Fleischmann BR01.10 with added sound

Another sound installation, my first on a steam locomotive: the Fleischmann BR01.10.

Old times, old models

This is a model I got on ebay for a good price a while ago. The BR01.01, part number 7174, only has a NEM651 plug. Recently, Fleischmann released a newer version: the reference 717471 has on board sound…but it was too late for me. So I decided to install sound on my version anyway, using the usual Loksound Micro v4.0 from ESU.

I don’t have many steam engines. I do like focusing on more modern rolling stock. One big exception is streamlined steam engines. I find them fascinating. This includes this version of the BR01.10, or the British class A4.

The advantage of streamlined engines in N-scale is: more room for decoder installations. So, since I am in a “sound” mood, off to my first sound install on a steam engine.

Decoder/tender car

Here is the opened coal car:

I removed the NEM651 plug, the decoder would fit nicely on top of the motor. I only had to modify the lead weight a bit:

Then I just installed and soldered the decoder. It’s really not very clean, a combination of rolled up scotch tape and plastic holds the decoder above the motor rotor:

And finally, the closed tender car. The additional wires are the 2 speaker cables, and the front light output wire:

Speaker/front

There was plenty of room in the front part, most of it occupied by a long bar of lead. At first, I had tried fitting a speaker in the driving cab. It wasn’t very beautiful, plus the sound was quite bad (those small speakers usually use the locomotive body as a resonator).

I opted for another speaker, the “MLspeak_Kombi11” from AMW in Austria. It’s an 11x15mm speaker to which you can attach an extra plastic resonator.

 

So I decided to install the speaker inside. I shortened the lead bar, removed about 1cm to make room for the speaker. The speaker was solidly glued to the body of the locomotive:

Done

Those sound installs are getting easier! Someday, I will do a soldering mistake, maybe break an expensive sound decoder. It is bound to happen…but hasn’t yet, so I’m happy.
This was a simple install. I did not replace the old fashioned light bulbs with leds. Also the bulbs are connected to the track on one side, instead of the decoder plus pole connector. That means they flicker slightly. But that’s good enough for me this time.

Here is a short video…and in case you wonder: no, I haven’t made progress on my layout 😉