Fitting lights and sound to a OO motor less engine

[QuoitsPlayer]

Hi

 

I have a complete IC225 set but don't plan on putting up OHLE for sometime. I'm planning on having a motor less Bachmann/Lima 47 at the front appearing to be hauling the set with in reality the 91 (new tool Hornby) providing the power. 

 

How easy would it be to fit sound and/or lights to the unpowered 47 and control it with dcc? As I say it would be there purely for cosmetic purposes and semi permanently coupled to the 91.

 

Many thanks Matt

[BoD]

It is possible to fit sound and lights to a ‘dummy’ loco.  However, the method  depends very much on the loco with which you are starting.  Does it already have LED. Lights fitted?   Is it DCC ready? 
 

The work involved could range from having to fit LEDs yourself and hard wiring a decoder to simply fitting a speaker and sound decoder  to a DCC ready loco.

 

You do say that that the 47 would be unpowered but it would help answer your question if you could tell us which loco would be your starting point.

[QuoitsPlayer]

1 hour ago, BoD said:

You do say that that the 47 would be unpowered but it would help answer your question if you could tell us which loco would be your starting point.

 

Probably a Bachmann body shell on a Lima chassis - very Hybrid I know but for what I want and need the best combination as I have a couple of old lima chassis and I'd pick up a Bachmann bodyshell on eBay as it would have lights ready fitted and be DCC ready. I'm concerned how easy it would be to make it work in the sense of pick ups etc

[BoD]

One issue with the Lima chassis might be pickups.  I seem to remember they pick up current from just one side on one bogie and from the opposite side on the other bogie.  It is possible to add extra pickups but be very careful and check for continuity and shorts as you do this before you connect the decoder which would have to be hard wired to the pickups.  The motor is part of one bogie but if you don’t connect it to the decoder and remove some of the gears the bogie should freewheel.  The alternative as I implied earlier is to leave the motor as is and consist the two locos.
 

If you disconnect the motor you would have problems reading or programming the decoder as a ‘load’ is needed.  Adding a resistor or putting on the programming track with another loco solves this. 
 

The class 47 body would not be DCC ready.  It is the chassis that is DCC ready.  You would have to see what the body includes when you buy it.  If the LEDs are there you would need to see how they originally connected to the chassis’ onboard circuit board/decoder.  It may involve soldering various connections between the LEDs and the outputs from the decoder.  It certainly won’t be just ‘plug and play’. You would not be able to work out what to do until you have the body in front of you.  If the body has no LEDs it is possible to buy and fit them yourself.  Not a particularly difficult task but involves drilling the ‘plastic lights’ out and ensuring you have suitable LEDs.

 

Hope this gives you some idea of what might be involved. 

 

 

[DCB]

The plan is going to need something other than a Lima chassis to make it work. You can't easily de motor the Lima Power bogie,  (Or the hideous small wheeled Hornby version)  Even if you take the armature and idler gears out of the Lima it's not that easy to replace the traction tyred wheels with non traction tyre ones, as used on the trailing bogies as they passs through the plastic chassis.     Maybe two Lima Class 47 Chassis cut in half,  ,   Glue the two non power bogie chassis halves together (EvoStick PVC Pipe weld is brilliant for this)  and that gives you a nice free running chassis with 3 wheels pick up each side.  You could add extra pickups if you don't mind the wheels not going round, it can't be that hard to fit it up with DCC less the motor wires.    You could end up with a very realistic model  if you keep the audio separate.   You only need about three speeds, Idle, Full Grunt and something in between.

Finally  Glue the two chassis halves with power bogies together and plonk a body on and sell it on eBay. 

[Pete the Elaner]

8 hours ago, DCB said:

The plan is going to need something other than a Lima chassis to make it work. You can't easily de motor the Lima Power bogie,  (Or the hideous small wheeled Hornby version)  Even if you take the armature and idler gears out of the Lima it's not that easy to replace the traction tyred wheels with non traction tyre ones, as used on the trailing bogies as they passs through the plastic chassis.     Maybe two Lima Class 47 Chassis cut in half,  ,   Glue the two non power bogie chassis halves together (EvoStick PVC Pipe weld is brilliant for this)  and that gives you a nice free running chassis with 3 wheels pick up each side.  You could add extra pickups if you don't mind the wheels not going round, it can't be that hard to fit it up with DCC less the motor wires.    You could end up with a very realistic model  if you keep the audio separate.   You only need about three speeds, Idle, Full Grunt and something in between.

Finally  Glue the two chassis halves with power bogies together and plonk a body on and sell it on eBay. 

 

Peter's spares stock replacement wheels for Lima chassis. They have smaller flanges, no traction tyres & are a better looking metal than the brass coloured Lima ones.