DCC for the Frazier Borate

The last few years of my H.O. scale Bakersfield & Ventura layout, I invested in a Digitrax DCC system and installed decoders in several locomotives. DCC worked great for that layout, since it allowed me to move around pretty freely with a handheld, tethered throttle that could be unplugged and moved from one side of the layout to the other. And of course, have several engines parked on the layout at the same time without a lot of complicated block wiring. I even ran two trains at once on a few occasions.

Since I tore down that layout almost 20 years ago, the Digitrax system mostly sat unused. A few times, during brief and soon-abandoned attempts to revive the B&V, I hooked it up and ran a little, but somewhere along the line the controller developed some problems -- I probably dropped it on the concrete floor one too many times.

Until recently the Frazier Borate was strictly DC, since I only had one DCC-equipped On30 engine, an outside-frame 4-4-0 that's too large for this layout. Then I added the Bumble Bee 2-6-0, which is DCC-equipped and will make it around the oval. When I started thinking about adding sound to the Mogul, or buying a sound-equipped locomotive, I started to consider DCC for the Frazier.

I never really thought too seriously about hooking up the Digitrax, considering the funky controller that would have to be replaced. But then I started reading about DCC-EX, a DCC system based on Arduino hardware and open-source software, that uses an app running on a cell phone or tablet for wireless control. When the latest update included the ability to run DC locomotives (though not, of course, on the same track at the same time as DCC), that sold me. I bought a pre-assembled control unit, installed the app on my phone, hooked it up, and I'm good to go. The whole process was surprisingly easy; in fact I'd say it was even easier than when I first installed Digitrax years ago. The system worked fine with both of my On30 DCC locomotives, and I've also test run a a couple of my DCC-equipped H.O. locomotives. By changing a couple of settings in the app, DC engines also run very well.

The DCC-EX hardware doesn't come with any kind of enclosure, so I need to get a project box or something to put it in, and figure out where to mount it. Since there is no need for physical access to the unit, it can be hidden away under the layout.

The layout is so small I don't normally have more than one locomotive on it at a time, but I will probably gap the rails on the enginehouse track and maybe the interchange track, and wire them through toggle switches so I can park the DC locomotive (usually it will be one of the Porters) and kill power to that track when I put a DCC loco on the layout. Or vice versa, I suppose.

Once I had DCC installed, I naturally started thinking about getting a smaller DCC-equipped locomotive. Installing DCC in the Porters is a challenge, from what I hear, and I want to keep at least one of them straight DC for use on the micro layout I plan to build one of these days. I've started looking for a DCC Porter, preferably an 0-4-2, preferably in the cool and relatively rare maroon and gold trim, and maybe even with factory sound. I put in bids on eBay for a couple of locomotives with factory DCC, but I didn't win either of those. Prices for Porters with factory DCC have gone up (they're often more expensive than the large locomotives) and Bachmann's geared locomotives are quite pricy.

Meanwhile, I did have a DC-powered Shay. Opening up Bachmann locomotives makes me a little nervous, so I was thinking that someday I might pay someone to install DCC. Then I realized: The Shay is DCC-ready, with a standard 8-pin socket under the fuel bunker. Easy, peasy. I ordered a basic Digitrax DCC decoder with an 8-pin plug. It arrived this morning, and it took just a few minutes to remove the water tank and plug in the decoder. I set the address to 11, and it runs just fine. The decoder is a bit of a tight fit in the water tank, but looks like it will be okay. With a minimal amount of effort and not a lot of money, I have a third DCC locomotive, one that actually fits fairly well on the Frazier. 

While I have the water tank off, I'll remove the factory lettering and reletter the Shay as L&SE #11.