Well,Well,Well....Three holes in the ground.

[Mark Damien]

G'day all,

I recently bought three Bachmann 2-8-0's at a garage sale for $15.
I was told they either run badly or don't run at all. 
That's great, just what I wanted - spare detail parts, tenders  etc.

I arrived home & decided to give them a run before disassembling them.
I noticed they had dirty wheels, so cleaned them, which showed the lack of plating left.
These were very old, well run spectrum locos.

The first one ran smoothly, so is a keeper......damn!

The second one was a little rough & noisy,,, a few drops of oil & it ran smoothly, so, a keeper......damn! 

The third ran well on the straight track & right hand curves, but not left. Inspection of the electrical pickups revealed extreme ware on one side.
This loco must have spent its entire life on a left hand oval.
If I can acquire a set of electrical pickups from Bachmann’s parts division, I'll end up with yet another keeper.......Damn! 

Well, well, well,     there must be a Moral to this story......

[SteamGene]

Tuff (sp) luck,  Mark.   Why don't you go one up on Erie and Virginian  and construct a 2-8-8-0 with the second set of drivers under the tender? 
You'd still have a regular 2-8-0 to add to your roundhouse. 
Gene

[Atlantic Central]

Mark,

Congratulations on your bargins - good for you!

I found you post most amusing, and this is not a criticism, just an observation.

It is interesting how different people, often of different ages, view things.

You said "These were very old, well run spectrum locos."

That phrase really got me laughing  - for me "very old" and "Spectrum" are hardly able to be in the same sentence. As someone who has been in the hobby since 1967, nothing made in, lets say, 199-anything, qualifies as very old. Since the first spectrum loco was in what? - 1989? They are all young pups in my mind. Old is a rubber band drive Athearn F7 from 1957.

But I do live in a house that was built in 1901 and  don't consider it VERY old either.

Again congrats on you find!

Sheldon

[Mark Damien]

Tuff (sp) luck,  Mark.   Why don't you go one up on Erie and Virginian  and construct a 2-8-8-0 with the second set of drivers under the tender? 
You'd still have a regular 2-8-0 to add to your roundhouse. 
Gene

A 2-8-8-0 eh? That's a thought. Now where did I hide those consolidations - come out, come out, where ever you are, this won't hurt a bit!!!??!   

[Mark Damien]

Mark,

Congratulations on your bargins - good for you!
===============================
Again congrats on you find!

Sheldon

G'Day Sheldon, Thankyou; when I thought I was getting some spares, details parts, tenders & original boxes, I felt it was a good deal. But three running locos - I'm chuffed. 

[guslcp]

Hi guys...This forum is one of extremes....It can run from the nearly violent (please see the "id o" thread for a sample), to the almost hilarious (the present thread..).  "I am chuffed" !!! Great saying - I've never heard that one..!! 

[ta152h0]

that is funny. And similar to my story, albeit cars. I bought a 69 Torino with a non running 428. Guess what / the previous owner had the wrong manual and had the wrong firing order. Sometimes you are lucky, sometimes you are not.

[bevernie]

Mark, it took some fancy talking on my part, but I finally managed to convince my financial advisor that if you would accept my gracious offer of DOUBLE your investment (that's right- DOUBLE), I will even pay POSTAGE on same! I know it sounds too good to be true, but it is! In fact, I've probably got some of the SPARE PARTS that you need that I'll even INCLUDE in the deal !  IT'S A WIN/WIN SITUATION!!
                                                                                             THANX!!
                                                                                                Ernie

[Mark Damien]

QUOTE : IT'S A WIN/WIN SITUATION!!
                                                                                             THANX!!
                                                                                                Ernie

==================================================

Ernie, that's a mighty fine offer, & I do appreciate it, ....really I do.  But I would hate to put you through all that trouble.....

Sorry I didn't get back to you right away, but I've got this 2-8-8-0 to build, you see......I wish I had a Gene ,, sorry, Genie to help me.

[SteamGene]

You want a Lannie, not a Genie.
Gene