I’d like to try installing a DCC decoder in an MDC/Roundhouse/Athearn 2-8-0. Anybody got any tips or advice (besides “don’t do it”)? I’ve thought about putting the decoder in a boxcar that will be permanently attached to the loco…not the most realistic arrangement, but maybe the only way to run DCC with these small locos.
It shouldn’t be that difficult, assuming the Athearn Consolidation is the same physical size as the Spectrum version. In the Bachmann, the decoder rides where the weight used to be, under the boiler shell. You’ll have to use one of the Z Scale decoders, such as the DZ-123. It was a little intimidating while I was doing it, but looking back, it wasn’t that bad. I’m about to do a second one…
The thing is, these two loco’s are like apples and oranges. The Bachmann has it’s motor in the cab, the MDC is tender mounted.
The trick is to lift up the coal bed (it’s just a plastic piece set on top) and then hog out the back of it to create room for the decoder. Now I used the DZ123 mentioned above, but Lenz has come out with a smaller decoder (Gold series?) that is even smaller. You wire it up as per the instructions and then I used rubber cement to stick the decoder to the bottom of the tender load. Then just reassemble. The catch is that the decoder cannot interfere with either the armature or the flywheel, or it won’t work right.
have fun. It’s a tight sqeeze, but it can be done.