Let's not get on the Bach Man so hard.

Not a big fan of the Porters - I have an 0-4-2 for my daughter though - but I started in On30 for use as poor man's On3.

I have a 2-8-0 and it is in the process of being re-detailed to a copy of the original FCM prototype appearance. I have a pair of 2-6-0s. One is now an Argent Lumber type locomotive complete with cabbage stack the other is an oil burner.

I have an OF 4-4-0 that is nearly complete with being re-detailed to look like its prototype in Brazil - sort of.

I bought one of the 2-6-6-2s and the only modification it will get is having its couplers raised to the On3 height - a modification all my locomotives have gotten.

I will probably only obtain two or three more total locomotives for the steam fleet. Either one or two Heislers when and if Bachmann ever produces one and another OF 4-4-0 which will get a whaleback tender.

I have liked all of the locomotives Bachmann has produced, even the Porters, they just don't fit with what I like or need for my Southern swamp logger/common carrier. I love the Forneys, especially the outside frame version, but they cannot navigate some of the curves nor can I figure out how to raise the couplers. The 4-6-0 is too big and just doesn't appeal to me, but I can definitely see the attraction for those who want one.

The best thing about my Bachmann locomotives though is the FUN I have had re-detailing them and creating a locomotive that is unique to my railroad.  For those who want a specific locomotive, I suggest starting with a Bachmann locomotive, investing in a PSC or Back Shop catalog and get busy having fun re-detailing a locomotive.

Could that possibly mean a H.....r could be in the near future?

In no way wanting to rain on your cloud HK, the balancing act I think Bachmann has to strike is between big and small. Probably for every On30 modeler who operates a micro-layout or a small layout built around Porters, the Shay or a Davenport, there is probably one modeler who uses On30 for poor man's On3, not to mention the On3 modelers who convert the Bachmann stuff to On3.

I do think after two large, for On30, locomotives in a row (while a small locomotive for a 2-6-6-2 - it is a large locomotive when compared to an 0-4-0 or 0-4-2), Bachmann probably will have something for the small industrial operations.

At any rate, the speculation is fun, even if not very productive.

The last two locomotives have been "large" or at least "largish" in size, the 2-6-6-2 and the 4-6-0.  The OF 4-4-0 is not exactly small compared to the Porters.

My guess would be something small - what that would be I have no clue.

Another guess would be a largish modern diesel.

Here is a link to film of the 30 inch operation in Brazil.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vcv36Qu67To&feature=related

I realize most On30 modelers don't modify their locomotives and rolling stock to
raise the coupler height to the On3 "standard."

For those who do, I have managed to arrive at a method for the new 2-6-6-2.

The first step was to examine the locomotive that my children got me for
Christmas (what great kids! - they gave me the money and said order it!). To
remove the old coupler and the metal that is molded on the underframe of the
tender and then mount a new Kadee or similar coupler is often all that has to be
done for some Bachmann locomotives.

On the 2-6-0 it is easy as the tender deck is made of plastic. The 2-8-0 and
the OF 4-4-0 require the removal of metal.

The tender deck height of the 2-6-6-2's tender is too low for this to work.
Shimming up the frame is a questionable idea in my mind but doable. It will
require modifying the method of conducting current from the trucks to the
decoder in the tender. I never mess with anything electrical if possible.

While not the perfect solution, this is what I worked out. Keep in mind, my
2-6-6-2 will be used as a road engine only and will not be used for switching.

I pulled out the trusty PSC catalog and ordered PSC part number 7537 - a C&S #60
tender coupler pocket. I also obtained a PSC part number 40166 - another
coupler pocket.

I decided to use a pair of the new San Juan Car Company couplers. I trimmed the
feelers off the ends of both. For my tender mounted coupler I filed the edge of
the end of the shank down in circumference to create more play in the
side-to-side motion of the coupler. I shimmed the coupler shank up with a piece
of styrene underneath the shank.

I shortened a KD coupler screw and used it to permanently mount the shank in the
brass coupler pocket. The coupler moves freely from side to side.

I removed the stock coupler from the tender and with my dremel removed the metal
that protrudes from the underframe as part of the old coupler pocket.

I mounted the new coupler in the PSC casting upside down. There is a lip
protruding on the bottom of the casting. Setting this lip on top of the
underframe positioned the casting at the height it needed to be for the coupler
to be at the desired height.

I initially ACC'd the casting to mount it and check the height of the coupler.
Then a tiny amount of epoxy was added to permanently mount the casting.

