Large Scale Central

Adding Sound To LGB Pennsylvania Forney (Suggestions)

Electronics Power and Sound
#1

Well guys…I’m hooked. Only into G scale trains for two weeks and bought a few locos, some track and bunch of rolling stock. I added lights to two of my passenger cars the other day and everything worked out great thanks to some help here on the LSC Forums.

I bought one of those LGB starter kits with the Pennsylvania Forney. I told the dealer that I would like to have sound (American Steam) in the Forney and he talked me into buying a tender with sound. He said it was the most inexpensive way to add sound. The tender looks too big to tow behind the Forney in relation to scale but he had suggested that I take the sound card out of it and put it in the Forney or a cattle car. I opened the tender up and the sound card is just too big to put in the Forney and I’m not sure I want to dismantle a perfectly good tender. So, I’m going to keep the tender for now and may use it with another loco in the future but I still want to add sound into the Forney.

I’m confused about what I should buy. I see that LGB has the 65001 sound and Phoenix has a few options. Here’s what I would like to do. Add sound to the forney but leave my self open to possibly go rc in the future. I keep seeing stuff about decoders and don’t know where this comes into play with sound. I’m guessing that the decoder allows you to remotely control sounds and features of the loco.

I like the sound what this guy did here (link below) but I don’t think what he has in there will allow me to do rc in the future. What are my options? Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4AeQlFFoB0Q

#2

I put r/c, batteries & sound in an LGB Forney. If you want to run it on track power for now, you might consider a Phoenix P9B. It will run on track power and can be controlled by an appropriate r/c system.

#3

Paul:

Welcome to LSC and to the world of large scale model railroading.

You might not be aware, but the prototype Forney locomotives didn’t have tenders. They are self-contained, with a fuel and water bunker built over the truck. Here is a link to a Wikipedia entry about the prototype Forneys:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Forney_locomotive

Your comments on the apparent size / scale difference brings up another beginner point. There is a tendency to just buy whatever looks interesting, without consideration of scale or era. There is absolutely nothing wrong with this, but as people get more experience, they sometimes feel stuck with their early choices. Thinking about the type of models, era, and goals for your railroad in advance of purchases can help keep your pocketbook in tact, while maximizing your future enjoyment.

LGB tends to be the high quality, high priced spread, but with little attention to scale accuracy. They are also one of the prime examples of vendor’s efforts to force the use of their proprietary equipment. On the other hand, they also enjoy a significant fan base, even through their recent and apparently on-going financial troubles, so they are doing something right.

Not much help on your question, but some food for thought.

Happy RRing,

Jerry

#4

Give Dave Goodson a call, 425-823-3507, he is a forum sponsor here on LSC…He can help direct you in where you are looking to go!

cale

#5

You can transfer all the stuff from the tender into a trailing car behind your Forney, if you want.
Then plug it into the forney, just as you would the tender.

#6

Curtis,
this site details disassembly of the Forney.

http://www.laketownandshire.net/modeling_tips/lgb_forney.htm