I will have to try my luck and list two Bachmann Light Mountain engines and see if I can find a similar bidder

Quote from: Doneldon on December 15, 2012, 07:50:08 PM
griff-

It's easy to change road name and even easier if you start with an unlettered model.

                                                                                                 -- D

There would be a lot more than a name change, notice the paint job?

I bought one of these when they were available, this is the light mountain version. It certainly is a striking looking engine. I have yet to find a set of passenger cars for it though.

Silver series relates to rolling stock.  There is a notation in the catalog that they have blackened metal wheels, non-magnetic axles and body mounted couplers.

Previously Bachmann had a line of rolling stock with plastic wheels and truck mounted couplers, apparenelty they no longer produce that line, only the Silver Series.

I think that is the difference, a higher quality.

Spectrum which in HO and N refers to engines, yet in On30 and G scale seems to refer to both.

Perhaps the Bach Man could explain

The Bachmann Berkshire has a plug in decoder, simply pull the decoder out and insert the two pins Bachmann provides into the 8 pin socket and your up and running on DC only.

I have one of the Bachmann Berks and it runs fine on both DCC and DC layouts. However, should you want to disable the DCC decoder, that is how it is done.

Question for Mr. Bachmann

Will the Bachmann Spectrum Heavy Mountain locomotive be re-released.

I have one of these and a Spectrum Light Mountain as well, the Spectrum Heavy Mountain is just a bute, It is a great puller and its running characteristics are excellent with both low and high speeds.

There certainly is a shortage of Heavy Mountains locomotives at present. BLI has quite a few, but they are Pennsy models, MTH has some, but I am put off, like so many others with their operating system.

Please consider re-releasing the Spectrum Heavy Mountains, fantastic locomotives.

I am glad that others have commented on Bachmann's EZ track switch controllers. The newest series with the printed circuit board are the lowest quality switch controllers I have ever seen. I now have 16 EZ switches, all are #6 switches, I also have two #5 EZ switches but they no longer work after about three months of use.

I could not believe it when I started to install the control boxes for these remote switches,

These controllers vary in age from about two years old to a few weeks old. They were never used, I manually switched the EZ Track remote switches until I decided just recently to install the remote controls.

Of the 16 switches, just over half 9 were defective. Now that is quality control.

I would have more respect for Bachmann if they did not include these control boxes and left it to the purchasers to buy there own control boxes. These new switches are a joke.

I opted to buy the Manual Atlas control boxes. These have been around for years, are very sturdy in their construction and are easy to maintain. Even though there were a few Bachmann switch control boxes I did not use any of these, given the failure rate I doubt they would have lasted very long anyway.

Quote from: NarrowMinded on November 11, 2012, 12:08:10 PM

QuoteI tried you method and I only loosen the rail from the ties.

Thats odd, there should be no force pulling the the rail away from the ties at all

heres a video to help

http://s792.beta.photobucket.com/user/NarrowmindedRR/media/20121110195709.mp4.html

NM-Jeff

The video explains it. Bachmann has changed the joiner.

The old joiners have a very noticeable crimp about 2/3 down the length of the joiner, the joiners in the video do not.

I am glad that Bachmann has changed the joiner, although I only use for Bachmann track on part of my layout and the rest of the layout is a mixture of flex track and some sectional track and switches.

Quote from: NarrowMinded on November 07, 2012, 09:33:46 PM
To remove rail joiners from ez track  I use a pair of close cut nippers. I slide the flat side of the nippers right up to the the rail, I then sqeeze down enough to hold with out cutting through, I then rotate the cutter so the top back of the blade presses aginst the railhead this causes the joiner to break free and come off without pulling the track out of the ties, it does destroy the joiner but does not harm the rail.

NM-Jeff

I tried you method and I only loosen the rail from the ties.

I no longer try to remove the original clip.

When I need to gap a rail, I use my dremel.

I really wish Bachmann did not attach the joiners in such a way that people like me mangle the track. The only way I can use Bachmann track that has lost a clip is to shorten the piece so that I may attach a new clip.

Quote from: Dbmtrackside on November 05, 2012, 04:55:07 PM
Not sure about getting replacement the control boxes, but I want to ask you a question.  Have you had any derailment problems with these #6 switches?
I am thinking of buying a few, but I have heard both praise and complaints about them.  One indivudual claimed he can't run a train over them w/o a freight car derailing....

I have learned that the EZ switches must be absolutely level, otherwise derailments. When I was having derailments the switches were placed on a 1 1/2 grade, leveled the switch and the track immediately before and after and the derailments stopped.

Also, as I mentioned the switches were being used manually, periodically I would manualy reset the switches as they seemed to loosen slightly and I would have derailments, if the switches were operated just before the train arrived and the Switches were reset fresh, no more derailments.

That is why I wanted to power these switches, to keep them as tight to the rails as I could.

Yes, points need filing on occasion, bit of burs, etc.. Filing really helped as well.

EZ Track #6 switches.

For about a year and a half I have been using a few (four) of these switches manually, that is sliding the mechanism manually.

I decided to connect these switches and use the controllers packed with these switches. I was very disappointed to find that two of the four switches do not work, and that the Bachmann controllers are not that good as well. Two of the four controllers switches do not work. Thankfully I have a number of old Atlas push button controllers that work just fine.

Sure does not speak well for quality control for the EZ track switches.

Is there a replacement for the control unit that is wired into the #6 turnouts? I can always use them manually but I should have a choice.

All of the EZ track remote powered switches have the little slide buttons on the side of the switches.

I was  walking by the Thrift store today and I saw that a number of Spectrum HW cars were for sale. From a distance I could see that they are the Union Pacific yellow cars and have the Kadee type of couplers on them. As a couple of the cars were laying on their sides I could see that there was electrical connectors on the trucks indicating that the car were also lighted.

As I am now running a Digitrax DCC layout what would I have to do with the old lighting in the Spectrum cars. If they are the old DC type they will not last long with the DCC system. Do I replace the lighting with diodes or should I just take out the lighting all together.

Quote from: Archertl on September 16, 2012, 11:13:28 AM
What do you think would need to be done to kitbash a Bachmann PPR K-4 pacific into a GNR H-5 pacific?

The GN H4 is a smaller engine than the PRR K-4, the cab of the K-4 is just about even with the boiler top of the K-4, while the GN H-4 cab sits quite high over the top of the GN boiler.


The GN engine has a wheel base just less than 32' where the PRR K-4 has a 36' wheel base. The GN drivers are 73" while the K-4 had 80" drivers

Just because both had the BelPaire firebox the PRR was a noticeably larger engine

A better candidate would be a Harriman pacific and you would have to add the belpaire firebox. Adding the firebox would not be that hard, add putty and sand until you have the right contours.

It was very easy to mount some weight in the tender. I mounted mine directly onto the bottom of the coal load with a stickly glue. Until I added the weight the tender was derailing on a regular basis, now it rides the rails perfectly. no more derailmenets.