Hi Jim,

From what I understand, if your 10-wheeler has the new pilot truck, it also has metal gears in the gearbox.  That should bode well as far as avoiding the "cracked nylon gear" syndrome... you might confirm the metal gears by looking in the lubrication port in the chassis between the drive wheels.

All the best,
Jay

Hi Bob,

Check out this link for all sorts of tips on the Big Hauler, including its propensity to derail due to issues with the pilot truck.  One of the major issues seems to be that the distance between the flanges on the pilot truck wheels may be a bit too wide, and this causes the pilot truck to climb off the track in turns.

Good luck!
Jay

http://www.girr.org/girr/tips/tips1/big_hauler_tips.html#derailments

The only 4-6-0 (non-Annie) chassis that Bachmann has left that's liveried with the Christmas colors is the #90033... still a bargain at $30!  It should fit the #90076 loco, and the new chassis has the better-looking Walschaerts valve gear.

http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66_69_148&products_id=4094

Good luck!
Jay

Hi Dan,

If that's the #90025 Silverton Flyer, you're in luck!  Bachmann still has some of the chassis for that model on sale for only $30.  I'm not sure if it's an internet-only deal, but here's the link:

http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=66_69_148&products_id=4095

Good luck!
Jay

Thanks Bill,

Mystery solved!  Then that is the same set I was recalling, and it does have the nice Annie loco.  What a great find for Colin, and at a great price!

Just set up my Royal Blue under the Christmas tree last night... now to finish installing my BBT drive in the Gold Rush woodburner...

Jay

Hi Colin,
I am unclear on the differences between the 90041 and 90051, other than they both appear to be Sam's Club offerings from 2005.

Bill, do you have any information on the 90041, vs. the 90051, from your database?

Thanks!
Jay

That looks like the Sam's Club #90051 set from 2005, which would make the engine an Anniversary ("Annie") edition... very nice find!  I would suggest contacting the seller and having them confirm the set number off of the box.  From the picture, it appears that the track pieces have been dumped in the place where the engine and tender should be stored, so that's an indication that the rest of the set may have been handled with the same indifference.
Good luck!
Jay

While certainly not as aesthetic as the Ceilingtrainkit hardware, one other solution I have seen used for ceiling-suspended trackage is cable trays.  These are the modular "trays" that route electrical, computer, and communication cables through a building, typically seen only in the basement or spaceframe of a commercial structure.  One advantage is that your trackage is visible from below; another is that you don't need an extra "guard rail" to keep your trains from falling in the event of a derailment.  It's available in a variety of widths, making it easy to run parallel tracks, either in the same gauge or another gauge.  You can see an example of cable trays at this website:

http://www.chatsworth.com/ontrac-wire-mesh-cable-tray/

No affiliation, yada, yada, yada.
Jay

If it's the $30 chassis (non-Anniversary) you're after, it appears that Bachmann is out of stock on all but four versions.  Glad I ordered mine a few months ago; they seem to be going quickly!

Jay

Stanchions and railing are a commonplace item in the model ship world... here is just an example of the kind of stuff that's available ready to use with minimal modification, in many sizes:

http://www.harbormodels.com/site08/stanchions.html

Good luck,
Jay

Just my opinion, but if I were looking for a starter set, I would only be interested in the ones that included the Bachmann 4-6-0 Anniversary loco, or "Annie" as it is referred to.  Check out the fourth post in this thread for a list of the starter sets that included the Annie, with thanks to Loco Bill:
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,8674.0.html

Good luck!
Jay

p.s.  I'm also partial to the locos that sported the Walschaerts valve gear for the cool factor.

Eleven?!  THAT explains why your website looks so great!

Keep at it... we need a younger perspective in this hobby!

All the best,
Jay

Not sure what they're made of, but I know they're non-magnetic, if that helps.  I've got some bright metal wheels on old passenger cars from the 90's, and some of the newer, dark wheels on a freight car... all non-magnetic.

Jay

I followed up on the lead given me by Old John, and thought it would be very useful to share the results.  The company that used to advertise in Finescale Railroader is still around, HPD Inc. out of Florida.  Their core business is repairing dental drills, and one of the repair parts they use is a quarter-inch OD, eighth-inch ID stainless steel ball bearing, made in the USA.  Apparently not all of the bearings they source will pass their criterion of spinning at 300,000 rpm (!) so they sell these to the hobby market... current price is 35 cents each, and that includes shipping.

Needless to say, I ordered a hundred of these; at that price I figured I'd get me a lifetime supply.  You can order these by calling the HPD shop at 386-719-7113.  I spoke with a gentleman named Bill Butler, and he was very conversant with the process of installing their bearings in G gauge railroad trucks.  If you're in the market for this size bearing, it looks like this deal would be tough to beat!

All the best,
Jay

Thank you gentlemen for the invaluable responses!  Based on what you have offered in the way of guidance, I began my due diligence and I will now share what I have found out so far.  All references are to ball bearings with an ID of one-eighth inch.  The most striking observation is that once you move down to the quarter-inch OD size, the prices jump up dramatically!

At first blush, Fastenall does indeed have the low-cost option at $1.51, but that bearing has an OD of three-eights inch, and I'm not sure if the Bachmann trucks have enough "meat" in them to support being bored to that diameter.  The quarter-inch OD bearings from Fastenall priced out at $15.65, which was the sort of pricing I was trying to avoid.  Fastenall did have the most user-friendly search features on their website, however, and the breadth of products they offer makes them a welcome addition to Grainger and McMaster-Carr as far as full-service suppliers go.

Boca Bearings' search feature seemed more sophisticated, but I had a hard time getting it to narrow down its results without it starting all over again.  That's why I had to scroll through all 22 pages of products to find the R2-5ZZ bearing at $3.25 a copy, but with an OD of five-sixteenths.  The quarter-inch OD version, R144-ZZ, came it at $3.50 each.  If I had been as impatient as I typically am, I would have just stopped there, but with nothing better to do at the moment, I continued to search the Boca website.  I discovered that when you click on a description of the individual bearing, you find available "kits" that include that bearing!  For instance, the R144-ZZ comes in four-packs for 12 bucks, dropping the price per bearing to only $3 each.  But the R2-5ZZ comes in a ten-pack for 10 bucks, making that the low-buck champion at only a dollar each!  If the trucks' side plates can withstand a five-sixteenths bore, then certainly the price is agreeable.  The R2-5ZZ bearings in the ten-packs may be floor-sweepings, but it's not like they're going in the space shuttle.

I'm still carrying on my research, but results so far are encouraging, and again, I sincerely appreciate your input!

Jay