1:20.3 Bachmann 2-8-0 Connie, currently installing quad smoke units, three decoders, and servos
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So longtime large scale enthusiast, just recently got back into trains with covid and time at home. Currently I'm modifying the internals on a basically stock connie 2-8-0. So far I have added in a heavy amount of sounds and such using the Tsunami TSU-4400 by Soundtraxx. Works and sounds great. Ive never seen (or heard) anything like it (in terms of realism.
My after christmas project is a teardown and cleanup of wiring as follows:
My current step is possibly removing those ridiculous weights if I have to to make a removable slide in tray from black styrene to hold the electronics. I have mapped it out dimensionally and it looks like I can squeeze the whistle/generator smoke unit in the backhead before the motor blocks me. Im torn on moving the TSU4400 sound motor controller to the backhead too. But, my thoughts are that if I had all four (Soundtraxx 4400, ESU 54640, and 2x smoke remote wiring chip) decoders stacked and wired neatly, I can use some cable looms to make it a pluggable affair and remove for maintenance and issues down the road without a complete teardown.
Space is tight in any locomotives, but I would rather skip the quick install of using the tender space and running looms and wiring to the loco. In laying it out and mocking uo each unit it appears space is not going to be an issue.
So for the front, I will be adding the second ESU dual smoke unit placed right under the stack, the same slideable styrene tray for maintenance, and running the blowdown steam chuff pipes somewhere to make an impression without an ugly hose install from the exterior.
Check out some of the photos attached and tell me your thoughts and any other ideas to make this a fun install to try to knock out of the park. I have spent my whole life always wanting to build and tinker and make a loco my way to reflect the fun for friends and family of those little surprise and magic, but Ill have to tip the hat to you guys and see where I can learn and improve so any feedback is welcomed.
Thanks!
My after christmas project is a teardown and cleanup of wiring as follows:
- Adding 2 new ESU 54677 Dual smoke units
- 4 total smoke outputs: generator, whistle, blowdown/cylinder steam, main stack puff/sync exhaust
- Each ESU unit has a remote board so 2 boards will have to be squeezed in
- A new ESU 54640 Lokpilot XL 4.0 to handle 3 servos, smoke, and additional function controls
- Possibly adding the extra ESU Function decoder with servo control to the tender
- Johnson bar direction controlled servo action, servo ringing bell, and a third fun animation
My current step is possibly removing those ridiculous weights if I have to to make a removable slide in tray from black styrene to hold the electronics. I have mapped it out dimensionally and it looks like I can squeeze the whistle/generator smoke unit in the backhead before the motor blocks me. Im torn on moving the TSU4400 sound motor controller to the backhead too. But, my thoughts are that if I had all four (Soundtraxx 4400, ESU 54640, and 2x smoke remote wiring chip) decoders stacked and wired neatly, I can use some cable looms to make it a pluggable affair and remove for maintenance and issues down the road without a complete teardown.
Space is tight in any locomotives, but I would rather skip the quick install of using the tender space and running looms and wiring to the loco. In laying it out and mocking uo each unit it appears space is not going to be an issue.
So for the front, I will be adding the second ESU dual smoke unit placed right under the stack, the same slideable styrene tray for maintenance, and running the blowdown steam chuff pipes somewhere to make an impression without an ugly hose install from the exterior.
Check out some of the photos attached and tell me your thoughts and any other ideas to make this a fun install to try to knock out of the park. I have spent my whole life always wanting to build and tinker and make a loco my way to reflect the fun for friends and family of those little surprise and magic, but Ill have to tip the hat to you guys and see where I can learn and improve so any feedback is welcomed.
Thanks!
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