Union Mills T9 DCC Conversion

Mistakes may damage your locomotive, controller or other accessories. Use a multimeter to make absolutely sure you have completely isolated the motor from the track before testing. Always use the Programming Track for testing. Our guides are provided for reference only, and you proceed entirely at your own risk. Unsure about something - try our DCC Conversion Service instead.

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This guide covers the Union Mills T9 models, including:

• Union Mills T9 Southern 313 (Black)

It is fairly straightforward to convert this tender-driven loco, however the tender body is a single piece of metal with only a small gap to fit the decoder in. It is possible to fit a very small decoder in the space without milling any of the metal away.

Track power is picked up on one side by the loco, transmitted to the motor via the black wire. The other side relies on pickups on the opposite side tender wheels, transmitted to the motor via the chassis itself, and then to the motor housing via the two screws that hold the motor in place.

Step 1 - Remove Tender Body

Turn the tender upside down and remove the screw nearest to the loco.

Step 2 - Remove Components

Desolder the wire from the motor, remove the capacitor and the wire that is soldered to the motor housing.

Step 3 - Position Decoder

Place a piece of kapton tape on top of the motor housing, then secure the decoder in place using a small amount of black tack.

Step 4 - Connect Motor

Connect the grey and orange wires from the decoder to the motor contacts. Make sure the wires are trimmed down as short as possible, as there isn't much space for any excess.

Step 5 - Connect Track Power

Connect the red wire from the decoder to the solder point on the motor casing that was previously connected to the motor contact via the capacitor leg.

Step 6 - Connect Loco Wire

Reattach the tender to the loco.

Loosen the screw at the back of the loco that traps the wire in place. Remove the existing wire.

Cut the decoder black wire to length, and strip about 8mm from the end. Tin it with solder, then insert it into the hole where the original wire used to be.

Tighten the screw to secure the wire in place.

If you prefer, you can solder the original wire directly to the decoder, or splice the wire to the one already attached to the decoder.

Step 7 - Test

At this point, you should be able to place the loco on your programming track and read the loco ID. If all is well, place another piece of kapton tape over the decoder to protect it, then refit the tender body.

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