Warflight,

I put together a short video of my old time passenger train showing the before and after adding passengers and interior lighting.  Notice, you can't even see the capacitors.  I mounted the PCB to the under side of the roof and there's still plenty of room for the passengers.  DCC power is picked up through the trucks using a simple wiper made of bronze wire.  https://youtu.be/v4rmXW_UDQg

Rod in PA

Warflight,

Check out this site, http://voltscooter.com/.  They make an excellent LED circuit board lighting kit that can be cut down as small as 4".  They use super caps for keep alive and the brightness is adjustable.  I've used them to light up 4 old time Roundhouse coaches and at least 8 different cabooses so far.  They are a little pricey, but you get what you pay for.

Rod in PA 

Rich,

I've used super glue to maintain the shape of flex track.  Once the track is shaped and pinned or nailed in place, I run super glue between the bottom of the rail and ties.  After the glue dries, the track can be removed from the layout (for what ever reason) and the flex track will maintain its shape.
Rod in PA

Brokenrail, nice suggestion, but I wouldn't hold my breath.

I emailed SoundTraxx last night about this issue.  Will have to wait to see who steps up first with a solution - if any one.

Also, I tried to adjust some more CVs on the 50 ton Climax last night.  It got so messed up I had to do a decoder reset.  This morning I downloaded the sound module CV listing for the Spectrum EM-1.  I'm going to compare this listing with the factory loaded default CVs of the Climax, and see if they are even close; this may take a while.

Rod in PA

Len, I already looked at that, it's a general guide for "DCC & Sound On Board" steam locos.  It doesn't pertain to the separate plug and play modules.

West Bound, I'm not sure if that 70 ton Climax uses a plug & play sound module like the new 50 ton Climax.  If it does, that CV listing may be useful; I'll check it out.

Thanks to both of you.

Mr. B; a US Air Force quote for Bachmann:  "The job isn't done until the paperwork's finished."

Mr Bach Man,

I recently purchased the new HO Spectrum 50 ton, 2 truck Climax; awesome little engine.  I also purchased the Sound Module for this engine; easy installation.

Problem:  I can't locate the CV default listing for this sound module.  The instructions that came with the sound module said a copy of the CV listing could be found on both the Bachmann and SoundTraxx web sites.  I've searched both web sites high and low and have found nothing.

Question: Could you please provide me a copy of the CV default listing?  It's rather difficult to adjust CVs without knowing what's supported.  Also, why isn't a copy of the CV listing included with the sound module, it can't cost that much more for a single sheet of paper?

Thanks for your help,
Rod in PA

Hi Sunbeam2,

I have the Bachmann K4, item #84014, which was DCC equipped.  The tender does not have a speaker installed, but the floor had an area moulded for a 1" speaker.  The minimun radius of all curves on my layout is 18" and my Pennsy 4-6-2 operates just fine.

Here is a video of my steam engine roster that I posted awhile back.  The K4 appears last.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADa0EU7p-3Y

I hope this helps.

Rod in PA

Martha,

Very nice Christmas layout and video.  Reminds me of the Christmas layouts we had as kids.  I too like the idea of adding a steam engine, maybe a Santa Train.

Well done and Merry Christmas.

Rod in PA

J3a-614,

That kit is by American Model Builders, "Cullen Station", about $25 from Hobbylinc.

Rod

Thanks all for the kind comments.

J3a-614, I know, I grew up living next to the BFC tracks.  Many of my relations, including my grandfather, great uncles, uncles and my dad all worked for the BFC at one time.  As kids, these railroad tracks were a path to many of our outdoor activities; baseball field, swimming and fishing holes, and just exploring the country side.  If your interested, there's a book titled "Rails to Penn State" that tells the history of the BFC.  You can get it through Amazon.com.  The #15,
2-8-0 in the video represents one of the steam locomotives that was actually owned by the BFC and engineered by my grandfather.  The little station is a laser cut kit, I don't recall the maker but I can find out if your interested.  It looks a great deal like a small station that was serviced by the BFC and located at Scotia, PA.

