Hi. I know it's analog.. How big a job would it be to add a decoder and sound to this ? I've never done this..Would someone modify it for me for a price ? And what will it cost me or another to do this ? Also, do you know if the flanges are up to today's standards, and not pizza cutters from days gone by. They sure look great otherwise ! Thanks, Mark
besides the usaul brass specific issues, if it has a can motor then it is not very difficult at all. not that different than hard wiring a plastic loco. there are people/shops out there that would do it for you. personally if you are half competent with a soldering iron then do it yourself! there are lots of guides and handy hints and tips all over the internet and if you get stuck you could always ask here... I cannot comment about the specific model regarding flanges as i'm not familiar with it and being across the pond I can't recommend anyone or expected prices but others will be able too. Good Luck!
As stated above it shouldn't be a prob;em at all if it has a can motor. I do not operate DCC, but do visit friends out of state who have huge layouts and one friend is a DCC guru. He installed DCC and Tsunami sound in a Z=5 Yellowstone (2-8-8-4) in less than 20 minutes. All electronics fit easily in the tender along with the speaker. All of the electronics will easily fit into a smaller tender without any problems. The Yellowstone is too large to operate on my layout with 90 foot turntables, although I do take it out of its box a few times a year, lightly lubricate it and let it run around the layout for about an hour to keep everything moving. I do take it with me when I go to visit my out of state friends layout.
Thanks for the encouragements. I always wonder if speaker will need a holes drilled in floor of tender and/or a speaker grill. But I never hear anyone state or show this. What's the low down with this ?......M
This locomotive is also a brass Santa Fe locomotive that I custom painted for my freelance railroad. It does not have sound now but years ago I did have a PFM sound system in it and all I did was to carefully drill some holes in the bottom of the render making sure that I didn't hit any of the under frame details.
I have one of those engines too. It was my first brass purchase back in 1971 when I lived in Burbank, CA. It is still the best running older unit I have, but it got tired of me picking it up and one of the air tanks broke off. I'm kind of chicken about trying to re-solder it back on. Any suggestion(s)? Oh yeah ... I recently purchased a Tsunami sound system to mount in it. My first attempt to do that too. ~cringe!~
This is a very old locomotive but it still runs like a Swiss watch. Instead of soldering, I would suggest just using some super glue sparingly to put the air tank back on. Years ago it was equipped with a PFM sound system but is now silent. I still operate DC and have no plans to get DCC.
I was thinking about the glue too. I will probably have to construct some sort of jig to hold it in place while it dries. I'm not sure just any brand of 'super-glue' would work ... never have tried it on metal. Have you?
Super glue should hold fine, as long as it isn't over-handled. It can be a bit brittle on metal. You could always try an epoxy as well. As for sound in brass, or any model, there should be holes drilled to let it out. Don't forget to get a speaker enclosure. If you get Model Railroader, in the September 2016 edition, there is an article about adding a sound decoder into a brass steam locomotive tender. There is also some info about adding detail parts in it.
as as been said already, super glue is ok for brass, just not as robust as solder. some early models had holes drilled in the tender chassis from the factory, but others and even older models you will need to drill a selection of holes in the tender base directly under where you plan to place the speaker and avoiding the underframe.
Yes, I knocked a brass akane Ma & Pa connie to the floor. The boiler split open and I used CA glue to fix it.. worked fine...M
I'm surprised that worked. I know those things don't run much more than 180 psi, but still. Folks, don't try CA glue on a model of something that runs 300 psi in the boiler!!
