No idea on decoder. Both of mine will pull 8 free rolling cars up a grade. On the 9th, it will slip a bit, then recover, when going into the inclined turn leading to the grade.
I put my LL 2-8-4 drawbar modifications over on the LL berk that stalls thread. With photos. Chris333 has done a similar effort. Not to beat the dead horse again - no you shouldn't have to do this to a new, $180 engine, but in the spirit of unrepentant tinkering, I took it on to be the first insane person that tried it. I think it was worth it myself.
Concerning the MDC locos and DCC, it is possible with major surgery to the tender top, but I understand extremely difficult. Since I have no need or desire for DCC, it makes no difference to me. Like a real engineer, I can only run one train at a time.
Kiz They are building them just like the prototypes- 12 hours of maintinance for every 12 hours of work. Brent
I installed Lenz 521W decoders in the tender of MDC 2-8-0 without major surgery to the tender top. The placement of the decoder on top of the frame holding the motor is the key point here. Others have tried this installation by removing the flywheel which also isn't necessary. With the advent of the Lenz mini gold/silver decoders, this installation became so much easier. Stay cool and run steam.....
A little out of date! PSG1790 - did you notice that your reply is three days short of two years and two months after the date of my post? mg:
Some threads do get recycled. Do you realize the first post was Jan of 2005 and we are still bantering this around. Not that it's a bad thing but OLD! Let's put this to bed. Goodnight John, goodnight Sue, goodnight Tom, goodnight Ape?, goodnight Bob, goodnight Rick. Hey I can't say goodnight to myself. If we were going to boycott steam it should have been through the 80 and 90's. Gosh some of the garbage that was handed to us... Ie: Bachmann 4-8-4. We had some fairly good steamers from Rivarossi and Minitrix. They were growlers and not the greatest pullers. I was forever putting a diesel in behind them to pull a train of any length up 2.5% grades. Today, someone is listening and the market for N Scale steam is big. So, we should be seeing more quality steam before to long. Love my GS4! Brought to you as an unpaid, unpolitical announcement courtesy of Me, Myself and I.
Seven-inch radius?!?!?!? My Z scale layout has bigger curves than that. Wow! My minimum is 18" rad on the main, and 16" on hidden track.... Didn't the US military refuse to accept man had flown in heavier-than-air craft for years AFTER the Wright brother's flight?
If you want steam to run out of the box like a Kato or Atlas diesel, without any more maintenance, forget it! Even the Con-Cor J3a Hudson, which was about the most bullet-proof steam engine ever, requires more attention than a diesel. The side rods, crank pins, ecentric, main rods, piston rods, and other pieces of valve gear alone add complication and maintenance over a diesel. You have lead and trailing trucks, a tender, and the electrical connection between the two to contend with. Steam, even in model form, is more complex than any diesel. Even the Tyco Chatanooga Choo-Choo setup, where a diesel drive in the tender pushes the locomotive, still requires the valve gear to move smoothly and it will eventually wear out long before a diesel drive will. Just the nature of the beast. Kinda like the prototype....why do you think GM could charge more for a diesel than a comparable steam locomotive, yet railroads converted over to diesel in less than 15 years after having steam for a century? Charlie Vlk
Gregg: I saw that this thread was resurrected from the "thread graveyard". I never answered your statement to begin with. Just thought I'd clear up your statement saying that the decoder installation can be accomplished with little difficulty.:lightning::lightning:To date, I've installed decoders in nine MDC 2-8-0's without raising the tender load. Stay cool and run steam....
What "problems"???:hmm4er: All mine work just fine ... DCC included. I have 1 Model Power 4-6-2 Pacific; 4 Kato Mikes; 2 Bachmann 2-8-0 Consolidations; 4 Con Cor GN S2 4-8-4's; 2 J3a 4-6-4 Hudsons (lettered for GN) ... and even 1 Con Cor/Rivarossi Challenger (currently undergoing conversion with a GHQ NP Z8 kit). I'm Happy!! :shade: All I need now is the Athearn Undec Challenger I ordered. :teeth:
All i run in N gauge is steamers, and i dont intend to buy any diesels ever. I only have four at the moment, but will buy more as time and money permit. I also dont run mine for hours at a time, and only run one at a time so they should last pretty well.
