Talyllyn-Nr1

Bachmann initially came out with a toy model of the “Thomas” engine Skarloey. Even though it was a fairly simple model, it wasn’t a bad one. It also had a decent mechanism, so it was well received. People were asking for real world liveries and Bachmann listened. In 2024 they released three version. A green, black and a red one. Below you will find instructions how to take the model apart and to install a better motor, a non-sound or sound decoder and stayalive for a higher enjoyment.

For the sound installation is needed, available from the Tramfabriek:

- Zimo sound decoder MS491

- Zimo STACO4 Stayalive

- Tramfabriek Skarloey/Talyllyn motor upgrade

- Tramfabriek 8 x 13 mm speaker

- Ultra thin wire (black) or thin enamel wire

For the non-sound decoder installation:

- Zimo MN160 or MN150 DCC decoder, or any decoder that is less than 8mm wide.

- Zimo STACO4 Stayalive (Tramfabriek coreless motor needed to create space)

For just the coreless motor upgrade:

- Tramfabriek Skarloey/Talyllyn motor upgrade

Black Ultra thin wire

(Optional, to replace purple speaker wires).

Speaker

8x13mm

Resonator box for 8x13 mm speaker. H7.5mm.

(Only free when ordered with speaker)

Specifications

Length (frame): 61.5 mm

Length over buffers: 72.7 mm

Width: 25 mm

Height: 33 mm

Weight: 64 grams

Wheelbase: 15.7 mm

Wheel diameter: 9.4 + 7 mm

Height in cabine for figure: 23.2 mm

Announced: August 2022

Released USA: December 2024

Released Europe: Expected Summer ‘25

SOUND FILE

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Take apart - Replacing the motor

Jump to

Sound installation

Remove the screws at indicated points.

Take the housing off. Remove the screw (arrow) that holds the PCB board. Desolder the wires. You don’t need the screw nor PCB board anymore when you are converting the model to DCC.

To create a much better driving experience (replacement motor runs smoother, is actually quiet, uses less current and has a much lower maximum speed), I advise to replace the motor, if you are going to go DCC. The chuff of the sound file is adjusted to the coreless motor (but you can adjust the chuff speed in CV 267, if you decide to keep the old motor).

During the process, I keep the model on a sheet of foam, to protect it from damage. Though it’s pretty sturdy.

Be aware that the whistle sticks out when you turn the loco upside down.

Remove the metal weight by taking the three screws out that hold it to the chassis.

To fit the motor, two metal parts need to be removed. But if you are going to fit the sound decoder, you need to do some milling or filing before you do that.

First with the chassis. You need to make a little more space at the rear of the motor.

It’s the sticking up piece that you have to remove.

Below I covered the gearing with a tissue, so the small metal pieces don’t stick to the grease. I use a 2.5 mm milling bit. I hold the model with two hands and move it against the milling bit. It’s easier to take thin layers off than to try to do the whole thing in one push. If you have to put force, there is risk you’ll damage other parts. If you take your time, it’s not a difficult job. I advise to wear a dust mask, as the metal particles are very small. And eye protection. The metal pieces are not flying in your face, but Justin Casey.

Now to get the motor ready. It’s easy to remove the worm from the motor. Just slide a sharp pair of tweezers through the gap, push the tweezers forward and you slide the worm (and flywheel; they are two separate parts) out. Make a mental note of the positioning of the flywheel. The deeper part has to be in the direction of the worm, when you place it on the new motor.

Push in this direction.

Again; easy task, but a bit daunting if you have no experience. Press the coreless Tramfabriek motor on the new worm. Use both thumbs to press on the back of the motor. The plastic backing is only fitted with friction and it is impossible to repair it. But if you press with both thumbs to support the back, you should have no problem. The space between motor and flywheel is about 1.3 to 1.5 mm. You can check if you done it correctly by laying the motor in the chassis. The fly lays (and should spin freely) between the pieces of metal.

This is how it looks like when you’re done. Try to place the motor to see if it lays flat.

You can’t just glue the motor in the chassis. You need to glue a piece of 0.25 mm styrene (supplied with the Tramfabriek motor upgrade kit) to raise the motor. Without it, the gears will grind. The piece of styrene is not made to fit yet, so cut it to size so it lays flat on the metal. Then use superglue to fix it in place.

Here’s the piece of styrene glued in its place.

Now fit the motor. It can best be glued with epoxyglue. I use Araldite 90. It dries fast enough for impatient people like me, but not too fast that you can’t reposition it. And if you completely mess up, you can tear it out, clean it up and try again. Align the front of the motor to the metal bracket that’s in front of it. Check if you did the spacing correctly for the flywheel to be able to spin freely. When the glue is drying, hold the motor in place until it has set a bit and check that it is straight. The blue wire will be connected to the right side of the loco, so you can keep the blue wire on the right, but for connecting it later, it doesn’t matter.

