You are most welcome, and I did fail to mention your 4-6-0 locomotive from the Cowcatcher set has the latest version 5 chassis.  This chassis has proven to be extremely reliable and with proper care and maintenance can be expected to be long lasting.  It should also work very well on your layout. The key to any large scale layout enjoyment is the track. You will have a flat layout and this is an advantage to running.  Time spent making sure track connections are tight and properly aligned with absolutely no kinks will be critical to your enjoyment.  I always recommend using rail clamps, this especially true on a suspended  layout. Also remember that the little power supply that came with your set is only 1 AMP. If your suspended layout will be considerably longer than the track that came with the set and you add more cars to your train I would recommend getting a 5 AMP power supply and controller. The steel alloy track that came with your set is hollow and subject to rust and will wear quickly.  Brass or Stainless Steel track is a must.  in your design efforts if it is at all possible try to use wider radius curves than the curve track in your set. While track cleaning is always a less enjoyable part of model railroading it is a must For reliable running.  As a result I always recommend stainless steel track for great conductivity and needing less cleaning than brass track.

Remember there are also no silly, dumb or stupid questions just questions.  Most of the members of this forum are more than happy to respond to newcomers questions. 

Having passed on my old man's advice, I would love to see how your layout progresses and especially love to see how you as a model maker will integrate scenery.

Happy Railroading. 

Bill

Having had some experience maintaining a suspended layout for a children's hospital, track will wear heavily depending on use. The track on the layout(brass) wore badly using metal wheels.  A push button allowed the kids to start the train.  the button was functional for about 10 hours per day. We estimate actual running was 3 to 4 hours per day. It was double track so the button started two trains.  The hospital controlled our access.  The layout used diesels, primarily the LGB F7 and various USAT GP-7, GP-30. Steam locomotives had been tried, but were not reliable enough and wheel replacement very expensive. We had to replace the wheels on the diesel locomotives about every four months.  and curved track every six months.  I wish I had saved pictures of the locomotive wheels with groves so deep that they ended up derailing, and shutting down the layout. Same true with rolling stock metal wheels.  Sometimes we would find the curved track outer rail worn paper thin with the train derailed on it. Sometimes we found a locomotive stalled but with the wheels running when the button was pushed. This ground the rails down to the ties.  We ended up switching to plastic wheels which helped a great deal with track wear, and were cheap to replace compared to metal wheels.  Trains were usually the loco, 4 to five cars(All tank cars, boxcars or stock cars) and a caboose. Since most members of our club converted to metal wheels, we had plenty of plastic wheels donated. 

I mention this for info and to show how extensive running can be tough on an overhead layout. Maintenance on overhead layouts can be difficult when working on ladders to change out track and retrieve derailed trains. 

So enough of my two cents. Keep it simple, minimize running time, never leave it un-atteneded and have fun.

Bill

Well the Little Big Hauler loco and tender is available but only in a set.  Not sure it matters but the LBH tender is a four wheel tender.  The Big Hauler 4-6-0  including tender might be the lightest 8 wheel tender but I think it could be the Columbia loco and tender.  If you want to go crazy it might be the 3 truck shay tender, and oh I forgot about the 2-6-0 industrial locomotive & tender.

I am not willing to go on a weighing spree to find out though LOL! 

Anyone willing to go on a weighing spree, have at it and let us know what you find.

Why not share your reasons?

Have fun,

Loco Bill

Hi All, Without doing a deep dive into my databases I can safely say that every single ATSF 4-6-0 Bachmann produced carried the road number 49. Bachmann usually failed to change the road numbers as new runs of a locomotive were produced. Because of this some 4-6-0's Road names were produced with the same road numbers in many different chassis numbers.  Mike the gear you mentioned is out of stock, and while it is listed as "temporally out of stock", it in reality will never be available again from Bachmann. It is also possible that it is the 2006 ATSF 4-6-0 #49 which has the Version 5 chassis. Also we need to know if Leonard's ATSF Loco is in running condition. We all want to help Leonard which is why I love this forum, but lets wait to hear from Leonard and go from there.  The questions are, What version is it?  and Is it still in good running condition? or running but poorly?

Bill 

Agree with Jay, contact with a local club would be a great idea. 

