Replacement Bachmann Shay gears from NWSL

[richG]

I know this is about a different on line vendor but it will benefit Bachmann Shay owners.

I found this thread on another forum. NWSL site does not reflect this yet but probably a little early.
Hope it is true. I would like to get a HO Shay.

http://cs.trains.com/trccs/forums/t/151681.aspx

Scroll down a few messages.

Rich

[WoundedBear]

I'm looking forwards to the upgrade. These should solve a lot of problems, and the pricing seems decent too.

Sid

[richG]

Hello All

Take a look again. There is a photo now. I guess the only remaining question will be, how do the new gears function?

Rich

[Pacific Northern]

Having bought a number of the Shays I will make sure I buy a few of these.

No telling when these will no longer be in production and anyone trying to send in a Shay to Bachmann for warranty work will be offered another engine in lieu.

[jerryl]

 Now if we can only get Bachmann to pay for them under thier guarantee.  It's a shame that Bachmann has to rely on another company to make thier model work when they are under guarantee by them.   They should get a reduced price from NWSL & when someone sends a non working shay back they could send the shay back with the new gears & instructions.
   Can't wait for the Climax gears...another "can't fix" loco.   Jerry

[Pacific Northern]

Now if we can only get Bachmann to pay for them under thier guarantee.  It's a shame that Bachmann has to rely on another company to make thier model work when they are under guarantee by them.   They should get a reduced price from NWSL & when someone sends a non working shay back they could send the shay back with the new gears & instructions.
   Can't wait for the Climax gears...another "can't fix" loco.   Jerry

I think that your idea is wishful thinking. Would be most surprised should that happen.

It appears the normal practice of Bachmann is to replace engines when they are sent in for repair/replacement. That is fine as long as that particular engine is still in production. 
If you read the Bachmann quarantee it is stated that they can substitute an engine of equal value should that engine no longer be in production.

So you have the choice of sending in your shay, should there be a problem. I will buy some of the NWSL gear kits so that I can keep my Shay running. Would not want to have any other engine substituted.

[Jim Banner]

I don't know what the solution is.  Based on what NWSL charges, Bachmann would have to up the price of their Shays by about $25 if they used cut gears.  Some of us would be willing to pay that extra, I am sure.  But would that extra $25 increase the price of the Shay enough to make it a poor seller?  And would that mean no more affordable Shays?

This is not a new problem.  MDC introduced their Shay kits about 40 years ago.  It came with die cast metal gears which most builders who intended to actually run their Shay immediately replaced with cut gears.  Does that show MDC could not use better gears or does it show that the average buyer could not afford them? 

If Shays came with cut gears, would the elite among us be shelling out $100 to replace them with ground and polished gears for even better running?

I wonder about this because my first Shay was an MDC kit that was a lot of work to put together after paying what, at the time, seemed like a high price for the kit.  I purchased it with the full knowledge that its die cast gears were not the best, but hey, it was a Shay and it looked good even if it never did run very well.  I would have preferred better gears, but would never have been able to afford the kit if it had them.  I was always going to buy upgrade gears but NWSL quit producing them before I got around to it.

So what is the solution?  Should we go back to a time when the only Shays in H0 were unaffordable brass ones?  Should we be glad that there are affordable Shays on the market, even if we have to tinker with them to keep them running?  Are Shays still suited only to the advanced modeller who can do the tinkering?  What do you think?

Jim 

[jerryl]

   I think if I buy an engine for any price with a lifetime guarantee they should fix it no matter how much it cost them & not stop producing it so they can substitute another engine that doesn't cause them problems & one you don't want.  Jerry

[Pacific Northern]

   I think if I buy an engine for any price with a lifetime guarantee they should fix it no matter how much it cost them & not stop producing it so they can substitute another engine that doesn't cause them problems & one you don't want.  Jerry

The warranty clearly states that it is Bachmann's choice. At least you get something for having spent your money.