One thing to plan for; most inkjet printers use inks that assume a white background (i.e. printer paper)  Unless you have an Alps printer; that has white, opaque ink, your decals won't look very good on anything that isn't white.  I ran into that once with t-shirt transfer paper images on colored t-shirts.

John

Hi Peter,
Check your PM inbox...

Hi Ken,
Interesting association.  I saw the 4449 in Sacramento in it's original colors at Railfair '91.  A beautiful engine.  I can't tell from your description where the neon sign would have been used (Inside one of the cars? Outside as a "drumhead" on the rear of the train?) but you might find some information here:

http://www.freedomtrain.org

Let us know!
John

Hi Peter,
It's pretty easy to do, you just have to be careful to match the polarity of the wires when you solder them to the wires from your original trucks (two on each truck) so they aren't cross wired.  The instructions that come with the trucks will guide you through the process.  If you are interested in "getting rid of" the original trucks for parts, let me know.

John

Hi Peter,
Are you sure you don't mean 81198?  That is the P/N for a first run, 36 ton Shay, which unfortunately can experience the symptoms you describe.  A 91198 is a 2-4-2, which wouldn't suggest itself to the same set of symptoms.  If it is the Shay, you don't have any easy/cheap fixes.  The easiest fix would be to replace your power trucks with the 88999 die cast power truck kit.  Unfortunately there not inexpensive, but they are pretty solid.  I know that there are aftermarket replacement gears, but those aren't cheap either, and you may find a crumbly can of worms as you disassemble your original trucks, unless you are really lucky.  The other thing to check is that the early Shay's had a few issues with staying at the proper wheel gauge (back to back distance between the wheels, as measured from inside edge to inside edge).  It should be close to 1.575".  There was a "washer kit" to correct that, and help support the plastic wheel bushings.  I needed to recreate mine, as the kit is no longer available, and there isn't much in the way of documentation available.

Good luck,
John

I have three of the two truck 36 ton Shays, one of the original run, and two of the second run.  Your symptoms sound like you could have the dreaded "split drive gears".  If you can hear the electric motors spinning, but your loco isn't moving, try taking off the bottom plates from the trucks and closely inspect the (usually) black plastic gear on the axle connected to the drive wheels.  Look for a split (axle to outer diameter).  If that's your problem, you're kinda' hosed.  While you have some options, none of them are particularly cheap.

Wishing you better luck than I,
John

QuoteAs hobbyists ourselves, we can easily understand that..if we walk into a train store, we know we want 1/29 scale, not Fn3 scale, but we cant expect non-hobbiests to ever understand those differences

Good points as well.  However, if someone could answer the question "What kind of trains do you use?" with "I model in G20", that would be useful information.  On top of that, let's look at a hypothetical situation where someone starts kitbashing narrow gauge models in 1/32 to go with their current standard gauge large scale trains.  They hand lay some 1.125" gauge track for their kitbashed/hand built 1/32 scale 3' gauge trains.  The idea takes off.  What the heck do we call that?  With the "Gauge"-" Scale" annotation, we could give, (for no other reason but that it doesn't currently mean anything) the 1.125" gauge the "E" annotation followed by "32"  Then there is a clear understanding of what a "G32" and an "E32" would be.  Would there be a group that would settle for the slight gauge error of available track for another scale? (naahhh, that wouldn't happen... )  Say E20 representing 1:20.3 2 foot units (1.125" instead of 1.18" gauge)? Maybe.  And, IMHO, fairly easy to understand.  Again, just a thought...

Hi Woody,
I haven't seen a drawing for a two truck Shay, but I own three.  I'm pretty sure that the front coupling used on the 55 ton three truck shay would be the same.  You can find the detail and part numbers on the fourth page of this drawing:
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/dwg/dwgs/82494.pdf

If anyone is aware of a difference between the two models (at least in this area), please let me know.

John

One benefit with using the "G20" or G29", etc. (over LS, anyway) would be that the designation includes both gauge and scale.  In the unlikely, perhaps, event that a different "Large" gauge track becomes popular, the new designations could still differentiate gauge/scale combinations in an easy to read format.  Just a thought...

Hi Steve,
I think using 12g wire to feed your track is a bit of overkill.  The resistance of 15 feet of 18g wire would only be 0.096 ohms, which would result in a voltage drop of 0.48V if you are drawing 5 amps.  Assuming that you're only drawing 2 amps, and your voltage drop is only 0.19V.  Compare that voltage drops of 0.12V and 0.048V respectivly for 12g, and the hassel and cost isn't buying you much, IMHO.  If you went down to 22g wire, you would still only loose 1.25V over 15 feet at 5 amps (22 guage single wires in free air are rated up to 7 amps).  It's certainly up to you, but you can easily "over-engineer" it if you're not careful.

Hello HerrWebb,
I posted a similar response in another related topic. (Isolating tracks, http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,21671.0.html )
In order to do what you are requesting (without converting to DCC), I think you are going to need more switches, and break your two loops into a number of isolated blocks.  This is referred to as Cab Control.  For additional reading on this, try this link:
http://www.building-your-model-railroad.com/model-railroad-wiring.html

Do you want to be able to switch either train to either loop?  If you only have six switches, you will be limited to how many ways you can change loops, at least with two trains running simultaniously.  Ideally, for ease of operation, I would recommend 8 switches (two RH and two LH switches on opposite sides of your oval, connecting your concentric loops).  This would allow you to switch your various blocks between your DC contollers in a fashion that will prevent the shorting of the two power supplies (cabs), and would allow you to control (with some coordination  )  two different trains either moving in the same or opposite directions back and forth between your two loops.

John

Hello St Joe,
In order to do what you are requesting (without converting to DCC), I think you are going to need more switches, and break your two loops into a number of isolated blocks.  This is referred to as Cab Control.  For additional reading on this, try this link:
http://www.building-your-model-railroad.com/model-railroad-wiring.html

QuoteI want to be able to switch either train to either loop.  What do I need to do?

If you only add one pair of switches, you will be limited to changing loops, at least in reference to the to/from perspective, in one direction only. (In other words, with two RH switches, a train moving forward CW on the outer loop can move to the inner loop, but would then need to back through the switches to get back to the outer loop.  Likewise, a train moving forward CCW could move from the inner loop to the outer loop; but won't be able to return to the inner loop in the forward direction).  Ideally, for ease of operation, I would recommend 8 switches (two opposing pairs on each side of your concentric loops).  This would allow you to switch your various blocks between your DC contollers in a fashion that will prevent the shorting of the two power supplies (cabs), and would allow you to control (with some coordination)  two different trains either moving in the same or opposite directions back and forth between your two loops.

John

Hi Ted,
Just curious if you were able to resolve your problems; and if so, what it took to solve them?

John

Hi Barry,
Try searching for the replacement truck part number, i.e. "Bachmann 88999".  I think you might be able to do a little better than $187.  And also, make sure that you are getting a pair of trucks (I've seen auctions for individual trucks in the past) and that they are the "Die-cast" metal body trucks.

John

You might want to give this a try.  Place the three, uncoupled, locos on the track (with a little distance between them) and run them for a distance.  Note whether any of the "gaps" change, and if so, how quickly they change.  Ideally, if there is a "speed" differential, you would want the "fastest" engine in the front.  If you have an "overachiever" in the rear position, I can see why it might try to climb over the rails.  If these are DCC, (I've never used it, so I'm only guessing here) you might be able to make adjustments to fine tune so the engines are equalized.