Hi, I have a Dynamis, and have had no problem programming new locos in the past, but I have just got a couple of new ones and maybe I have forgotten how to do this, but.....

So I have a new P2K fitted with a QSI Quantum.  It is #279, and I am trying to programme it to be #0279 on my service track.  The Dynamis will not accept 0 as the initial digit, and it will not give me the Prog icon if I just put in 279, it requires four digits.  How do I get it to accept #0279?

And I have a new Athearn Genesis GP15 with a Tsunami.  I can programme it to be #118 using "Programme on Mainline", and it jumps when I press Prog, but it does not respond when I select #118. It still responds to #3.

Any ideas on what I am doing wrong?  Both locos perform perfectly on #3.

TIA,
Bill.

PS - Hey Mr.B, how about a discussion board on DCC?  Your DCC FAQs section is a bit thin, and the General Discussion pool is more like an ocean than a pond.  There may be merits in having all DCC questions in one place.

Hi J3a-614, thanks for your info.  Having inspected the rear of the loco I am not sure that I want to slice it up, so I will just rely on close coupling to conceal the discrepancy.  I can always return to it later if necessary.  The low tender enhances the look of power of the loco where the higher tenders provided do not, especially the USRA medium coal, which overwhelms it.

Hi Roger, the loco is DCC ready undecorated Spectrum 82307 with wood cab.  I have not yet decided whether to use the DCC ready tender from 82301 and fit my own decoder or use a DCC equipped tender from a 4-4-0.  My Ma & Pa and Western Maryland engines all have sound but my SAL / Florida branch line engines do not.  I have to say that whilst I am thoroughly convinced by sound on diesels I am less so with steam.  The main Tsunami steam sound is chuffing, whilst on a real steam engine at slow speed there is a lot of miscellaneous hissing, clanking, groaning of track, etc, which is at least as noticeable as the chuffing.

Thanks again,
Bill.

Hi, I would be grateful for some info. 

Those familiar with the Spectrum Baldwin 4-6-0 will know that the high-boiler version has a much higher cab floor than the low boiler version, and so Bachmann have supplied it with different tenders with higher footplates (specifically the decapod tender or the USRA medium coal tender).  The low boiler version has a small, low tender with a low footplate to match the cab floor.  This has a coal hole and coal spill right down at footplate level.

If you look at the photos on this link http://taplines.net/GFA/GFA.html you will see several 4-6-0s belonging to the Gulf, Florida & Alabama which in Bachmann terms comprise the high-boiler 4-6-0 coupled to the low-boiler type tender.  The rear quarter views show that the loco has a cab floor much higher than the top of the tender base, but there is no photo which gives a clue about the front of the tender. I am wondering how the front of the tender might have been arranged.  It looks possible that the tender body might have been a plain water tank with the coal piled on top and retained by the raised sheet metal. 

I am aiming to reproduce this combination.  Does anyone have information or a photo or reference on the tender front that I could find on the web, please?  I don't expect anyone to have a pic of the GF&A, but maybe a similar engine + tender combination?

TIA,
Bill.

Hi, which models / kits are the basis for your Ma & Pa coaches, how accurate are they and what is the source of the lettering, please?

Bill.

I just went into the online product catalog > HO > Steam Locomotives.  The header page says there are 13 DCC Sound Value steamers, but when I click on the link there is just one page with 7 locos.  DCC Sound Equipped says there are 47, but again the link leads to just one page with 9 locos.  The DCC Equipped link says 85 locos, but leads to just 3 pages with 29 locos.  Am I missing something here?

BTW, I went there because on Bachmann Europe I saw Sound Value Alco 2-6-0s for Wabash (51812) and Lackawana (51813).  I don't recall these being announced in the forward programme.

Bill

The high boiler 4-6-0 for the C&NW comes with a USRA medium coal tender, but I don't have one so I don't know if the tender works with a low boiler 4-6-0.  If it does not that would mean that the pin configuration on the high and low boiler 4-6-0s differs.

I actually bought a pair of Ma & Pa #27 DCC ready, and a pair of #28 with Tsunamis, did a tender swap to give me a #27 and #28 with Tsunamis, and am keeping the left-over pair as spares in case of a mechanical failure of either loco.  I have used the same tactic to give me 4-4-0s #4, #5 & #6 with Tsunamis, taking advantage of MB Klein sales, as the Ma & Pa only had a small fleet and it seems a wise precaution in view of the unpredictability of availability from Bachmann.

To those who seek, on ebay.uk there are a new Southern low boiler 4-6-0 #2006 and a Ma & Pa #28, both Tsunami versions, from AC Models of Eastleigh, a reputable bricks & mortar model train shop, but they are over $300 + postage.  Trainworld also still have Ma & Pa #28. 

My guess, without foundation, is that next time Bachmann re-issue the Tsunami 4-6-0 it will be as #27, as there is not a lot of choice!  However, another option for them would be to issue the Ma & Pa pair fitted with the wood cabs.  I am not aware of any of the decorated 4-6-0s ever being issued with wood cabs, but the B'man must have manufactured then with some intention to use them.  Perhaps someone knows more?

Bill.

