Atlas Erie Lackawanna U33C

As I continue working my way through installing DCC in a lifetime locomotive collection, I've reached my Atlas 1990s U33Cs. These marked several milestones, they were the first commercial models to come with a factory 8-pin DCC socket, and they were also the firstt Atlas locos developed entirely in China. On the other hand, from what I've read, even though the circuit boards included an 8-pin DCC socket, they got the headlight wiring wrong. In addition, these models weren't up to the manufacturing standard of later made-in-China Atlas models.

In particular, I've always been unhappy with how the cab meets the battery boxes with a fairly large gap, which you can see in the photo below.

I suppose it would be possible to investigate exactly what's wrong with the fit and trim things down slightly, but so far, I haven't felt enthusiastic about that task. Maybe later. I do note that for whatever reason, Atlas has never re-run these locos.

Regarding the circuit board, I decided rhe easiest solution was simply to toss it along with the incandescent lamps and replace it with a Digitrax DH165A0. This has the advantage that it has resistance that allows LEDs to be connected without the need for external resistors. This worked out well in this project, and despite the imperfections of the body, the loco runs as well on DCC as later Atlas China locos.

In the late 1990s, these locos could be found at very good prices at discount, and I picked up a number at the time, and I've reached the point where I'll be upgrading at least some of them with DCC and LEDs. Maybe I need to take a serious look at seeing what I can do to fix the gap under the cabs.