Decoder install in a Bachman 2-6-2 / With Video

davidmbedard

 First of all, you better improve the pickups with that loco before you consider installing a decoder into it.

 

Yes that will be the easy part

 using the photos on

Wolfgang Dudler's web site

http://www.westportterminal.de/tender080.html

and also Gary Hopkins Web site

http://www.nmra.org.au/Hints/Pickups/Pickups.html

Both are nicely Illustrated

 

Secondly, because of the split frame design, this is a difficult install.

Yep i haven't even figured out how to get it apart yet

The bachman site doesn't list a drawing for this loco and the HO seeker site's drawing

is for a 1990 model so i'm not sure it's the same

David B

 Not this particular loco but a K4 split frame. Here is a usefull link.

 http://www.tcsdcc.com/Customer_Content/Installation_Pictures/HO_Scale/Bachmann/K4_Pacific_4-6-2/bachman_n_scale_k4_pacific_4_6_2.htm

   Pete

locoi1sa

 Not this particular loco but a K4 split frame. Here is a usefull link.

 http://www.tcsdcc.com/Customer_Content/Installation_Pictures/HO_Scale/Bachmann/K4_Pacific_4-6-2/bachman_n_scale_k4_pacific_4_6_2.htm

   Pete

Thanks Pete

This looks promising !

To start out I removed the tender weights so i could drill out the trucks to make room for the pick up wires

I first drilled out the truck frame then used it as a guide to drill thru the tender floor

buy turning the truck first one way then the other and drilling a hole in the tender floor at the end of the turn

it makes a cresent shaped slot for the wires and this keeps them from binding when the truck turns

once the 2 holes are in the tender I used a hobby knife to cut a slot between the holes

so you end up with a curved slot   (

I also drilled out the fake tender light and inserted a 16 volt bulb

Getting the Loco apart was fun as Bachman doesn't have a drawing on there site

The HO Seeker has a drawing of a 1990 model that is close enough

The motor and frame are different but the rest is the same

http://www.hoseeker.org/assemblyexplosionbachmann/bachmann262prairiediagram1990.jpg

I started by taking off the front and rear trucks and then the center strip plate that covers the drive wheels

then i covered them with tape to hold them out of the way

I put a few drops of oil in the cracks on the front boiler to make it slide off

Once the center strip is off the rear of the motor frame will drop down but there are to little nubs on either side in the front that hold the front

from dropping down

you have to gently pry the small cylinders on the plastic boiler housing outward for the nubs to clear

notice how the screw driver is placed

The kinfe is pointing to the metal nub

The light bulb can be removed by gently scraping the wires free from the frame on either side

The drive wheels and cylinders can be removed by gently pulling the free from thier frame mounts

Extra care must be used in taking the plastic rod that hold the linkage to the frame

it has a small amount of glue holding it in place

i used a small short twist to break the seal

Once the drive wheels are out of the way you can take the frame apart

by removing the 3 screws

Once the motor is out of the frame you can remove the 2 small contact springs

that contact the brush tabs

Even though there are clear plastic sleeves on the motor i still wrapped it with Kapton

Tape just to be safe

I soldered the wires on the motor tabs and used shrink tubing to keep them isolated

I placed a 16 volt light bulb in the front using some shrink tubing to hold it

in place and ran the wires

 down the split in the frame to the back of the loco

I drilled 2 holes in the frame one on each side for the pick up wires for the decoder

and soldered them to the holes in the frame

after all the wires are hooked up I will paint them all black

As discussed earlier I installed pick up  wires on the tender trucks

this method can be seen at

Wolfgang Dudler's web site

http://www.westportterminal.de/tender080.html

and also Gary Hopkins Web site

http://www.nmra.org.au/Hints/Pickups/Pickups.html

Both are nicely Illustrated

I wired up an 8 pin male plug to the truck wires

I put plugs on both the speaker and light so I can detach the shell if needed

The speaker is facing downward and I will cut a hole in the front of the tender

to direct the sound towards the loco

I did this on my 0-8-0 and it worked out very good

the sound is better than drilling holes in the coal and pointing the speaker up

I also installed lead weights along the sides and in the rear of the tender then cover them with tape

to insulate them

I installed an 8 pin female plug on the wires coming from the loco

and cut 2 notches in the tender floor to route the wires for the plug

So when it's connected there will be 3 wires on either side of the draw bar

Here's a short video of the finished product

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qc9iAQc22g

It looks and sounds very nice! I think that a conversion as yours is so worth it .

Graffen

It looks and sounds very nice! I think that a conversion as yours is so worth it .

Thanks it was alot of work but also alot fun 

Same Loco different video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ENjshq445Gw

Nice job! Maybe I missed it, what decoder did you use??

loathar

Nice job! Maybe I missed it, what decoder did you use??

I used the old soundtraxx 090LC I took out of my Berkshire when i replaced it with

the  QSI Revolution A with the T-1 sound track

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yvx1M0uYqO4