Quote from: sandman8355 on July 02, 2018, 02:37:27 PM
Any secret to getting the smoke to work on  the U.S.R.A. 0-6-0 in HO gauge?

It is possible that the smoke unit is broken or not functioning properly. Generally though you need to run the locomotive at three quarters throttle to get it warmed up, and you probably need to maintain at least half throttle to maintain an appreciable amount of smoke, and less and the smoke you would get would be negligible to non-existent.
Basically though my only advice is to run it full speed and if that doesn't work it probably is broken or toggled off as mentioned by Yardmaster.
As an aside, one reason many are weary of using smoke is that you likely will have to clean the film/residue off the track frequently to maintain good conductivity.

These train sets were both offered at most Hobby Lobby stores at around the time Hobby Lobby opted to carry less model railroad items. Alternatively Hobby Lobby had the 50% off any one item coupon. So whether you got them with the coupon or on clearance they would have been most likely in the range of $20-$50.
I know I bought a Bachmann N scale set with a similar MSRP around that time from Hobby Lobby on clearance for $20, it was the one that included a UP 4-4-0 and 3 or 4 old-time passenger cars.

Some tourist railroads are in locations that formerly had turntable nearby or still have them but they don't belong to them or they don't have trackage rights or they don't own the property. Some also have wyes nearby or used to have wyes but again don't have trackage rights, or the track is discontinuous, or the track was pretty much abandoned and in disrepair, or the track was taken out completely.
At this point it is just too expensive or too difficult for one reason or another to turn their engines. Some tourist railroads will put the power on the other end by utilizing a passing siding, which is generally best case scenario these days.

Quote from: quark51 on June 25, 2018, 11:46:23 AM
How about releasing the GP30, GP38-2, and GG-1 in Conrail colors? If Bachmann does decide to do the GG-1 for Conrail I would like to see the bicentennial version.

Not sure if you realize this but there was only one Conrail GG-1 in any non-black livery, which was #4800, which was the one painted in the bicentennial colors and also in plain blue. When Conrail took over Penn Central, all the GG-1's were black. In 1976 Conrail repainted #4800 which was retired a few years later in 1979. Likely to minimize costs the only GG-1 to ever be painted Conrail blue was #4800. Below is a picture of what all the other Conrail GG-1's looked like:
This is #4800 in Conrail blue:And this is the 1976 livery:

Williams a subsidiary of Bachmann made this GG-1 in O scale


And Bachmann Spectrum made a Conrail GE E33 in HO scale

Quote from: rad400 on June 24, 2018, 03:35:08 PM
Is part shortages a common problem with Bachmann?

I am not sure how Williams operates, as they are sort of a separate entity from Bachmann. But for Bachmann's other product lines they basically get one supply of parts when a particular model is run, and then after that point when those run out, the only option is to scavenge. Most other companies operate their parts and repair departments similarly, so even if you took your business elsewhere you would run into the same problem. Very few if any companies any more have parts for a all of their models readily available at all times. Athearn/Horizon seems to be ok for parts but even they can be out of certain parts, especially those in high demand.

My advice is to check ebay, flea markets and train shows to scavenge for the parts you are seeking.

There is also this thing called mail, until recently that was often the only means of contacting customer service aside from in person:
Bachmann Customer Service
1400 East Erie Avenue
Philadelphia, PA 19124

Alternatively Fax a letter to 215-554-6734

Nearest Menards is 75 miles away (1 hr 22 min) and is also the furthest East location last I knew. I have not seen stuff in there myself but hear it is mostly carried during the holiday season.

Nearest Hobby Lobby is 33 minutes away, they carry 2 Bachmann HO train sets and 1 N scale and as mentioned previous very slim pickings. Hobby Lobby had a decent selection of mostly Bachmann products when they first opened.

