DCC decoders in N scale KATO steam mikado

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hello guys,

I am just back from hollydays and I am ready to rework on my railroad.Just before the hollidays.

I bought 5 N scale KATO Mikado at a toy fair here in Belgium.

I make a general check oif all the locos and tender and everything is ok.

Using a LENZ dcc decoder put in the tender I came accross a small problems with the wires which run from the decoder to the motor.

The motor in these models is enclosed in two half zinc load but and here come the problem I didn’t find a good way to pass the two wires for the motor in the enclosure for im in the zinc load without disturb or a cut in the plastic body of the loco.

So If someone had a good idee to put these wires and a good way to pass them from the tender to the enclosure of the motor I will especially appreciate…

Thanks for your answers.

Marc director of the Maclau River RR

2

Nobody can help Me?

3

Try this link:

http://www.trainweb.org/nrmrc/dccconv/ka282.html

Now, this is for installing a Digitrax decoder in the Kato 2-8-2, but hopefully it will be of some help. I have a Kato 2-8-2 also, but I’m on a wait-list to have a professional install it for me. I can do plug-and-play no problem, but you have to disasemble the valave gear and mechanism for this engine; something I haven’t the stomach for in N scale!

Good luck.

4

Thanks Dave for the answer.

This site will be very helpfull for me .

In fact it’s not my first conversion I have put decoder in a lot of steam locomotive but this one is difficult because KATO had made a very close to the scale body and there is no space between it and the frame to pass the wire and I dont speak about the flywheel.

I have put a decoder in a self made tender of a tiny old 0-4-0 Rivarossi repowered with a falhauber geared motor. The decodeur is a Z scale one. Beleive me it was very difficult but I had the opportunity to manage some space to run the wires (only for the motor, no light) between the frame and the body. The tender is a resin mold part of the original with a cavity to receive the tiny decoder.The molded tender had a pc frame and trucks from a Kato mikado tender for full electricity pickup. It run very well maybe a little too slowly but for a switcher is finaly ok.

All of this to say there I had space for the wire and not in the mikado.

Still a big thanks for your answer.

Marc/Brussels-Belgium