Some locomotives equipped with a so-called "smart" decoder do have problems running on pulsed DC.   I do not use DCC.   I do have some
B-mann power that has this so-called "smart" decoder.  They run fine if I use the  MRC 2400, with the pulse switch ON or OFF.  They run fine on the MRC 2800.  They run fine on the MRC 1300.  They run in mediocre fashion on the various "train set" power packs  (that is the fault of the power supplies rather than the locomotive or decoder).  Most of them will run fine on the MRC 2500, but there are some that have problems.   Some will change direction suddenly without my throwing the direction switch.  Some will change speed without my touching the throttle.  Some will run in the direction opposite to what I have set the direction switch.   Some refuse to move at all.


The MRC 2500 has  a pulse that is stronger than the other TECH II power supplies.

B-mann used to sell a SPECTRUM DC power supply, but I do not think that it is in current production.  I have no experience with it, except that one of the hobby stores that I used to frequent (it has since closed) had it as power for the test track.  It seemed to be allright.

So, I , too , would wonder what DC power supply you are using.

Just put a very small amount of the lubrication of your choice on the exposed gear.   If you use something other than those that I recommended, be sure that it is plastic compatible.

You want to avoid excess lubrication.  It does not enhance performance.   All that excessive lubrication will do is attract dirt, which will inhibit performance.

Use LaBelle 108 oil or 106 Teflon Grease.  Those are compatible with plastic.   For the 108 , put ONE DROP ONLY on the exposed gear.  Anything more than one drop is overlubricating.   For the 106, put a very small amount on the end of a pin and apply it to the exposed gear.  Do not overlubricate.  The only thing that excess lubricant does is attract dirt.  The principal enemies of N scale power are dirt, Dirt, DIRT and DIRT.

To keep the track clean, buy a Briteboy or similar track eraser.   There is also an alcohol based track cleaner that was manufactured by Life  Like.  I do not think that it is still in production, but there are more than a few bottles of it still out there as NOS.   You should be able to purchase the LaBelle and the track eraser from any hobby store.  If there is none near you, almost every hobby e-Tailer should have it.

The F-7 shells can be interchanged among the PLUS, SPECTRUM and the latest issue F-7, with the factory decoder.

The shell that will not interchange is what used to be sold as an "F-9", but is really an FP-whatever.  This one is no longer in production, but there are many examples out there ranging from basket case through used-but-running to NOS.   The easiest way to tell them apart is if the shell has steam generator stacks, it is the FP-whatever and will not interchange.  If it has no steam generator stacks, it is the F-7 and will interchange.

I am dredging up an  old topic.


I found one of these sets for a really good price, so I bought it.

I  must state that the locomotive runs very well.  The slow speed control on DC (MRC 2800 or MRC 2400 with pulse OFF) is better on the version without the decoder than that with the decoder.   As there are no wires in the trainset version, swapping out the SPECTRUM USRA standard for the USRA short was easy.  It looks much better with the USRA short.

The locomotive comes lettered for C&O.  It has a "Russian Iron" boiler.  The locomotive details are the same as for the DCC version, except for the rods and valve gear.   All that the trainset version has is the side and main rods.   On the whole, it looks pretty good, with one exception.  The factory in China did a sloppy job of applying white on the tyres.  It is nothing that a little sanding or scraping will not cure, but it is to be noted.   The pulling power is pretty good:  six loaded Bluford  Shops P&LE seventy ton hoppers, two loaded Intermountain forty foot gondolas, a loaded Red Cabose thirty six foot flat car, the B-mann tank car that came in the set and the B-mann four wheel caboose that came in the set up a one per-cent grade at twenty scale MPH with no sign of slipping.  

I suspect that B-mann might be marketing this as a set with an "entry level" steam locomotive that runs well, but it DC.  The locomotive runs well, so it will not discourage the purchaser from pursuing the hobby further.  I runs so well that the person who pursues the hobby further would keep it on his roster.  Still, B-mann might want to consider marketing the non DCC version of this one.

The rest of the set has:

The B-mann standard trainset power supply that appears to be a knock-off of the Kato:  You have the cord with a big fat plastic plug and a grey thing with a dial.  It is allright for a trainset, but, even on the trainset, the purchaser would do well to purchase a better DC power supply if he has no plans to use DCC.

