Atlas EMD E8 Sante Fe Diesel Loco

[jerry1313]

I just purchased an N scale Atlas EMD E8 Sante Fe Diesel Loco new on eBay. This is an older old stock unit no longer sold by Atlas. Does anyone know anything about adding a DCC decoder to one of these? Also, anybody knoiw where I might purchase an unpowered B unit to go with the A?

[Sumpter250]

http://www.the-gauge.net/forum/viewforum.php?f=38 would be a good place to start. While the Atlas E-8 might not be mentioned, a lot of the difficulties, and workarounds are discussed, and might be of some help to you. Sometimes a letter to the decoder manufacturer can get some excellent answers, and sometimes, a loco model isn't designed with DCC installation in mind, and here you have to "get creative", and possibly modify the locos frame to make room for the decoder.
I played with DCC, for a short time, Primarily for sound. For me, the rewards didn't seem worth the expense, and effort, to continue. I still have the DCC equipped locos, and still enjoy the sound features, but it ends at what I already have.

[rrinker]

First place I tlel people to look for decoder install is Train COntrol SYstems. They have installation pictures for nearly every loco imaginable. However, no older Atlas E8 - is it a Kato made unit? If so there IS a set of pictures for botht he older Kato E8 which is not a simple drop in as well as the newer one which is.

--Randy