Help Installing Diesel Sound/Horn Board

There is LOTS of room. Get the MRC AC Sounder unti. this is a simple  2 wire hook-up and the sound board is no bigger than a sitck of wrigley's gum.

If you replace the bulb with an LED mounted right in the headlight, you'll accomplish two things.  You'll leave room for the sound module and have a more realistic headlight.

I'm not sure why you can't put it in the slave unit, seems to be room there.

Well, since you ask for any suggestions...

If this is meant to be a memento, perhaps the sounds from the actual Wine Train would be a nice touch as an alternative to (or in addition to) diesel engine and horn sounds.  I searched on Napa Valley Wine Train in youtube and got 500+ videos. With some effort you could piece together sounds of wine corks popping, laughter, announcements, tableware clanking, etc.  Then put it in a recordable sound board in a passenger car.

Actually, I have a small sound board that you can record up to about three minutes of audio on and it would easily fit into the locomotive.  I used one in my TMCC controlled Wienermobile.  A simple activation circuit from the horn input and you'd have the desired result with no extra cars in the mix.

Thanks for the suggestions. A question...if I install a horn/bell card in the Alco dummy so it operates off the horn/bell buttons on the transformer, could I also put a sound card in a passenger car with the sound of the wine train as Stan suggested and activated by a control independent of the transformer?

Sure, you could also put one in that was controlled by the Bell if use a horn-only card in the locomotive. 

Another easy way to control it would also be to have a push-button somewhere that it didn't detract from the appearance but was easily activated and use that.  Even a reed switch with a magnet along the track would do it.

The reed switch in a car is a great idea to activate the sound.  In addition to a track-side magnet, you could embed the activation magnet in a prop like a wine crate or barrel which you position near the switch to manually activate the sound board.  Or mixing scales a bit, you could embed the magnet is a real wine cork and wave it past the switch.  Nd (Neodymium) magnets are small, powerful, inexpensive and would be perfect for this.

And not just the headlight...  the first thing I noticed in the youtube videos is the cool lighting.  I see a "rotating" beacon atop master and slave, alternating ditch(?) strobe lights (very short pulses), a half dozen or so lights on the side/bottom of each passenger car as well as lots of interior lights, and a large EOT globe light or something like that on the last car.  So if you have the shells opened up anyway...

You'll need to add some electronics to offer the ditch lights and the MARS light, though that's certainly possible.

Thanks for all the great suggestions. I've ordered the MRC AC card and will start there. 

Received the MRC 1815 decoder and purchased the 1824 remote control also since the K Line transformer that came with the set only has a throttle control. After John's suggestion of caps to use as a baffle, I found a spice jar cap that fit perfectly. I put a notch in the side for the wires and then hot glued it all together and couldn't believe the increase in volume. Got it all installed and and must say the sounds it produces is way cool. I'm a post war guy who after 50 years is getting back into the hobby. Our grandson is 1 1/2 years old and I decided to dig out and put up a set of trains around the tree for him (and me). I dug through 9 very large boxes of lionel post war cars and accessories to find the original set my parents got me for Christmas '49. It was the 1469WS which consisted of the 2035, 6466, 6456, 6465, 6462 and 6257. I knew it was 50 years since it was last run because the engine box was missing one end flap and dad stuffed a piece of newspaper in that end and the date on it was Feb. 3, 1963. Anyway, after some cleaning and lubrication, I put it on the track and held my breath, applied some power and low and behold it started to move. The light worked the whistle blew and after a few minutes it even started smoking....I knew I was hooked.

Sorry for being a little wordy, but after all of that, I do have a question. I've tried to get into the program mode of the decoder by pressing and holding down button 6 of the remote and slowly turning up the throttle. I hear the engine sounds but not the word "Program." I've tried this a few time waiting several minutes in between for the capacitor to drain down. What am I doing wrong?

I too am installing the MRC 1815 and would like to know which transformer can be used as I have heard that some chopped sound wave transformers can damage the MRC decoder. I have the following CW-80 MRC 027 and MTH z750 also some old Marx 50 and 100 amp units. I would welcome any comments. Thanks