The 'Roger T' was a loco released in the 1980's and based on the LGB #2076D. Having a spare chuff only direct decoder board from a 1998 30th Anniversary tender, I decided to marry the two together. The Roger was originally a split half clamshell drive block. I modified the underframe to fit a later four-pin block and cut a hole to pass the four pin connector through. The rear block mount plate requires slight modification to fit the newer four-pin drive block. The front mount plate is a direct install.
The original weight block was drilled oversize and the block glued to the red underframe deck at deck level. This is to achieve maximum clearance above the weight block for electrics. A simple heat sink was fabricated and installed. The firebox backhead was drilled to allow sound into the cab area and the speaker secured to the inside of the backhead.
I cannot rely on the stock board lighting as the LGB board only has a rear light facility (it came from a tender). The direct decoder install does not pick up the dedcoder front light pins. Thus I will solder wires to the backface of the decoder to wire up the front lights. Cab light will be a problem as the stock wiring on the loco shares the cab lighting with the rear light harness and the Massoth 'L' decoder has no provision for wiring a separate cab light.
So far a painless install.
The original weight block was drilled oversize and the block glued to the red underframe deck at deck level. This is to achieve maximum clearance above the weight block for electrics. A simple heat sink was fabricated and installed. The firebox backhead was drilled to allow sound into the cab area and the speaker secured to the inside of the backhead.
I cannot rely on the stock board lighting as the LGB board only has a rear light facility (it came from a tender). The direct decoder install does not pick up the dedcoder front light pins. Thus I will solder wires to the backface of the decoder to wire up the front lights. Cab light will be a problem as the stock wiring on the loco shares the cab lighting with the rear light harness and the Massoth 'L' decoder has no provision for wiring a separate cab light.
So far a painless install.