1970's Lionel HO GS4's

[Rick6643]

What is the best decoder and sound board to use to convert these to DCC. I was told that these were manufactured by Backman for Lionel. Also are there any manuals to make this conversion?
Thanks
Rick

[ACY]

I would suggest not installing sound and DCC in this loco because the tender has no pickups and this version is not particularly good running compared to Bachmann's newest version. If you want a GS4 with DCC and sound, I would buy a new one on ebay for $60-$80 and then add sound. This version already has tender pickup and should have a place for a speaker if I recall correctly.

[Jim Banner]

Were the original Lionel Northerns sidewinders?  About a year ago I repaired one that had a conventional drive train.  After fixing the split gears, it ran smooth and quiet.  If it had been mine, I would have considered installing a decoder.  This makes me wonder if perhaps ACY's experience was with something like a sidewinder version.

Some earlier model locomotives ran well, even by today's standards.  On the other hand, some of them were plain awful.  Perhaps the best advice would be to lubricate this locomotive and run it on dc to see how well it runs.  At the same time, do a stall current test to see how much current it draws at 12 volts dc with the motor held from turning.  Any decoder you want to use must be able to handle at least this much current.  It might be that you will have to use two separate decoders, one for motion, the other for sound.  Either that, or replace the motor with one that draws less current.  A fair amount of work.  But if yours runs as nicely as the one I had the pleasure of working on, you will end up with a locomotive that would be a great addition to anyone's railroad.

Jim

[ACY]

This makes me wonder if perhaps ACY's experience was with something like a sidewinder version.

Jim you hit the hammer on the nail. Hopefully he has a good running loco, unlike the one I had, that may have been an older version, I sold mine for $20 for parts about 4 or 5 years ago.

[Pacific Northern]

This makes me wonder if perhaps ACY's experience was with something like a sidewinder version.

Jim you hit the hammer on the nail. Hopefully he has a good running loco, unlike the one I had, that may have been an older version, I sold mine for $20 for parts about 4 or 5 years ago.

I think the saying is "Hit the nail on the head"

[Jim Banner]

How does everybody know I hit my nail with a hammer?  My finger still hurts.

Jim