Dash 8-40CW DCC

[Cascade Northern]

I have recently aquired a Bachmann Union Pacific Dash 8-40CW #9404.  My question to all of you is what DCC decoder am I to put into the locomotive, or does it already have a DCC decoder?  I have never worked with DCC as I am a G-Scaler with onboard battery RCS.

Also, are there any precautions I should take with this locomotive?

Thanks!

[Conrail Quality]

This locomotive does not come with a DCC decoder, so you will have to install one yourself. How easy it is will depend on if you have the new mechanism(gray metal) or the old (black metal). If you have the new one, installation isn't that bad, relatively speaking. Solder the wires from the decoder to the pads on the lightboard, numbered 1-7, and that's it, mostly. You may or may not want to cut the big yellow capacitator on the lightboard, depending on what decoder you use. If your decoder is performing poorly, the capacitator is the most likely culprit.

If you have the old mechanism, you have a much a larger task ahead of you, including milling the frame to fit a decoder, electrically isolating the motor, and basically rewiring the locomotive.

For the new mechanism, this guide is actually for the SD-45, but the SD45 and C40 mechanisms are very similar, so it may be helpful.
http://www.tcsdcc.com/decoderpics/Bachmann_Spectrum_SD-45/Bachmann_Spectrum_SD-45.htm
For the old mechanism:
http://www.tcsdcc.com/pdf/N_Bachmann_C40-8_M-1.pdf

As for the decoder itself, a TCS M1, Digitrax DZ125, or any similarly-sized decoder should be fine.

Timothy

[Cascade Northern]

Thanks Timothy!  This is what I was looking for.