On30 4-6-0

[RailMan63]

Hi,again! I just picked up this little beauty from an on-line retailer for an incredible $69.99 (plus $9.99 Shipping) . It is a brand new Bachmann #28657 Spectrum On30 Baldwin 4-6-0 Steam Loco - DCC on Board, Greenbrier & Big Run Lumber Company.
I plan on relettering it for the Rio Grande.
My question is this: What do I need to buy to add sound to this model?
Thanks!

[Ton N]

I don't believe the D&RGW ever had a ten wheeler , however the RGS did , the #20.
I did a sympathetic rebuild on the ten wheeler and it can pass for the #20.
Sound decoder wise is used a Tsunami tsu1000 light steam.

Ton

[RailMan63]

Interesting. I have been kinda thinking about doing it as an RGS loco instead. However, I know that the D&RGW ran Class T-12 ten wheelers. For example, there's the #168 that was recently restored to running condition, and another survivor (#169) that is on static display in Alamosa,Co.
At one time ,the D&RGW boasted a total of 12 Class #12 ten wheelers numbered from #166 to #177.Nine of the others have been scrapped, while one was wrecked, and later scrapped. My information indicates that the tender is still at the wreck site,in the trees below the track.
My information source: http://www.drgw.net/info/T-12
Do I need to buy the Bachmann sound module,or just the T-1000?
Thanks!

[Ton N]

My mistake , I didn't look hard enough.
The sound modules are only for the decoders that are made to receive them and are not a replacement but more an add on.
I presume there is a 8 pin connector inside the tender?
The only thing you have to do is take the connected decoder out and stick the new one in.
Don't forget you will need a speaker and connect it to the new decoder.

Ton

[rich1998]

If it does not have an eight pin socket check the diagram page. If the loco has LED's you will need a 1k, 1/8 or 1/4 watt resistor. I did not look.
I have used 1/8 watt because I had quite a supply of 1/8 watt from projects in the past. They came in a Radio Shack project kit.
On30 does not draw higher current for LED's.

Rich

[Ton N]

Not necessary Rich, the ten wheeler has a motherboard with a 8 pin connector and resistors for the lighting onboard.

Ton

[RailMan63]

Thanks for the info,Ton! Hey,did you know that the #20 is being restored to full operating condition? Check out this youtube video that was posted only 2 days ago by the good folks at the Colorado Railroad Museum:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0e96IsLBcg&feature=share&fbclid=IwAR1aTgzY-0XS56VeGRwpk5O28YWcjj3e4Y4yGKBlQ_uWrjnAJm6ICzsgWCI
It's awesome!

[Terry Toenges]

That's cool to see. It's always good to see old steamer resurrected.

[p51]

I saw 20 partially done when I was in Golden this past June. So nice to see she'll be back in steam very soon.
As for ten-wheelers, the Bachmann 4-6-0 is a Baldwin class, made for the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad (ET&WNC). By the time the 3-footer portion of the line went belly up in 1950, they still had three on the property (9, 11 and 12). All were built before WW1. 9 and 11 sadly went to the torch (11 was said to have been offered to Johns City for display but declined). 12 was saved and through a series of swaps, now hauls tourists around Tweetsie RR in Blowing Rock, NC (near where she ran before the line to Boone was destroyed by massive flooding).
A couple of very similar Baldwins were spotted in Cuba not long ago. Just as the Gringo tourists found out about them, they also went to the torch.
I remember a magazine article where someone made one of these into a SP narrow gauge engine with a whale back tender. I can't recall which magazine it was, but the author did a fine job on the conversion.
This Baldwin class really doesn't look like anything the Rio Grande had.
FYI, ET&WNVC 10 and 14, from the same class as this model, went to the White Pass & Yukon during WW2. Sadly burned in a roundhouse fire at Whitehorse, Yukon Territory, they were both crapped after the war at the NP yard at Auburn, WA.

[ebtnut]

Another aside - ET&WNC Ten-Wheeler No. 8 came second-hand from the Twin Mountain and Potomac RR.  The "Two Mules and a Pony" was an very obscure little 3' road that ran from a connection with the B&O at Keyser, WV to Burlington, WV.  The road only lasted from 1913 to 1919.  No. 2 went to Tweetsie.  No. 1 seems to have vanished.  Speculation is that it went to a logging road. 

