choralc Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 I have seen the Hornby Installation guide which recommends removing the weight from the smoke box and creating a small hole for the wires but am loathe to leave this loco 'light-on'. Is there anyone with an alternate installation, i.e. use of a smaller decoder or a weight replacement idea? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howbi Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Just fit a mini decoder....there's 2 or 3 to choose from, £10 - £17. No point in reducing the weight. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
2e0dtoeric Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 The Terrier is a small loco to start with, so you will struggle to find room inside.You could find the dimensions of the smallest decoder you can obtain, and make a cornflake-box dummy, put it in place, and see if the 'lid' will fit back on without crunching the card.The other way is to have a permanently coupled 'parcels van', and put the decoder in there, with a couple of wires from the pick-ups to the van, and two more going back for the motor. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozcavebear Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 Hello there Choralc. I installed hornby decoder x9659 into my Terrier, placed it in the coal bunker, went quite well although a tad fiddly it works and runs well. Followed instructions from this site.http://www.bromsgrovemodels.co.uk/hornbyclassa1xdccinstr.htm Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted October 12, 2015 Share Posted October 12, 2015 If I remember correctly, the 9659 is a 4 pin direct plug decoder used by Hornby in DCC fitted Railroad 0-6-0s. It is available as a spare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choralc Posted October 12, 2015 Author Share Posted October 12, 2015 http://www.bromsgrovemodels.co.uk/hornbyclassa1xdccinstr.htm Thanks ozcavebear. I like this one as it minimises weight removal. For the X9659 did you leave much weight out? They also recommend a TCS M1 decoder was used but you could, for example, also use a Zimo MX622, NCE Z14SR or Digitrax DZ125 because of their size. I have a 15% disc. code from Hornby so may consider the X9659 for small fittings if they are indeed as small as the bromsgrove article's suggestions. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ozcavebear Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 Hello choralc. I cut the weight in half in the bunker and glued in place but was not that succesful so removed it completley without any effect on the running quality of the loco.The hornby decoder fitted perfectly, just need to use fine gauge wires for hookup as not much room inside. Good luck with the instalation. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Graskie Posted October 13, 2015 Share Posted October 13, 2015 The Terrier is a small loco to start with, so you will struggle to find room inside.You could find the dimensions of the smallest decoder you can obtain, and make a cornflake-box dummy, put it in place, and see if the 'lid' will fit back on without crunching the card.The other way is to have a permanently coupled 'parcels van', and put the decoder in there, with a couple of wires from the pick-ups to the van, and two more going back for the motor. Reading your last paragraph, twotoaderic, reminds me that I have a small Western Region 14XX Class loco permanently coupled to its single auto coach fitted up that way to give sound. The coach itself also then has working lights and an almost full complement of passengers. A lovely effective combination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gilbo2 Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 I thought I would give some quick feedback as I used this post to fit a decoder to my Terrier. 1) I ended up using the standard Hornby decoder (R8249) as the wires on X9659 were too short. I fitted inside the coal bunker as suggested and removed the function wires, leaving just the black, red, orange & grey. 2) You need to be REALLY careful where you drill the hole through the boiler for the wires. Initially I chose the bottom, centre, BUT the wires then catch the motor worm gear. Although the loco body seemed to fit fine, I did not realise what was happening! Even though I only tested for a few inches on the track, I ended up popping two decoders and burning out the small motor. doh! The hole therefore should be to the far left or right of the boiler.. All sorted now, but great care needed as its really fiddly. I'm pleased I persevered though. BTW, as for the weight removed from the coal bunker, I just glued it to the inside of the cab roof. For me, it’s hardly noticeable in reality and I would prefer a slight comprise to keep the weight as designed. Hope this helps anyone else to avoid my pitfalls! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Howbi Posted May 9, 2018 Share Posted May 9, 2018 @DG.....I cut the weight in half, put it back in the boiler space and laid an X9659 4 pin decoder (insulated) on top........the wires were sufficient in length so was an easy operation I found..........HB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulleidboy Posted May 14, 2018 Share Posted May 14, 2018 There is no need to drill holes or cut weights in half when fitting a DCC decoder into the Hornby Terrier. Putting it simply, there is room to fit either the R8249 or Digitrax 125 decoder by sticking it with bath sealant to the side of the motor, and then hard wiring in the usual way. Small loco's need all the weight possible to keep traction when pulling any reasonable load. Without even removing the body you should be able to slide the R8249 decoder up behind the rods on the wheels - just to check it fits. There really is no need for any cutting or chopping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fishmanoz Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 Clearly more than one way to skin a terrier then. And a a real burst of nostalgia pulling up a thread with a post from Graskie, RIP. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulleidboy Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 Clearly more than one way to skin a terrier then. And a a real burst of nostalgia pulling up a thread with a post from Graskie, RIP. I agree - I wonder what happened to his train collection. WTD, PP and I offered his wife any assistance she made need with the collection, but never had a reply. All three of us attended Graham's funeral. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulleidboy Posted May 15, 2018 Share Posted May 15, 2018 Getting back on track - a few years ago one of the monthly model railway magazines did a three page article showing the fitting of a decoder into the Hornby Terrier with a large number of close-up pictures. I do have the article (somewhere!). In the article the loco was fitted with a digitrax 124, but I think this decoder was superceded by the 125. They are both very small decoders. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
choralc Posted May 16, 2018 Author Share Posted May 16, 2018 BB re-Graskie's collection. I believe it went to Auction with Vectis. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bulleidboy Posted May 17, 2018 Share Posted May 17, 2018 BB re-Graskie's collection. I believe it went to Auction with Vectis.Thanks choralc - it's nice to think it was dealt with in a proper manner. He had quite a collection. BB Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.