Thanks so much; have a much better feeling about trying this project. One further question; the Mehano has capacitors on the Motor power terminals; notice several comments about these destroying decoders (ouch); should I remove? I know the DC reason was to smooth out the running of the motor.

I am new to DCC and have 2 of these highly detailed units. I intend to put my decoder in the tender as room in the steam Mehano is so tight. I can use the 2 pin for the rear light, and the four pin for loco functions. my question is how do I get inside without destroying it?

Another question, should I use the tender pickups or the loco for the DCC?