I haven't looked at the inside of Bill & Ben but I'm confident they can fit a speaker and keepalive somewhere. A Loksound 5 Nano is extremely small, after all.

The electrical noise is expected when placing a DC locomotive on a DCC layout regardless of controller. Without going too much into detail, the track is constantly switching polarity from +14v to -14v, and the DC motor will respond accordingly. Even on a DCC system with working DC mode, the constant switching will increase wear on the motor.

I haven't done an install on Duck but I have done an install on a few other models which you can read about here: https://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,38280.0.html

I have looked inside duck and it is pretty straightforward to convert to standard DCC. If you've ever soldered two wires together, it's a 10 minute job. The longest part of any Bachmann DCC install is verifying where the wires go, because I have not found any consistency in wire color choices.

There are two manufacturers of programmable sound decoders: Loksound and Digitrax. Digitrax I think are a beginners' decoders, and I have never used their sound decoders; I use Loksound for all my locomotives instead because I find them to be exceptionally better. There is a price difference between the two though, and Loksound requires a proprietary computer peripheral to program the sounds called the LokProgrammer. I do not know if Digitrax has the requirement for a specific computer peripheral.

Duck is large enough you might be able to use an HO scale decoder, but for your first one I recommend an N scale decoder just in case. For Loksound, the products to get are one of the following:

• 58923   LokSound 5 Nano DCC »Blank decoder«, single wires, gauge: N, TT
• 58820   LokSound 5 micro DCC "blank decoder", 8-pin NEM652, gauge: N, TT, H0
• 58823   LokSound 5 micro DCC "blank decoder", single wires, gauge: N, TT, H0
• 58810   LokSound 5 micro DCC/MM/SX/M4 "blank decoder", 8-pin NEM652, with Speaker 11x15mm, gauge: N, TT, H0
• 58813   LokSound 5 micro DCC/MM/SX/M4 "blank decoder", single wires, with Speaker 11x15mm, gauge: N, TT, H0
• 58816   LokSound 5 micro DCC/MM/SX/M4 "blank decoder", 6-pin NEM651, with Speaker 11x15mm, gauge: N, TT, H0

Digitrax you will have to do your own research for.

For the install, only the cab needs to be removed, which can be done with just two screws. Document which wire goes where on the PCB. The PCB has 4 wires in pairs: R, M+, L, M-. The sides "left" and "right" are relative to the front of the locomotive, i.e. Duck's left and right. To the wire going to the right rail: connect the red decoder wire. To the wire going to the left rail: connect the black wire. To the wire paired with the right rail wire (M+ if it was connected to R, M- if it was connected to L): connect to the orange decoder wire. Connect the other motor wire to the gray decoder wire.

After this the decoder should have the following unused wires: two brown wires, a yellow wire, blue wire, white wire, green wire, purple wire, cyan wire, and pink wire. Brown wires go to the speaker, blue and white go to a headlight, and blue and yellow go to a rear light, should you choose to add lights. The other 4 wires are additional function wires for such things as a firebox light, cab light, any other light sources, or a custom uncoupling mechanism. Any unused wires should be trimmed to fit in the locomotive. Drill holes in the cab floor to let the sound out and attach the speaker.

After you have wired the locomotive, you can download the lokprogrammer software, download a sound file that has chuffing sounds you like, and replace the whistle with one you like. When you are happy with how Duck sounds, you can upload the sound file and enjoy Duck.

Great overview of Bachmann's sets, Charlie.

This talk of a DCC set makes me wonder what manufacturer they will go with for the sound decoder. Bachmann has worked with Soundtrazz, TCS, and made their own decoders.

It would be amazing if Bachmann used Loksound. The function mapping features of loksound are what make it the best decoder system of all time. Likewise its ability to customize random function activations.

I suspect Bachmann won't use Loksound though. The Charger and Sprinter have WowSound which has no functionality for silencing the horn in reverse for push-pull operation. You also cannot buy the locos in DC or silent configurations, which is disappointing.

My suspicion is Bachmann will make their own branded sound decoder for Thomas and Percy.

I am curious about what changes the sound install will bring. If any significant changes to the tooling improve the quality of the model to the level of more recent T&F releases I might have to pick them up, or wait for the DC version so I can put Loksound in.

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Regarding a potential Thomas and Percy digital set, the Digital Commander set does seem like a perfect model for a Thomas and Percy set. The two locos, two troublesome trucks and Annie and Claribel or three troublesome trucks and a brakevan, a loop of track with a stub siding, the brand-new European coupler decoupler, the command station, and an instructional DVD would be a neat set for those who want to have fun driving and switching wagons.

