Quote from: jonathan on February 03, 2012, 06:25:01 AM
TVRRMAN,

I have done the very thing you are asking about.  I can doublehead my 2-8-0s with no problem.  Once you put in the jumpers, the former DCC version will run exactly the same as a DC only or DCC ready with jumpers.

Just as an experiment, I have put DCC and DC versions on the track together.  The DCC version starts at a higher throttle, but once you get to around 7 or 8 volts of throttle, both versions run at the same speed.  Not recommended, but I have done it with no ill effects.  Play away. 

BTW the 4-8-2 mountain and 2-8-4 Berk run at the same speeds as the 2-8-0. So I have doubleheaded those as well.  Unfortunately the EM-1 will only run with another EM-1.  However, if you're a DCC guru, I suppose there is a way to match speed steps in DCC.  Perhaps I'll learn how to do that one day.

Regards,

Jonathan

Jonathan,

Thanks for the heads up on this information. This is definitely going to come in handy whenever I get around to doing roster adjustments.

Thanks again,

Thomas J Pearce

Quote from: scheek on February 04, 2012, 11:06:30 PM
I have a dcc equipped consolidation. When I first run it, it runs smooth and quiet. After about 20 minutes of running forward, I'll put it in reverse and it will suddenly start making a grinding noise but only in reverse. Any ideas what causes this?

Let me ask this: How new is the unit and how long has it been doing this to you? From the sounds of this, I best remember most grinding from something either rubbing or binding.

Now, I can give you some pointers on narrowing down where its coming from: if you can: whenever starting to hear that grinding, stop the engine momentarily and then put your throttle to let it move as slow as you can get it. I'm going to recommend putting an ear close to it to try and narrow down where on the engine the sound is coming from, and also paying close attention for binding or stuttering in its movement.

It can be something as minor as a gear or detail part being out of alignment or hitting, a cracked tooth on a gear or the drive belt (never had the toothed belt incur damage before though, although there's always a first), or something as serious as a cracked gear affecting it in that particular direction of travel.

These are just little details to look for.

Hope this helps some

Now since we're talking about the 2-8-0's and differences in them, I have a few questions on double-heading of units.

I have a DCC Equipped one that, being I run straight DC, I've taken the decoder out of and placed the jumper pins in, and am looking into a Pre-DCC version to go with this unit. Now, since the DCC-Equipped version has the decoder out and jumper pins in place, would a DC Version of the same engine be able to double-head with the newer version? I'm hoping that I'm still falling somewhat in the topic.

In the future, once I have a larger layout, I will probably go DCC, but for the moment, DC seems to work properly.

To my understanding on the tenders, (and trying to see if I can help answer on the tender issues mentioned by DCB), I believe the wiring layout to the pins was changed somewhere after the 2nd? run of the 2-8-0's and around the time of the USRA Light and Heavy Mountains coming out.

Thanks in advance,

Thomas J Pearce

Curt,

Did you ever find the answer to your questions on these units?

Just in case, I'll walk you through getting the shell off. To do so, you'll need a small Philips Head Screwdriver. Begin by turning the engine upside down in a foam cradle or on something cushioned. At this point, you should see the four screws (10367) indentations located fore and aft the fuel tank, and before the trucks. You'll need a bit of force, as each screw is screwed as tightly as they could get it. Note that the shell will not budge until all four screws are completely loosened.

Now, depending on how detailed you want to go on the units, I can also recommend (based on timeframe modeled) to add the backup light, trainphone, eight additional grabs around the front area (two on the lower pilot area, two up near the cab windshield, the two curved ones above the windshield itself, and the two located (one above the engineers side window and one above the fireman's side window, and if you're really ambitious, replace the factory horns with three chime.

Hope this helps

I recently acquired a DCC Ready Spectrum USRA Heavy Mountain used with some minor problems with multiwire plugs, which brings me to my question: is it possible to get one each of the four wire multi-wire plug, and one of the two wire multi-wire plug assemblies to allow me to handle the repairs myself? 

Thanks for your assistance on this matter,

Thomas J Pearce

Chiming in on the Spectrum 2-8-0 posting, I've had two Spectrum 2-8-0's now. My first one was acquired back in 1998 when they were brand new, and literally run to the point that the connections between the engine and tender wore out. At that point, it was sent in for repair. the second unit was the unit sent to me from Bachmann. needless to say, I've never had any problems with these engines. I can honestly say if I had my dream layout right now, the funding to back it, and the unlettered Spectrum 2-8-0s were still available, I'd probably acquire two or three more easily.

Thomas J Pearce

While I know the Spectrum Heavyweight cars are currently out of production, are parts still available if needed or desired?

Thanks in advance,

Thomas J Pearce

I see that since the last time I have been on this board (about 3 years ago or better now) a lot of changes have taken place, which is leading me to my question:

I have a Spectrum 2-8-0 Consolidation (1998 Run) which has seen some better days. The Multi-wire plugs failed a while ago, the bolster that locks the body, drive train, and tender together cracked off, allowing the engine to not mesh properly, along with worn out contacts underneath the loco end of it. I did make a light attempt at trying to keep it running to the best of my abilities.

How does one go about sending the model in for maintenance (In this case using the Spectrum Lifetime warranty) to have repairs or replacement exercised?

I saw the part about the $20 fee that gets sent, but was unsure what else I need to do. Thanks in advance

Thomas J Pearce