4-4-0 Spectrum?

[hotrainlover]

Mr. Bachmann,
I am confused...
I was under the impression that Bacmann receilently came out with a "New" 4-4-0?  All that I can find are pictures of "Standard" line 4-4-0's.....
Please help!!

Thanks in advance!!

hotrainlover

[BaltoOhioRRfan]

I believe there are photos on the online product listings..http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/catalog/?function=detail&id=1692

[hotrainlover]

BaltoOhioRRFan,
Thanks I JUSTFound it!!  You, just when you thought you looked......everywhere.....

[rikc9]

Caboose Hobbies
4-4-0 AMERICAN UNLTRD StCab DC+C
Roadname: Unlettered
Manufacturer: Bachmann Industries
Stock Status:
Our Price $145.97

I bought mine at Caboose Hobbies.  Tony's Trains has them also.

Rikc9

[John C]

There's some good shots of them in the MicroMart online catalog

[caboose101]

Here's Ma&Pa No. 6 on her arrival 2/24/07.




Bob

[GN.2-6-8-0]

Thats a great looking little 4-4-0 though i think the restrictor chains on the tender trucks are a bit overdone.

[rikc9]

Yeah the tender chains can be a pain. My new Spectrum arrived with two broken links where the chains are connected to the tender frame above the sort of center of the trucks. Also, one of the hooks at the tender frame is broken. I have a same type brass inside hook I can put in place. I have some chain the same size and I have to use one link to connect the chain again. Time for the Optivisor and steady hand. I have thought of cutting the chain off completely.
It is a very nice loco and even better now that I put sound in it.

rikc9

[GN.2-6-8-0]

Yeah the tender chains can be a pain. My new Spectrum arrived with two broken links where the chains are connected to the tender frame above the sort of center of the trucks. Also, one of the hooks at the tender frame is broken. I have a same type brass inside hook I can put in place. I have some chain the same size and I have to use one link to connect the chain again. Time for the Optivisor and steady hand. I have thought of cutting the chain off completely.
It is a very nice loco and even better now that I put sound in it.

rikc9

You say you put a sound decoder in?....tell us more please!
What type/how did the install go.....fess up!

[rikc9]

I replaced the stock decoder with a SoundTraxx DSD-100LC generic steam decoder. It controls power to the engine and sound. Nothing fancy but it is sound. I think a Tsunami would fit. I think (you better check) that the decoder sizes are about the same. It is necessary to cut a post that supported the pc board. I used a Dremel with a fiberglass cut off disc. Also I had to solder spice the wires I unsoldered from the stock pc board. The is not enough room for connectors. I used the stock wires and connectors to the engine.
Tony's Trains offers the Spectrum with stock decoder, DSD LC decoder or premium decoder. They do not say what the brand of the premium decoder is.
Here are four of six photos. The install is not for the faint of heart. You need soldering and fabrication skills. I have been an electronic tech and then an industrial machine mechanic for many years.
What is annoying is, Bachmann would not tell me if sound was a future plan for this loco, or is the tender frame with speaker holes is used in another Bachmann Spectrum engine.
Bachmann can be very secretive. They have some great products but customer relations are rather poor. No doubt they are trying to do business with as few people as possible though they will never tell you that.

I am unable to upload photos. Apparently the Bachmann forums are not compatible with my Linux computer. I kept getting an error and the three files are small.

I would suggest going to Yahoo and joining the early rail group. It is free. The photos are there and you should belong to more than one model railroad group if this is your only one.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/EarlyRail/

rikc9

[caboose101]

A check of Ma & Pa photos indicates the chains were installed on the tenders in the early years, but at some point they started carrying poles for switching maneuvers.

Were any of the "modern" Richmonds really wood burners?

Bob

[rikc9]

The Richmond tender come with a pole  on the engineers side.
I would doubt they burned wood but you never know. I know some well used 4-4-0s were used by lumber companies. It is possible one of the first series of Richmond's were worn enough to be sold off to a logging company. Some logging companies bought cast off locos when they did not have to worry about sharp curves and rough track that a geared loco could handle. I have a couple books by George Abdill that shows some well used rod engines used to pull long logging trains. No doubt the engines were no longer useful for main line service. I also suspect even if the stack has a screen top, they would not use wood for very long as some engines were converted to oil burners. Loggers were known to be very resourceful.

rikc9

[ebtnut]

There were a few hayburners running around until the 1940's in remote locations.  The Live Oak, Perry and Gulf run wood-burners in Florida on "main line" runs--4-6-0's for sure.  The Mississippi and Alabama ran a 2-6-2 on a short lumber line connecting those two states.  For lumber roads, wood was usually abundant and cheaper than coal or oil.  There are some photos of both the above-named roads in Beebe & Clegg's classic, "Mixed Train Daily".  So, running a Richmond 4-4-0 as a wood-burner would not be beyond the realm, but it likely would have been a hand-me-down to a short line or logging road and should be modeled in that light.

[caboose101]

No. 6's tender has chains on both sides.  Maybe I should check the box again for some hidden goodies.  I know there is an original pipe pilot in there in addition to the wood load.

Yes, I have been through Mixed Train Daily three or four times, as well as most of Beebe and Clegg's other train books.  The Mississippi and Alabama had a couple remarkable old kettles.  I guess the latter day short line steamers down south were fed lots of pine knots.  Must have kept the yard crew busy keeping the flues clean.

Bob

[BillD53A]

This loco was built for the Charlotte Harbor & Northern RR in Florida.  Originally numbered 8.  Note the paint and striping...identical to Bachmann's russia iron boiler...from the Florida State Archives.

http://fpc.dos.state.fl.us/reference/rc13007.jpg

When the CH&N was taken over by the Seaboard the engine's number was changed to 103.  It was then sold to my local logging company in North Fort Myers Florida.  From Don Hensley's TAPLINES website:

http://www.taplines.net/dc/dc103drinkingswampwater.jpg

That engine was used until 1944.

Here's another 4-4-0, #170, scrapped in 1940.  From the Florida State Archives:

http://fpc.dos.state.fl.us/general/n038667.jpg

This is #10, a ten wheeler.  Compare the boiler to Bachmann's...from the Florida State Archives.

http://fpc.dos.state.fl.us/general/n038665.jpg

In this picture # 10 is painted red.

All I need is a source of those stacks...