For several years now I’ve installed or purchased locomotives with onboard sound, since I feel it adds another level of enjoyment to the hobby. I had long been a user of Soundtraxx Tsunami decoders, until I purchased a Rapido Trains Inc GMD-1 with ESU Loksound.

The ESU sound is like nothing else I have heard. Finally, distinctive prime mover sounds and bell and horn features that sound like the actual components, not something created in a computer. Add in the amazing motor control and the small size of the decoders and I was quickly sold on ESU.

So, now I fac ethe task of removing all the Soundtraxx decoders from the fleet, and replacing them with boards from Loksound. So far, I’ve got 6 models done, with many to follow. For now I’m keeping the ESU equipped units running together and the Tsunami equipped units seperate, to save me the trouble of speed matching everything.

So here’s RS18 #630 undergoing a decoder change out on the bench. I’ve also converting the units to LED lighting.