Hi, I just found a bit of good news on the connections compatibility issue.  I was comparing the cab floor heights of the high and low boiler 4-6-0s with each other and with various spectrum tenders when I noticed that the tender connections on the low boiler 4-6-0 and the Richmond 4-4-0 tender are the same way round, so out of curiosity I connected the Tsunami tender from Ma & Pa 4-4-0 #6 (Spectrum 85105) to DCC ready Ma & Pa 4-6-0 #27 (Spectrum 82302) and tried it on my programming track.  It worked fine, all functions, correct direction, everything.  I don't think this good news has been mentioned before in the various compatibility lists. 

It provides an easy opportunity for a bit of variety, especially with the painted, unlettered models, as the 4-6-0s have a choice of steel or wood cabs and the Richmond tenders have a choice of coal, wood or oil fuel.

I assume that as the wheel diameters are similar the gearing is also appropriate.  It certainly looks and sounds fine.

I have not tried it with the high boiler, as the cab floor is way too high to match the tender anyway.

Bill.

Your initials and postal code are a good combination - the police will know where to look for you.  The invisible pens are called security marker pens.  Any good stationers should sell them. 

There is also some stuff called smart water, used by people like churches.  It is described as a "proprietary forensic asset marking system".  Google it.

Bill.

Correction to my previous note.  I have found that there was an earlier Bachmann 2-8-0, which was quite different. It looks toy-like compared to the present Connie.  It had smoke, an arched cab window, and a short tender. An example was Bachmann Classic Collectors Series #41-530-11, Great Northern #1257, and it says on the box "HO Scale Replica of Americas Heaviest Consolidation and Tender".   The box art shows Reading #2000, no idea what other roads there were, or the vintage of the model.  Info gleaned from ebay.

Bill.

The old Atlas approach for at least some liveries was to issue two numbered and one un-numbered version of a livery (e.g. the CofGa RS-3 came as #108, #109 and un-numbered).  It would surely be easy enough for Bachmann to pass a batch of each loco through without numbering them.

Alternately, for their British locos, coaches and wagons the Bachmann practice is to issue it, then when that stock has sold an "A" version with a different road number, then a "B", then a "C", etc.  This has benefits to the B'man, as there are people who collect all the numbers.

Hi Rod,

I believe there is only one 2-8-0 model.  I got Bachmann standard line 51306 Western Maryland Fireball #766 DCC no sound and gave it sound by swapping the tender top onto the DCC Tsunami tender chassis from Spectrum 84509 MEC #507 and it fitted and works perfectly.  The loco models are identical apart from the Tsunami, and that I had to swap tender chassis because 51306 had the old style tender floor, not perforated for sound. 

I think, but am not sure, that 51307 WM #760 and subsequent DCC without sound Connies may have the new perforated tender floor.  I am not sure because I have not got my #760 yet. 

I would guess that Bachmann would use up all the un-perforated chassis before going onto the perforated ones.  I cannot think they maintain both in production – but who knows?  You don't have to take the tender top off to see the holes, just look at the underside.

Hope this helps,
Bill.

I am thinking of backdating a 4-6-0 with a wood cab. 

The parts diagrams with my Spectrum 4-6-0s suggest that the wood cab is only included with the undecorated versions, both high and low boiler.  Is this correct?

And on my decorated 4-6-0s the steel cabs appear to be glued on.  I am wondering if the undecorated 4-6-0s also come with a steel cab fitted, a wood cab as an alternative, but hard to use as the steel cab is glued on.   Is this so?

Also, the part for the wood cab does not seem to be available on the spares page.  Is it only obtainable with a complete undecorated loco?  I emailed the spares guys but got no answer.

I would be grateful for any info.

Bill.

The Soundtraxx Bachmann HO Scale Page is interesting.  It specifies the TSU-750 Light Steam for the Spectrum Baldwin 4-6-0 and Richmond 4-4-0, but the TSU-1000 Light Steam for the Standard Line ALCo 2-6-0 and the TSU-1000 Medium Steam for the Decapod.  I am wondering, does this just mean that the TSU-1000 will not fit in the small tenders of the 4-4-0 and the low boiler 4-6-0?  If so, presumably one could / should use the TSU-1000 Light Steam for the high boiler 4-6-0s, as they use the USRA Medium Coal and the Decapod tenders?   My understanding from articles on fitting the TSU 750 in small diesels is that it gets a lot hotter than the TSU 1000, sufficient to melt things if not attached to a heat sink.

Bill.

Hi, the Spectrum HO Southern 4-6-0 with DCC and sound is Bach 84904.  It is a low-boiler Baldwin numbered Southern #1004, but it is in black, not green.  I think the only Spectrum green Southern loco is the Baldwin 4-4-0, Spectrum 80128 with DCC and sound and 80103 with DCC but no sound.

Bill.

Hey Mr B - Re: 'The consumer (you guys) cannot possibly be aware of an items "sales history".

This may be true, but we can certainly be aware that the Spectrum ten-wheelers (low or high boiler) cannot be found anywhere, and the demand is such that even the old DCC ready versions if described as in "New" condition on e**y command stellar prices.

Wake up and smell the coffee! (please?)

Bill.