The Bachmann J3a Hudson is an absolutely incredible engine.
It sets a new standard for HO engines as far as I'm concerned. I have a [different brand] Hudson and for price as well as performance, the Bachmann engine is superior. Not only does the engine perform well at all speeds, the detail is top notch and the sound is excellent. I'd love to see Bachmann follow it up with other NYC engines like the H10 and an L2a of equal quality.

USRA Light 2-10-2 driver diameter was 57" and USRA Heavy 2-10-2 driver diameter was 63".  That's over the tire wheel, the standard way of listing driver diameter.

Several of you folks obviously have a good bit of experience with improving electrical pickup so maybe you could give me your opinion of "Keep alive" capacitors (?) in engines as opposed to adding pickup to the tender and so forty. I gather that the storage approach such circuits use will keep an engine going across a reasonably long section of completely dead track.

Is that sort of thing an adjunct to or a replacement for the sort of modifications you folks make?

"If you "really" want to be " out in the cold", try being an MP fan."

LOL, you make my point for me. I guess your logic should apply to diesels, too, in which case it's foolish for Bachmann to be making GP7s and GP9s since those were the most common engines. They should stick to the rare stuff, that's the ticket. Someone else is sure to do the common things so why should Bachmann bother chasing after the largest market ?

Bye the bye, I like the Hallmark MP Mikes I have just fine even though at one layout I ran one on a guy had a major tantrum over my having the nerve to paint them for my own road rather than MP. When a guy listening in told him all three of my others were also painted for my own road I was afraid the MP fan was going to pass out.

If the goal is selling into niche markets then I guess you have a point.

IMHo, Bachmann is missing a good thing if they don't make come out with NYC L2 series Mohawks (4-8-2, aka Mountains everywhere except on NYC which had more than anyone else) and an H10 2-8-2. Neither is available except in brass and the price of brass ones keeps climbing in spite of the fact that other than the rare stuff brass isn't selling all that well since it doesn't run as well as new non-brass engines.

Look, Broadway already dominates the Pennsy crowd by having produced so far, the Q2, T1, M1, I1, K4, J1, L1, S2, and H10. That pretty well sews up the Pennsy market and someone could work with the NYCHS to get the important things right to do the same for the NYC which has more fans than most people thiink. A good H10 Mike and the L2 series Mohawks are both basically new boilers and details for running gear Bachmann already has. If they're accurate enough and run as well as the other newer Bachmann engines I think they'd sell very, very, well for a long time (I'd sell a kidney and most of my other engines on Ebay to get a half dozen L2s and at least that many H10s).

Then there are the NYC Pacifics which, while not as famous as the Hudsons, seem to be popular but aren't available in anything but poorly operating brass (that I know of at least) and which could use the Bachmann K4 running gear and not compete with BLI periodically running their K4.

Well that's my .02 cents, again. Why no one makes the most common type of 4-8-2 used in the US which is the L2 series Mohawk I just don't know. Just about everyone likes them and their front end plumbing and those who don't do like the late models like the L2d which had a sunken Elesco like a J3 Hudson. Speaking of which, Bachmann could do a lot worse than running a J3a which is not the same as the J1 Hudsons BLI does. Alas, NYC people are out in the cold, really, unless they want a herd of elephant ears and plan on doing without the Mikes and Mohawks that were really the most common engines on the NYC.

Then again, maybe Bachmann doesn't want to make anything that road specific although after several runs of USRA Mikes I was amazed that Bachmann decided to pile more of them onto the market rather than doing something else. I dunno, we can always dream and hope Bachmann will come out with the C&O H7, D&RGW L-131, or maybe the SAL KB1 2-6-6-4. Small market items to be sure, but what the heck, at least there aren't a ton of them on the market already and being re-run every other year by someone else.

While I think of it, anyone know how well the Bachmann EM1 is selling ? That's a killer engine that runs well and I would think sells well. Bachmann stole a march on everyone else with that one.

I think engines with no numbers are great. I have awful arthritis in my hands but even I can get a set of dry transfer numbers and make an engine into whichever number I like. That's particularly nice because I'll be adding three F7 ABB sets and won't have to worry about the numbers at all. I wish they had done the same with their NYC GP7 and RS3 because if they had I could be getting one less F7 set and three additional GP7s instead as well as another RS3.

Thanks for the info on the Doodlebug diagram folks.

  I'm sorry for the tardy reply but we had some unexpected problems arise here at the madhouse. The inmates get upset easily and since the clasps on all the straight jackets had rusted it took me longer than usual to get everyone out of the way so I could fix the problem.

Regards

A friend gave me an HO Doodlebug with a detail or two missing but otherwise in good shape but I can't find a diagram for it in the Product Information section.  There is one for the N scale Doodlebug, but no HO scale unless I missed it and it's in the wrong category or something.  Is there a diagram and parts list for this item on line somewhere as all I got was the Doodlebug itself with no box or diagram.

