Making a loco DCC

[gamecoder.nz]

Hi everyone,

I would like to have the Chloe Steam Loco from LGB in my layout but it is not DCC. Has anyone had experience converting it to DCC? I saw a thread on another forum about someone who used the Zimo MX645 but I can't find it for sale so could I use any decoder?

 

[dunnyrail]

Hi everyone,

I would like to have the Chloe Steam Loco from LGB in my layout but it is not DCC. Has anyone had experience converting it to DCC? I saw a thread on another forum about someone who used the Zimo MX645 but I can't find it for sale so could I use any decoder?

Chloe is very small. I attached a tender (shunter truck) to the Feldbahn Diesel with track pickups and sound chip hidden in a box on the wagon. Track pickup on loco and tender gave good running with power for the motor fed via the chip and 4 wires between loco and wagon (made to look like a shunter truck). A small tender would do similar job for you.

 

[Diesel2000]

Your biggest issue is what decoder will fit. If you are looking for DCC control only there are more options. Sound decoders tend to be a little bigger, but you also need to fit a speaker

I would open up the loco and determine what space you have to fit and then go from there. I believe a Massoth LS will fit in the boiler and a speaker could be mounted in the bunker or cab. There are many speaker sizes to choose from.