M.B. Austin's SP C-10 2-8-0 dates from around 1960, just as brass locomotives were becoming seriously popular. M.B. Austin was a California-based importer, very well known for also running the "Trains-Nothing-But-Trains" hobby shop in San Mateo. I visited that store a lot as a kid, and when I got my driver's license, I was often practicing my driving by heading down there.
The locomotive's a big chunkier than some of the other 2-8-0s, and the detail's a tiny bit coarser, but it holds its own against my other brass locomotives. It also accepted a 16mm diameter can motor easily, but still has the original gearbox. You can see my usual install - a four pin plug between the locomotive and tender, and a single wire for the headlight (with the other wire of the bulb grounded on the engine's body.
![](dcc-mbaustin_files/mbaustin-loco-500.jpg)
The tender's the special part. Most Vanderbilt tenders are soldered shut and require huge amounts of work to install a DCC decoder. Not this tender - unscrewing a lower frame caused the wheels, frame, and weight to separate from the tank, and revealed a large slot in the bottom of the tank. It was trivial to add a Tsunami decoder in the upper reaches of the tank, with the speaker standing vertical and leaning against the end of the tank.
![](dcc-mbaustin_files/mbaustin-tender-500.jpg)