B-mann  E-Z TRAK . a terminal piece, a few straight pieces and enough eleven and one quarter track to make a roundy-round.   There are parts of my pike that have E-Z TRAK, so I can always use the track.

A boxcar that is lettered for the Rutland, but is too clunky for me to use on my pike, even if it does fit my era.   I guess that I could use it on N-TRAK or something.

A forty foot gondola lettered for Wabash.  The build and new dates are slightly out of my era.  I could change them, but I would have to do something about the ride height, as well.  It would work as-is for N-TRAK, though.

A tank car.  This one looks pretty good.  I am going to run this one on my pike.

A four wheel caboose.  B-mann lettered it for the C&O to  match the locomotive.  As the locomotive has become #5 on my non-historic Short Creek and Nopedale, the caboose is going to my nineteenth century pike.  I have some old MDC C&O passenger cars and two MDC 2-6-0s lettered for C&O.  Now I can have one pull a freight train and one pull a passenger.

B-mann's "Sunnyvale station".   I have another one of these that I received when I bought this huge box of buildings for five dollars at a show.  I wonder if I could put two of them together.

B-mann gives you some telephone poles and signs in this, as well.  There are numerous places that I can use those.

On the whole, this is a pretty good set.  My main interest was the locomotive, ever since I learned (from this topic, in fact) that a non-DCC version of the ten-wheeler existed.  I was not about to pay for the whole set just to get the locomotive, but the price on this one made it worth looking into it.   The locomotive runs and pulls very well.   It is a very good "entry level" steam locomotive that you would want to keep if you pursue this hobby further.  Too many people have gotten discouraged often due to poor quality locomotives in train sets.  This one is an exception.  I would recommend this set to any beginner.

Do you have a amp meter?  If the amperage jumps when the locomotive stalls, either the locomotive has a short or it is causing a track short.

Failing an amp meter, what is your power source?

Some of the older B-mann SPECTRUM DC power packs had meters on them.

Many of the MRC powerpacks have a green light wired into the throttle.   Turn up the pack high enough that you can see the green light clearly.   If it blinks or dims significantly when the locomotive stalls, there is a short somewhere.

I would suspect that locomotive.  To be sure, the weight of the locomotive can cause certain track to short.   Usually, though, variations in weight on track tend to cause electrical continuity problems.  In fact, if the light does not dim or blink, you have a continuity problem, possibly in the track,

Quote from: kewatin on November 16, 2015, 09:19:53 PM
i really like there new heavy weight passenger cars but the price point is redickulous, i can buy 2 micro train cars for the same price point as one bachmann.i do give bachmann credit for doing them,

The four axle standard length passenger car is a first for N scale, thus a needed model.  Cars of this type were the most prevalent for use on commuter trains from the 1920s to the very early 1980s.  A great idea, but far too expensive.  I do not understand why B-mann wants so much more for theirs than MT wants for theirs.  MTs are made mostly in the United States, while B-mann's come from China.

Yes, the old Bmann shorty standards were also commuter cars, but unique to the Northwestern.  Many roads had these paired window commuter coaches.  Many had single windows, as well.  No one has done a full length, single window HW/Standard coach in N scale, be it four or six axle.  Many roads had those.  Most NYCS coaches were single window.  NYC is a "first tier road", oddly enough.

Quote from: ryeguyisme on November 16, 2015, 08:32:10 PMThe only excuse I'd have for the MP steam is the vanderbilt tender which isn't offered anywhere else. Which if I were to buy it, I would simply cannibalize the tender from the engine, sell the engine off and put Bachmann trucks on it .

[emphasis mine]


I agree with what I did not quote, as well.


The emphasis reflects the necessary upgrade to the model to remedy  the results of using archaic, half wheels live, construction methods that MP utilised originally and that MRC has retained.  To be sure, MRC has added some additional contact points, but those contact points are merely modifications to an archaic construction method.   The addition of live idler trucks have helped some, but they are not as reliable as the needlepoint all wheels live tender trucks.   My experience with bashing JNR tank engines with live idler trucks has demonstrated this.  Those live idler trucks just ain't as reliable as live tender trucks.

