Quote from: jonathan on March 13, 2018, 12:04:34 PM
With an older Consolidation, some folks install the speaker pointing up through the coal load... lots of room up there.  You have to drill 80-90 small holes in the coal load to let the sound out. Totally worth it, man.

Quote from: bob kaplan on March 13, 2018, 11:41:43 AM
If someone want to put a sound decoder into a Bachmann consolidation, would it be a simple matter of replacing the decoder and putting a speaker in the tender?   Have you done it?.....is it difficult?   Would it be worth it? Thanks. 

If your 2-8-0 Consolidation has an 8 pin socket then it should be no problem. Some older versions do not have an 8 pin socket, and some original run versions I think were split frame even but this predates the Spectrum line if I recall correctly. If yours was made anytime in the past 15 years or so it should be fairly straightforward. If you have an older version though I would say not worth the time and effort at that point unless you are an expert with DCC and sound installs.

My 2 cents...
For the F7-B pretty much any decoder marked as HO scale and dual mode with an 8 pin plug will suffice, get whatever is most readily available in South Africa.
For the GP-35 I understand your desire to add sound, however I would advise you to stick with the factory installed decoder as importing one would get expensive due to import duties plus shipping charges, expect to pay at least $200 USD to import one including shipping. Further the installation will not be as simple as plugging in a decoder into an 8 pin socket. You will need a soldering iron and good amount of knowledge and experience to install the decoder. There are some good sites and videos online that demonstrate the installation but even so I caution beginners to not go too far beyond their ability initially.
When you are more comfortable and experienced then you can look into upgrading your locomotive to sound.

I have never seen or heard of any N unfortunately, as an aside I do know a few of their HO products were sold to the North American market: the Schnabel car and the one 2-8-2. Good luck in your search.

Quote from: mrmel0 on March 10, 2018, 03:40:54 PM
Can 2 EZ command units be hooked up to the same track so that 2 engineers can play at the same time? One operator per engine for example.

You can only use the walk around companion. Two E-Z Command DCC systems hooked up simultaneously will cause serious problems to say the least. Do not attempt it. You can use 2 systems if you have two loops of track that are electrically isolated and not connected at any point.

Be careful if you want to buy European models as they don't go by the NMRA, they follow NEM standards which are different so they either may only be partially compatible or incompatible. For instance, I am fairly certain Hornby locomotives and systems (NEM Compliant) have some compatibility issues with North American (NMRA compliant) models and controllers. However, they may have corrected that in recent years, to make them also NMRA compliant.
Also proprietary control systems like those used by Lionel are incompatible, while some such as those used by Mike's Train House (MTH) have limited compatibility/functionality. Lionel uses TMCC (Train Master Command Control) which is only found in Lionel products and cannot control any non-TMCC locomotives. This system is primarily used in O and S exclusively. MTH locomotives have DCS (Digital Command System) instead of DCC (Digital Command Control) but will run with your Bachmann DCC controller but only a limited number of sound effects and functions are accessible and programming is also very limited. The MTH DCS controller can run DCC, DCS or TMCC locomotives, but again functionality with other systems is limited.
Aside from the aforementioned exceptions (Lionel and MTH), all other products sold in the US and Canada follow NMRA standards for DCC.

Generally speaking your Bachmann E-Z Command DCC controller is suitable to run any HO scale DCC locomotive produced for sale in North America.

I think you will need the Bachmann booster and set it to large scale.

Quote from: Tom K148 on January 23, 2018, 02:58:46 PM
First things first,let me say,they are brand new,never out of box nor on track!
  Question 1-Are these factory lighted ?
  Question 2-Can the horn hook coupler be replaced with a Kadee ?

Yes they are but the lights may no longer work just because if they have a NMRA couplers on them that means they are well over 25 years old, probably closer to 30 years old. If the boxes have a sort of diagonal stripe pattern on them then they are from the original run. If that is the case then you cannot directly replace the NMRA couplers for knuckle couplers. You will have to remove the existing coupler boxes and the mechanism and replace them with body mounted coupler boxes but bear in mind they will no longer run on anything under 22" radius. Please advise if they are not from the original run or upload a picture to an image hosting site if you are not sure.

Quote from: DaveD on January 17, 2018, 08:38:18 AM
•   Is there a DCC version of this locomotive available? (One that will match the Jingle Bell Express theme?)
•   If not, can the locomotive I received be converted over to DCC? (What would be required?)
•   And/or, if I purchased a different DCC USRA 0-6-0 engine, would I be able to swap the engine housings (or shells) from one to the other?

1. Not in this specific livery, but as mentioned by others the 0-6-0 is available in other liveries with DCC. I have seen them for as little as $30-40
2. Yes it can be, but not the easisest task for someone who is inexperienced or a beginner as there is not much room to work with at all and you would need to hard wire in a decoder, the non-DCC models are not DCC-ready (They don't have an 8 or 9 pin socket).
3. My advice is to just swap the shells from a 0-6-0 that already has DCC, that is probably the best way for you to get what you are seeking.
Good luck

Quote from: kristian on November 17, 2017, 09:07:34 AM
Greetings! If anyone is still looking at this post, is there any chance we could get Robert to re-post the installation pictures or provide a link to where they can be viewed?

I am sorry you are out of luck as Robert has not been active on this site in 3 or 4 years. I wish you the best of luck with your installation though. Sorry I cannot be of any assistance.

That system is known as the Dynamis by the way, it allows programming of all configuration variables but only supports 21 functions.

Quote from: Mr. C on October 29, 2017, 02:16:37 PMI also want to still plug in my dc controller into the new system so I can still run dc loco's

No DCC system offers this feature. You have to convert your analog locomotives to digital or just swap the controllers. The red feeder wire can be plugged in to either the EZ-Command, the Dynamis or the standard analog controller.

Roller bearing is used on all equipment modernly, all older equipment in the steam ear had friction bearing. Most railroads either will not transport anything with friction bearing trucks or charge a very large fee to do so.
Friction bearing trucks require periodic lubrication, so the bearings usually were easily accessible within the journal boxes.  Roller bearings are sealed units, and require no additional lubrication during normal use.

You would not be able to to use either because both Marklin track types only support 3 rail operation. Bachmann North America products only work with 2 rail track. I would suggest that you solve your problem by purchasing flex track from a North American supplier that makes standard 2 rail track. Keep in mind that many Bachmann locomotives require at least a 22" radius or greater and most require a 18" radius, and even if they do not require 18" radius running on 15" radius is often asking for trouble. You will for sure be limited to cars 40' and shorter and you will probably want to stick to 4 axle diesels or an 0-4-0T or something to that effect for operating on sharper radius track.

Whatever you do, do not attempt to use any Marklin or other 3 rail track as it will immediately ruin your locomotive by applying power.
If you want to run 3 rail in HO stick to Marklin/Trix and MTH and a few others make special 3 rail versions.

Quote from: Len on October 16, 2017, 02:39:35 PM
All that would be needed is to alternate runs using red paint instead of black. The same packaging could be used.

You would be surprised how much that would add to the cost of the product, one may think it is a negligible change, but it would probably amount to an increase of about $2 in the end retail price.

IDEA: If you don't want black and white or would prefer red, it is a fairly simple task to alter them to suit your needs.

Keep in mind that when dealing with mass production, in this situation it would probably add a bit to the cost if they produced the product both ways.