11-03-2010, 05:50 PM
Yep, Randy pegged it. That basic decoder that's in there now is functional, but anything but "silent".
Any decent contemporary decoder should give you good quiet running, since the drive is actually quite good in those 70 tonners. I installed an ESU LokSound unit in ours, and it runs and sounds very good.
Something to watch for, though, is that these units are prone to the splitting-axle problem that plagued a lot of Life-Like/Walthers locos... the axle cracks making the gears out of round, and the loco will grind and bump its way down the track.
Any decent contemporary decoder should give you good quiet running, since the drive is actually quite good in those 70 tonners. I installed an ESU LokSound unit in ours, and it runs and sounds very good.
Something to watch for, though, is that these units are prone to the splitting-axle problem that plagued a lot of Life-Like/Walthers locos... the axle cracks making the gears out of round, and the loco will grind and bump its way down the track.