I got this AHM diesel locomotive off of eBay and I’m considering trying to put a DCC decoder in it, if possible.
I don’t know “make/model” of this locomotive (Alco, EMD, Baldiwin,etc) or what the correct prime mover would be if I were able to get a dedoder into it.
Any info appreciated, thanks!
It a model of the Plymouth MDT industrial switcher. Plymouth was well known and their industrial locomotives were quite common in industries of all types.
They were Chrysler diesels from what I can gather. Probably you will only find the GE44 Tonner as a sound package. You might want to check how many amps that engine draws. I had a Lionel Lil Hustler and it was the loudest DC engine ever. It is going to be sitting in my junk yard, but the only room is in the cab.
Hello All,
Yes, it is a Plymouth Switcher.
Check the underframe and see if it says “Made In Yugoslavia.”
I have a similar unit.
The difference between the two is the oil bunker on the rear.
On my version, it is square, versus the sloped version you posted.
Upon removing the shell, there are two (2) weights; one in the center and one in the rear.
Removing the rear weight would allow for space to install a decoder.
A speaker can be mounted over the front wheels by removing the supports for the incandescent lighting.
LED lighting can be added by attaching the lamps to the shell, both front and rear.
Using a decoder with a built-in Energy Storage Unit (“Keep-Alive”) would also make a more compact installation and ensure reliability.
Hope this helps.
I would secind the keep alive in this. it only has four contacts that are close spaced.
Shane
It does indeed say “Made in Yugoslavia” on the bottom, and I noticed it does say “Plymouth” on the front, which was difficult to see.
Any suggestions on what would be an approximate DCC sound to use?
I saw GE 44-ton, is that an option on say, TSU-1100 EMD decoder?
I agree, I will definitely be using a Keep-Alive of some sort for this.
Thanks for the feedback!
It has been many years but I have heard an industrial Plymouth diesel run and in my opinion it didn’t sound much like a GE 44 tonner. To me it sounded more like a wheezy old airplane or fram tractor. There are some YouTubes on Plymouth diesels but some of them are of locomotives which have not been run in years and they sound far rougher than the ones I recall. Try to find a YouTube with a well maintained Plymouth diesel “critter” – that’s the sound you are aiming at but I am not sure any commercial sound unit really comes close/
Dvae Nelson