Thanks

I wish Bachmann would make a NYC caboose that was really a NYC caboose rather than something else with NYC paint.  Trix made one of the wooden ones and they sell for a small fortune on EBay these days as do the brass ones.  There was a kit for the NYC style bay window caboose but that's no longer available and likewise sells for a pretty penny when you can even find one.  Sometimes I think there's a secret PRR cabal that beats up anyone who works for a manufacturer and wants to make anything NYC except Hudsons, L4s with ears out the ears, and of course, the Niagara.  Those are all well and good but given that they also always sell you'd think someone might at least make a caboose that was accurate.  Until then, I guess it's just ATSF or C&O cabooses in NYC paint.

Given that I never realized how badly I "needed" four EM-1s until Bachmann made them available for a really good price, how can I complain about Bachmann when no one else is even doing as well?  Alas, I doubt the things that have been on my wishlist for decades are going to appear but as long as Bachmann keeps coming out with things like the spectacular EM-1 they're going to be getting a big chunk of my Model RR budget. 

LOL.  I should have thought of the burgers but I had a friend who owned three dachshunds and his wife wanted a cat.  He got her a nice cat for free although the "poor thing" lived in fear of those little weenie critters.

Regards

Quote from: ryeguyisme on June 01, 2012, 01:49:06 PM
I did this to my NJ Custom Brass DRGW M-78 4-8-2 and with some cutting and kitbashing came out really nice, matched it together with the BLI mikado chassis and modified the front of the frame for the extended cylinders and 4 lead wheels
Now bachmann has their Aux. Norfolk and western tender in their tooling why not make a Norfolk and western K3 4-8-2? They were found on 6 different railways like the wheeling lake erie, rio grande, and nickel plate

First off, that's really nice work you should be proud of.

Now that you mention it, the K3 would make a really good choice.  I think even the RF&P used them for a while or at least had them on loan for a while.  I had a pair of the Sunset brass ones but a cat got one of them when I had a layout in my garage.  Concrete floors are not good for brass engines and destroying brass engines is not good for cats.  My other K3 is the best running Sunset engine I've had and over the years I've had several different ones that I've traded away.  When I think about the various railroads that seem to always be popular with a wide variety of modelers, the D&RGW and the NYC are way under represented in anything except brass even though most people can recognize their engines and like them.  The SP and ATSF are so unique that people tend to only want to use them if they're modeling those specific roads but D&RGW and NYC seem to be attractive to folks who have no intention of modeling either road.

Athearn just painting D&RGW on the tender of their Challenger was almost an insult given the way Bachmann can make different front ends and such for their engines.  You'd think that the things that made the D&RGW engines unique wouldn't be that difficult to add.  Then there's the L-131 that someone should have the good sense to make since everyone I've ever met who likes steam thinks that beast is beatiful.  With the NYC, on the other hand, all sorts of folks make brass and plastic Hudsons and there are tons of brass L4 series around, just not any of engines that were the real backbone of the road, the L2 series and the H10b.

Hopefully Bachmann will get very good sales with the EM1 and then expand their line with an eye to being THE source for NYC and D&RGW engines the way BLI is aiming at being THE Pennsy source.  We can always dream, can't we?

Bowser offered the L1 as a kit for many years.

The last one of those kits I saw on Ebay cost a good bit more than the street price of a Bachmann K4.  Are those kits usually that much these days?  Also, I don't recall those Bowser kits being all that easy to get running right.  At least I remember a lot of people who had trouble getting them to be smooth engines rather than having a waddle and having to redo the siderods and running gear numerous times.  I could be thinking about the Arbor kits, though, so maybe the Bowser stuff is still worthwhile when you find them.

I have a PRR fanatic friend who I've known for years and still touch base with now and then, and he's been nursing his fleet of six Bowser L1 engines for years.  He's down to three of them these days and watching for PFM L1s on Ebay.  They all seem to get away from him although as I recall you can sometimes pick up a brass one for less than five hundred, often a good bit less.  People have a tough time getting brass of that era to run well the same as they did with the kits, though.  I have to keep an eye on my brass Berks or they get out of sorts and I have a pair of Sunset Hudsons that never have run right and defy all my efforts to get them to run right.  I guess I'll have to bite the bullet and get BLI Hudsons to replace them.

My son and I fiddled around with moving the Bachmann boiler onto a BLI Heavy Mike and it wouldn't be difficult at all.  The only major thing is that the front of the firebox beneath the running boards is further back on the K4 than on the Mike but you could either take a bit out of the K4 boiler or modify the frame from the Mike, either way it wouldn't be difficult.  I say, "not difficult" from the perspective of being averse to cutting up engines due to my lack of skill at such things.  So, if it looks simple to me it's really simple.  If I had a Bachmann Mike I'd see how tough that would be to use the K4 boiler on although the Mike Bachmann has now is very clearly a light engine and not really a good match with the L1 Mike.

