Search results

ModelRailroadForums.com is a free Model Railroad Discussion Forum and photo gallery. We cover all scales and sizes of model railroads. Online since 2002, it's one of the oldest and largest model railroad forums on the web. Whether you're a master model railroader or just getting started, you'll find something of interest here.


  1. V

    WeHonest Railroad Crossing Servo Problems

    Hi, I've been installing crossing gates. I'm using the "WeHonest" system. The train sensors, the sound, and the lights all work well. It also can trigger a servo motor to rotate, so you can have the crossing gate arm go down. Attaching the servo to the crossing gate arm was quite a trick...
  2. V

    Broken steam locomotive drive bar

    I was just finishing up adding a DCC chip to a 50 or so year old locomotive when suddenly a drive bar fell out of its wheel! Surprising since I hadn’t been doing anything to it. Anyway, I can see how to line everything up to reattach it, but I can’t figure out how to screw it back in. The pin...
  3. V

    New Generation - Upgrading Turntable and Yards

    My Dad was an avid model railroader. I ran the trains and made a few models and scenery with him, but I didn’t do too much because he was more of a perfectionist than a teacher, so teaching a kid to model railroad was challenging. He had a complete B&O model railroad in our house, and then as...
  4. V

    Taking Shell Off Steam Locomotive

    I am trying to take the shell off a steam locomotive my Dad bought. Its probably about 15 to 25 years old. I don't know the brand or have any documentation on it. I found two tabs on the sides of the cab that allowed the back of the shell to lift up. I also removed one screw from the bottom...
  5. V

    Decoder Connector

    Hi, I've been hard wiring decoders into non-DCC engines, but my Dad had one DCC-ready steam locomotive that he bought 10 to 20 years ago that has never had a decoder. It has the attached adapter. It looks to me like a 9-pin, but I don't see how a 9-pin decoder would fit into it. Does...
  6. V

    Sound Decoders

    Thanks for all the tips! I'm sold that I'm going to try some econamy and maybe mix in a couple tsunami's. I'm still running them on my Dad's old tracks, so the wheels have been no problem. Thanks, Victor
  7. V

    Sound Decoders

    Hi, I'm starting to convert a bunch of my Dad's old DC diesel and steam locomotives that are mostly about 50 years old to DCC. So far I started with converting two, one with no sound and one with sound. The number of options of sound decoders and speakers is a bit overwhelming to parse...
  8. V

    DCC Decoder Warm

    Agreed, I didn't get to switching the direction of the second locomotive yet, but I was planning on doing that next. Thanks!
  9. V

    DCC Decoder Warm

    Thank you for everyone's help with this! After lots of mistakes and lots of learning I got it all working. I did two locomotives, adding sound to the second one. Indeed it turned out isolating the motor case was irrelevant with these motors. I suspect that in an earlier version I probably...
  10. V

    DCC Decoder Warm

    Thank you for that clarification! Indeed, I was able to screw the motor into the frame and it worked. From the voltmeter I can see that is causing power to go the motor casing, but its not causing any issue. I had misunderstood and thought that power getting to the motor casing would be a...
  11. V

    DCC Decoder Warm

    Thank you for the help! I have been mostly successful. Resetting the decoder to factory default did stop it from getting warm, although it was still non-functional. When I put a new decoder in, it worked. I added insulating tape to the weight. And I verified the leads have no connection with...
  12. V

    DCC Decoder Warm

    Hi, I am for the first time upgrading a DC locomotive to DCC. Its an Athearn locomotive and I am using a Digitrax decoder. I am greatly benefiting from videos by Dennis461 and the DCC Guy. I initially had some success, but it quickly failed. I had some sparking inside the engine and...
  13. V

    Help understanding locomotive wiring

    Thank you all so much. All of your responses are incredibly helpful!
  14. V

    Help understanding locomotive wiring

    Hi, My 8 year old twins and I are starting to work on my Dad's old model railroad. I was considering trying to convert some of his old DC locomotives to DCC. I would guess this locomotive is about 50 to 65 years old. It runs well. I recall my Dad put new motors in many of his locomotive...




Affiliate Disclosure: We may receive a commision from some of the links and ads shown on this website (Learn More Here)

Back
Top