This would be a very lengthy and picture-ladened "how to" if I were to post it - in its entirety - on this thread so I'm just going to link to it from my website. Along with the step-by-step tutorial includes a list of the tools, materials, and optional tools & materials I used to complete the project. It also outlines how to add a rear LED headlight to the cab. I hope it proves to be helpful to anyone interested in converting one of these little workhorses to DCC.
Thank you so very much for your ¨how to¨ posts. I enjoy reading how others do a task that I have also done, only a little bit differently. I´ve got two Athearn switchers to work on, putting LEDs into them. If you use a full wave bridge rectifier you can have both the LEDs on at the same time. However, if you want the front LED on when the engine is going forward and the rear LED on only when going in the reverse direction you will need to add a diode to the rear LED so it only conducts electricity in the reverse direction. At least that´s how I learned how to do it. Rusty
Thank you ever so much for posting this. I enjoy reading how others accomplish a task that I have already done so as to compare techniques. Although I have not added a decoder, I am still interested in how to disassemble and reassemble my model. Instead of using a styrene tube to put the LED into, I knocked out the lens and put the LED into the space the lens occupied. After connecting a current limiting resistor, I wired it up and it is very bright now. I´ve added 3 mm LEDs to some of my steam engines as well. If you wire the forward and rearward LEDs to a full wave bridge rectifier they will both be on all the time. If you want the rear LED to burn only when the engine is backing up you need to add a diode to the rear LED. At least that´s how I learned to do it. I´ve added SMD´s to all my coaches that light up and used full wave bridge rectifiers and 3300 uFD caps for flicker free lighting. By using the full wave bridge rectifiers the coaches will light up in either direction. As you can tell, I love playing with electronics. Oh, and by the way, I went to your website and added it to my favorites menu so I can visit whenever I want. Thanks for posting your web site. Rusty
