Thanks! I noticed the weight issue, too.  I'm going to consult with the owner of the shop where I work and see what he says, too.

Just wanted to see if anyone else was having this problem.  I have 3 Acela locos (2 HHP-8s and an Acela Express).  All 3 seem to want to derail while traveling through one of my crossovers. It's an EZ track crossover to make matters worse.  Sometimes the cars will derail, too, but just the Acela Express cars. The Amfleet cars are fine.  I tested other locos and it's just the Acela ones that don't like my crossover.  Any suggestions?

Keith

Thanks for the advice. I emailed the service department and they're sending me the short drawbar for the second loco.

Keith

Thanks Jonathan.  In the plastic package with the couplers is a piece of paper with two diagrams. It says short drawbar between loco & coach and long between coaches. Maybe I'm misinterpreting it.  Thanks for replying.  Keith

I recently purchased the HO Acela train set. However, only one of the locomotives had the short drawbar attached. I found some other drawbars in plastic bags with the cars, but they are the long ones. I've also purchased some Acela cars separately, but they also only come with the long drawbars.  I looked in the Order Parts section on the Bachmann website, but the only drawbar I found was the long one.  Where can I find a short one to attach my second loco to the other end of the train? I'll use a long one if necessary, but would prefer the short one if I can find one.  Thanks!!

The decoder is actually a replacement board and you solder the 6 wires from the locomotive onto it.  There's a black and red one from the front truck, another black and another red one from the rear truck, and a green one and an orange one.  I think those are from the motor.  I'll try reversing them and seeing if that does the trick.  Thanks for your suggestions!
Keith

Which ones might those be?  Keith

A friend just installed an NCE decoder in my Bachmann SD40-2.  Now the locomotive runs backwards when I put it in forward and forward when I put it in reverse.  The lights are OK, though.  Which wires do I need to reverse?  Keith

I recently bought a Bachmann crane and floodlight car off Ebay.  It has the older truck-mounted horn-hook couplers on it.  I'd like to replace them with Kadees or something similar.  Kadee's conversion chart says a #27 but has a question mark beside it indicating they're unsure.  Any recommendations?

Thanks, Keith

Yes, it's always a good idea to check with the boss ahead of time.  Those curves are available at most hobby shops.  You can also order them directly from Bachmann, but it would be cheaper to get them through a hobby shop.  You don't have to pay ridiculous shipping charges that way!

Keith

I think mine was the post you were talking about.  I used a 1/3 18" radius curve with a #6 turnout to bring the passing siding back to parallel.  Hope this helps

Keith

Thanks to everyone for their input! I got a 12 degree piece of 31.25 radius curve and used a straight edge to determine where the piece became parallel to the main line and cut it there.  I just need to sand it down to smooth the cut over and then I plan to glue a straight piece to it and solder the rails to complete the connection electrically.  Hopefully, that'll work.  If not, I guess its back to the drawing board.  Has Bachmann ever considered making a piece like that and including it with the turnout like Atlas and Kato do?

I'm using an EZ track #6 turnout to create a siding for my passenger train.  I would like the siding to be parallel to the mainline, but in order to do so, I need a 10 degree curve.  Kato makes one for their Unitrak.  What could I do to make the Unitrak and the EZ track "work and play well" together? Would it be simpler to use a piece of flex track for this purpose?