This conversion assumes that the loco is in good running order, many Mainline locos are not even if they have had little use since new. Outlne of Work Required I have two of these locos bought new when they first came out, running numbers LMS 6110 and 6115. One has a partial split at one end of the gear axle tube but does not affect running, and the driving wheels are still held firm, if this needs replacing this is easily accessed by removing the chassis base plate.The split chassis design of this loco and its ample space around the motor allows my preferred Mainline conversion method for this type of motor. The space between the chassis halves at the front is actually wide enough to slip a decoder in without cutting metal, a big plus compared with some other Mainline steam outline chassis. Most of the DCC conversion work for this loco is performed on the motor housing cover and the contact strips. Motor Modification Very Important - Both brushes must be isolated from track power otherwise the decoder is likely to be destroyed. With the motor converted according to "DCC Loco Conversions - 54 - Mainline Integrated Motor", attention is turned to fitting a decoder. Decoder Fitting The Digitrax DZ126 worked well in previous Mainline conversions, it is conveniently packaged, compact, with long thin leads which generally only need trimming to length. As the decoder is to be placed between two live chassis components the cropped lead ends are protected by a wrap of Kapton tape. The card spacer between the chassis halves cannot be tipped up as in the case of the Std 4 for trimming but can be squashed down to make space for the decoder leads as shown. The decoder wires are routed between the chassis halves and wired from front of the loco to the rear such that the soldered wires are not in the way of the next wire to be soldered. Once tested with masking tape retaining the wires in position the wires are retained by Duck tape along the top of the chassis and to the motor housing with Kapton tape. It is advisable to allow some slack when trimming the wires to aid routng and any re-work in the future, there is some space where the decoder is placed to tuck a centimetre of wire, however in this case the black wire was only just long enough. Although the decoder sits in part of the plastic chassis plate I have added a piece of sticky pad to to stop it rubbing against the chassis halves due to running vibration, just a belt and braces prevention of any potential wear through of the decoders wrapping. Summary A simple decoder install, i.e. no metal cutting required, except of course for the work required to modify the motor cover. Both seem to run well enough although setting up the minimium or start voltage was a little critical, not too good at slow running but then again I have no passenger stations on the scenic part of the layout, passenger trains just pass by at a leisurely pace. Traction limited if you have gradients, four re-wheeled Mainline Mk1s seems to be the limit on a 1 in 48 grade, which is a shame, I would normally run a loco of this prototype calibre with 6 coaches, the highly chromed finish of the driving wheels does not help. Overall, dissapointing passenger train haulage capacity but I like them anyway. Discussion always Jim Return to Index
