The railroads that I model used Vanderbilt oil tenders. It is time to start the the transition. Despite the size of the tender, it is somewhat complicated and cramped inside. I am wondering if anyone here has put a sound decoder and speaker into one of these tenders? Since it is oil tender, there is no coal load so the old drill holes thru the plastic coal load trick to let the sound out isn't going to work. The bottom is round so I don't see any good spots for it there. I am thinking about a small opening in the front of the tender where it can't be seen when coupled to the engine. Any suggestions as to which decoder and speaker works best for this conversion? I am leaning towards the small Tsunami light steam, but it may be too big to fit. Thanks. - Nevin
This may not be everyone's cup o' tea, but for steam installations, I use Loksound's Micro decoders and either their 13mm or 16mm speakers and shoehorn the whole thing in the engine itself. The speakers are quite small and reproduce the sounds produced by a steam engine very well - unlike the needed bass tones we try to get in a diesel. The speaker takes up very little room and easily fits in the boiler either without having to remove any weight, or removing very little if necessary. The decoder is the smallest on the market and can usually tuck up in the top of the boiler right in front of the cab. It can even go in the roof of the cab and be barely noticeable.
The other important thing about putting the speaker in the boiler, is that's where the sound comes from on a real steam engine, not the tender. To me, that's a real illusion breaker - when a beautiful steam engine rolls by and the sound is coming from the tender !
.... but that's just me ....
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Look in the link at what Bachmann does.
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/H842X-IS001.PDF
I did this with a 14 mm x 25 mm oval speaker in a Vandy tender from the standard line HO 0-6-0 UP loco. Installed metal wheels and Kadee pickups. Used bird shot for added weight.
The tender has to be well sealed for a decent baffle.
Best is what sounds best to you.
For me, this was ok.
Rich
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If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
Nevin,
I have put a Tsunami in this tender. A few suggestions:
1. Use the micro tsunami
2. Put the decoder in the cylinder part of the tender and the speaker in the box. I cut a hole in the top of the box for access and then glued a plate over it when I was done.
3. Drill holes for the sound either in the front of the tender box or along the underneath of the ledges on the side.
4. Gut the existing board and hard wire the decoder - saves space...
Good luck with the install,
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
Forgot to mention, I used an older SoundTraxx LC decoder which is about the size of the Tsunami Micro.
No idea on how much room is in the tender in case you need the standard Tsunami. A little measuring will tell you what you need. SoundTraxx gives the size of the decoder.
It looks like gutting the board is the best way to go. I have Tsunami micro so that is what I'll use. If that goes there should be plenty of room for the decoder. Probably gluing the speaker to the front of the oil bunker facing the cab with some small holes inconspicuously drilled in it to let the sound out. What size speaker did you use?
The idea of putting the whole thing in the engine is a good idea for a lot of steam engines. I'll probably do that for my brass engines. However, I don't think it will work for the Bachmann 4-6-0. - Nevin
Sound in the loco is what a few do if there is room for a small round speaker. Issue being, no smoke from the stack or steam from different places on the loco.
I was just looking at this problem yesterday with my bachmann VC-12 tender.
I'm not sure the dimensions on the oil tender, but I do have a couple Bachmann VC-12. They have an outside diameter of 1.28" in HO which is darn close to prototypical.
Bachmann sells this tender with holds in the base frame for an oval speaker. The speaker they use in their factory installs is HORRID at reproducing low tones. The whistle can barely be heard over the chuff.
My advice, get a 1.06R Deepbase speaker. Place it vertically inside the tender. (Slight tilt forward may be required) It should just fit. Any gap could be filled with stick tack. Then drill a few holes into the floor. It might be even possible to stick a 1.22R Deepbase in IF you tilt it forward a bit. Please measure before you try. Or you can wait for my photos.Alternatively a more recently popular place to put speakers is in the front steam chest and let the sound come out the stack. A .75"R speaker will fit inside a ~66" real life size boiler. (I don't know what your main engine is, so I can't look up the steam chest size)
I'm going to do my conversion this week or next. If you want I'll post photos.
Don - Specializing in layout DC->DCC conversions
Modeling C&O transition era and steel industries There's Nothing Like Big Steam!
Here's a project I just finished. The Tender is a Spectrum Vandy with coal bunker. They'revery similar to the oil bunker you're working on.
The decoder is a Tsunami 750 steam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gTo1FpkcfX0
Erik Fiske
I couldn't fix your brakes, so I made your horn louder