Athearn C44-9W KIT

[CB&Q4-8-4Fanatic]

I just bought the dcc adaptor board for the rtr locos but i am planning on installing it in this kit. i am planning on installing a tsu-1000 into the board. my question is how would i keep the use of the bulb shroud and wiper clip while converting it to dcc?

[cacole]

Installing a DCC adapter board is a waste of time and money -- just hard wire a 9-pin JST harness into the loco.  I never use the Athearn "fire in the cab" bulb or clip -- I remove them and use a Golden Glow LED for the headlight.

[wholeman]

Whenever I upgrade the lighting on my Athearns, I always remove the boards on them for two reasons.

1.  The lighting outputs are 1.5 volts.  I upgrade to LEDs which require about 3 volts.

2.  Space.  There isn't much room.  In fact, yesterday I got an Athearn like you are explaining, but in the RTR line.  I couldn't place the decoder on top of the motor because the board won't allow the body to fit on it properly. 

[CB&Q4-8-4Fanatic]

I have also tried removing the shell per instruction. it is hard to remove and i don't want to break it. what can i do