balwin 4-6-0 LOCO

[Anonymous]

Hi
Can I convert my balwin 4-6-0 to DCC. It a new loco. I am new at this hobby and I like train plane and veryy old cars.have a lot of question about large scale. I have a indoor layout now, I want more than one train so I would like to conver to DCC. This hobby my wife can watch me a lot better, so shesaid.
Thanks
Andy

[Tom The Brat]

You mean a Bachmann 4-6-0?

[Anonymous]

Hi Torby
Yes I mean a bachmann 4-6-0. The shipping label said Balwin on it. My mistake. It is a "g" scale. My gave it to me for Xmas. It came as a set. I want to have a small indoor layout with 2 or 3 trains at the most. Thanks for the reply. I need all the info I can get.
Thanks
Andy Franklin

[Tom The Brat]

These have fairly simple wiring and shouldn't be hard. A DCC expert should chime in shortly. I converted one of these to RC and carry batteries in the tender.

You're hooked now!

[Curmudgeon]

I answered this twice for you on the Bachmann site.
While it isn't hard, NONE of the LS 4-6-0's are DCC ready.

The VERSION I keep asking you to identify will dictate how you convert it and how hard it is.
I do hope you know how to solder and have some basic understanding of at least electricity if not electronics.
I could go through the entire song and dance, but we need to know the version.

Now, go back to the TWO threads you started on the Bachmann board and answer them.

You're real fast approaching troll status, if you just keep asking questions and don't answer them.

[Curmudgeon]

I brought BOTH your posts on the Bachmann board to the top for ya.

[Curmudgeon]

Okay, on the Bachmann board you say it's a version 3.

Probably not worth the effort, but:

Take the boiler off the chassis (2 screws under the cab, 2 under each air tank, one under smokebox).

Remove bottom cover (3 more screws down the middle from underneath).

2 wires (often red and black) go from chassis to boiler.
This powers smoke AND lights.

Cut them.

Now, find the bundle of wires soldered to the motor terminals.

Keeping them left side/right side, remove them.

The motor output ONLY of your decoder goes to the motor terminals.

The other wires you took off, 2 are the ones you cut, remove them.
The others are track power pickups.
These go to track inputs of your decoder.

Now you have motor and pickups.

Pull the smokebox front off (work it out, clip top and bottom).

Find the headlight wires. Cut them at the source. Connect with extensions as needed to the headlight output of your decoder.
The cut red and black wires can be used on a smoke output, if you have it.

Backup lights can be done by re-wiring the chuff plug.


It's a start, and I hope it's really a version 3, or not much of this will make sense.

TOC

[Anonymous]

thanks

QUOTE: Originally posted by Curmudgeon

I brought BOTH your posts on the Bachmann board to the top for ya.

[Anonymous]

stop
thanks