Hello from San Diego and BlueRail Trains

[Steve Seidensticker]

I am on the development team of BlueRailTrains.com and to help our customers who are installing the BlueRailDCC receiver we are looking for information on decoders installed on LGB locos, mostly what decoder is installed on what LGB product. I have been told that this group is an excellent source for LGB information. I intend to scan the forums what info has already been posted and will ask specific questions.

I am a G-scaler myself and have a large outdoor layout in San Diego, the Gopher Canyon Line. It is a 70s era (diesels and cabooses) free lanced U.S. short line. It has been featured on the covers of the Dec 1997 and the Spring 2019 issues of Garden Railways magazine. We conduct an operating session the third Saturday and the following Sunday of every month. If you are in San Diego then you are most welcome to join in or just observe.

Steve Seidensticker

 

[idlemarvel]

Hi Steve,
Welcome on board. We always like pictures of layouts and trains.
Your question is quite a broad one and to some extent will vary geographically.
LGB locos sometimes have decoders in them as factory shipped, and broadly speaking these are one motor or two motor variants, built by Massoth for LGB (they have Massoth DCC id #123). Going back in history the very early ones were Lenz produced but I would think there are only a small number of those still running, Retrofit LGB part numbers include 55021, 55022, 55027. Since the Maerklin buy-out most DCC fitted locos have Trix/Maerklin decoders, with an LGB part number like 55028, 55029. If people fit decoders themselves into DC or DCC ready locos I would guess the main choice in Europe would be Massoth L (one motor) or XL (two motors) or sound equivalents LS and XLS, but ESU are also popular, and Zimo.

 

[Madman]

Welcome aboard !

 

[PhilP]

Welcome to the Forum, Steve..

I think Dave has pretty-well summed things up over here..

PhilP.

 

[Gizzy]

Welcome to the forum Steve....

 

[Paul M]

Welcome Steve

 

[Steve Seidensticker]

Dave, your info was a godsend! I felt like I fell into a gold mine when I read it. The key was the LGB part numbers. With those I downloaded the manuals. The big problem we face is that a customer buys one of our BlueRailDCC boards, installs it in his LGB loco, and finds out the functions do not match. All he knows is that when he pushes the bell button in our app the whistle blows. Or maybe he hits the whistle button and the sound goes off. Now, if we can determine what decoder he has we can tell him whether the functions can be remapped in the decoder and, if so, how to do it.

Thanks so much for the info. It is extremely helpful. The knowledge of what decoder LGB installed in what loco would be even more helpful. I suspect that someone somewhere has compiled such a list. I will keep looking.

Steve

 

[idlemarvel]

There is a database of most LGB locos on gbdb.info. You can search for loco number and it gives you picture, English description which includes DCC info, and link to the manuals for that loco.

 

[Timmo]

Just wondering when we will be able to buy BlueRail DCC 5A boards here in the UK.

 

[Steve Seidensticker]

Thanks Dave. I was not aware of that database. Lots of good info in it. But alas, none of the LGB entries that I looked at for the F7 diesel identified the decoder. Sometimes it said MTS but most of the time it just said "digital decoder." The operator manuals associated with the locos provide some info about the decoder, but do not provide the LGB part number of it. Most of the entries have a catalog number for the loco that I assume is unique. I wonder if there is some cross reference between the catalog number and the decoder ID.

Many thanks for the help you have provided.

Steve

 

[Steve Seidensticker]

Just wondering when we will be able to buy BlueRail DCC 5A boards here in the UK.

BlueRail Trains does not have a dealer in the UK but does ship directly to the UK. You can order from the BlueRailTrains web site...Steve

 

[JimmyB]

BlueRail Trains does not have a dealer in the UK but does ship directly to the UK. You can order from the BlueRailTrains web site...Steve

Do you manage the export/import costs, or will we pay it here on import, this often accrues extra admin costs.

 

[Dan]

First LGB decoder was the 55020 by Lenz, then 55020 was made by Massoth. LENZ did etch their name on the 55020.
No bemf on these decoders.

 

[Steve Seidensticker]

Do you manage the export/import costs, or will we pay it here on import, this often accrues extra admin costs.

I don't know but doubt that we manage the export/import costs. Please direct inquiries to Pete, our shipper, at info@deadrailinstalls.com. He will know.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

While on this subject, I have been trying to document the various LGB decoders themselves, since questions like this come up all the time.

I noticed some numbering schemes on LGB boards (not just decoders).

I find what I think is a part number: 8.837010.1
then an ME number: ME101045
and apparently the model number is 20252

does this make any sense? Just trying to understand the "system".

Greg

 

[PhilP]

The 20252 is the LGB model (or 'family') of loco..

The 'ME' number will (most likely) be a Massoth Electronics internal reference number? - Possible their part number??

The dotted number on the board etch, I think will be a drawing / revision number for the gerber (files for the layout) of the board. - There may-well be a date in there, as well?
But that number is pure guess-work..

PhilP.

 

[Greg Elmassian]

Ahh, well, I am pretty sure about the "dotted number" as an LGB part number, and the .1 at the end is a specific loco sound, I found .22 at the end was a krokodile, etc. These numbers I could search.

That number is easiest to find... but it seems that the "dotted number" is hard to link to what you would "order" as a part.

The ME number seems to be common...

I also have a "main board" from an LGB loco, with the 4 position switch, the DCC pins, etc. the number is 8.837080.1 and another number of 101053...

Anyway, just trying to learn a bit... also:

Steve Sidensticker: is that board pictured the one you were looking for?

Greg

 

[dunnyrail]

Welcome to the forum Steve, all sorts of experts on here.

 

[Steve Seidensticker]

Steve Sidensticker: is that board pictured the one you were looking for?

Greg

HI Greg, the mystery board that I was looking for had an MLGB number. We never we able to identify the specific part, but determined it was an MTS motion decoder from the first run of Marklin built LGB F7 diesels.

Steve

 

[HowardSue]

I am on the development team of BlueRailTrains.com and to help our customers who are installing the BlueRailDCC receiver we are looking for information on decoders installed on LGB locos, mostly what decoder is installed on what LGB product. I have been told that this group is an excellent source for LGB information. I intend to scan the forums what info has already been posted and will ask specific questions.

I am a G-scaler myself and have a large outdoor layout in San Diego, the Gopher Canyon Line. It is a 70s era (diesels and cabooses) free lanced U.S. short line. It has been featured on the covers of the Dec 1997 and the Spring 2019 issues of Garden Railways magazine. We conduct an operating session the third Saturday and the following Sunday of every month. If you are in San Diego then you are most welcome to join in or just observe.

Steve Seidensticker

Hello Steve. Long time no see. Hi to all Howard and Susie