Anyone Do Sound in a Box Car?

Pete Steinmetz Feb 21, 2011

  1. Pete Steinmetz

    Pete Steinmetz TrainBoard Member

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    One of my club members just put a Digitrax SDN144PS.

    He used a wiper system on metal wheels, added a larger speaker, and a larger capacitor.
    It sounded pretty good.

    My thought was to make 2 sound decoders in box cars. One with GE sounds, and one with EMD sounds. Maybe even do an Alco.

    What are other member's thoughts on this idea?
     
  2. DCESharkman

    DCESharkman TrainBoard Member

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    Shoreline Back Shops does this as a regular product on e-bay. They also sell a conversion kit.
     
  3. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

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    "Sounds" good to me.;)
    If folks can run cheater box cars with powered trucks, why not sound. Just be sure to match the sound car with the locomotives. Am EMD SD40 would be kind of comical with a steam locomotive sound car following it. Hmmmm I might try that to see what kind of reaction I might get.:devil:
     
  4. Tom Schilling

    Tom Schilling TrainBoard Member

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    I've got maybe 10 or 12 sound cars but I don't use wipers, I use Kato Caboose trucks for electrical pickup. These cars come in especially handy when being pulled by smaller steam locos. Sometimes, I put the decoder in one freight or small old time passenger car. Then run four wires up to a second car which houses the speaker. Both cars have Kato caboose trucks. Then I run the two pickup wires from the speaker car up to the loco to aid in electrical pickup. That's an addition of four trucks, eight wheels, of electrical pickup you're adding to the loco. The small steamer never knows what hit it and there are never any stalls over turnouts or dirty track. Well, almost never.

    Speaker size remains a problem though and the problem is the width of the speaker. You're kinda limited to round or oval speakers that are slightly less than 1/2 inch wide which can be tough if you add an enclosure which I think is a must. ....Tom
     
  5. EMD F7A

    EMD F7A TrainBoard Member

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    If you mounted the speaker on it's side you could have more like 3/4". I bet it would sound just fine with that bigger speaker?
     
  6. SleeperN06

    SleeperN06 TrainBoard Member

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    I’m glad to see this thread because I’ve been thinking about this myself, but I didn’t know how to pick up track power to the car. I’d like to know more about this and what is available as far as trucks to pick up power. I’m going to see if I can find those conversion kits on eBay.
     
  7. SleeperN06

    SleeperN06 TrainBoard Member

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    I was just searching eBay and could not find these kits. Do you have a link?
     
  8. Cajonpassfan

    Cajonpassfan TrainBoard Supporter

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    It doesn't have to be a "box car"...:)
    This gon has electrical pickup, but it can also "plug in" into the FM diesel via Richmond Controls miniature plugs for better conductivity (see pics).
    Regards, Otto
     

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  9. Delamaize

    Delamaize TrainBoard Member

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    I had a similar idea, I am going to do one, but then sit down with several steamers and run the soundcar with different steamers and make a cheat sheet of cv values to match each loco that I would be using it with. Once that is set it will be as simple as shoving the car on to a programig track, upload the cv's MU it to the loco and off you go! I am going to mount the speaker(s) in the floor, firing downward, then build an internal shelve above that for the decoder to sit on. Should work pretty well, and shold be able to cram It into a 40' boxcar.
     
  10. rrjim1

    rrjim1 TrainBoard Member

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    I visited Fred Graff 's model railroad in PA that used the PFM sound system. His steam locos motors were replaced with micro motors with gear heads and had the PFM system in a box car and tender. The locos ran and sounded great and made me decide to change to n-scale. I believe his railroad was featured in a issue of RailRoad Modeler.
     
  11. Joe L

    Joe L TrainBoard Member

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    found it under streamlined backshop services
     
  12. Seated Viper

    Seated Viper TrainBoard Member

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    I am aware that some modellers disguise boxcars or passenger cars by putting suitable diesel chassis under them. This gives the effect of double heading. If, then, you wanted to have dcc sound, there shouldn't be any problem I can see with fitting a suitable decoder to the disguised machine. As noted above, you've have to keep EMD sounds with EMD, GE sounds with GE and steam sounds with steam, but it should work.

    Regards,

    Pete Davies
     
  13. Grey One

    Grey One TrainBoard Supporter

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    Might also use:
    Covered load on a depraved center flat car
    Dummy "B" unit - if you can find one
    High cube box car
     
  14. SleeperN06

    SleeperN06 TrainBoard Member

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    This is a little off the Box Car topic, but all this has got me thinking about some older Bachmann Diesels that I have in my junk drawer.

    I have been thinking of pulling out the motors and using them as dummies, but now I wonder if I can hacksaw the top off the frame to make room for a speaker and sound decoder. They already have the pickups so I don’t have to deal with that.

    Do you think I can cut out enough to have room for a speaker and have it hold together?

    The other problem is detailing the shell so that it looks ok or at least look like my other locos. :tb-wink:
     
  15. sswjim

    sswjim TrainBoard Member

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  16. SleeperN06

    SleeperN06 TrainBoard Member

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  17. Carl Sowell

    Carl Sowell TrainBoard Supporter

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    Jim,

    sounds good..


    Hey, if KATO is out of caboose trucks, I have used their material handling car trucks. Work fine.

    Carl
     
  18. Pete Steinmetz

    Pete Steinmetz TrainBoard Member

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    I ordered some Richmond control wipers and will order some truck pick ups from Streamline Backshops.

    I may go with the Digitrax SDN144PS or the SFX0416. I like these because of the programmable sounds.

    I don't think you can reprogram a Tsunami and the Loksound looks complicated.

    I will add a larger capacitor and change the speaker. If there is enough room, I may put the speaker in an enclosure.

    Any suggestions on a good speaker that would fit in a box car?
     
  19. DCESharkman

    DCESharkman TrainBoard Member

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    Sorry I typed the wrong name, I must be slowly losong my mind.......
     
  20. Delamaize

    Delamaize TrainBoard Member

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    Bachmann spectrum tender trucks work well also, although they are kind of a strange prototype.
     

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