Hi Terminex,

There are no metal gears available for the older 4-6-0 Standard Locomotive, or even many of the the latest versions.

Below is the chassis identification list.

https://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,37791.0.html

I will be glad to advise you as to your best options once you let me know which version your locomotive is. I was also wondering how much use your ATSF locomotive gets.  Gear replacement can get fairly expensive, but I will let you know what the least cost options are once I hear from you. 

I do not do repairs only advise as to the best options.

Loco Bill Canelos

 I agree with Greg 100%.  Ideally the manufacturers should just skip pre announcements, but they never will.

Loco Bill

Since your layout is flat, there is no need to worry about strain going up hill.  This USA Trains 4 amp combination power supply and controller should be more than adequate. I t is designed for G scale.

https://www.onlytrains.com/model/trains/RTP4.html

Robby at RLD hobbies may have a better price.  Trainworld is another option.

Have fun with your layout!

Loco Bill

I have pictures of the shays somewhere, but I rely on the item number, lettering, and the number of screws in the trucks.  81198 and 81199 from 1996 would be considered the first version while 81196 and 81197 would be the second version.  The 821xx would all be the third. 

Greg, please clarify your question!

Hi Mickey,

Yes the boxes for the 38 Ton Shay are clearly marked as such and have their own separate product numbers.

36 Ton Shays:

81196   P&CL Co   11   1998   ~ Loco   Shay, 2 truck, Pardee & Curtin   P   1   L   Spectrum   $799.00
81197   None   None   1998   ~ Loco   Shay, 2 truck, unlettered, modern   P   1   L   Spectrum   $799.00
81198   ETL Co   5   1996   ~ Loco   Shay, 2 truck, Ely Thomas   P   1   L   Spectrum   $799.00
81199   None   None   1996   ~ Loco   Shay, 2 truck, unlettered, early   P   1   L   Spectrum   $799.00

81198 was the very first Spectrum large Scale Bachmann Locomotive and was modeled using original drawings for the Lima Shay built for the actual Ely Thomas Lumber CO

38 Ton Shays:

82195   WMRL Co   7   2004   ~ Loco   Shay, 38 ton, W.M.Ritter Lumber Company   P      L   Spectrum   $799.00    coal load
82196   OL Co   106   2004   ~ Loco   Shay, 38 ton, Oregon Lumber Co.   P      L   Spectrum   $799.00    Oil bunker
82197   ETL Co   6   2004   ~ Loco   Shay, 38 ton, Ely-Thomas Lumber Co.   P      L   Spectrum   $799.00    Coal load
82198   None   None   2004   ~ Loco   Shay, 38 ton, unlettered. coal & oil bunker r&w   P      L   Spectrum   $799.00    onion, diamond & straight stack
82199   None   None   2004   ~ Loco   Shay, 38 ton, unlettered. coal & oil bunker black   P      L   Spectrum   $799.00    onion, diamond & straight stack


Here are two on EBAY:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/144387322492?itmmeta=01J0GKGJXK73Z2MHD4QG24GNR3&hash=item219e27b27c:g:AssAAOSwXgZh8nZk&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAAwP6B8Weug3EnUIQinKwrhc9inxjVb%2FA9GgtVvXnKdtVk5EmgvIIBWN0unQ4fX3AzNvsWGUh%2BKRSTNpE34vG6XX49TLuAg5BFmrFN5eCQ0BC8VfgJH6pVWQ6esu6ffmjAh4UjwjGND1Z%2B9N8GPVi4YIiOtHALpnxCaMxY%2BecLy9lj3stv0Sq%2F2t9Q9MkvhrMVBPVhI%2BKzGdYZCe4shHgS1gRaktYFWJdNHQ1hi0rbKqv8IOo10zmT4YyK%2FUltcyy%2FNg%3D%3D%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR-quwpOEZA

https://www.ebay.com/itm/186491220520?itmmeta=01J0GKM5AJ6D6C2TBB3X2EQ2P6&hash=item2b6bbe3228:g:ojkAAOSw0XlmaX~C&itmprp=enc%3AAQAJAAAA4II11G%2BlUbAQdLKd64YbpqO19xvXD1878iENLTQQzD0FLnb46PK4fuLwmFhkCQCg0wDRvYCnGobKrtpfMsWdbwODaUwpLPnXBBg9qeFb%2BDbfdFEpBmL4K7pZpLQCm4hn1%2FMn%2FBvpxelv0BrVImjEu59CAfjjLzlXCdg76NA2G9Ck91yRrG%2BW7drcWwiAnGCU7zTwhGG0JSfCpP%2FgfIdraJTf%2BxmLTl7pnt3zo8Upg4rKbLpYgJPku3hPBTcqk1hN6dXLq%2BoEres16kevA9GGNoGK5RMWsQaxOTggb2Pfy%2Fi4%7Ctkp%3ABk9SR6jV0JOEZA

