Quote from: Kevin Strong on July 08, 2014, 01:06:25 PM

Honestly, $50 for a set of drivers (or $60 for two sets off of the $30 chassis) is a very good price for the drivers as a starting point for a live steam project. For comparison, I've been looking into having custom drivers 3D printed for a project, and I'm looking at in excess of $100 per wheel! Later,

K

Kevin - REAL cast iron drivers are easy to find here in UK - hundreds, if not thousands, of specific formats in spoke count, spoke shape, diameter - everything you can think of, for the asking, and MADE for live steamers.

Of course, there are, I'm sure, suppliers in the USA, but right now they do not appear off the top of my hat.

tac
G1MRA #3651

Nossir.

Heat is the killer, as is lack of actual material strength.  A friend of mine here in UK had an Aster NYC Hudson converted to coal-fired live steam - you can see it on Youtube under tac's trains coal-fired Hudson.

The model was all metal to begin with, but still cost another $4000 or so to convert.

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS

Quote from: smcgill on July 04, 2014, 07:09:50 AM
Mr.Bachmann this should go into the FAQ area.

I second that.

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS

I can only go along with LocoBill's and others' comments - no matter HOW much you pay for something, at some time or other it WILL go futz.

Examples for me over the last few years have included a $6000 live-steamer that was partly-assembled only by the maker, and then nigh-on trashed by the TSA [can't blame the makers for that last bit though], and an $1800 camera that froze solid after ten minutes of operation, and then 'cooked itself' in my hands.

On the other hand, I have H0 models from the middle fifties that just go on and on, prolly because they are just so simple that they don't know that they shoud have quit years ago.

It's all a lottery, my friend.

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS
G1MRA #3651

To my total amazement, bearing in mind past dealings with Bachmann [Europe], last year I got a replacement brass gear from them almost by return mail.

Sure, it's a PITA to dismantle the loco and effect the replacement, but it now runs like it used to.

Please take on Kevin's comments - sure, we can't just 'walk into the store' like they can in the USA - my local large-scale Bachmann dealer IS Bachmann [Europe] head office, on the other side of the country from me, but give them a call.  Price was around £7 or so, I seem to recall.

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS

Quote from: Chris9017 on June 24, 2014, 10:49:36 PMHello, I thought I'd give helpful information on how to update an Old Bachmann Climax...

Chris - thank you for a great na informative post.  Many of us, and I'm one, are running our old Climaxii on borrowed time these days, more's the pity.  It is a most beautiful model - packed full of details - and to see it running around with all that Stevenson valve gear thrashing around behind the action is a real treat.

A new one is out of the question for most folks - here in UK it's well north of $1300.00, and to tell the truth I've never seen one here, so whether to keep our oldies going on the running tracks or gathering dust someplace is something that we'll all have to consider some time.

Best, and thanks again for posting.

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS

Sir - you are totally right- they DO look good together, in fact, one of the group that I play trains with has made up such a train.   To most folks, the difference in scale is more than compensated for by the overall 'quaint look' of the train.

The 'real' passenger cars that match the 'Lyn' are, with the exception of the brand-new 'heritage' cars, pretty dull, being an unrelieved sort of Pullman green  The 'Emily' cars are not only good to look at, but all three can be bought for not a lot more than just one of the 'proper' cars.

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS

Thanks, all for the suggestions et al.

In the end I pulled off the springs, dismantled the truck, stuck the broken stubs back on in the right location, and used a couple of longer screws to hold the whole thing together.  Epoxy resin adhesive is your friend.  Then I did it with the other one, remembering to re-make the pickup connections.

It was running most of last evening until it go too dark and began to rain [again].

Best to all, especially Dave over there 

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS

PS - for future reference, there are no AccuCraft trucks on sale here in UK - of any kind.  Bachmann [Europe]? 

Hah.

  x 10.

It's a nice day here, so I got out some trains to run while mrs tac milked the chickens and so on while I got down to some serious laziness.

Putting my Bachmann Connie on the track was not a problem, after all, I have done it a zillion times before, but putting the tender on the track was a bit of a surprise, to say the least.

The instant that the weight went onto the wheels, BOTH side-frames on the rear truck sheared off at the screw-fix point, leaving me with an unuseable loco.

Anybody seen anything like this before?

Living here in yUK is the real problem, since Bachmann [Europe] has a very poor 'track' record where I am concerned, and I hae me doots that they have any parts for this OOD model now, if, indeed, they ever had 'em in the fust place.

Any point in asking Bachmann in the USA to help?

TIA

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS

Quote from: mjltuk on May 21, 2014, 04:50:21 AM

Thank you BachmannMan, I thought I had remembered you saying that before.

But it no longer exists. And it was difficult to find in UK. And I was hoping for a rattle can.

So what are today's alternatives? Can you give me a colour code that I can try to match to please?

Best

I've never seen any kind of a rattle-can here in UK of either the semi-matt or gloss finish paint such as you describe.  I used THIS when I did a dozen or so cars a while back.

http://www.art-paints.com/Paints/Airbrush/Badger/ModelFlex-Railroad/C-and-NW-Dark-Green/C-and-NW-Dark-Green.html

AFAIK there is no UK supplier of paint of this colour.

You might go along to your local paint specialist and ask them to make you up a can or two - it's not cheap, but then, when was the last time you had a pennorth of chips and the sixpenny piece of cod?

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS 

Quote from: Skarloey Railway on May 17, 2014, 07:07:37 AM
That's a fine argument, Kevin, and one in principle I support. In practise, while working with material that costs $1000 might require no more skill than working with material that costs $100, the anxiety factor goes up considerably and can even increase the chances of fouling up. I've had this where you get over-cautious and too tentative and too much damn thinking gets in the way of what would otherwise be automatic.

You have considerable experience in cutting and modding and have acquired the skills and confidence to tackle major projects and probably know when you start hacking up a $1000 loco that there's a good chance of making a good job, but I imagine that you gained those skills gradually and on considerably cheaper lumps of metal and plastic. Many just haven't yet got the experience and confidence to cut up a $1000 dollars without worrying that they'll end up with an expensive scenic addition to the scrapline.

'zackly so.

Here in UK that $1000 won't get you even a second-hand Forney, either.

tac

Quote from: CCSG on May 15, 2014, 12:57:44 AM
Bruce,

Nice looking  kitbash! Great thing about Bachmann products is there not too expensive to cut up. I still think Bachmann should release there own 1:20 version of the Annie.

If you'd paid over $1150.00 for the three-truck Shay, or over $1200.00 for the Forney, you be's singin' a different chune!

Anyhow, as I have one of each of the rod engines, including an Annie, three Shays, a Climax and a Heisler, I think it's fair to say that I love 'em all.  Out and out favourite, tho', has to be any Shay.  'That loco's got more goins on than a fire in a Chinese laundry', a pal of mine once noted.  He's right, too.

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS - www.ovgrs.org

Best advice today!

Thanks for that Bill, I have two over here in yUK with the same problem, acquired from a fire-sale a few years ago.  Got 'em for nothing, can't be any cheaper than that.

Best

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS

Quote from: Bruce Chandler on April 30, 2014, 03:35:39 PM
I'm cheating a bit - I converted the "Annie" to 1:20.   But, it is my favorite.

Bruce - is that  Banta cab or did you scratch-build it?  Either way, it looks good to me and is something I might do in either case.

Best

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS

That EBT #12 would be HUGE, and a correspondingly HUGE investment for Bachmann.  I seem to recall one brave soul stumping up front for a couple of hundred such locos, electrically-powered - I wonder just how many he still has?

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS