& seems like a very cool little dude, except I’m not sure what “This Trolley car is motorized” means in terms of dc / dcc & speed control.
I’m assuming that it’s dc?
If it is, then is there a way to run it on a dcc layout?
(does’t seem to have much space for a decoder )
Is the info there & I just don’t see it?
Anyone have any experience with kato trollys?
(the bachmann ones I have from 20 years ago are crappola: one speed [superfast]).
At that price I highly doubt is has DCC, but it does look like it has a lightboard. So it could be plug and play. If not, it could always be hard-wired.
Kato makes some small drive units, so I suspect it’s based on one of them. I doubt that it’s very DCC friendly. There are some mighty compact decoders out there, though, so I’m sure if there’s a will, there’s a way to convert it.
The ability to run the DC version on your DCC layout is contingent more on the system you’re using rather than the engine itself. I use MRC’s Prodigy Advance, which does not support analog operation. Digitrax, Lenz and others do by dialing in “00” as the address. I don’t recommend this as the constant A/C voltage can create heat build up in the motor that can damage the motor and/or the shell. A risk not worth taking, in my opinion.
Definitely not DCC at that price, but I’d expect a PnP decoder from Digitrax for it - Digitrax and Kato often work closely together - doesn’t the blue and silver Kato DC power pack look awfully familiar?
It’s probably no narrower than the Kato N scale NW2. And probably not a lot shorter - the decoder in the NW2 fits under the hood, not hood and cab. If they can make a decoder for the Micro Trains Z scale GP35…
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