I have been thinking about putting decoders in my Hobbytowns also. I have over 20 of them that need to be upgraded. I was curious how you isolated the pickup from the gear tower to prevent shorting against the frame when going around a tight curve? Any other pointers would be greta too,maybe a tutorial for old heads like me looking to upgrade. Thanks for your original post.
Tom
put in a NCE D13SRJ. don't know why, just wanted to run it on dcc. original pitmann motor. slight purring sound but the standard gear noises drown that out. the brush springs were tuned a long time ago for minimum contact but not too light. glued the motor onto the frame with rtv. put plastic plug over the rear truck to hold it to the frame because originally the screw there went right into the motor frame. made a plastic box to keep the decoder away from the shafts between motor and flywheel. Now I'm wondering if I can do sound as well. not much room in there but will give it thought. was fun and of course it runs like a top!