Hello all and thank you for taking the time to read my post.
I was given a gift of a new HO Atlas U33C/U36C locomotive in the Delaware & Hudson livery. Now this is “new” as in it’s never been run, but not “new” as in hot off the Atlas assembly line. Probably considered “New Old Stock” from the late 1990’s or early 2000’s (?). Anyway, it’s really rather an impressive locomotive and looks quite nice in it’s D&H paint scheme. I know nothing about these Atlas locomotives, but I am assuming (and “yes” I know what “assuming” can mean [swg]) that it will be typical Atlas quality. A few questions though please:
It has a “dummy plug” on the light board that I am guessing means I can remove it and place a motor only DCC decoder in to get it up and running on my DCC layout. What decoder do you recommend? (I believe it’s an 8 pin).
-For curiosity sake, has anyone ever added DCC & sound to these Uboats before and if so, what decoder/speaker did you use and where did you hide the speaker? Was it difficult?
It seems the boarding handrail leading up from the ground on the right front (Engineers side if you were facing forward towards the short hood from the inside of the cab) of the locomotive is missing (all other parts are accounted for). Atlas doesn’t list a replacement handrail set on their website. But there is a Details Associates kit available (#229-708) for this locomotive…for the life of me I cannot find what’s in this kit! It’s inexpensive, but I would like to know what’s in it before I buy it/ if I buy it. Does anyone here know and does it have a boarding handrail? If not, what other options are available to find a replacement handrail?
They list part # 850208 for the ‘handrail set’, but ask that you call the parts department to see of they still have parts for this model(908-687-0880).
I have six of those models that were purchased back when they were first released. Any decoder with integrated plug made by TCS (DP2X), Digitrax (DH165IP), NCE (D14SRP), or SoundTraxx (MC1H102PB, non-sound) is a perfect fit for them, You could also fit a TCS T1 or similar decoder with the JST header and a short wiring harness into it.
Finding room for a speaker would be the main problem in trying to install sound – the frame would probably have to be milled.
Considering the age of this model, I doubt that Atlas would still have parts on hand.
I believe these models were actually made for Atlas by Roco of Austria.
Thanks guys for the replies and the info[Y]. I can always count on you folks to point me in the right direction.
I ordered the Details Associates kit for this locomotive…I found out that it has some grab irons, wiper blades, MU hoses and other bits and pieces to update the kit to fit in with my other locomotives level of detail.
No luck with Atlas on the handrails as those parts are long gone due to the locomotives age and having not been in production for a number of years. Bu*t…*thanks to Soo Line Fan I will probably grab one of those handrail sets off of EvilBay considering they really are not that expensive. Besides, looking at pictures of the real D&H U33C’s, specifically road #760 that is represented in the Atlas model that I have, it seems as though the handrails were painted yellow along the tops, whereas the model has them grey.
I still need to order a DCC decoder. I will poke around online to see where I can grab an appropriate one that will suit my needs. I also need some appropriate number boards. Whew…[:D]!
When all is said and done, I should hopefully have a pretty good looking D&H U33C.
Thanks again fellas! Feel free to offer up any other tidbits of advice or guidance.