Quote from: Doneldon on February 04, 2013, 07:27:45 PM

Quote from: skooksteve on February 03, 2013, 03:17:57 PM
Using the tender for decoder and/or speaker is a good idea that I will stow away for future projects. Doesn't this present the problem of disguising wires running between loco and tender?

Skook-

Not really, and certainly no more than with models which come from the factory with the electronics in the tender. There are some extremely compact plugs and very flexible wires which will allow you to make the connections fairly inconspicuously. IMHO, the least distracting way to do this is with a plug which has one piece fixed to either the loco or tender. That eliminates having a bulky (compared to wires only) plug and receptacle floating between them.



                                                                                  -- D

Thanks, Don. Very helpful. I'm continuing to learn just how much I don't know I think I will never get bored with this hobby.

Quote from: richg on February 03, 2013, 03:34:10 PM

Quote from: skooksteve on February 03, 2013, 03:32:16 PM

Quote from: richg on February 03, 2013, 03:06:24 PM
Ok, I finally figured out you are talking about the 0-6-0T. My mistake.
Some here have asked about the 0-6-0 with the tender and smoke.
Remove the front screw and carefully lift off the shell. I have done it. Follow the instructions on the diagram that come with the loco.
Solder the wires to the tabs. A oood quality tiny decoder for this loco will cost about $20.00. I like the DZ125 decoder.

Rich

Actually, mine is the one with tender and smoke. Thanks for the heads up on the decoder.

Oh boy. Try to be more specific in the future with a question. I deleted all what I thought was unnecessary info.

Rich

I was as specific as I could be given my limited body of knowledge in this hobby. I started this hobby a little over a year ago as a retirement activity. I had no background in mrr whatsoever prior to that. So I guess you could say I don't know what I don't know. Thanks for your help.

Quote from: richg on February 03, 2013, 03:06:24 PM
Ok, I finally figured out you are talking about the 0-6-0T. My mistake.
Some here have asked about the 0-6-0 with the tender and smoke.
Remove the front screw and carefully lift off the shell. I have done it. Follow the instructions on the diagram that come with the loco.
Solder the wires to the tabs. A oood quality tiny decoder for this loco will cost about $20.00. I like the DZ125 decoder.

Rich

Actually, mine is the one with tender and smoke. Thanks for the heads up on the decoder.

Quote from: jward on February 03, 2013, 02:51:31 PM
the dc version lists for $96, the dcc for $125.

I got the whole Chattanooga set on Amazon for $109. Quite a deal, I thought, since I also wound up with rolling stock, control, track, signal bridge, station, phone poles, people, etc. I'm still using the DC control for accessory lights and so on. So I don't mind spending a little on the DCC conversion. Of course, now Doneldon has me pondering sound which is getting a little pricier 

Quote from: Doneldon on February 02, 2013, 09:53:25 PM
Skook-

It's generally easier to convert steam than diesel because you have a whole empty tender for the decoder and speaker if any. Diesels can be pretty tight under the hood, so much so that sometimes it's necessary to grind away part of the frame to make room for a decoder. And diesel speakers can be the devil's own work.

                                                                      -- D

Using the tender for decoder and/or speaker is a good idea that I will stow away for future projects. Doesn't this present the problem of disguising wires running between loco and tender?

Well, I did a search for Jonathan and 0-6-0 and saw some of what you're talking about, Rich. So I'm definitely convinced of feasability. Jward- I didn't know the 0-6-0s also came DCC since I have gone the way of diesels after that first starter set. Maybe this will get me to thinking aabout steam some more. Thanks to everyone for their input.

Quote from: richg on February 02, 2013, 06:11:08 PM
Check Jonathan's thread on his fleet of 0-6-0's.

Rich

How do I do that?

I started this hobby about 1 1/2 years ago and my first train was the Chattanooga 0-6-0 steam DC set. Since then I've gone all DCC with my locos (yes, they are Bachmann, and I'm using an E-Z Command). I also added a Bachmann DCC decoder (E-Z Command, two function; pretty low profile) to a Trainline FA-1 which went smoothly. Now I'm looking at the 0-6-0 and wondering if I might put the same Bachmann decoder in it. Is that feasible? The body of the loco looks a little difficult to remove so I'd like to know if it's worth it before tearing into things. If it is possible to do this I'd also appreciate advice on removing the shell with the least amount of damage.

This song was written by Jesse Fuller a famous one man band from the San Francisco Bay Area. It was most notably covered by The Grateful Dead who did it a lot in their concerts. Jesse also wrote San Francisco Bay Blues which made him famous.



http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YM62iL_Gh2g

I have one and I think it works just fine for my needs. I like that it comes with spare cleaning pads so I'm good to go for awhile before buying more. Seems to be a lot less time consuming than other methods I've heard of. A little pricey so it pays to shop around. Got mine at my LHS when they were having a sale. With the time it saves me I have more time to work on my layout  

The Chattanooga is a nice little 0-6-0 that falls in that category. I got it for about $100 as a DC train to get me started in the hobby.

Well put, Jim. As a newbie I'm personally quite happy with the E-Z Command and will probably continue with it for quite a while as I learn about and experiment with all the apects of this hobby. It's nice to have something I can operate from the git-go. And like you say, what we want is one thing and what gets through budget committee may be another.

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this thread. I learn a lot from you all.  Steve

I'm fairly new to model railroading (less than a year) and just got this control a couple of months ago. What Jerry said about not being able to program CVs could be too much of a  limitation for more experienced and sophisticated users, but for a newbie like me it's a perfect way to start learning and using DCC. I found the control worked just as it is supposed to, handling as much as I need it to do at this time (DCC loco, DCC switcher, lights, light dimming, DCC switches and a DC loco as well). It's easy to program and use and the price is decent considering it's a DCC control (they can be found online in the $85 to $90 range).

The only challenge I ran into in the beginning was programming from the instructions that came in the box. The instructions on this Bachmann website worked better for me. Maybe just worded a bit differently or a little more thorough on some key things. Here's the link for anyone that's interested: http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/ezcommand.php?ezpage=1

BTW, thanks to Bachmann for making DCC (controls, locomotives, etc.) affordable to people like me who have more time and interest than money.

I guess what I was thinking (but not communicating that well) would be some part of a railroad scenario such as a railyard, lumber mill,  mining operation or that kind of thing as it exists or existed in real life, but I can see that prototype really refers to the trains themselves.