New member with questions

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N

N&Lroad

New Member
Hi all!

After a 20 year "leave of absence," I am finally getting back into the hobby. I've been reading the forums here for a couple of months and am amazed at the wealth of knowledge floating around, but I'm a little stuck on what I am sure will be a very easy problem. My last layout was DC and I've already made the decision to go with DCC on the new layout. I have a track plan pretty well set in mind that I'm happy with, but I will post it soon to be critiqued. My question is this. I have 5 locomotives from the early to mid 80's. 4 are dieasels, GP-35s I believe and a gp-50, and on is a 4-6-2. 2 of them I'm sure are LifeLike locomotives, 1 is a Bachman, and 2 of them, the GP-50 and 4-6-2, I'm not sure what they are. How do I identify these loco's and how do I/can I upgrade them for DCC? I've spent alot of time looking online and everything I'm finding seems to be dealing with locos that are newer than what I have. Thanks in advance!
 
Josh, there should be a name of the company somewhere, either inside the shell or on the bottom of a fuel tank. You can always post pictures here and there will be someone who can tell you exactly what they are.

Going with DCC is a great idea. It makes model railroading a lot easier and a lot more fun. Some older locomotive were well built and worth upgrading to DCC. A lot of older engines, especially Bachmann and Life-Like, were not well detailed and were made of cheap parts for the train set market. Those are probably not worth the effort to upgrade. Like I said, post some pictures and we'll give you our opinions.
 
Another thing to keep in mind is the stall current of the motors... Most decoders will not allow more the 2 amps peak draw...

This soundtraxx manual has a checklist and step 2 will show you how to test the stall current : Tsunami Manual
 


Thanks, Jim and Ryan, for the responses. I took the 2 locos apart and have a little more knowledge on them now. The diesal I couldn't find any manufacturer for, but from what I'm seeing it appears that it may be an Athearn? The steamer is a Mantua 4-6-2. I have some photos that I hope are clear enough. From what you see can I update these for DCC?
 
Josh, both can be upgraded to DCC. You are correct, the diesel is Athearn, a GP-40. Converting it to DCC will require isolationg the motor from the frame and a little soldering but it's not difficult. With some lube, a better set of handrails, and some general cleaning up, you'll have a nice engine.

I'm not much of a steam guy so I'll let someone with more experience than me comment about the Pacific. I know that many of the old Mantua steam engines were good pullers but that open frame motor wasn't so good. I suspect that, with a repowering kit, it wouldn't be hard to convert to DCC and you should have a much better running engine.
 
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