The electronics are around $150 for the CC-Lite and RS Commander. The basic install isn't all that bad.
There are two sticking points on this installation.
#1. The railings are VERY fragile, I have some broken pieces that I'm going to have to figure out. I have some brass rod coming, and I may just make railings and forget about the flimsy plastic ones. I have no idea if I can get pieces from Williams.
#2. The electrocouplers have to be extensively modified to work in this application as you can see from the first pictures in this thread.
Nice work John!! I agree too, that the railings are very fragile, and to make matters worse don't stay in their respective mounting locations, a really nice loco other than the problems with the railings.
I started to document an upgrade for this loco to sell a kit, but your progress seemed to be coming along, so I sat back on this project. I did use the ERR Offset generator PCB and kept the original Williams sound board in my loco, which is a cheaper alternative than the full RailSounds upgrade.
I would like my personal unit to have electro couplers, but the addition is a real science project. Most folks would not be able to make the mods, and selling them ready to install would be expensive option. Too bad electros are not easier to adapt.