Thanks again everyone,
Rod

Hi all,
Here's a video of my (work in progress) "Pennsy & Bellefonte Central RR", showing my four Bachmann HO, DCC sound equipped, steam locomotives.

I began construction of this layout in 1978, while I was in the Air Force and stationed in Athens, Greece.  The initial size was 8' x 10', two level, "U" shape design.  It was made up of four bolt together sections so that it could be taken apart for shipment.  About all I was able to complete before being transferred back to the states in 1980, was the bench work, track and a few structures.  I built crates for each of the four sections and that's where the layout remained until I finally retired in March of 2009.

I un-crated the layout after finishing a room in the basement.  I then wired it for dual cab, block operation, but soon discovered the advantages of DCC.  I converted one of the cabs to DCC using NCE Powercab and left the other cab direct current.  The scenery is about 70% complete and I hope to finish more of it this winter.

Anyway, here is the video; you may want to adjust the quality to at least 360p before viewing.

                                      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADa0EU7p-3Y

Thanks to all that have or are now serving,
Rod

I was having a similar problem with a recently purchased 2-8-0, item #51312.  The front tender truck would derail at a certain spot each time.  The wires between the loco and tend were rather stiff, and as Jonathan suggested, I positioned the wires so they didn't interfear with the draw bar.  I also loosened the draw bar screw a little, which allowed it to move more freely.  And, one final adjustment, which seemed to be the cure,  was to back off the front truck screw allowing the truck to move freely in all directions.  Hope this helps you.

Good luck,
Rod

Hi Justi,

I just received the Bachmann HO 2-8-0 item #51312 the other day.  It is DCC equipped, and according to the loco diagram it uses an LED for the headlight.  The tender does  have a round. moulded in speaker area, with holes drilled in the bottom.  I haven't opened the tender yet, but it looks like it will accept a 1" round speaker.

I agree with Jonathan, check out the SoundTraxx web site.  I plan on installing sound using the TSU-1000 for light steam and the largest size speaker that will fit. I'll have to open the tender first to determine the correct size.

Hope this helps,
Rod in PA

Happy Easter to all.

Hi Ted,

I'll try to explain how I removed the K4 shell, but first I'd like to say that some time after the light pipe modification, I installed a tsunami sound decoder which did not have any affect on the headlight brightness mod.

Now to remove the K4 shell.  It's been a while since I've done this but I'll give it a try.  First, look at the K4 parts diagram; it's on this web site if you don't have one on hand.  Notice the screw just in front and centered on the female portion of the engine/tender connector.  I believe this screw and friction are all that holds the boiler shell in place.

You can leave the engine and tender connected but be very careful, the connector wires can easily be pulled from their socket (that's another story).  Besides, removing the tender is a lot more complicated that removing the shell.  I use a thick, folded up bath towel to work on; you can roll the engine from side to side or upside down without having to pick it up.

Now back to the screw behind the connector.  There should be just enough room to back out that screw without having to remove the female connector, if not you'll have to remove the connector (just two screws).  Once the screw is removed, roll the engine back up right, lift up on the cab portion to about a 30 degree angle, gently push the entire shell forward (the bottom of the smoke box hooks onto the weight), the shell should now be free.

I hope this helps, let me know how you make out.
Rod

Hi Ted,

My first DCC ready Bachmann HO engine was the Pennsy K4 4-6-2.  Like you, I was very unhappy with the brightness (or lack of) the headlight.  I installed an NCE DCC decoder but it did not affect the brightness of the headlight any.

After working up the courage to remove the shell, I discovered that the light was emitted through a rather long light pipe that had a 90 degree bend in it.  What I did to resolve the issue was to shorten, cut off, most of the vertical portion of the light pipe.  I did not remove the light pipe, I carefully cut it off in place.  I then bent the led up to where it was just below the remaining portion of the light pipe; this took several attempts to get the led positioned just right, but it worked.  I don't remember if the original led leads were long enough to accomplish this or if I had to replace the led with longer leads (I think I had to replace the led).  Either way I didn't have to replace any resistors and the brightness of the headlight was dramatically increased.

Good luck,
Rod in PA