Is there a source for information on HO locomotives similar to Spookshow's N scale locomotive reference. I primarily need to know which locomotives are DCC friendly as well as how well they operate. I am heavily into N scale but haven't had any HO since Atlas did the SD24 and SD35 back in the early 1970's.
I feel your pain it's a crapshoot for sure! I have two UP "EMD SD70ACe" "dcc ready" locos (1 yellow 1 gray) that, being circa 2018, have a "21-Pin DCC ready motherboard" but beyond that is anyone's guess! A March 2018 product review states Walthers used a "ESU Sound & DCC dual-mode decoder" and, while also being "split-frame", mine has no cutout for a speaker mount either. Checkout ESU's site also found this for mine? (Walther's ESU page)