[tony-m]

Hi as you can tell i am new to this .I am building a small layout for my grandson and have started with the hornby mixed goods ddc have added some extra track and points but also i have been given a Airfix goods set with 2x 2-6-2 Prairie Tank locos these seem to run on 12v dc but the hornby set runs on 15v i know i can run un-digital trains but will the voltage difference be ok also are spare parts for the airfix still avaliable i.e. carbon brushes ect ,these two locos have not been used in 20 years but seem to be in perfect condition

 

[poliss]

It would be unwise to run the Airfix DC loco's on DCC. Probably burn the motors out. They can be converted to DCC operation by means of soldering in a decoder. Probably have to be one of the more powerful ones. Someone will be along in a jiff to give you more technical info. You can usually find spares on Ebay.

 

[Brian Considine]

Hi Tony & welcome to MRF,

As poliss says you can with some digital systems run one analogue locomotive but it's the general opinion that its not advisable - it cause's many motors to overheat & they will certainly burn out if left stationary on a digital track that is powered up.

Virtually any locomotive can be converted, some easy, some diffecult - I'm not too certain about the Airfix though. You may be better off to sell them on & replace them with locomotives that are easier to convert & obtain spare parts for.

Hope this helps.

 

[poliss]

From the service sheet here http://www.airfixrailways.co.uk/ARSPraire.htm they look like a quite straightforward conversion. The only question would be the stall current on these older loco's.

 

[34C]

I have a couple of N2's with the same design of motor, an open frame 5 pole unit. It is noisier than the can motors found in more recent RTR products but it is very robust, and easily converted to DCC control. You need to isolate the motor brushes from the track supply, and interpose the decoder. Judging by the diagram the uppermost brush is fed by a wire from the pick up wipers one side, probably soldered to the brush terminal so easily disconnected. The brush on the underside of the motor may well be fed by an extension from the pick up wipers on the other side, simply sprung against this brush terminal. To get at this, the motor will have to be removed, the securing point will be on the underside, a cross head screw centrally into the pole piece. The motor may well be a tight fit into the moulded frame in which it is seated, which may also surround the front bearing of the motor. A ltttle wiggling should free things up. With the motor out the spring contact can be bent clear and shaped conveniently to be soldered to one of the rail inputs on the decoder, and one of the motor output wires on the decoder soldered to the underside brush terminal before the motor is reseated and the securing screw replaced. Use a 1A decoder as this motor can draw a fair current, and if you want good performance a high grade decoder pays off.