Atlas S2, S4, RS3 bodies on Bachmann sound value chassis?

[Searsport]

The new Sound Value S2, S4 and RS3 locos look very good value and sound good judging by you-tube clips.  I am wondering if their chassis are the easiest way to upgrade my old Atlas Classic locos, several of which which are not even DCC ready and all of which require serious modification to fit sound, and which have liveries Bachmann may never reach.  Has anyone done similar body swaps, and if so are there any tips?

I did hear that the Bachmann S4 body was an upgrade of the old Atlas tooling, in the way that many of the Chinese products for different brands come from the same factory, though my Atlas S2 originated from Roco in Austria, but tools travel around.

Grateful for any advice,
Bill.

[Bucksco]

You heard wrong. All Bachmann tooling is original. We do not copy other manufacturers products!

[Searsport]

Hi, Mr B, no offence meant!  I was not suggesting that you copy other manufacturer's products.  But rather that your parent company, Kadar, produces tooling and models for other manufacturers.  For example, several of the Bachmann range of British prototypes were originally produced by Kadar for Mainline (Palitoy), or Replica Railways, before being absorbed into the Bachmann range when Bachmann decided to launch its own British range.  I have several examples of the same model in a Mainline box and a Bachmann box (Class J72 0-6-0T, Class 57xx 0-6-0PT, Class 43xx 2-6-0, Class 2251 0-6-0 Collett Goods, Jubilee Class 5XP 4-6-0, Rebuilt Patriot Class 4-6-0, Rebuilt Scot Class 4-6-0, Parallel Boiler Scot Class 4-6-0, Standard Class 4MT 4-6-0, and the ex-Replica Class B1 4-6-0.)

"In 1925 a man called Ting Hsiung-chao bought a battery manufacturing company in Shanghai for $500. ..... imprisoned for political reasons .... forced to flee to Hong Kong .... established what became a thriving business in North Point, Hong Kong.  His Company, Kadar, was founded in 1948 and went on to become the largest manufacturer of toys in the Far East.  In the mid 1950s his company started manufacturing for Bachmann and by 1987 Kadar had bought Bachmann outright.  One British company it manufactured for was Palitoy (Mainline).  By the late 1980s Kadar were looking at the European market ... formed Bachmann Industries Europe ... acquired a number of famous European names including Liliput ...  (info courtesy www.kader.com.hk/our_company/history.html).

My hope was that if Kadar had made the original bodies for the Atlas-Roco S-2 or the Atlas-Kato RS-3 the dimensions and fixing points might be the same for it to fit over your new chassis. 

However, those old bodies do have moulded-on detail, so if you would like to produce a GM&O S-2 and RS-1, a Central of Georgia RS-3 and GP-7, a BAR GP-7, a MEC S-4, GP-7 and RS-11, and a New Haven RS-1, RS-2, and RS-3, all with sound and to todays standards, I will be just as happy!

BTW, will the DCC ready S-2 liveries appear with sound in due course if I wait long enough, or if I wanted a Western Pacific S-2 with sound should I buy the DCC ready version and upgrade it?  Grateful for advice, Bill.

[Bucksco]

The S2 and S4 are new tooling. I seriously doubt they would mate up with other manufacturers products.

[81F]

Hi Searsport,

I note what you say about Kader, although my Bachmann GWR Churchward Mogul body was a straight swap for my original mainline version I was not so lucky with the Collett 0-6-0 (original mainline chassis) though it did fit the later one after removing some internal plastic. The 57XX pannier was even worse, the screw holes didn't even line up.

Also new Bachmann bogies will not fit onto the older Kader Collett coaches. However some spares are interchangeable. I think even if Kader use some old toolings in their UK range the models have evolved.

I should also add that in n gauge I have a small 0-4-0 tender loco made by Alas that I bought for a 009 kit designed for the Bachmann version. On comparing them I found the two quite different internally so I wouldn't be supprised if Bachmann UK do things very differently to Bachmann US.

[jward]

having examples of both the atlas and bachmann s4s and rs3s, i can tell you that even if you are able to swap the chassis, you will sacrifice some pulling power. the atlas locomotives are alot heavier than the bachmann ones.

