@ Warflight...

... I had one of these...My Advice...throw the track cleaner parts away...totally useless in my opinion. You would be much better done by with a graphite stick.

As for what they sound like....who cares no one else will no!

DCC for MDC boxcab

Dear War,

First-up, that MDC open-frame motor may well exceed the Motor Current rating of your decoder,
so do some testing with an ammeter first befire committing any decoder to it!
(some MDC open-frame motors can be tuned to run sweetly and at low-current,
if one is soo inclined, 
but if it's really-old, the magnets have weakened, or the motor and geartrain is not "tuned right",
then such a motor can blow right-by the "1Amp limit" of most HO decoders...)

Second, these mechs are typically noisy,
(the term "coffee grinder" is common used in the context of these locos,
esp when dis-respected by not assembling them wth due care, see below),

so any sound-decoder you put in it will have a lot of "acoustic noisefloor" to overcome,
while getting hot-n-bothered in the bargain...

As with any MDC "loco kit", do NOT treat it like a "shake the box" rollingstock/car kit! 
Loco mechs don't "just fall together" like a boxcar,
take your time and check everything for proper operation, every step of the process,
(and yes, you will have to follow-the-instructions to the letter!)

Tech tip: a loco mech of this era/style which does not run well without lube will still not-work-well with it!
Twisting the gears off the sprues is verboten (leaves flash and parting-marks on the gears, 
which translates into "clicking", binding, and nother grindey noises later),

seek and eliminate any indication of binding before proceeding to the next step,
(taking care not to wildly "ream everything out" to the point that there's slop-ahoy!!!)

and check every gear tooth for flash, remedying as required...
(a small piece of fine sandpaper, folded in half to form a tight "V",
can be invaluable in cleaning out the trough "between each tooth pair").

Those wheels are also old-skool sintered-iron, not Nickel-silver,
so they have oodles of traction (esp when suitably weighted!)
but will arc-n-spark like mad and pickup all forms of grot.

Unless you re-wheel and/or polish the treads
(use the Search box at top right with terms "Nelson athearn wheel polish"),
graphite is about to become your best-friend...

Fans of these locos frequently ditch the OEM (late 70s/early 80s era?) mech,
and simply drop the body on top of a current-spec B'mann centre-motor 44 Tonner,
which would give you a known DCC-ready basis with low current-draw, and overall mechanically quieter.

If you do decide to go-sound with this, I'd suggest any one of the following as being "older diesel" enough to pass-muster for most non-critical-listening ("I just wanna hear a diesel rumble from it") applications:
- ST Econami in "Alco 244" mode
- ST TSU2 in "GE Cummins", "Fairbank Morse", or any of the "Baldwin" modes
- LokSound Select with "Fairbanks Morse" or "Older.smaller Alco" project loaded

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

PS one of the most "famous" DCC+Sound renditions of the GE Boxcab is arguably the "CNJ 1000" by Tim Warris...
http://www.bronx-terminal.com/?cat=20
/>
 

Awesome information!

Though, I already have the decoder I plan to usem adn it's a Digitrax 16 bit HO sound decoder. (Digitrax SDXH166D)

The motor does consern me. I do have a newer Bachmann motor sitting in a box, unopened (Bachmann sent it to me by mistake, and then told me to just keep it) It's for one of their belt driven 2-8-0/2-10-0 steam engines, but when I get the kit, I was planning to see if I can use it in the place of the motor the kit came with. (to quote my cat... "if it fits, it sits") and that may solve the noise, and amperage issues.

Worse case, I'll find a new motor if nothing else works, but, I have high hopes that this is a newer model (but it probably isn't, because I have seen newer models of this engine with a flywheel for the motor, and I don't have this yet, but, I don't see the dicast flywheel in the photos, and don't know if I would be comfortable with a dicast flywheel anyway)

I do plan to give the wheels the "hairy eyeball" and either polish, graphite, or replace as I see fit. In looking for one of these kits, I have seen a few where the wheels look like they have "zink rot" on more than a few auctions, and sales.

The Bachmann 44 tonner sounds like a grand idea, and maybe that might come later (I do have a tight budget, after all)

Oh, and... awwww... the cleaner kit was the whole reason I bought it! I do use a graphite stick for my layout, and because the cleaning kit is plastic, I was actually considering modifying the cleaner with some special cut graphite bits so it could spread graphite instead of my fat fingers knocking over fence lines, and my little rabbis in the road every time I use graphite on the track!

This looks like it can be a pretty fun project either way.

 

Motor =\= Noise

Got it.

And don't use "5th wheel grease" on plastic.

(ask me how I know!)

fun?

Black and Decker...

So what you're saying... is it already comes with sound?