Quote from: gatrhumpy on November 16, 2015, 06:36:25 PM
Probably won't happen. Model Power (now MRC) already has a 2-8-2 with DCC and sound, so this is a pipe dream.

I did mention the MRC/MP.  This has not necessarily stopped B-mann in the past.  Kato did an NW-2, as did Bachpersonn.  Atlas did a GP-7 and RS-3, as did Bachmann.  Kato and Arnold have done a GG-1; B-mann has announced one.  Kato and Intermountain did F-7s as did B-mann.  MP did a mogul as did B-mann.  The moguls are different, but moguls they are.  B-mann continued to improve its nineteenth century 4-4-0, even though Atlas has issued one.


What many manufacturers issue in HO, they issue subsequently in N.  All that it takes is a few keystrokes to get the blueprints down to N scale and the process starts.  You save on costs for a new design.

B-mann's selling point will be its superior design and detailing, as I cited in my Original Post.

To be sure, the MPs perform well with appropriate modifications, such as swapping out the MP stock tender for a B-mann SPECTRUM or Kato USRA tenders of the SPECTRUM slopeback.  In fact, with a minimum of work, the stock tender shell from the MP eight wheeler and mogul will go onto the SPECTRUM slopeback chassis.

In fact, I have one MP eight wheeler that I acquired from someone who had tried to do something to it and had ruined the driver wipers in the process.  I swapped out the stock MP tender for a SPECTRUM USRA short, thus it collects its current solely from the tender (similar to the Con-Cor USRA heavy 2-10-2).  It operates well.

Dear B-mann:

I noticed the announcement of a USRA light 2-8-2 in HO scale.   I looked at the list of available road names, and noticed that BALTIMORE AND OHIO was not one of them.  Often, when B-mann issues a product in HO scale, the product appears in N scale a little later.

This request is for the N scale version of this, assuming that it appears.  Please include BALTIMORE AND OHIO as an available road name in N scale.  The first USRA locomotive was a light 2-8-2 assigned to the BALTIMORE AND OHIO.  This locomotive still exists.  It is on display at the B&O Museum in Baltimore.   It does not run (at least not that I know), but it does exist.    BALTIMORE AND OHIO had one hundred of these things.  They ran everywhere on the B&O, including into Philadelphia, where B-mann is based.

I suppose that I could buy one of the others and remove the lettering, prepare the surface and re-letter with one of the Microscale sets, as Microscale does have a set for these locomotives.  This would assume that I could get the tender shell off the chassis and at least the cab, if not the whole locomotive shell off its chassis.  This would assume, further, that the factory in China does not use the same sort of superglue that it has used on other locomotive windows, which precludes their intact removal.  Instead, you must either tape over the windows or, if you must strip the shell to re-paint, you must destroy the glazing (as the stripper will ruin it) and replace with the Microkristallkleer.

I have liked your latest issues of small to average sized steam in N scale (as well as the B&O EM-1), so I do look forward to seeing this one in N scale.  While it is true that Model Power, under the auspices of Model Rectifier Corporation, has re-issued its USRA lights, the detailing is not as good as the latest B-manns.  In addition, the B-manns have up to date construction, particullarly when it comes to electrical contact.  While MRC/MP has made some alterations to address the contact problems, the construction employed by B-mann is up-to-date and therefore superior to the modification of an archaic construction method.

Thank you for taking the time to read this.

--PL

I am not sure which version of this that B-mann puts into that train set, but whatever it is, I do have the part that you want.  If you will send me a PM with your name and address, I will send both parts to you.  I do not run these as 2-6-2s, for reasons that I will delineate subsequently.

If it is the last version with the old motor that stuck out of the back of the cab, the part that you need uses no screw.  There is a hook that protrudes from a flat piece that has a lip on it.  If you will unscrew the aftmost screw that holds on the retainer plate, you can slide the lip under the end of the retainer plate then re-tighten the screw and the hook will stay in place.

If Bachpersonn puts an older version of this, you will need to undo the screw that holds the motor in place.  Put the hook over the screw hole, with the rounded edge's facing aft and the hook lip's facing forward.  Put the screw back into place.

