Hi,everybody. As you know I am new to the On30 segment of model railroading. I have been looking for cars to add to my 2 locomotives. The problem is that they are so expensive ,and also there's not all that much to choose from when it comes to road names. I do all my hobby shopping online on sites like Ebay,Amazon,TrainWorld, etc
.
DCC On30 Locomotives can be found for good prices, but the rolling stock to go with them is expensive.
Boxcars for $40.00 plus shipping.
Cabooses  for anywhere between $38.00 to over $50-$100.00,or more.
It's just ridiculous.
Even G Scale rolling stock often doesn't go for that much.Unless, of course, it's a rare,hard to find car.
I've never paid more that $50.00 for any G Scale car,passenger,or freight car (with one very rare and exceptional caboose,that is).
I've even managed to pick up Big Hauler 4-6-0 locomotives on Ebay within the last year for less than what most of these On30 cars sell for!
So, what's up with the high prices for On30?

It's just the wheel flanges as it doesn't do in on the straights. Only the curves. Kind of annoying, but I guess that if it's only the flanges causing the squealing then everything is fine. Just kind of n annoying sound.
Thanks

Hi,all. I have a problem with my 4-6-0. It's squealing when it goes around the curves. It started doing this on the 18 inch radius curves, so I bought a set of 22 inch radius curves in an attempt to stop the squeal.
Well,it's still squealing on the curves.
So, what's going on? Is the radius still too small? Or is there a problem with this locomotive? I already tried lubing and cleaning it ,but nothing changed.
Do any of you know what's going on?
Also, I'm concerned about the little plug wires possibly breaking when I unplug them. I found a 4-6-0 locomotive set up on Ebay. Do you know if the plugs for the HO scale 4-6-0 will fit the On30 model?
Thanks!

Ok. After much thought and taking all the advice that I have received for a sound system for my Bachmann On30 4-6-0 locomotive into consideration, I have settled upon an MRC Loco Genie heavy steam sound DCC sound system with remote. It's not perfect, but it's not too bad either.

I can still upgrade the loco to the much better TCS Wow V4 at a later date,should I choose to do so. But for now, this will do.

I found a great deal for it online. It retails for $79.99 , but I found it for only $37.86, plus $5.65 shipping, for a total price of $43.51. Not a bad deal. And the sound is actually better than I expected it to be,but most certainly not on a par with Soundtraxx,or the TCS Wow V.4.

But for less than $45.00 total, I'm very satisfied with the sound quality.

I thank everyone who offered their advise on this issue. This is the system that was,of course, suggested by  JBPRO_TX on this forum, and I found it to be the most affordable, and practical way, to get a sound system for this loco.

Thank you all.

Quote from: JBPRO_TX on February 06, 2020, 11:32:44 AM
RailMan63, glad to hear that you are moving forward with adding sound to your On30 4-6-0. You would definitely enjoy the loco more with sound. As for what Trainman203 shared, I do agree with him. No doubt the MRC decoder with sound is not at the level of a SoundTraxx or TSC decoder with sound. Or as RailMan63 referenced, a TCS Wow V4 Sound unit. However, as I mentioned in my prior post, the MRC decoder with sound satisfied my needs for adding a sound unit to my On30 4-6-0 which for me added an extra level of enjoyment than just being able to control speed, directions and lights. As for adding a 21 pin unit to a unit with an 8 pin connector, there are drop in PCB boards that will convert from 8 to 21. But once gain, the MRC currently met my needs and it was a remove and replace unit. Plus now I do have an extra decoder that I removed from the On30 4-6-0 that I could use that will give me speed, direction and lighting control. RailMan63, if you are interested I could provide you with a picture of how I have the MRC decoder with speaker installed in my Bachmann #28805.

That could be helpful. Please PM it to me through this sites message system ,or post it.
I appreciate any input and help that you can provide me with this ongoing project.
Thank you!

Of course, you're right. I've been around quite a few real steam locomotives over the years, and I'm not expecting too much from this unit,which has a full retail price of $79.99 with remote . Right now, the website that I bought it from is selling these units for $37.98, more than 50% off MSP. I'm pretty certain that the sound will be very inferior to the Soundtraxx ,or other brand sound boards. Although,the diesel unit sounded pretty decent, I couldn't find any steam sound files from MRC. Bummer.
So, I decided to start with this unit,see how I like it, and if not, there's always the Soundtraxx units later on. This will get me started with sound in my Bachmann 4-6-0 for now.
I can always resell the unit on Ebay.
I also watched a video of a similar Bachmann 4-6-0 with a Soundtraxx sound unit installed in the tender last night,right before deciding to purchase the MRC Loco Genie. That unit sounded pretty great as compared to my other trains that are equipped with Soundtraxx sound units.
Video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qYOsALeHOk

The one sound system that really blew me away was the TCS Wow V4 Sound unit.
Video here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UbWBhZc63hc

That is an amazing unit at the price of around $100.00,and as one commenter observed, it sounds very realistic. But,as it is a 21 pin unit, it is not compatible with the current set up in my particular locomotive,which has an 8 pin connector. Perhaps it could be modified, but that is beyond my ability, and I would have to send it out for a professional install. And, unfortunately, I cannot afford that option at this time.
There's absolutely no doubt that this Loco Genie is going to be an inferior product,but it is cheap, and easy to install as compared to those other units.Almost plug and play.   
And right now, it's exactly what I need, and can afford ,until I can replace it with a better sound system.
Other than that, I totally agree with you.
Thank you.

