Hi. I've just come upon  this thread and would you believe it, I have just yesterday been given a very old Bachmann loco from my brother in law to fix with what appeared to be the same problem you're encountering. First off, it only has one power truck at one end and a free wheeling truck for power pick up at the other. The powered truck does not (in this case) pick up power. The motor sits above the truck and is what I would call from my slot car days a side winder,armature across the frame. To try and get this beast to run I first did a circuit test and found that the black wire onto the pickup truck was broken, fixed that,cleaned the wheels, lubed it and got it going and what a noise. Tracked it down to a lot of use in the past and not too much future to look forward to. I don't presume you can buy gears or parts for it so I'll just park it back at his place.Cheers Rob.

Hi all. Thanks for all the info and how quick you all were also. I especially want to thank Jim because he hit the nail on the head. The reason I want to change the wheel sets was exactly what he said, rolllng resistance and it appears that a reaming tool may just do the trick, I'll give it a shot. Thanks to all once again, if I can't get one here I can send for it. it only takes a few days. Cheers from over here, Rob.

Hi all. Can someone give me a heads up on replacement wheels for my rolling stock. I have a lot of well detailed and weathered older box cars (mostly Athearn) which came from a friend as he changed eras. The problem is that they still have the original plastic/delrin wheels and I wish to bring them up to scratch with steel ones. Needless to say I will need quite a few axle sets and I have try and find the best quantity for dollars and to be concious of this part of my budget (a new 2-6-6-2 is also in the budget somewhere). Thanks for any help, it will be appreciated. Cheers from over here. Rob. 

HI all. Sorry to come onto this thread so late but I also had trouble with my 2-6-6-2 with, among other faults, a similar problem that Lee seems to be having. Some of you may recall that I found the fault in the worm drive on the front drive set where the driven knuckle wasn't tight on the shaft and gave erratic drive to the front drive wheels. I only found this out by stalling the loco under load and holding onto the coupling until I had wheelspin. That is when it showed up because only the rears were driving under load, the fronts just stayed still. Once it was fixed,not an easy job but time and patience, the loco performed smoothly and a lot of the slack was gone from the drivers. The new one looks great and as I model a ficticous R.R. I will just have to have one. Hope this may be of some help. Cheers from over here, Rob. NZ

 Hi all from over here. I am thinking very seriously of changing from HO to 0n30 but need a bit of advice regarding track. As most modelers in HO I use code 100 but what would be the most appropriate in 0n30. My idea is to model a small coal and timber line with a bit of passenger traffic set sometime in the 1930's or so. I don't want to go to the expense of dedicated 0n30 track just to get the correct tie spacing as most of them would be partially or wholey buried anyway. My thoughts are more to removing every second tie (a test on an old piece of track looked ok) although switches (points) could pose a problem. What about rail code? Should I go code 100 or 83? Sorry I'm so long winded but I just need a bit of advice before the plunge. Cheers Rob

Hey all. That seemed to get some of you going a bit. I do agree with the comment that it would send the rivet counters nuts and, well, it certainly is different. Lindsay, I'm in Auckland on the north shore. Cheers Rob.

Hi guys. Just a quick note from over here in Kiwiland. Although as yet I'm not an On30 modeler,but I may make the change soon, I have come across something which may interest you for sale over here. I don't know how to add a link on to a post so I'll give you the directions so you can check out this amazing model yourself. By the way, I don't know the person selling this. Go onto,
WWW.trademe.co.nz and then click onto> toys and models>models>railway>locomotives and about half way down page one you'll find it. Hope you like it. Cheers Rob. Modeling over there over here.

Great thread as I have often wondered about what size layouts others have. For myself I have a 4'x8' layout with the track laid in a folded over figure 8 with of couple of passing tracks and three sidings (spurs?).Because one track rises up over the other I kept the approach and descent as long as possible and it's not too bad. It's enough to keep me going and entertained for the moment but I'm also negotiating future trackage rights for a much larger piece of real estate, a double garage. Loco power on the present layout is restricted to 4 axle diesels and 40' rolling stock. All my larger diesels and steamers are boxed away just waiting.  Still using DC double controller and block wiring. That's it from over here, happy modeling. Rob. 

  Afternoon  all, well it is over here at the moment. Thanks to all of you who replied to my post regarding electrio-magnetic uncouplers. I will be following up on all the advice and see where it gets me and which way I'll go. I do like the one with the sliding magnet in a plastic tube, I must tell you it's really got me thinking.
The only reason I want to do this is because I'm lazy and although my layout is only 8'x4' there are some areas which will be on the other side or between buildings where I wish to drop cars without me moving.
  Sorry to have been so long in replying but I'm on holiday at the moment and it's lovely at the beach this time of year. Happy modeling and thanks once again. Rob.   

  G'day everyone. Haven't been on for a while as I've been away working (I'm a tour driver/guide) so I can earn money so I can afford to play trains. Any way now I'm home for a while (three weeks holiday) I want to get on with something I've been thinking about for a while now and that is making my own under track electro-magnetic uncouplers. I want to make quite a few of these and as I enjoy making stuff I thought that I'd give it a go. Has anyone else had a crack at making these or does anyone know of a book or site I could go to get some info.
   When I figure out how to put photos on this site and I get my turntable finished I'll put it up for you all to see. Home made 18" with full indexing and automatic selected track stop.Anyway, thanks for any info in advance. Cheers, Rob the Kiwi.

  Good morning all (well it is over here anyway). Recently two items came into my possession which both carry a brand name I have not seen before. The first is an SD 40-2 made by "North American Diesel Locomotive Works" factory painted in SP colours. It is new, such as it hasn't been used although it was purchased some years ago. The chassis and drive appear almost to be Athearn and it has lots of detail parts to be fitted. I simply want to know more about it as it doesn't fit into my era as I will then on sell it but I would also like to know where they sat in value compared to Athearn, Atlas, and Bachman.
 The second item was a 50' box car also in SP by E & C shops with a build date, as best as I can make out, of 4-82. Also brand new and a good looking kit with lots of detail pieces but the brand is another which I have never seen.  Hope some one can help. Cheers  Rob.  

Gentlemen, and any ladies present. Although On30 is not my modeling scale (although it's gaining ground) I must say I loved that outline of the 2-4-4-2. Now to the main issue of the post. Over here in NZ not too far from where I live there is one of those locos, or something very similar, and even though it is put away at the moment awaiting a boiler rebuild I will try and get a photo for you the next time I visit. Unfortunately it's not 30" but 3'6" but pretty close. If memory serves, and the older you get the more shaky that becomes, I think the one over here was built by Baldwin in 1926. Cheers Rob in NZ.

Lovely work. A real credit to you. Cheers Rob in NZ.

Hey Guys. I cannot thank you enough for all the great info you put up for me. This surely must be the best hobby,supported by the best people you can get. Thanks from over here modeling over there. Cheers Rob.

Hi there every body. My new layout is taking shape, a mighty empire, all 4' x 8' of it. What I want to know is this. I have seen Northern, Southern and Union Pacific but was there a Central Pacific or Pacific Central.
Thanks in advance for any info, Rob in NZ.