< running>

Like has been mentioned

Like has been mentioned already, the drive train makes so much noise, you would probably never hear the sound decoder.  I repowered one back in the 90's using a Sagami can motor with flywheel.  It ran very smooth, but was still waaaayyyy noisey.

If and when!

You can get it to actually run, it will make ALL KINDS of noise!  Clunk-grind-wirrrrr-snap-crackle-pop!

I had two of these and I finally gave up on them.  The drive system will kill you and that open frame motor will require a G-scale decoder to supply enough current.  

Hope this helps Warflight!

MDC "split" parts?

Dear Scott,

I agree, War (whether he realises it or not) appears to be choosing to "take the mountain head-on" here,
but if he's truly keen, I'm all for trying to illuminate a path to success for him...

In my experience,
(10s of MDC 2 and 3-truck shay kits, and a couple of MDC Climaxes with common-to-boxcab mechs,
many clocking 2+ decades of operation and still running...)

things only split on MDC kits when the modeler treats the kit like a boxcar "5min shake the box kit" ,
IE just twist the parts off the sprue and shove them together with no care or regard for checking fit-and-fitment...
(see earlier comments on this thread and previous MDC shay threads RE patience and due-care/diligence in mech-building).

War would be well-advised to closely eyeball any/all "pre-assembled" parts for such "poor mechanical sympathy assembly practises", given this is a 2nd-hand eBay buy...

Happy Modelling,
Aim to Improve,
Prof Klyzlr

PS I honestly see more issues "out of the box" with 1990s/2000s-era P2k and B'mann "engineering-plastic split components" than with 1980-90s era MDC loco kits... :-(

From my experience - dump the

From my experience - dump the power units supplied with the Boxcabs (the maotors are so old that they have lost mos tof their magnetizm) - I usually bought the unpowered versions for cheapness - , and replace with Bachmann 44 tonners(either single or double motors) or if you want to try a less expensive (but a bit more work) route - look on http://www.ebay.co.uk  for Underground Ernie locos - not the clockwork or push-along versions - which are available for around £15.00. These are also made by Bachmann. Throw out the body shell, the eye-swivel mech, and you are left with a dummy truck with pick-ups and a power unit and truck. You will need to make a replacement chassis (.060 plastic card will be fine) to fit the boxcab shell and cut holes to allow the trucks to swivel, and bodge up a  truck mounting fitment - the radius they will traverse depends on you mounting fitment and the space allowed for the hole. Stick a bit of sheet lead into the roof of the boxcab shell to give it weight for traction - If you want to fit DCC and sound you are on your own - I never went down that route  Mine worked fine on my small East 149th Street layout (less than 4' square) and would move half a dozen 40' cars.

Hope that helps

Jack

Parts...

It seems from the photos, everything is still sealed in their baggies, so I'm not too worried about it being second hand.

I have some ideas on how to quiet the mechanisms (it involves a plastic safe, thick grease) the motor amperage I will just have to see when it comes. Looking at the photo, it looks like it shouldn't be too difficult to make it a bit quieter. I'm sure some gear work is plastic (judging by other sets I've seen) but all I'm seeing is metal gears in the photo so far. (I might see two small plastic gears on a sprue in one of the baggies)

This could be quite the adventure.

I mean... it couldn't be any harder then that one time I put together a Jordan Highways hearse, and then vowed to never put another one together again. (it was a short lived vow, as I have a stack of Jordan Highway kits I plan to put together in the next week or so)

My advantage now, is I have the proper tools for this sort of project, and seeing how the box says "Roundhouse Diesel comes complete - Nothing else to buy", then I am over tooled!

(the wise old Model Railroader on the Mountain once said "The first rule of model railroading... packaging always lies")

Actually... that might have been Dr House that said that. Now that I think about it.

With all of the advice here though, it's good to know that I have options! I want to see if I can do this with the parts that come in the kit, AND make it DCC. I have an extra motor just in case, so now I'm looking at if I can do it with parts in kit, and new motor.

Does anyone have any ideas on ways to make it quieter?

I'm still thinking about a heavy grease for the gears inside of the trucks... any other ideas? Though I'm not seeing it in the photo, I know it has a heavy metal frame as well.

Also, I have been contemplating the headlights, and reverse lights. I know the ones that come with it are solid plastic, but I have some ideas for drilling them out, and putting either LEDs in them, or, LEDs behind them, and filling them with my clear plastic "window goo" that I use to make windows. (I also started figuring out how to use CA glue to make beautiful HO scale lenses)

 

Metal frame...

Okay, I am seeing it in the photo. I blew up the photo, and it's hidden under the shell in the pictures. (which is how Roundhouse shipped them)

I think this is an older one though, because I don't see the "optional flywheel" that I have seen in other kits, but, I'll know for sure when I get it.