When the glue is dried enough after a few minutes, I use a 9V battery to connect to the wires and check how it runs. It should be smooth and as good as quiet. Even at full speed you don’t hear whining, where you would with the original motor.

The metal weight won’t fit now, because of the bar at the end. You can choose to file it so it does fit, or just cut it off with a Xuron cutter I choose the quick and easy way.

If you are just replacing the motor you can reverse the take-a-part and you’re done. But for DCC and DCC Sound, you need to do a bit or more modification to the metal weight. Follow the instructions in the next section, where we are installing sound.

Sound installation

SOUND FILE

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Supercapacitors,

supplied with STACO4

First a reminder that you need to install the Tramfabriek coreless motor (see previous section) in order to fit the stayalive. Otherwise you don’t have the space for it.

Below the installation scheme with Zimo sound decoder.

The light and extra function output cables are not used in this example. This is not part of this article, but you can of course connect them yourself. In the photo serie below I have used one of the light outputs to connect a pre-wired 0201 warm white LED and pressed this with black-tac in the upper corner of the cabine to have a cabine light. Because I could. Because the boiler part is completely thick metal, it would be quite an effort to make the front light work. Alternatively, another front light can be placed low at the front and original lamp replaced by a headboard. That would be easier to fit.

Left Right

Zimo MS491 (wires)

Tramfabriek 8x13 mm Speaker

Tramfabriek 0816S

Motor

Zimo

STACO4

It is advised to replace the purple speaker wires for black wires, so they don’t stand out in the cab, where the speaker will be situated.

For digital without sound, a Zimo decoder MN160 or MN150 decoder (or any decoder smaller than 8mm) will fit perfectly in the old PCB board slot. With the sound decoder, to isolate the decoder from the metal weight, the tape that you put around it will make it a bit wider. So you need to run the milling bit along the blue marked edges to make the space.

Just test fit with the decoder (with Kapton tape around it) if you’ve milled enough. You need to take blue marked bit out in the middle and level it with the rest of its surroundings, so there will be enough space for the stayalive board, that goes on top of the decoder.

It is highly advised to install a stayalive when fitting DCC, as it will guarantee a pleasant running experience. For this to fit, the two parts with the holes for the screws need to be cut off. Don’t worry, there is a screw at the front of it to hold it in place. Before, this metal weight was holding the motor down. But as that is glued, this is not needed anymore. This will create space for the stayalives.

Now the picture will show you how to fit the parts. Adjust the length of the wires so you are not stuck with an overload of extra wiring.

Stayalive PCB

Stayalive Supercap

Sound decoder

Stayalive Supercap

Here you can see how the supercapacitors should be angled, as an upside down V. Because of the screw on the inside of the housing and the metal bump on the chassis, this way it is easy to avoid it. Make sure you use the thinnest tape, like Kapton tape. I tried masking tape before this, and it just works, but when you press the housing on the chassis, it is just a bit easier when using Kapton tape.

Use this slot under the housing to pass the speaker wires through. This side rather than the other side, as you have a small “cave” just below this gap in the top housing, where you can press the extra length wire in. To make the wires actually pass through to the footplate, it’s essential you follow the next step.

Metal cutting

Bachmann decided to block the windows with this large piece of metal that sticks out. If you cut it off, leaving about 1 mm sticking out for the cab to slide on, there is a big improved on the looks and it will create the pass through for the speaker wires.

Left: Unscrew the indicated screw and slide the cab upwards to separate it from the boiler.

Right: I’ve put a tape along the top of the black painted part, to make it easier to follow the cutting line. Just make sure there is about 1mm sticking out above the top of the coal bunkers, so the cab has something to slide on at the sides and be held straight.

Use a model makers saw with fine teeth to make the cut. With a file you can clean it up and make sure the cut is straight.

Re-assembly

Making sure that decoder and stayalive PCB are as good as level with the top of the metal weight. Then start with the housing at the front to put the housing back on the chassis and slide the capacitors between the metal and the cab wall. The speaker wires come thought the gap, as seen in an earlier step. Keep carefully pulling the speaker wires, while you fit the housing on the chassis.

Then use superglue to fit the speaker on the resonator box and solder the speaker wires to the speaker. I then use black-tac to keep the speaker on the footplate. If you put a figurine on each side, you hardly see the speaker. You might want to paint the top of the speaker black or put black tape on it, to hide the bare metal of the speaker.

That’s it!