Newman Atkinson says:

Changing the trucks verses just buying new for DCC is really up to you. First I would look at the engine you currently have and note does it run well, Do you have lots of pickups from more than just a few wheels, Is there room to install the decoder, is your older engine with a motor that might pull more amps as per the newer can motors? I am converting the better engines of my fleet one at a time of course but I am looking at the performance I get from the engine in standard DC. If it does not perform well in DC, although you will have DCC Capability after you modify it, It will only perform as well at it did in Standard DC. For instance I have a Thomas the Tank Engine and it has a very light duty motor in it and is DC. It picks up power well but the engine only runs fast and faster. There is no slow to it. Under Digitrax DCC system I can test most engines that are still DC and put them under a 00 code and even while I am running my other DCC engines I can operate the engine under DCC. (caution though you do not want to stop the motor as DCC always has power to the tracks where DC doesn’t when you stop it. You don’t want to overheat your engine. But you can do this long enogh to see how it performs in DCC mode. In this case Thomas went from fast and faster to creap and run properly up the speed scale. Also my engine has eyes that travel from left to right and under Standard DC those eyes are only a blur as the engine will only run fast. Under DCC these eyes move like they should because I can control the speed at the lower end. So yes this engine is a good candidate for the conversion. Some of your old tyco and Bachmann engines had only a wheel or two that would pick up the power. so yes they can be modified but crossing switch frogs and dirty tracks it will be only as good as your engine is. You may want to get an engine with DCC already installed to start with so you can begin having fun from the start. Your first conversion project will take some time and you will run into questions while doing it. So get you an engine ready to go and not be disappointed while you convert each engine. I have 15 engines with DCC installed now and I’d say half of them are Dcc installed myself. But choose your engines for great success. from Newman Atkinson