I have some concerns. The Digital Commander set goes for $300 on trainworld. Exchanging the two silent locos for Thomas & Percy with Bachmann Sound installed and exchanging the rolling stock for troublesome trucks and a brakevan, my gut says a potential set will wind up between $500-$600 with Trainworld's discount. This price point seems high for a starter set, I wouldn't pay that much.

Does Bachmann's license allow for products of objects not seen on screen?

I'm sure people would buy a Sodor Line bobber caboose to go with their Beau locomotive. Bachmann already produces a painted & unlettered version with the correct colors, all that is required is the "SODOR LINE" block letters.

They already make IP-themed train sets for Disney, so having more doesn't seem like too large a stretch. I'm skeptical that the agreement between Disney and Bachmann would allow easy creation of new themed train sets though.

RT if you love Beau!!

I just watched Thomas Tuesday April 2023 and saw the painted sample for Beau. Great looking model, naturally, as Bachmann has had many years to perfect the 4-4-0. It would have been nice if the headlamp was a little bit higher up as it kind of obscures his face a little bit more than the CGI version, but that's not such a huge problem.

I am curious about the coupler conversion on the tender. It sounded like Bachmann did not modify any existing tooling, so how does the british-style coupling attach? Does it screw onto the existing draft gear? I hope this is the case, since I run all my rolling stock with kadees and replacing it with a lid would be extremely convenient.

I was kind of lukewarm about getting Beau but after seeing the sample, I may have to get him.

Thank you for the warm welcome! I look forward to sharing more projects when I finish them.

Great review, Chaz.

I will share my thoughts about Ryan's DCC installation potential. I performed the DCC conversion on Chaz's model so it could run on the club layout and I supplied the wagons. For some background on what I consider a full installation, check out my post regarding my DCC Thomas & Friends.

For those curious, I used a Hattons decoder and connected the wheel and motor wires to the back of the 8 pin plug since it was only a temporary install. We thought Ryan was going to have an 8 pin receptacle but it did not. Queue scrambling to find literally any solder in the building before yoloing it with a crusty ancient iron that worked just fine.

There were three major takeaways from inspecting the model:

1. There is great potential for ballasting Ryan and making him an even greater puller. The relatively thin gearbox leaves a lot of room for ballast in the side tanks. The cab can also fit a great deal of ballast, and it's not too bar back that it might upset the balance of the loco. Overall, 10/10 in terms of potential pulling power.

Ryan tackled the steepest grade on the layout with 10 wagons and didn't break a sweat. Is adding more weight even necessary? I would never pass up the opportunity to maximize the train length an engine can pull, so for me personally, empty spots in the model must be filled.

2. The screw post to connect the shell to the chassis block is a headscratcher. There is a standoff in the dead center of the bunker going all the way to the floor that the screw attaches to. To access the inside, the 6 runningboard screws and one rear chassis screw have to be undone, which seems somewhat excessive. I'm sure Bachmann had a good reason for doing it this way, but I can't figure out what that reason is. That said, I am glad that Bachmann made a hole in the trailing truck frame to easily access the 7th screw.

Were I to own a Ryan, I would cut the standoff and have the screw thread into a piece of plastic glued to the runningboard. With this modification, the runningboard can stay secured to the chassis block while the shell only requires unscrewing 6 screws.

3. The cab is perfect for a speaker. Normally I would use a speaker baffle inside the shell, but with the cab having such a large flat surface, I would consider cutting a hole or drilling holes for sound to escape there, and use the entire loco shell as a baffle.

Another thing I want to investigate is the possibility of disassembling Ryan without removing the face. I found that rocking the shell back and forth a bit once all the screws were out would loosen the face and then the shell could come all the way off. I've modified Thomas and James to disassemble easier, I am wondering if Ryan could have the same.

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There's DCC question threads on every page of the forum, but not so many DCC answer threads. I'm solving that now! I have several Bachmann Thomas & Friends DCC installations with sound and hand-built keepalive modules.

Before I talk about my installs, a foreword about why I installed DCC this way:

My club layout is extremely large. This presents challenges in two forms: it is steep, and it is hard to clean. Locomotives have to be strong, and they have to be able to deal with dirty track. This necessitates extra weight, traction tires, extra pickups, and keepalive modules.

You do not need to replicate what I have done to enjoy DCC, but you might find inspiration if you face similar problems.

Yes, I use Kadees on all my rolling stock.