I changed my mind and decided to try the Loco Genie. It was less than half the price of the SoundTraxx unit, and looks like it is easier to install in my loco's tender since there is far less wiring involved.
I found another video on youtube of the diesel version, and the sound of the system ,properly installed in the loco, was actually pretty fair. I ,of course,bought the heavy steam version,so I'll see how I like it after it's installed in my 4-6-0.
I feel that you can't go very wrong at the price point of less than $44.00 for the Loco Genie versus $100.00 plus for the Soundtraxx unit. So,it's  worth a try at the very least.
And I can always resell it on Ebay if I don't like it, or decide to upgrade to something better later on.

Thank you both. I would really like to put either a Soundtraxx,,or maybe even a Phoenix, system in this. I have a Phoenix Big Sound 96/97 in one of my Spectrum G Scale locomotives , and the sound is very realistic. I also have 2 G Scale locomotives from another company,. They both feature Soundtraxx sound systems, and the full sound on those is excellent to. I'm not really looking for a basic system like the one you described. I was watching a Youtube video of that system installed in diesel locomotives, and those didn't sound anything like the real thing.
I've decided to keep looking for a suitable system from either Soundtralxx,Phoenix, or maybe even Sierra sound for this little beauty.
After all, it's worth spending the extra money if you really love your hobby.
Thanks again!

Found one. But are the chugging sounds synchronized to the speed of the locomotive?

Thanks guys! Sounds really confusing now. So, what do I need to buy brand, and type wise to get sound in this loco? Will a Soundtraxx system work, or should I look for something different.
Thanks again!

Thought about that. I finally used a fingernail for one ,and a small flat blade screwdriver for the other. Worked,but I'll try the pliers next to see if they do any better.
I called Bachmann about the sound issue. Talked to James,one of their techs. He said that the sound decoder will replace the current board , and that I'll have to un-solder the 8 pin plug from the current board and then re-solder it to the new one.
He says that Bachmann will not be offering any more sound solutions on their website.And since they're sold out of the one for this model, I will have to buy the sound system directly from Soundtraxx for this baby.
On another note,I've decided to leave it lettered as-is. I'll buy some log cars and a suitable logging caboose for it later. Interestingly, I researched the road name ,Greenbrier & Big Run Lumber Co.,and came up with nothing.The only thing I found that was even somewhat similar was this article on Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/St._Lawrence_Boom_and_Lumber_Company
Interesting,eh?

My new 10 wheeler arrived on Tuesday. I finally unboxed ,and ran it a little bit early this morning. I removed the tender body to inspect the DCC board. It has an 8 pin plug that is soldered onto a larger motherboard for the DCC system.
I found the sound board on the Bachmann parts site.
https://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=698&products_id=10467&zenid=op5mpgsmr0upvgjjvnndvh9fq4
It is currently sold out. I'm a little bit confused on how I would install the sound board in the tender. Do I have to remove the existing board and un-solder the 8 pin plug from it, and then re-solder the 8 pin plug to the sound board, or??
I'm new to this DCC thing, so any help (such as through installation instructions) would be a great help as the instructions on the Bachmann parts site leave much to be desired.
On another note, this is a generally well built locomotive. I really like all of the mods that came with it. The slow speed operation is smooth forwards and backwards.
It is very well detailed. More so than the Anniversary edition Big Hauler in some ways.
I am over all very pleased with it. My only gripe is that the two tender plugs are in an awkward place,and are somewhat difficult to remove,which makes me worried that the wires may tear out of them during removal from the sockets.
Any suggestions as to how to safely remove these pins without damaging them?
And what is the packet of brown powder for?
Thanks guys!

Never mind. I found the problem. It was a bent down contact on top of the motor frame. It had gotten bent down too far to make proper contact with the circuit board where the wiring for the headlight goes during the last rebuild after I finished painting the model.
Once I figured that out ,it was a simple matter of bending up both contacts to make a better connection with the circuit board.
Now it's running perfectly again.
Thanks!

I bought a complete Hawthorne Village 2-6-0 locomotive,and tender to use as a donor to rebuild the #135. I got it for a good price.I combined both of them to produce a beautiful ,complete model that is black, with silver caps on the steam chest, white trim(think the #22 Colorado & Southern),and brass railings.
I also repainted the new tender, as the one that came with the #135 was missing a step.These On30 tenders are kind of hard to find with all 4 tender steps on them!

That's pretty great and interesting information. I do know that this new Bachmann  4-6-0 doesn't look much like the T-12 class locomotives ran by the D&RG. Unfortunately.
So,it will have to stand in for one,at best.
I've noticed that there's not a lot of reality in these Bachmann 4-6-0 locomotives. No matter which scale, or road name is represented, it seems that,when one does research, and looks at photos of the historic locomotives that these Bachmann'S are supposed to represent, the real thing varies greatly in physical  appearance from the model.
It's too bad that Bachmann primarily models their 4-6-0 loco after the ET&WNC 4-6-0 locomotive.You would think that they could have picked a more common 4-6-0 to base their model loco on.At least, it's very pretty!
This seems to be a common theme with many model locomotives from most manufacturers. I've seen some model locomotives  bearing some really fanciful numbers , and wheel configurations that never existed on the road names that they are supposed to represent.
Oh,well, what can be done but model your favorite lines as best as you can with what's commercially available?
Kit bash 'em whenever possible, which is something that I've seen with the G Scale 4-6-0, but is something that I am incapable of.
Sadly.