someone asked me....

[botangles]

A friend of mine is thinking of buying a new generation 6 Big Hauler "Annie" set for Christmas and asked me a simple question which I had no answer for as I've only had my Big Hauler for a few months. The question was " how many hours running time can I expect to get out of this engine ". I said I'll ask the Bachmann forum as the members have been running these engines for years. So, if you can help him ( and me ) how many running hours on average can we expect ( when the engine is well cared for and maintained ) to get from a Big Hauler? Thanks.

[armorsmith]

That is not an answer that is easily quantified.  There are many variables which will affect how long a particular engine will perform.  I would only offer that the new generation 6 chassis should far outlast any of the predecessors based solely on the fact that the entire gear train is metal, no plastic.  Also, since they are just now reaching the market, there is no history to refer to.  That being said, there are a good number of people here on this board that report hundreds of hours, while others have had significantly less.  I have an older gen 3 I purchased on eBay that shows some wear on the gear train but still runs good.  Personally, I would have no reservations about purchasing the new gen 6 set (if I were in the market).

Bob C.

[scottychaos]

That is not an answer that is easily quantified.  There are many variables which will affect how long a particular engine will perform.  I would only offer that the new generation 6 chassis should far outlast any of the predecessors based solely on the fact that the entire gear train is metal, no plastic. 

Im pretty sure he is referring to the "true" annie..the Generation 6 Big Hauler..since that is the one most likely to be for sale in a set at this moment..the newest Gen 7 Big Haulers aren't available yet, and probably wont be before Christmas..

But either way, any "current" Big Hauler is a quite robust machine..no one can really say for sure how long they will last though..because owner care and maintenance is a major factor..but overall, they are an excellent locomotive..
treat an annie well, and she will run for a long time..

Scot

[NarrowMinded]

I have a bachmann 4-6-0 pulling 3 cars and a caboose that runs every Christmas 6 to 12 hrs a day from mid November to January 2nd every year for the last 6 years without issue and I bought it used, the newer generations are have a better drive train.

Nm-Jeff

[botangles]

I was referring to the ones for sale now the Gen. 6, fairly good deals for these sets right now. I realize the Gen. 7 coming out later have all metal drives and weighted front wheels, but the startup price could be considerably higher for awhile.

[Loco Bill Canelos]

The big Hauker sets made after 2000 have the vesion 5 chassis which is   the same as in the original Annie which also has the version 5 chassis.  While no one can say what the running time might be, it can reasonably be expected to be the same for either,  The gears, the motor the driving wheels are exactly the same. In tests I have done both draw the same current after being broken in, as would be expected since they have the same Version 5 chassis. 

The new Annie with the metal gear so far has not been checked out thoroughly only one person has reported observing one and reports that here is no  way  to identify the the chassis and that it looks the same as the chassis on the Version 5 Annie.  The identifying features are also the same on the version 5 chassis in the Big hauler.  He reports that the version 6 Annie with the metal gear can only be identified by the differences in the lead truck.

Bottom line the version 5 chassis in either the Annie or the Big Hauler should perform equally well.