On the pilot, I removed the stock coupler and then built up a base made of
styrene on the protruding metal, after removing the braces cast-in on the top of
the coupler pocket. When finished this is essentially a solid block on the pilot
beam with the protrusion made of cast metal and styrene serving as the mounting
point for the PSC casting and coupler.

I had to remove material from the end of the shank again. Be careful or you
will see where the spring that makes the coupler work is hidden! I also removed
a small about of material from the left and right side of the casting from the
rear in the opening for the coupler shank. This increases the side-to-side play
of the coupler.

The same process was used to attach the casting to the locomotive.

I won't be able to switch with ease using this method, but for a locomotive that
is going to just haul the trains around and drop off the consist, I can live
with this method.

I really wish Bachmann would take into consideration that some of us mount
couplers at the On3 coupler height. I have one of the AMS 3000 series box cars.
You just remove two screws and the shim and coupler drops out. Replace the
coupler and the two screws, and your On30 box car now has its coupler at the On3
coupler height!

I am sure this is an easy task.  However, when anything electrical and I mix, Murphy's law applies.

How does one change the headlights on the new 2-6-6-2? I appreciate Bachmann's providing variety.  However, my locomotive came sans any paperwork so no directions on how to change the headlight.

Practical suggestions are appreciated.

Maybe I am not understanding the question.  A simple articulated locomotive has one boiler and two engines both of which are supplied high pressure steam through whatever cylinder arrangement that locomotive has.

A mallet has one boiler and two engines.  One engine is supplied high pressure steam to power the drivers.  The steam from that set of cylinders is then used as low pressure steam to drive the other, forward, engine.  This engine has the larger of the two sets of cylinders due to the use of low pressure steam.

The difference between a simple articulated and the Mallet is not in the type of cylinders used per se, but rather the re-using of steam from one set of cylinders to operate another.

Hopefully this answers your questions.

An easy visual way to see the difference would be to look at a photograph of one of Union Pacific's 4-8-8-4 Big Boys. These were simple articulated locomotives.  The cylinders are the same size.

Then take a look at a photograph of a Norfolk & Western Y6-b 2-8-8-2.  The front cylinders are HUGE.  The rear cylinders are much smaller (still huge though).  The Y6-bs were Mallets but they could be operated as simple articulated locomotives.

Hope this helps.

I used a product called Weather-it.  I just brushed it on with a brush and let it dry about 30 minutes between coats.  The more weathered effect you want, the more applications.

Then I "dry brushed" a red acrylic paint followed and/or mixed with a burnt umber acrylic paint.  I like the effect and would post a photo but no digital camera until the daughter gets home from college.

It was easier than dealing with styrene or resin.

My little road is a short line that has managed to adapt and survive into the early 1960s (when my grandfather took me for my first ride on the Silverton).  The tourists have discovered it and it now looks like it might survive.

The hopper will be used for MOW service to spread ballast. That's my story and I am sticking it to it!

For those of you who might be interested, I have nearly finished my first ever wood rolling stock kit project.  It is a Deerfield River Laser wood hopper kit.

It was:

1) easy to assemble
2) had good directions
3) turned out better than I thought it would (not because of the kit - rather it being my first attempt to build something in wood)
4) went together quickly

Without glue drying time, staining the wood prior to assembly, etc, I could easily assemble one in an evening.

If you wanted a fleet of these I would build one first just to get the feel and then assembly line the rest of the kits.

I will be using San Juan Car Company archbar trucks and KD couplers. I mount my couplers at the On3 coupler height and to my delight, Deerfield River Laser has taken this into consideration by providing multiple shims for the bolster, my guess being to aide in the process of coupler height adjustment.

The kit comes without trucks and couplers and is available direct from Deerfield.

Kevin S.

Given the locomotive is an articulated, not a Mallet in the true sense of the term, about the only way the two engines would get out of sync is if one engine slipped, probably the front engine due to less weight being present on that part of the locomotive.

My grandfather had some old vinyl records of Norfolk & Western Y6bs that were really cool.  You could hear the locomotive slipping one of the engines as it struggled up the grade with a heavy coal train.

If that effect could be reproduced in a DCC sound decoder, that would be truly cool!

Out of curiosity, would any of you have one of the MMI K-27's tell everyone how many cars these brutes can pull on the level?

Thanks!

The prototype for the IF 4-4-0 was the Mt. Gretna tourist line.  A 2 ft. gauge tourist railroad.  The actual prototype was really small.