Bachmann Ryan Thread

[Red Tender 5]

Great review, Chaz.

I will share my thoughts about Ryan's DCC installation potential. I performed the DCC conversion on Chaz's model so it could run on the club layout and I supplied the wagons. For some background on what I consider a full installation, check out my post regarding my DCC Thomas & Friends.

For those curious, I used a Hattons decoder and connected the wheel and motor wires to the back of the 8 pin plug since it was only a temporary install. We thought Ryan was going to have an 8 pin receptacle but it did not. Queue scrambling to find literally any solder in the building before yoloing it with a crusty ancient iron that worked just fine.

There were three major takeaways from inspecting the model:

1. There is great potential for ballasting Ryan and making him an even greater puller. The relatively thin gearbox leaves a lot of room for ballast in the side tanks. The cab can also fit a great deal of ballast, and it's not too bar back that it might upset the balance of the loco. Overall, 10/10 in terms of potential pulling power.

Ryan tackled the steepest grade on the layout with 10 wagons and didn't break a sweat. Is adding more weight even necessary? I would never pass up the opportunity to maximize the train length an engine can pull, so for me personally, empty spots in the model must be filled.

2. The screw post to connect the shell to the chassis block is a headscratcher. There is a standoff in the dead center of the bunker going all the way to the floor that the screw attaches to. To access the inside, the 6 runningboard screws and one rear chassis screw have to be undone, which seems somewhat excessive. I'm sure Bachmann had a good reason for doing it this way, but I can't figure out what that reason is. That said, I am glad that Bachmann made a hole in the trailing truck frame to easily access the 7th screw.

Were I to own a Ryan, I would cut the standoff and have the screw thread into a piece of plastic glued to the runningboard. With this modification, the runningboard can stay secured to the chassis block while the shell only requires unscrewing 6 screws.

3. The cab is perfect for a speaker. Normally I would use a speaker baffle inside the shell, but with the cab having such a large flat surface, I would consider cutting a hole or drilling holes for sound to escape there, and use the entire loco shell as a baffle.

Another thing I want to investigate is the possibility of disassembling Ryan without removing the face. I found that rocking the shell back and forth a bit once all the screws were out would loosen the face and then the shell could come all the way off. I've modified Thomas and James to disassemble easier, I am wondering if Ryan could have the same.

[Coaltronn]

what's your steepest grade red tender 5?