Hope this clarifies things!  Take Care,

Bill

Hi All,

Already have three, Fantastic loco!  Would love to see it come back with metal gears!

Loco Bill

Hi CM099,
Just got back home and saw your post.

My club managed a large around the wall layout in a children's hospital.  We had the following problems.

TRACK
We used brass track and it required monthly cleaning. We used a track cleaning car and also plain old elbow grease.  When we first started we found that the track needed to be absolutely tightly connected in order to make proper electrical continuity which caused problems like you described. We ended up using track clamps. We found that our curved sections wore heavily and had to be replaced every three to six months. The Bachmann steel track you have was designed for small circle of track like that which came with the set, and not for the way you are using it. It can be hard to keep the connections tight, which will cause many problems. 

POWER
We used a 10AMP power supply and set it up so that the train could be started up by a button at floor level which when pressed allowed the train to run for 10 minutes and then stop.  We ran track connectors every 20 feet which helped immensely keeping things running well. The Bachmann Power supply which came with your set is only 1 AMP and was not designed for 60 feet,so a larger power supply is in order. Shop around for a power supply that is 5 to 10 Amps, You do not need a high end power supply.

LOCOMOTIVES

We started out using LGB and Bachmann Steam locomotives, but they required lots of maintenance. Wear on running gear(siderods) and wheels on them led us to switch to using diesel locomotives.  The diesels we used were LGB F Units and USA Trains F units and GP-7's.  Maintenance on the diesels was very simple.  We did find that that the rubber traction tires wore out very quickly and so replaced those axles with the solid metal wheels. We found USA Trains was great with parts and quickly filled orders. The diesel (both LGB and USAT)wheels did wear out and about every four months  or so and had to be replaced.  We kept USA trains geared axles in stock ready for any emergency. LGB parts were difficult to obtain back the so we shifted locomotives primarily to the USA Trains locomotives. Replacement of wheels on locomotives was simple remove the truck covers pop out the old ones and pop  in the new.  We used the lithium hobby grease and applied it liberally to the gears. With the Bachmann 4-6-0 I always recommended using replacement chassis when required by extensive use, but Bachmann is now running out of them.  Since a Christmas theme is important to you, USAT made a Christmas theme diesel as did other makers.

ROLLING STOCK
We used Bachmann, LGB, AristoCraft, and USA Trains rolling stock and all preformed well. We used metal wheels on rolling stock and the horn hook couplers. The couplers worked flawlessly.  Wheels did wear out and all rolling stock wheels were inspected monthly, and replaced as needed. We did keep metal wheelsets in stock for this purpose.  We used Bachmann and USA Trains wheel sets because both companies were quick to fill orders. During inspection each wheel set was cleaned using Qtips dipped in mineral spirits. Each car was also dusted off using a commercial product sprayed on the cloth. Q tips were used to get at the tight spots on the cars.

Well I have droned on for far to long, and will close now wishing you the best of luck with your layout!

Loco Bill

Hi All,

If you did not see it Bachmann is offering 25% of on parts right now.  Looks like free shipping on orders over $25 as well.  Great time to order parts.  I am going to get my order in ASAP. 

Cheer & Beers!

Loco Bill

Hi James,

No guarantee but a simple way I have used is to use the smallest open end wrench you have and place it on the wheel-set with the insulation and place the axle end on a metal block and then tap the wrench lightly with a small hobby hammer til it comes loose.  I have successfully added new axle gears using the same method. In the case of the trolley you will need to remove the little axle cover.

This way is a bit crude but I do not have a gear puller or other purpose made tools. You do need to be very careful when re installing to get a perfect fit. 

Hope this helps!

Loco Bill