I still think Bachmann should take their PRR K4 boiler and put a 2-8-2 mechanism under it and with a few modifications have a very nice PRR L1 Mike.  BLI is coming out with a PRR H10 2-8-0 and it's going to sell really, really, well given the number of people I've seen talking about ordering four or more for delivery next year.  I can see that being a bestseller for them for years for BLI.  The same would be true of the L1 since it's never been out except in brass and seems like a favorite for a lot of PRR fans as well as other folks.  Bachmann should steal a march on BLI with an L1 since BLI seems to be trying to become THE source for PRR engines.  If Bachmann has something solid like an L1 there will be a lot of people who own no Bachmann engines buying it and finding out that Bachmann is every bit as good as the BLI engines.  As far as I can tell, the BLI K4 isn't a bit better than the Bachmann one for an operating layout and the Bachmann engine is a lot more reliable on less than perfect track, too.  A lot of PRR fans, though, stick to BLI and ignore the Bachmann K4 in spite of the fact that they'd be happier with the Bachmann product if they'd just try one.

I also think Bachmann should make a NYC H10b and a NYC L2 series 4-8-2, both with overhung feedwater heaters and visible plumbing.   Neither have ever been available except in brass and from what I hear from other modelers are popular with folks that don't even model the NYC.  The Bachmann Heavy Mountain with a straight top boiler and different plumbing could be the basis for the L2b, or better still, an L2d with a sunken Elesco FWH, and Bachmann also already has a 2-8-2 mechanism that might work for the H10b with some modification to match the heavier running gear.

But, that's just me looking at what I think Bachmann could do based on what they already have that might help defray the expense of getting something into production rather than starting from scratch for something new.  Given the way BLI sells PRR and NYC engines as fast as they build them I think any of the engines I mentioned would be solid sellers.  One thing for sure, the EM1 is selling to a lot of people who aren't B&O fans so whether that's because it's a very popular engine in it's own right or because it's a Bachmann articulated that puts other companies to shame is a question I really don't know how to answer.

Quote from: fyzal on July 14, 2011, 05:07:12 AM
Guys I saw some video putting wiring's on the tracks I mean attaching wires and soldering it, what is the purpose on doing that?It puts more power when you got a big layout?

  Over time you'll find that power connections and power pickup are the most problematic things on a layout whether it's a permanent or temporay layout. Rather than using the quick connect type of track that comes with train sets and that is common to sectional track, people will solder their connections to the track, and usually put connections every four to six feet  (from below) when they have their track on a sheet of plywood or permanent layout. By making sure the track is seldom if ever a source of power related problems they can then focus on the engines themselves (well, and tenders as they're critical for power pickup, too) whenever an engine is erratic.

For any sort of permanent layout I strongly recommend soldering your power connections. If you sometimes have the track laid out and sometimes store it, I recommend Bachmann EZ track (the NS type with gray ballast) and that you have more than a single power connection track so that power loss around a loop (for example) doesn't result in the engine slowing as it gets further away from the power connection. That isn't a problem on small loops or other arrangements,  but as things grow it can be. If you put the track in place for a while and then store it again, you need to be very careful about spreading rail joiners apart when putting the track together or taking it apart because the joiners are the power connections. Always have a few spare ones around in case you goof up and spread or bend some somehow. I find that EZ Track really helps to keep rail joiners in good shape, at least it does for me on the track we set up every year for Christmas and from time to time just for the heck of it.  It also keeps the track from sliding apart as some other sectional track does since the ballest sections hold the track together taking stress off the rail joiners.

Marx train sets had something like EZ Track back in the fifties, and Bachmann sectional track takes that same idea and but turns it into a very detailed and very good sort of track even for portions of a large layout. I always wondered why the idea of ballest and track combined went  away for decades. I like the fact that with very little detailing it looks better than I've ever been able to do with cork and ballast type roadbed.

  Thanks for this engine and I'm sure it'll be up to the great standard you've set for the Spectrum line. It's an engine that has always been popular with both B&O and other modelers and I hope you are very well rewarded with great sales of this engine. I will be doing my part by purchasing four and possibly even five. Why? Because they are my favorite articulated after the Y6b brutes and the money I had been saving to purchase a brass engine or two with will now go to these engines.

  All too often companies respond to what modelers say they want only to be greeted with nit pickers and naysayers. I wanted to be sure you know that at least some of us really appreciate it when a company makes the extra effort required to do something actually new rather than releasing yet another one of the most common models.

  Thank you again, Regards