If the aftmost screw that holds on the retainer plate is close to the driver set, you have the former.  If the aftmost screw that holds on the retainer plate is also the screw that holds the  motor in place, you have the latter.

One thing that I do not have is the spring that slides onto the perpendicular (to the locomotive) shaft of the hook.   I suppose that you might substitute an old coupler spring, but I am not sure if it will work.

Some things about this locomotive.  Bachmann does sell it as the USRA 0-6-0 that it is.  The "prairie" that B-mann sells is really the USRA 0-6-0 with idler trucks.   The design of the one live truck on the tender creates a tremendous amount of drag on the locomotive, which compromises its pulling power.   In addition, the idler trucks compromise its pulling power.  I suspect that they diminish the factor-of-adhesion.   The result could be that the thing may not pull even the three cars that come in the set.

As you indicated a willingness to tap a screw hole, I am assuming that you can do a bit of tinkering with this thing.   As you have stated that you want to run this as anything but an 0-6-0. leaving off the idler trucks is out of the question.  One thing that will help both the electrical contact and the pulling power is to swap out the stock tender for a SPECTRUM tender.   This has all wheels live and needlepoint axles on the trucks.  You can purchase either the slopeback or the USRA short tender.  I find that the USRA short tracks better, but I would suspect that filling the slopeback with lead or tungsten putty would improve both the tracking and contact.  I have yet to try that, though.

You must make some alterations to the USRA short tender to do the swap-out.  It involves flipping over the drawbar and doing some surgery to the tender chassis to accommodate the flipped-over drawbar.   Do be sure that the bottom of the tender chassis is painted over properly, less the stiff wires in the drawbar short on it.  If you will go to Spookshow's website, he does have a tutorial on the work necessary.  While Spookshow does state that no alterations are necessary to the slopeback tender, I respectfully disagree with him.   I have had better results from making similar alterations to the chassis on the slopeback.

If you can not find a SPECTRUM tender in D&RGW or Durango and Silverton, you can buy any tender, strip, re-paint and decal.  Microscale does sell various D&RGW decal sets.  I am not sure if anyone sells Durango and Silverton sets.  Someone might in HO and if there is one small enough on the sheet, you might be able to use it.

The other possibility, if you do the tender swap-out, might be to put the Durango and Silverton tender shell onto a SPECTRUM tender chassis.  I would expect that it would fit, with a bit of work.  I have never tried a test-fit, even, but it does look like it might go with a little work.

Quote from: Bloks on November 11, 2015, 10:40:45 AMBut Bachmann NW2 have coreless motor

I forgot about the B-mann NW-2.   I have one, but have not run it in some time.

Quote from: Bloks on November 11, 2015, 09:15:32 AMBachmann locomotives - how install MicroTrains couplers un them?

If you go to MT's website, there is a conversion chart there.   What you use depends on the product.  For older B-manns, the 1133 is almost universal.   If you operate on sharper curves, use 1134, as that is merely a longer shank version of 1133.   Newer Bachamanns seem to vary, so it is wise to consult the chart.

If the conversion for anything on your roster calls for 1133, do purchase the MT coupler tweezers.  They are just about indispensable for working with 1133/1134 (and 1131, as well).

MT does sell many truck mounted couplers.  The swap outs are usually pretty easy.   Some of the older Rocos can be difficult to do a swap out, but the others are not so difficult.   Take a peek at the MT website.

The manufacturers are getting away from the  old Rapido couplers.   If you can do the conversions, it would not be unwise.  For the interim, you can have a few transition cars:  Rapido on one end, knuckle coupler on the other.

If you mean the B-mann GP-7, it is quite the quiet locomotive.   It makes less  noise than most.  It does make less noise than does the Kato NW-2, or, the Atlas GP-7, for that matter.

Miranda's Maxim as explained by ke:  The poor performance of many N scale steam locomotives is almost always directly attributable to poor electrical contact.

I have seen this maxim hold true again and again.

The SPECTRUM series of all wheels live tenders as well as the Kato USRA standard have helped many an N scale locomotive.  These tenders have turned more than one loser into a real winner.  In addition, they have turned more than one mediocre locomotive into a good locomotive.