to the portion of the factory LED leads left coming out of the pilot truck.

If it is brightness, you will need to trace where the resistor is placed for the headlight.  For some Bachmann locos I've found it in the boiler while others I've found on the circuit board in the tender.

Good luck,

Tom

Mine runs very smooth.  There is a slight bit of gear noise because all the gearing is exposed at the front of the cab.  As such, there isn't anything to muffle the noise.  Even though it has 6 wheel electrical pickup, it still wants to stall at times going through some turnouts.  The loco's wheelbase is quite short so if the turnout's frog is not powered it sometimes looses electrical contact there.

It will pull 5-8 cars on straight and level track.  If it encounters much of a grade that will be cut in half.  A grade of 2% or more and you're down to pulling a single car.

Tom

Ray,

I've never worked on this particular model.  Can you tell if the headlight uses a light tube?  On most Bachmann locos I've worked on (except the Richmond American), the LED to illuminate the headlight has been in the boiler shell and an attempt to transfer the light to the headlight or backup light is through a poorly designed light tube.  In these instance, I've remove the light tube and install an 0603 SMD LED within the headlight casting.  The ones I like to use come with a 6" length of magnet wire attached.  Once I access the factory LED within the boiler, I remove it and connect the SMD LED wires to the appropriate +/- connections.

Doing this provides a nice and bright headlight.  The only problem is it generally takes 2 hours to do because you have to fully tear down the loco to get access to the LED within the boiler.  Making the parallel change to the tender backup light is a much easier operation (usually less than 15 minutes).

Good luck,

Tom

Rich,

Sorry, I get too busy and never take photos of my work.  I used a Seuthe #22 smoke unit in the 0-6-0T.  To the loco shell itself, you need to remove the factory smoke stack.  You then drill a hole the same diameter as the Seuthe unit's stack.  The model #22 is for plastic body locos.  As such, it is insulated in a heavy rubber jacketing.  You can either simply let this jacketing serve as the stack or I've found that a spent/fired 22 calibre shell casing will just fit over the Seuthe stack.  Painted black it makes a good stack and the rim at the bottom of the casing makes for a nice stack top.  At the bottom of the boiler shell (right above where it sets on the cylinder cradle), you need to open a hole that's large enough to let the body of the Seuthe unit pass through when you reattach the boiler to the frame.

You have to cut the shell casing to length and then drill out the bottom (which becomes the top of the stack).  WARNING -- You must use a fired shell casing.  There is a primer charge at the bottom of the casing.  Simply removing the bullet and powder does not disarm the primer.  You don't want to start drilling into that.

As far as the frame goes.  You need to drill a pocket into the frame to accommodate the bottom of the Suthe unit.  I did this using my drill press.  You also need to drill a small hole in the bottom of the pocket  on a 45 degree angle towards the back of the frame to allow the Seuthe unit's wiring to pass through.  WARNING -- The Seuthe unit wiring is very fragile.  They use a solid core wire and you can bend it only once or twice before it breaks.  Once that happens, the unit is useless.

Also note that the original attachment point at the front of the loco is through a screw that passes up through the cylinder cradle to weight within the boiler.  Modifying the shell and frame to accept the smoke unit destroys this attachment point.  If you look at the bottom of the boiler shell near the smoke box door you will see what appears to be a small pipe at the bottom.  I removed this pipe by cutting it flush with the boiler bottom.  I then drilled and tapped that location for a 2/56 screw.  Once that is done, you need to drill a corresponding hole below it in the frame.  In essence, the 2/56 screw not only becomes the attachment point, but also takes the place of the former pipe.

This work is not a trivial task.  I have been performing this type of work for clients on a professional basis for several years.  It should only be attempted by a highly skilled modeler.  You can easily end up with a "pile of junk" if you are not careful.

Tom

You would be amazed at what you can do with that little 0-6-0T.  For one of my DCC installation clients, for example, I installed a Seuthe smoke unit, and additional lighting features including a cab light.  I used a Micro Tsunami TSU-750 decoder for sound, motor, and headlight/backup light control and updated the lighting with 0603 surface mount LEDs.  This decoder was mounted on its side and tucked into the coal bunker area.  The Tsunami's stay alive capacitor was mounted on the floor in front of the fireman.  A mini oval speaker was mounted to the cab roof.  I had to remove the bottom off the speaker enclosure and contour the remaining portion of the enclosure to conform to the curvature of the cab roof.  A TCS FL2 decoder was mounted to the cab floor to provide control for the Seuthe smoke unit and cab light.  Since the Seuthe smoke unit draws more amps than the FL2 can provide, I had to install an ESU micro switch in the cab just ahead of the engineer.  That allows an FL2 function output to control the micro switch which feeds track power to the smoke unit.

I will admit, having done it once I wouldn't want to do it again.

Regards,

Tom

Limey,

It is best to check every loco prior to starting work on them.  I just installed a Tsunami TSU-750 in a Richmond American 4-4-0.  I got lazy (because I had already done this to three other identical 4-4-0s) and simply attached the orange decoder wire to the PC board pad marked M+ and the gray wire to M-.  Of course, after I got the loco fully reassembled and on the test track I discovered the loco ran the opposite direction than normal.  It appears the factory had reversed the leads when they were soldered to the motor.  Doh!  Lesson learned again. Always take the minute to test.  It would have saved me 30 minutes.

Tom