Here is what I did:

I didn't try to use the MDC mechanism at all, instead rebuilding it with a Bachmann 44 ton chassis:

https://forum.mrhmag.com/post/cyp-1-joins-the-roster-12207331

And another photo:

That looks nice, actually...

When people said the 44 tonner had the wrong side frames, I was imagining something else... that actually looks pretty nice.

Though, I'm the sort, where if I bought a 44 tonner, I would end up using it as the 44 tonner.

Funny thing about the Boxcab diesel... I wanted it the first time I saw a picture of it on one of my Roundhouse kit boxes! I didn't know what it was at the time, but I knew i wanted it. Then, when I found a kit in the local hobby shop, all those months ago, I was intimidated by all the parts (I was still a bit wet behind the ears) and a few weeks ago, I went in to buy it (it had been there for MONTHS!) only to discover someone beat me to it, only a few days before I got there.

Seeing this one, and seeing the track cleaner (which I LOVED the idea of) and seeing the lack of a road name... well, I just had to have it.

Sound

As the Prof says, the best way to keep a locomotive quiet is taking a lot of care in assembly so all of the gears mesh correctly and all of the wheels turn freely.

I have one in the cellar somewhere. IIRC, it ran smoothly enough but was hampered by the gear ratio -- at one time there was a product called the Heiden Transmission that was intended to make it creep but had sloppy tolerances and didn't seem to live all that long when thrown together.

I've seen a couple with more modern can motors and DCC decoders that seemed to run well. It would be a shame to discard all of the weight built into the original frame. Bet Kingston Locomotive Works to make one run like a clock.

Warflight, I love you

I fully get your limited budget. I am in the same boat. I always loved the look of these things and when I was a kid (40 years ago) my dad bought one of these for our small layout. Like you, I am a careful modeller. (2 L's I am Canadian) and I'm sure you'll do great building this thing. I was never more disappointed than when I cranked the throttle and this thing started to move. Kinda. It is s-l-o-w which is a good thing but the noises eminating from it were disturbing. My mother asked what the H-E-double hockey sticks was I doing when I ran it. Still, I hoped it would help with cleaning the track. Not so much. Being so slow it wasn't usable as a locomotive to haul a train. Being so noisy it was disturbing. Being such poor track cleaner got it back in the box. 25 years later I tried to make it run better and removed all the attachments for cleaning track. During this time someone online (yes we were online 15 years ago) was looking for one and I sold it. 

I prefaced this with love because I don't want to discourage you. I know you can make this into a great runner with a new motor and improved drive train. Using a (newer) Bachmann 44 tonner might be a better, faster and in the end cheaper way around this. I hope it works better for you as a track cleaner than it did us. 

Grease will not make it

Grease will not make it quieter.  Most of the noise is coming from the gear ratio.  Like someone else mentioned, I have also assembled a bunch of MDC loco kits, including 4 or 5 of these and the Climax kit.  They are just made to run really slow, therefore, the gearing will make a ton of noise.

Your problem with the heavy

Your problem with the heavy grease, is that it will increase the friction (stickshun) and make the motor work that much harder, and burn it out - Speaking of motors - not something I tried, but when you get the kit, and can check the size, you may be able to replace the magnet with a modern neodymium one which may improve the performance - it is worth thinking about anyway! - Here in UK I'd use First$Magnets - in US I think the best supplier is K&J Magnetics, If you get more than one two things -  Don't let them bang together because they may shatter(they can be brittle - and don't let them trap skin between them - You will find out why if you do!

Sorry - should have said - If

Sorry - should have said - If you are hoping to use it as a track cleaner - forget it, and look at Youtube for "how to make track cleaning cars" - that way you won't be disappointed.

Drivetrain

You could just throw away the drive parts and get two Northwest Shortline Stanton power trucks.

Quick note - if you are going

Quick note - if you are going for sound - look at the very cheap Iphone speakers available on ebay - lots of good reports of results with them in locos

Stanton drives, Black Beetles, etc

Boxcab fun

War flight, I'm jealous. Always wanted one of those. Several Class One's had one. Rock Island had a very similar version. Interestingly, some of the roads did change the early diesel for a gas engine, making "gas-electric"!

As far as operations and noise, eyeball engineering will show defective parts. If put together well, it will last well. I have several MDC and Mantua die cast locos that run well, that I built in the 60s. I inherited one of the old MDC boxcan shays with the same works that runs fine. True, open frame motors do draw more amps. We used to put a resistor across them, long ago, to reduce draw and unprototyical high speeds. Changing to a can motor is probably the easier way.

Come on guys, take a sniping break. These were top of the line in their time with wonderful reviews. They can still be good, dependable power.