Bill -

Foothill Models has a knuckle extender that is compatible with kadee couplers. 

-John

The YSL's purchased rollingstock consisted of short flatcars.  They had plans for general purpose freight and passenger cars, but they were never purchased.  After the YSL ceased operations, the equipment (cars and locos) went to the Empire City Railway.  From there, they were scattered in several directions. 

The only surviving car is a flatcar that was converted to a boxcar by Sierra Railway's shops in Jamestown.  Other flats were reportedly converted to boxcars or tanks though no other examples exist.

If the YSL had survived to transition from construction to revenue service, they would likely have had many short cars such as these.  They could be lettered with equal validity for Empire City, Molino Lumber, and the other lines they visited during their service life.

-John
YSL On30

Remove the fuel load and look to see if you have a decoder plugged in.  It might be DCC-Ready; not DCC equipted.  If there is a decoder, make certain that it is seated fully in the socket in the correct orientation.

-John

Resetting the entire decoder to remap one function is a heavy handed way to do things.  Also, Bachmann may have specified the defaults to be something other that the open market TSU defaults. 

If you read the manuals on function remapping and understand what CV30 does, then you should have no problem changing anything you don't like in a TSU equipped Bachmann loco.

-John

Bachmann has, in the past, remapped certain functions on their OEM'd Tsunamis.  I haven't had a chance to play with the new Porters, so I don't know if that hold true for them as well.  However, it might be worthwhile for you to pull a copy of their default CV settings from this website (I believe it's in the Part/Service documentation section).

Also, go to the SoundTraxx website and get the Steam User's Guide and Technical Reference docs.  Read up on CV 30.  That CV may lead to a resolution.

-John

Mr Bach-man -

It was difficult to determine the size of the exciter in the Porter due to it's placement.  If it's not infringing on a trade secret, how big is the actual exciter?

Thanks

-John

One of the things that has changed, and isn't necessarily obvious is that Bachmann is making gears with a stronger plastic.  I think it's a safe assumtion that the re-engineering that went into the new Shay gears was applied to the Heisler gears including the use of a stronger plastic.

-John

Yes they did.  They had production samples of all of the new paint schemes and samples with sound.

You are correct that a show may not be ideal but they were as audible as any other loco demo loco at their booth.  Not knowing where they had the sound levels set, the new porters with exciters were about as loud as the new heisler with a regular speaker.

The new porters are heavier by 2-3 oz (my guess).  This is due to many of the details being shifted from plastic to cast metal.  The motor is a newer, smaller, higher rpm unit.  This in turn meant changing the gearing so that it would run at the same pace as the original version.  The toothed gear on the axel has a larger diameter than the original and thus has the potential to snag on things between the rails that are higher than the railhead.  The wheel axels are on ball bearings to reduce friction with the frame.  I would say the detailing is finer overall - new backhead detailing, whistle pull, wood grain on the sliding window's frame, pilot beams, etc.  Also, the 0-4-0 and 0-4-2 each have different whistles appropriate to their prototypes.  Likewise, the bells are based on recordings of similarly proportioned bells.

Bachmann did a very nice job on the retooling and re-engineering these.

-John

Hamish -

We will have to agree to disagree.  I don't see Bachmann as the single post supporting the whole of the On30 community.  They certainly contribute RTR products to that segment of the community seeking those.  Their entry into On30 has certainly help to expand the popularity of On30 over the last dozen years.  There are however many bash/scratch/kit builders in On30 who are far less reliant on RTR product.

I will grant that Bachmann's announcements and deliveries over the last few years have been slower than many have hoped for.  The economy has been extraordinarily bad over the last 4 years at both the personal and manufacturer levels.  That is enough to justify slowing the pace of product releases - we've had fewer coins to spend and they've had fewer coins to push products through to release.  Even so that slowed release pace hasn't lead to an exodus from On30.  I've personally seen more people continue to join the On30 community over that time. 

Some day, Bachmann may choose to exit the On30 market.  When that day comes (if it should), I really can't see On30 modelers abandoning this segment of the hobby.  Our models and layouts will still be available.  The friendships among the modelers will be just as strong.   Perhaps we'll shed a tear but On30 will still be Fun.

-John

Booth 801 is a better benchmark on the health of On30. 

-John

That was the hint. 

Mr. Bach-man and fellow On30 modelers -

This year's National Train Show will not be lacking On30.

The California module groups featured in this year's On30 Annual will be joining forces in Sacramento to create a 2200 sq. ft. layout !! 

Also, planning to attend will be the Northern California Narrow Gaugers On30 group.

-John

California Central Coast Modular On30

I've replaced several Bachmann decoders with Digitrax DZ series decoders.  I just swapped them (ie. no changes to the circuit board.

-John

If you're willing to freelance a bit, why not have a transition era 30" narrow gauge set somewhere in the US (or anyplace else)?   What if history had been just a bit different...  Perhaps narrow gauge lines could have adopted diesel well before the standard gauge lines.  And perhaps that lowered their operational costs allowing them to better compete with the standard gauges and trucking.  And perhaps ....

Have fun and build what ya want.  

-John

Thanks Bill!!

I started with On2 1/2 in 1975.  I'm happily enjoying the surge in popularity in On2.5.  This weekend, I'll be sharing On30 with the general public at Roaring Camp & Big Trees.  Scale narrow gauge railroading at a 1:1 replica narrow gauge.  It's gonna be a fun weekend.   

-John