Quote from: tlnibert on October 27, 2009, 10:46:00 AM
It would be great if Bachmann started selling outdoor track.
Tom

There are already many manufacturers of track -
Aristo
USAT
Piko
LGB
Accucraft/AMS
Train-Li
Llagas Creek
Sunset Valley
Peco
etc.

I think they are wise to not stretch themselves into a new product line given the state of the global economy.

-Brian

I'm not sure what the plating is exactly (maybe tin) but they are hollow steel and will rust out if left outdoors in the weather.

-Brian

My forney is 1/24 scale with a Bachmann porter drive topped with a Delton C-16 frame, boiler, steam chest and cab. Styrene, ABS, and lots of parts from Ozark and other places finish it up. Total cost of less than $120.

Some pics -










-Brian

Here's that thread - http://www.mylargescale.com/Community/Forums/tabid/56/afv/topic/aff/9/aft/112734/Default.aspx
It must be smaller scale at the price mentioned     .

-Brian

These work well - http://www.ozarkminiatures.com/Scripts/prodView.asp?idproduct=121

-Brian

You can't tell which is which in that consist because they are all the same size. There's a Big Hauler, an AristoClassic car, a LGB car and two USAT steel boxcars (American series 36' cars). All the 36' cars - woodside, outside braced and sim.steel box cars and reefers are the same size as Big Hauler cars and mix well in narrow gauge or standard gauge consists.

btw - that was a layout pic from a  couple of years ago, very early spring. It looks a bit different now -



-Brian

Yup, its one of Charlie's USAT cars. They are the well built and the same size as big hauler cars but a bit heavier.



-Brian

Mark,

Are these the Aristo wide radius switches? If so, the problem may have to do with the shallow frogs on these. Deep flanged wheels tend to ride up on the frog and can disrupt contact with the rail. There are two solutions -
Aristo makes a replacement frog available for $1/each - http://www.aristocraft.com/vbulletinforums/showthread.php?t=14684
or the frog can be ground down with a thin file or a thin cutting bit on a dremel too. I have close to 20 of these and ground down all the frogs on mine before installing them. Use a deep flanged wheel set as a depth guide.

This is the type of dremel bit (#9901) I use -



-Brian

Yes, it should not be an issue. Both power supplies are straight DC power.
Issues can sometimes occur when running DCC/sound chipped locos with a power supply that has pulse width modulation (like some Aristo units). Though I have run a few chipped LGB locos (including my New Orleans streetcar) on my layout with a PWM power supply without a problem.

-Brian

Dave,

First you need to upload your pics to an online server service. There are many free ones like flickr.com or photobucket.com (the one I use).

After that just post the link for the pic here with image tags (there is a tiny picture button above under the italics button that will do that.

It will look like this without the *'s

[*IMG]http://i113.photobucket.com/albums/n214/altterrain/7-8n2%20projects/7-8s%20layout/july09/layout4-1.jpg[/IMG*]

for this -



-Brian

The Bachmann Connie (based on a Mexican Railway 30 inch gauge 2-8-0) has been out for several years -



You might be thinking of the Aristo standard gauge 1/29 model (based on a B&O engine) that has been in the works for a while (pic from the Spring ECLSTS) -



-Brian

There are a couple of manufacturers (BuddyL, Keystone, etc.) making clones of Bachmann Big Hauler cars. It is likely from one of those sets.

-Brian

Maybe. I have had my issues with them and no longer deal with them.

-Brian

When I picked up a pair of shay trucks for a kitbash project, one truck had white grease on the gears and the other had thick gear lube on it. Go figure!
Pick up a set of Woodland Scenics Hob-E-Lubes. It has 2 dry, 3 viscosities of oil and two greases. Everything you might need and all plastic safe.



-Brian

I don't think Bachmann started making Big Haulers until the late 80's, so it can't be much older than 20 or so.
All the Big Haulers are pretty much the same except for drive train upgrades to the locos over the years (and cosmetic upgrades to the Anniversary, "Annie" locos).
You can look at the bottom of the loco and compare it here for which of the five generations of drive train it might be - http://www.girr.org/girr/tips/tips1/big_hauler_tips.html#gears
The track is only good for indoor use and the power supply is on the feeble side.
The sound is simple huff-n-chuff and is better than nothing.
The early cars used a 9 volt battery for the lights.
The smoke unit will work at higher speeds (voltages) and will burn out if left on when empty.
The loco is a prime candidate for a Barry Big Trains heavy duty drive train upgrade if you wanted to use it in a garden railway.

-Brian