Atlas Roco CN S-4

CN 8017 is an Atlas Roco HO S-4 from their first run of these models in the late 1980s. It's been on my to-do list for conversion to DCC for quite a while, but this was complicated by the fact that it had been disassembled, parts were in two or three different places, and when I finally gathered them up, one of the coupler mounts had disappeared, and the left side handrail had more or less disintegrated -- I'm not sure why.

What made this more difficult was that this model, both the original Roco version and the subsequent Chinese clone from the 1990s, are discontinued, and Atlas no longer has replacement parts for either. On the other hand, one problem these locos had from the start was they sometimes had cracked axles, but with replacements no longer available, I had one or two locos that became hangar queens, just there for the parts. So I was able to raid a hangar queen for the coupler mount and and left side handrail.

On the other hand, the original Roco coupler mounts had simple plastic plugs to hold the coupler in (which is probably why the mount on this loco disappeared). So I had to drill a new mounting hole #50 and tap 2-56 to use a 2-56 screw to replace the plastic plug. Maybe a little more work than I'd really like to undertake for a 35-year-old loco that shows its age more with each passing year.

I instralled a TCS AS6 decoder, probably the easiest part of the whole project.

More T-TRAK Work

I procrastinated for several years adding a Woodland Scenics built-and-ready N scale Clyde & Dale's Barrel Factory to my double wide depressed-deck T-TRAK module.

I'd given a lot of thought to the industry I wanted to add here, but from the start, I sized it for the Woodland Scenics building. Nevertheless, I kept looking for a potentially better structure, but I kept coming back to this one as the best combination of size and detail. I'll rename it, but I haven't decided what I'll turn it into.

I like all the detail that's included with the building, but I toned the silver bits down with Tamiya brown panel liner.

The building comes with one Just Plug stick-on LED mounted inside. What I've found with the Woodland Scenics buildings that have Just Plug lighting is that they're set up to illuminate only a small partition inside, with the rest of the building's interior taken up with a black construction paper view block. In this case, the LED lights up only a small office area but doesn't light the main building.

I decided I wanted to add a second LED to light the main building's windows. I removed the costruction paper view block from the main interior and covered the interior walls with Woodland Scenics Light Diffusing Window Film. I'll get another stick on LED on my next trip to the train store.

With my T-TRAK modules, I power Just Plug LEDs from NCE Illuminators that work off the DCC bus power that comes in via the Unitrack. The Illuminator then turns the DCC signal back into 12 volt DC that it transmits to the Just Plug LEDs via the JST plugs.

The other device in the lower left is a Digitrax DS52 switch decoder that controls the Unitrack crossover and switch on the module. This is all completely un-kosher for standard T-TRAK and is intended exclusively for my personal home T-TRAK layout.

In the photo, you can see I've provided initial power to the Illuminator, and the indicator LED is lit. Two of the JST plugs will power the LEDs in the Woodland Scenics barrel factory (or whatever it will become). The third JST plug as shown will feed a regular terminal strip that will power other 12 volt DC features like non-Just Plug street or building lights.

Second Try At A Detachable Stage

Back in 2021, I posted on a project to add a detachable stage to one corner of my home T-Trak layout. This started as a scrap piece of white foam that I layered up to match the surface of a T-TRAK module, which would connect to tracks on the module itself. (Of course, this is completely not kosher as far as T-TRAK standards are concerned, it's meant entirely for personal use.)

This gradually morphed into something that reminded me of the Amtrak Springfield, MA station:

Eventually it became a victim of its own success, and I rebuilt it into a full-fledged T-TRAK module that could be fit into the main line. I removed the track and scenery from the foam, remounted them onto a standard module, and discarded the foam, proceeding with the idea of doing more of a Springfield station:

But this eventually left me with the idea that I could still build another stage on some foam. I had a package of Woodland Scenics 1/4" foam handy, so I made up another base, this one slightly larger than the first one, and I'm in the process of roughing in a new stage, this one that at least will be something other than Springfield, MA, but Amtrak has a lot of intriguing operations.