[RailMan63]

That's pretty great and interesting information. I do know that this new Bachmann  4-6-0 doesn't look much like the T-12 class locomotives ran by the D&RG. Unfortunately.
So,it will have to stand in for one,at best.
I've noticed that there's not a lot of reality in these Bachmann 4-6-0 locomotives. No matter which scale, or road name is represented, it seems that,when one does research, and looks at photos of the historic locomotives that these Bachmann'S are supposed to represent, the real thing varies greatly in physical  appearance from the model.
It's too bad that Bachmann primarily models their 4-6-0 loco after the ET&WNC 4-6-0 locomotive.You would think that they could have picked a more common 4-6-0 to base their model loco on.At least, it's very pretty!
This seems to be a common theme with many model locomotives from most manufacturers. I've seen some model locomotives  bearing some really fanciful numbers , and wheel configurations that never existed on the road names that they are supposed to represent.
Oh,well, what can be done but model your favorite lines as best as you can with what's commercially available?
Kit bash 'em whenever possible, which is something that I've seen with the G Scale 4-6-0, but is something that I am incapable of.
Sadly.

[ebtnut]

Way back in the early days, and continuing to some extent today, manufacturers had to make some choices - model a particular road's locomotive, which might well limit its market and reduce sales; make models of locos for big, popular railroads that would draw in fans of those roads; make a "generic" model that resembles several prototypes and let the buyer do as they might with paint and decals.  Examples - Mantua made kits for several Reading locos in the late '40's/early '50's.  They were brass and cast metal.  When Mantua decided to go more mass market, they opted for the more generic all cast metal models that kinda/sorta looked like something on your favorite road.  Varney pretty much followed the same pattern.  Back then, a lot of modelers were just happy to have something they could build and run.  That's why you saw a lot of Docksides and NYC Hudsons in layout photos of the period.  This eventually opened up the market for imported brass models, which mostly modeled a very specific loco or class of locos.  You could get a nice Pennsy K-4 kit from Bowser, but if you wanted an earlier K-2, then a brass model was what you bought.  The Bachmann Connie is probably closest to an Illinois Central loco, but it is close to other roads' power and if you're into some superdetailing you might get pretty close.  See Jonathon's reworking into a very credible looking B&O E-27. 

[p51]

It's too bad that Bachmann primarily models their 4-6-0 loco after the ET&WNC 4-6-0 locomotive.

Well, I couldn't disagree more strongly. I've always loved the looks of that Baldwin class and frankly, it's the primary reason I got back into the hobby, when Bachmann came out with them in On30. I probably would still be out of model trains (having left from a series of horrible experiences with a modular group in my teens) if they'd not done that.

[RailMan63]

My new 10 wheeler arrived on Tuesday. I finally unboxed ,and ran it a little bit early this morning. I removed the tender body to inspect the DCC board. It has an 8 pin plug that is soldered onto a larger motherboard for the DCC system.
I found the sound board on the Bachmann parts site.
https://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=698&products_id=10467&zenid=op5mpgsmr0upvgjjvnndvh9fq4
It is currently sold out. I'm a little bit confused on how I would install the sound board in the tender. Do I have to remove the existing board and un-solder the 8 pin plug from it, and then re-solder the 8 pin plug to the sound board, or??
I'm new to this DCC thing, so any help (such as through installation instructions) would be a great help as the instructions on the Bachmann parts site leave much to be desired.
On another note, this is a generally well built locomotive. I really like all of the mods that came with it. The slow speed operation is smooth forwards and backwards.
It is very well detailed. More so than the Anniversary edition Big Hauler in some ways.
I am over all very pleased with it. My only gripe is that the two tender plugs are in an awkward place,and are somewhat difficult to remove,which makes me worried that the wires may tear out of them during removal from the sockets.
Any suggestions as to how to safely remove these pins without damaging them?
And what is the packet of brown powder for?
Thanks guys!

[p51]

Any suggestions as to how to safely remove these pins without damaging them?

I used needle-nose pliers the one time I did that.