Hi bapguy,

The DCC Sound GE 44 Ton switcher is scheduled to ship early next year. We have had to push back the arrival a few times due to lots of development and technical changes to fit a sound decoder and speaker into such a small locomotive. But trust us, it will be worth the wait!

Hi Sawyer,

We recommend you contact the Service Department first. They'll be able to first help you troubleshoot to determine if there is in fact a decoder issue or if there is another problem. They can then assist you with repairs or ordering parts.

Hi Basstrombone1,

Our current HO E-Z Track Turntable (item no. 46298) can be used on an analog layout. Even though the package says DCC, the appropriate switch and wires are included in the box for analog layout setup.

There is also a previous version of the turntable (item no. 46299) that has been discontinued, that was designed for analog operation only.

We use proprietary decoders for our DCC locomotives without sound. Our sound decoders are sourced from either TCS or Soundtraxx.

We can contact our factory and see if they can produce the non sound decoders for spare parts, however with production lead times they will not be available immediately.

Hi Denny,

We're sorry you've had some bad luck with our N scale DCC locomotives. We do not have spare N scale decoders available in our parts department, but aftermarket decoders are available from manufacturers such as Soundtraxx, TCS, ESU, and Digitrax.

This position has now been filled.

Hi Ttrain,

A couple of questions to make sure you get the best advice. Do you know what scale the train set is, or can you describe how large it is? Do you have any boxes or instruction manuals that have a name or item number on them? Different scales and different brands of train sets may have different wiring setups.

Hi Andrew,

Sounds like you have a Bachmann Branchline locomotive. For best results, we recommend you contact Bachmann Europe customer support directly. Please note that this forum is administrated by Bachmann Trains USA. While there may be a member able to assist you, Bachmann Trains USA as a company does not provide support for Bachmann Europe products.

Quote from: jward on November 13, 2023, 07:03:48 PMJust for clarification, doesn't EZ App operate as an overlay on DCC powered track? You should be able to control an EZ App locomotive via the app independently of the DCC system.

Correct, you can still operate E-Z App independently on both an analog or DCC layout. But pure DCC locomotives cannot be controlled with the E-Z App, as Markakis was asking.

Hi Stuart,

For best results, we recommend you contact Bachmann Europe customer support directly. Please note that this forum is administrated by Bachmann Trains USA. While there may be a member able to assist you, Bachmann Trains USA as a company does not provide support for Bachmann Europe products.

Hi Trainman,

We switched to Econami decoders for HO Sound Value locomotives starting this year. The roadnames currently in our 2023 catalog are the only ones so far that have been made with Econami decoders (item #s 57907-10). All of the previous releases (item numbers 57901-06) have the "legacy" Sound Value decoder.

We don't have any current plans to offer the Southern 2-8-0 with Econami, but if we do reintroduce it, it will be clearly identified on the packaging in the future.

Hi Markakis,

The E-Z App is only compatible with locomotives that are specifically labeled as E-Z App locomotives. It cannot control DCC locomotives.

If you want to control DCC locomotives with an app, you have a few options. Ask your club if their layout is set up with the WiThrottle protocol for JMRI. Once this system is setup, it should be universally compatible using any DCC equipped locomotive, and one of the apps listed on the WiThrottle webpage above.

If your club doesn't have WiThrottle, you can try a Blunami decoder from Soundtraxx. If you replace your decoder with a Blunami, or install it in a DCC Ready locomotive, you can control it with their Blunami app, which is based on the same technology as E-Z App.

Good luck!

Hi all,

Without giving away too much confidential information, here's a peek behind the Bachman curtain...

The first production run of any Bachmann model is made all at once. Depending on how well and how fast it sells, we may choose to reorder the road name/numbers already offered, or add/replace with more roadnames/numbers. But every time we manufacture a model, there is a minimum order quantity for the factory to produce it. So if we sell out of an initial production run, if we only have backorders for a handful more of this item, those alone won't be enough to justify for more production. If an item is a poor seller, chances are it'll be discontinued after we sell out and no longer have any initial inventory of the most recent production run.

In the case of the On30 models, while many of them were successful when they were first sold, over time sales and interest will dwindle to the point that we can't justify a large enough production run to reorder them If we kept offering every On30 item we've ever introduced and kept making them faster than we can sell them, we would have too much unsold inventory. Adding to this issue is the resale market, where sales on our older On30 products can continue to be made, without Bachmann seeing any money from it.

To echo ScottyB, On30 is *not* dead! We do have plans for new products and we *are* reordering select existing products. Just earlier today, we got a new shipment of 18' Flat Cars into our warehouse that will be ready to ship to dealers soon. If you want to see more new products- tell your friends, or tell your local hobby shop, to check out some of our *new* and current On30 products like the East Broad Top set, the Class 10 Trench Engine, Gondola Style Excursion Car, and the upcoming 3 Bay Hopper. The amount of interest and sales we get in the latest products is key to us making sure there is still interest in the scale for Bachmann to continue with new and returning projects.

Hi Bob,

If you are using E-Z Track, we now offer a special Manual Uncoupling Track designed for European couplers, including those on Thomas & Friends products.

https://shop.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=258_366_369&products_id=8520

Hi Trainman,

The more recent DCC Sound Value and DCC Ready 2-8-0s have a completely redesigned motor and chassis compared to the earlier releases. However, performance should be comparable between the two and the shell should be interchangeable between the old and new chassis.