Separately purchased N scale tenders

[railtwister]

Hi Mr. Bach-man,

Does the separately purchased N Scale Western Maryland USRA Medium tender (Bachmann item #89752) have a road number stenciled on it's rear wall like the tenders that come with the WM 2-8-0, or are they left blank in order to be more generic? If there IS a number stenciled on the rear wall, what number is it? I already have two factory decorated WM 2-8-0's with two different road numbers, plus a third NYC 2-8-0 that has a badly damaged tender that I would like to replace, but I need to know so I can decide whether to order a WM or an undecorated version.

Thanks,
Bill Nielsen

[brokemoto]

My Western Maryland tender does not have a number on it, anywhere.

I had planned to use mine to modify a Model Power pacific into a WM pacific, but I noticed that none of the photographs that I had seen of the last group of pacifics showed the fireball herald on the tender.  The freight power had it, or most of it did, but not the pacifics.

I wanted to use it to improve the electrical pick up and pulling power of the MP, as the MP tender utilises 1970s construction methods, while the B-mann has more up-to-date features such as needlepoint axles and all wheels live.  The MP features half wheels live and contact wipers, which create drag.  I have fitted SPECTRUM tenders to MP steam and have come up with some REAL winners.  The MP mogul benefits especially from the swapping of the stock tender for a SPECTRUM. 

I do not know that WM had any twentieth century moguls or eight wheelers, so those MPs may not be of much use, and it never operated mikados, but the MP pacific is just waiting for a few modifications to a looks-like..........  The SPECTRUM tender will be a serious improvement.

I am delighted that B-mann did these, and even gave  the switcher tenders an upgrade.  Swapping the stock B-personn tender for a SPECTRUM USRA switcher tender does wonders for  the Standard Line USRA 0-6-0.  It triples the pulling power, for one..........