Just wondering if The Bach-man has heard anything on this.

Thank you.

Jon

Yes, I received the quoted note as an e-mail from Bachmann Service.

If the Bach Man would like the name of the Service person, I will gladly forward the original e-mail to him.  I would have sent it to him already, but I've been unable to get Personal Messaging (PM) to work on this board.  The entry of the 5 characters required to send a PM always fails, whether I type it all upper- or all lower-case.  Even after listening to the audio reading of the characters.

As suggested by The Bach Man, I reported the problem to Service on December 31st.  Two month had past with no response, so I reported the problem again on the weekend and received the following response first thing this morning:

QuoteHello, this is a DCC on board engine. You need to hook the tender in
order to run it and also you need to run it on DCC track. If you are
going to run it on DC track then you must remove the decoder and put in
dummy plugs. Otherwise you will short out your engine. Thanks, {name removed for privacy purposes}

I need some advice:  is it worthwhile removing the decoder and putting in the dummy plugs?  Or have my attempts to run it on DC track damaged the engine by shorting it out?

Sadly, it appears from Bachmann's web site, and the Walther's catalogue, that Bachmann no longer makes this Old West line within Plasticville.

Thanks for the heads up on this.

Thanks again for the straight answers!

I recently purchased a Bachmann Mikado (#83211).  It is DCC but I am starting out just with a standard DC layout, using an MRC Railpower 1300 power supply.  Do I need to do anything to the Mikado (new out of the box) to make it work?

I checked the tracks with a DC voltmeter and see the appropriate voltage between the two tracks.  But nothing happens when I place the locomotive on the tracks.

This is my first model railroading since 1964, so even the most basic tips would be helpful.

Walthers HO catalogue has lots of buildings that I thought would fit into my planned Old West HO layout.  For example, 254-56 is $21.95 for a Newspaper Office.

Hobby Shops have the paper catalogue, or you can browse on-line.  I would start here:  http://www.walthers.com/exec/search?category=Structure&scale=H&manu=&item=&keywords=&instock=Q&split=30&Submit=Search

By the way, what locomotive did you choose to fit into the era?

Thank you for such a rapid response!

I recently purchased a Mikado (#83211), but have been unable to find key specifications for it.  Right now, I'm particularly interested in Minimum Turning Radius.  And confirmation that it was designed to work with (Atlas) Code 83 track.

In general, where should I be looking for a manual?  My factory-sealed box contained only an assembly diagram, with part numbers, a little bit about DCC, and the warranty.