The Bach-man Builds A Layout.

Follow this link:

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/gallery/album13/acr

I saw it in person at the recent show in Fort Worth. Very nicely done!

My issue, and perhaps it is the same for Joe, is that I can't get the boiler off. After removing the front truck and the all the screws on the underside, you can slip the angled handrails out of the boiler near the smokebox, but the boiler doesn't budge. It is like there is a screw down inside the smokestack OR some hidden plastic tab that holds the boiler firmly in place. The exploded parts diagram doesn't show a screw like that, but I'm not sure what else could be holding so firmly in place unless it as actually glued or something. I like the locos way too much to try to force them apart and possibly break them. (I have 4 of them and like Joe, would like to perform a bit of maintenance and maybe convert them to DCC so I can use them on the same layout as the rest of my roster)

Looks to me like a Baldwin 2-8-0 Consolidation. I could be convinced that I am mistaken however.

Thanks for the link RX! Good stuff. I'll bookmark the link and PDF the doc.

I'd like to see them go further and list practical and absolute maximum grades as well. I can start the ball rolling with the Rail Bus....Absolute maximum - dead flat. Practical maximum - well it works best going downhill. 

Has anyone obtained the new 2-4-4-2 loco and have any opinion on minimum radius they might negotiate?

I have used it in Christmas villages. It works well in conjunction with the Bachmann Street Car sets. (I happen to have the older On30 sets) I would recommend it for that use and have no complaints with the track. Had a hard time locating enough extra pieces at first but between two different hobby shops and an online order we came up with enough for the village that year. (It was rather large)

VCS carries a small selection:

http://www.vcshobbies.com/product.php?productid=19466&cat=470&page=1


Special Shapes carries a wider variety:

http://www.specialshapes.com/brassshapes.html

Have not personally seen any from K & S, but plenty of the brass and aluminum tubing (round and square), brass bars, sheet stock and rods.

Is it an older model or a newer model? The older sets (with red brick barns) had the capability to adjust the stop time, but do not have an adjustable speed. The newer sets have adjustable speed, but you cannot adjust the stop time.

First set, a 1971, 6 unit, HO Tyco Set from Sears. Burlington Northern. It didn't run Christmas day and had to be exchanged. I still have the complete replacement set to this day and it still runs. My next door neighbor had an AHM set and I ended up with some of the cars from his set. I still have those as well. Good times... Alas, all of the HO stuff now resides in a storage cabinet since On30 fever took me several years ago.

I agree with the others. The Dynamis will NOT run a DC loco, but the E-Z Command will. (I have both) I did not like the way the E-Z Command ran a DC loco however. The buzzing sound from the frequency of the power on the rail just didn't seem healthy for the loco. I therefore would not recommend running a DC loco on the E-Z Command system even though you technically "can". Your results and thoughts may vary.

I would just add that another bonus of DCC operation is the smooth, slow running that is possible with DCC. Much better that even a high end DC throttle in my opinion.

I have also had this problem with the On30 trolleys. (I have owned three of them for about 8 years now with problems beginning about year two) What I did was to disassemble them, clear and pick away any debris like hair, fibers, etc. Then use a pencil eraser on the wheels, then clean everything in the drive mechanism thoroughly with cotton swabs dipped in denatured alcohol. I found that the gear lube as it comes from the factory can seem to dry out and get hard. So I clean this and all other lubricants and dirt out of there. I then use a little bit of two different lightweight oils on the moving parts with a slightly heavier oil on the gears. Specifically I use the Hob-E-Lube from Woodland Scenics. I use Ultra Light oil on the motor armature bearings, Lite Oil on all other parts except the gears where I use the Gear Lube. Re-assemble and they run like new, perhaps better. The Woodland Scenics lubes are my personal preference, but there are others out there. The IMPORTANT thing is to choose lubricants that are compatible with plastic. (As an FYI to any beginners, this rules out things like WD-40, 3 in 1 oil, many spray silicones, etc.) Ask your local hobby shop for plastic compatible lubricants if in doubt.

I know that this may sound like overkill and perhaps even a daunting task to some, but it worked well for me and I now just do this once a season as a matter of normal maintenance on them. Disassembly of these trolleys isn't that difficult. If in doubt, there are exploded schematic drawings of the trolleys right here on this website. Best of luck.

"We are still waiting for that Heisler."

Amen, brother. Amen.

The manual is right here on this website and is your best place to start.

Also, Bachmann UK has a 4 or 5 part video on YouTube, starting with this one:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iqW8J6ecoyk&sns=em

I can't imagine you would need anything beyond those two resources.

Hi! The turntable will work with the Pacific Flyer set you have. The fact that it is DCC ready just means that if your son decides to get into DCC train control, it will accommodate DCC when he is ready. You will want to consider extra track for adding a turntable, but I'm sure your boy already has a track plan in mind.  Welcome to the hobby!

As far as I know, the only way you can add receivers is WITH the Pro Box.