Without further ado,

Thomas

This is one of my most complicated installations and has taken the longest. He's gone through several revisions to get working, as he is one of the lighter models. Lets dive right in:



Keen eyes will see a lot wrong here. The weights I have next to no information about, aside from finding them on ebay one day and I knew I needed them, as I have had perennial issues with traction in specific spots on the layout. What you cannot see is the Mashima motor inside the gearbox, which required shimming to fit in the space the Bachmann open frame motor once was. This motor is bulletproof and well worth it.

The gearbox has been unmounted from the shell and mounted to the chassis - this is an easy modification since the existing screws can screw into the running board once a hole is drilled.

The gearbox has been cut away in strategic places so that the eye mechanism can lift out. Normally, Thomas disassembles by removing the chassis block from the running board to access the shell screws, removing the shell from the runningboard, then removing the gearbox from the shell. With these mods, Thomas is one of the easiest models to take apart, as the eye mechanism staying with the shell means I don't have to fiddle with the eyes when reassembling.



Thomas also has a DCC Concepts lamp with a headcode for branchline train. This is appropriate since he is only capable of operating with Annie attached, since that's where the decoder is. In the future I may make a freight Thomas, either with a wholly new Thomas or by merely replacing Annie with a van or wagon with decoder in it.



To combat dirty track, Annie has pickups. Because the keepalive module does not have any control circuitry like ESU's own keepalives, it has to be manually connected and disconnected when programming on the Lokprogrammer. This isn't a problem when programming on the main, so that is my preferred method of changing locomotive addresses.



Annie has a DCC decoder, a speaker module, and a keepalive module. You can see the simple plug system which has to be disconnected to program the loco. I want to add an interior to Annie possibly along with interior lighting. When that is done, a physical switch will be used to make it easier to disconnect.

Percy



Percy was a relatively simple installation. I did not even bother trying to get Percy to pull cars, because I had another idea which I will elaborate on later. This was the first install I tried out small pieces of copper-clad board cut to a small size. I found these extremely useful as a "terminal strip" between the fragile DCC Concepts lamp wires and the much larger decoder wires.



A bracket was created to elevate the speaker module since Percy's gearbox attaches to the runningboard in a very strange way. Thanks to the small sizes of the capacitors I use and the Loksound V5 Micro, everything tucks inside the cab.

Cheater Boxcar 1

Percy would never be able to pull cars up the grades on his own, so another technique was devised. Cheater boxcars are sort of an open secret in model railroading. You can take any cheap locomotive, put a boxcar shell over it, and magically increase the pulling power of any locomotive. A lad out of England sells motorization kits for die-cast trolleys on Ebay, and I had been sitting on some for quite some time. Percy's installation was the impetus for me to actually put my plans into action.



Cheater boxcar 1 is a Thomas & Friends van with a motor inside. Salvaging a number of weights from -- appropriately enough a Bachmann F-unit from the 80's or 90's -- the cheater boxcar is a self-contained locomotive programmed to do the train pulling thing while Percy looks good in front. The boxcar also has a plug that connects to Percy, so the number of wheels collecting power is effectively doubled. The boxcar weighs 170 grams, which is over twice as much as Percy weighs.



Even close up, it's quite difficult to tell that anything is amiss.

James



James was another locomotive that has spent a long time in development. He has required many modifications to run well, including ballasting his cab to an extreme degree. He is probably the heaviest Thomas & Friends locomotive I own. He also has traction tires on his rear drivers, because there is no such thing as overkill. He is my strongest Thomas & Friends locomotive to date, and possibly will always be.

Complimenting his strength is the reliability of a Mashima motor. I have Mashima motors for 4 of my locos: Thomas, James, Gordon, and Henry. These were the first 4 Thomas & Friends locomotives I attempted to convert to DCC, and I got these motors after some pretty bad results using a regular Bachmann motor in Thomas. Aside from those 4, I am using the regular Bachmann motors in my other locomotives. Rest in peace Mashima motor company.

Like Thomas, I cut away the gearbox to allow the eye module to stay with the shell during disassembly. Very convenient!

Unfortunately I don't have any photos of the decoder itself, but you will see more-or-less the same thing in Emily's tender later.

Cheater Boxcar 2

While working on James, I made a decision to alter the standard weight of my rolling stock. Before the change, I was using NMRA specifications to weight all wagons. The standard specifies 1 oz per car plus 0.5 oz per inch length. This meant that the standard wagon required 2.5 oz or 71 grams of weight. McKinley Railway has done extensive testing including testing the NMRA standard, and they discovered wagons worked best when weighted to 0.5 oz per inch length. This meant wagons would be weighted to 1.5 oz or 45 grams. For comparison, a 40ft boxcar weighs 3.5 oz, so a 12 wagon train weighs more than 8 boxcars. Decreasing the weight by 40% per car is a significant change, and although James can pull long trains just fine under the new weight standard, my experience with James pulling wagons using the old weight standard suggested that a cheater boxcar was mandatory.