The Nearest Hobbytown USA is 85 miles away (1 hr 43 min), there used to be one about 30 minutes away just down the road from Hobby Lobby but it went out of business 3 or 4 years ago. It had a better selection than Hobby Lobby ever had. They had Bowser and Accurail kits in addition to a lot of Bachmann stuff and some Athearn Genesis locomotives among other things.

There is a local hobby shop that used to carry some model train stuff but stopped carrying it about 15-20 years ago, they now only carry mainly RC stuff but absolutely no trains except around Christmas they carry 1 Bachmann HO and 1 Lionel O train set but no other related products. It is only 25 minutes away but doesn't matter since it has no model railroad stuff 11 months out of 12.

Another local hobby shop that had the largest selection in the area closed down 3 or 4 years ago after the owner died and cited the lack of ability to compete with mail order/online businesses.

Another local hobby shop used to be mostly model railroad stuff, now is mostly RC cars, boats, planes and model kits. The model railroad section is not being restocked but it not being reduced in price either. The current inventory includes American Flyer S scale, Lionel O scale, maybe a bit of Williams O scale stuff. They also have N scale but sold all remaining locomotives aside from some old train sets. There is a decent amount of HO stuff but only a couple locomotives and a trolley. This place is about 35 minutes away. The owner of the shop is in his 80's and going to retire this year and close if a buyer isn't found. He also will not order anything for you so there is no point in going there for me.

There is another shop that I heard has a pretty good selection for O scale mostly, that I haven't been to that is about an hour away. As far as I know it does not have much HO though.

And then any shops that may be in the Cleveland or Pittsburgh area are an hour and 45 minutes away.
I am not sure what is left in the Akron-Canton area but those would be an hour and 20 minutes away roughly. I think quite a few of the shops in this area are now closed from what I hear.

From the mid 90's and back there was a large amount of hobby shops with a large model railroad selection. Starting in the late 90's is when shops began to change their inventory and close down in my general area.

Train America was the closest hobby shop to me as a kid, those in O scale may recognize this name as he did quite a bit of aftermarket sound and digital control (TMCC etc) install for Lionel/O scale. All factory Lionel repairs were completed at a location about 5 minutes from my house for quite some time. The owner of Train America moved to North Carolina for his Lionel job and closed his shop and now a Dunkin Donuts and a plaza sit on top of the hobby shop's former location.

I would think that they might have some from the mid 2000's forward accessible in some capacity on the computer, but going back further than that is where it seems more unlikely, and it is possible that after they printed the catalogs for the year that they did not save the document in any computer accessible format, perhaps only saving one hard copy.
Someone can ring Bachmann or stop by Philly to ask...I suppose

Quote from: Radioguy on June 04, 2018, 04:14:26 AM
How can we find you the time?

As a civil engineer I get paid $45 an hour straight time, so if you want to pay me $45 an hour while I take off work to scan the documents for you...hahaha
In all seriousness, I am sorry friends, I am just too busy as I work about 70-80 hours per week. Good luck with the older catalogs.

Généralement, les pièces de rechange ne sont pas disponibles pour les locomotives à vapeur plus anciennes. Mon meilleur conseil est d'acheter une nouvelle locomotive si disponible à l'achat. Je suis désolé pour mon pauvre français; j'habite aux États-Unis. Bonne chance avec tes recherches.

I have some older catalogs but don't have the time to scan them in and upload them.

The Dynamis and Dynamis Ultima have what you are seeking. The EZ-Command controller only has 10 buttons.
MRC, Digitraxx and NCE also make a variety of DCC systems compatible with your Bachmann trains. Hornby and other English/European manufacturers may also be an option depending on what is stocked in New Zealand or Australia.

Depending on condition, it is worth about $20, best case scenario you might be able to get $30 if everything is sealed and unused.
Sets like this generally have more sentimental value than monetary value.

I sold my Hicken tender to Jonathan or someone else on here about 5 years ago but as best as I can recall, I think there are two little screws on the bottom (not the screws holding in the trucks or coupler). After that it should be pretty easy and straightforward.