[Searsport]

Mr. B, thanks for the info.  If you are looking for liveries for next year, how about the New Haven orange and green balloon livery?

Hi, JWard, My present layout is an Inglenook, so pulling power is not an issue.  It is DC but was wired for easy conversion to DCC, and is designed to be any location with a change of removable backscene, hence the variety of railroads, mainly inspired by their liveries!  My main interest in going DCC is to add sound, and whilst I too love the weight and reliability of the Atlas locos there would be a lot of work in converting some of their chassis to DCC and fitting a speaker.  I may instead build a second switching layout for DCC and sound, and perhaps choose yet another RR!  It would be an excuse to use some of the classic building kits from my stockpile.  The Bachmann UP S2 and S4 look good, and with mergers there might be excuses for SP and WP units to visit.  However, I don't want all my units to sound the same, so I will need to find something bigger to complement them.

Thanks,
Bill.

[jward]

might i suggest a bachmann gp7 or gp9? they don't have sound, but the frame has been milled out for a speaker, so adding the proper sound decoder wouldn't be that hard. the gp's had a distinct sound far different from any alco.

a note on the up, sp and wp alcos. they were all gone years before their respective roads merged into union pacific, but there is the possibility they mingled in the salt lake city area in the 1950s and 1960s. all 3 roads had yards either there or ogden, along with the rio grande.

[wjstix]

It's pretty easy to add a decoder to an Atlas engine. I have Atlas engines dating back to the 1990's, and all have the motor isolated from the chassis. Just remove the lightboard and use one of the several available lightboard - replacement decoders. If you do a sound decoder, like Tsunami, all you have to do is find a spot for a 1/2" by 1" oval speaker and enclosure. I have two Atlas GP-7s and an RS-1 that were converted to DCC/sound that way with no problems.

[Searsport]

Hi, folks, thanks for all your advice. 

My UP S-4 arrived Saturday, and I have been trying it on a yard of track attached to my Dynamis, which is not yet attached to a layout.  In fact I got last years model, Bach 63205 UP #1156 in a close-out sale. 

My first thought was - It Doesn't Work!  But investigation showed that the track connection clip supplied with the Dynamis does not touch the bottom of the rails of my Peco flexitrack, as the little spring bumps are not high enough.  So I used wires attached to crocodile clips and the square plug connector that also comes with the Dynamis and all was well. 

It is a neat little loco with excellent slow speed and impressive sound quality, but my first reflection is that as I will be doing a lot of switching, brake squeal and coupler crash would be major assets, so my next loco may be the DCC ready WP version which I can fit with a full Tsunami.

I have not yet taken the body off to see if it fits an Atlas body, but if I wanted a full Tsunami as my standard then body-swaps with sound value locos would be a less viable option.  I think the main problem with simply adding DCC and sound to the Atlas S2/S4 may be where to put the speaker, as the cabs are occupied by solid metal up to the level of the windows.  Also the rear facing headlight on the Atlas is non-operational, so there would be quite a few jobs to do.

My immediate next tasks for UP 1154 are to add a crew and fit metal Kadees.  Also, I was a bit apprehensive as the UP looked a bit toy-like in illustrations because of the bright colours.  Actually the model looks much better, but I think it would look better still with weathering.  It also needs the hand / foot rails fitted to the right side of the nose.

Thanks again for your help,
Bill.

[Searsport]

Hi, in case anyone is interested, I have now had the opportunity to compare the Bachmann S4 with the Atlas S2.  The construction is radically different.  The Bachmann has the hood and walkways as a single plastic moulding, with a separate plastic cab.  The Atlas has a separate plastic hood, a separate plastic cab, and the walkways are part of the metal chassis casting.  Thus if you wanted to transpose your favourite-liveried Atlas body onto a Bachmann Sound Value chassis as a cheaper and easier way to sound, you would need to cut the Bachmann hood from the walkway, repaint the Bachmann walkway to match your Atlas livery, and add the Atlas hood and cab.

Thanks for your advice,
Bill.