And then there were two. Cheater boxcar 2 uses weights from Hornby Mk1 coaches instead of from an old Bachmann toy.



The operation of cheater boxcar 2 is identical to cheater boxcar 1. James has a recepticle for a plug in his tender, and the two are basically interchangeable.

Due to several factors, I ended up swapping the boxcars, so Percy was pushed by cheater boxcar 2 and James pulled around cheater boxcar 1.

Donald & Douglas

Unfortunately I don't have any pictures of Donald's tender, but it's basically the same as Annie's. Donald is one of two Thomas & Friends locomotives I have that do not use Bowser #691-1294 speaker modules. Although I have 4 locos with the speaker modules, Thomas is the only one where the sound is satisfying. I have not yet found a suitable alternative as Loksound V5's amplifier tends to be too strong for a single speaker.



The interior of Douglas's tender. Donald & Douglas are set up to run together and have only a single sound decoder and headlamp between them. TCS plugs were used to connect the tender to the locomotive, but a manufacturing defect meant that for the longest time, it would be possible to blow up the decoder by swapping the tender. Swapping the tender would not have been easy since the wire routing was mirrored and the drawbars are held captive with a screw, but it was not an ideal situation. When Douglas's decoder stopped responding to Lokprogrammer input, it was the appropriate time to fix the problem. Using an 8-pin expansion board salvaged from another locomotive and a mountain of 3M foam tape, Douglas is now DCC ready!



All of my tenders use pickups made out of brass wipers intended for cabeese. By cutting them in half, they can be glued to a piece of paper or soldered to copper-clad board and adjusted to rub the inside of the wheels just enough to get electricity. Annie has these same things cut into quarters.

I believe I bought these wipers from TCS, but after scratching my head for a while and finally calling them on my cellular telephone, they told me that the person who made them died. Rest in peace, brass wiper maker.

Intriguingly, Bowser sells the exact same thing as part #74056, although I can't find this part on Walthers.

Emily

Have you ever seen a Bachmann Emily pull 14 wagons up a hill?



I had never run Emily on DC nor had I heard anyone else's experience with Emily when I converted her to DCC. The secret sauce is in the 8 tungsten weights tucked around the shell - can you spot them all? A traction tire also helps, which I put on the front drivers (despite appearances, Bachmann Emily is a 2-4-2). I did the front instead of the main driver because it would have been easier to get an even application.



"This is my spot!" - Bowser speaker module.

There are two walls at the back of Emily's tender. One of them helps the shell stay in place, but the other has seemingly no significance except that a Bowser speaker module fits perfectly inside it, so that's where I put it.

Instead of plugs, i decided to try expanding the "terminal strip" idea I talked about with the Percy install. I cut squares for all the wires that needed bridging and soldered everything to the strip. I did other ones for the keepalive plug to prevent stress on the decoder and one for the speaker wires to avoid having to manage shrink-wrapped wires. Overall I wasn't very pleased with the all-on-one-board approach, as the board size was somewhat too small and the wires were clipped a little too short.

Gordon

I don't have any pictures of Gordon's installation, unfortunately. It's basically the same as Annie's. Gordon is the other locomotive that does not use the Bowser speaker module.

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That's it for now! I hope it was inspiring or at least interesting to read. I will post more pictures and maybe a tutorial when I get back to working on Thomas & Friends models. I'm happy to answer any questions, too!

Hello all, this is my first post on the forum.

I have always loved the Sodor Line caboose, and I wanted to recreate it in OO.



The caboose is a marriage of a Bachmann bobber caboose and an Airfix wagon chassis. In the first iteration of the model, the caboose was glued on top of the wagon chassis and the buffers glued to the caboose frame. I decided this wasn't good enough, so for the second iteration I slimmed down the wagon chassis as much as I could, lopped the buffers off the bufferbeam, and glued them to the caboose end sill.



CB&Q red and Locomotive Black were airbrushed on, and Microscale decals "Providence & Worcester" were used for the letters. This decal pack had all the letters necessary except "L" which was created by cutting off one side of a "T."



The handrails and buffers were hand-painted with silver paint, which is a subtle nod to the wooden railways caboose that inspired this project.



You can even see the caboose sneak into some of @chaz's Ryan photos