Quote from: jonathan on March 09, 2011, 10:34:51 AM
RT,

I have 4 belt driven locos:  two Heavy Mountains and two Consolidations.  My berk may be belt drive as well, haven't had cause to pop open the frame yet.

One 2-8-0 had a split belt, which looked like a factory default.  It was not caused by wear.  I replaced the belt ($3 US from Bachmann parts and service).  It was a relatively easy fix, if you're not afraid of disassembly of small parts.  That loco is currently my best runner.

Like you, I run my steamies for hours at a time. 

I am told the main crank pins will wear out before the belt does (screw that holds the eccentric parts).  I lube the eccentric crank on a regular basis, just in case. 

The cog belt seems to be very durable/reliable.  With regular care, those Connies will provide many, many hours of great service.  Mine do...  They pull better than most locos.  Couldn't compare your layout to mine.

Regards,

Jonathan

Hi Jonathan,

That's good to know - I'll buy one now.

I just retired my oldest loco a P2K U30B with over 8,000 hours on it.

Not afraid to open them up, I do my own decoder work & tune ups.

THANKS for the prompt response.

         John

How dependable are these and can they pull at least 10 cars up a 2% grade?

I run my trains 10 to 12 hours everyday.

All steamers I now have are gear driven, this belt drive has been the only thing stopping me from buying one.

But now I need one for 18" curves and this would work, if it runs well and holds up.

Mr. Bach-Man,

We are very pleased with our Tsunami sound equipped steamers.

Are there any plans to do the same with diesels?

Thanks,

  John

Quote from: MrSirMan on March 05, 2011, 02:00:31 PM
Do the DCC equipped  EMD FT A-Unit and B-Units work together to provide better pulling power?  The A and B are both sold separately and both are powered but I cant find any info on them working in tandem.  I'm assuming that they do.

I have the FT A & B, together they will be pull 25, 50' free rolling cars up my 3% incline without a problem, part of my incline has a 22" curve at the start.

They do have the pulling power, now that they are broken in I may add a few more cars to see where they max out.

Just  make both units the same address number, put them on the track & power them up to see which end of the "B" unit goes in the same direction as the "A" unit.

Hope this helps with the pulling power part of your question.

John

Thanks for the fast response.

Since the firebox is hard to see while it's running, guess I'd be happy to get the NKP #759 Rail Fan Version with the Mars light.

I just bought a Southern 2-10-2 and it really runs very good for the price I paid.

Details are nice, but I tend to break those, so Bachmann's are a good fit for me.

I've had to cut back from buying MTH steam & BLI is too slow in bring out new models, I thought I'd try the Bachmann.

I've read all the comments about running 2-10-2's on 18" curves - I ran mine on 22" curves for about 100 hours, then tried it on my 18" curved section that has 3% inclines - it will pull about 8, 40' cars or 6, 50' up these incline without wheel slip and no derailing.

I am very pleased and now want a Berkshire.

I'll put sound in both of these.

THANKS,

  John

Which Bachmann Berkshire in HO include the Flickering Firebox and Mars Light?

How hard is it to install a Tsunami Decoder, Heavy Steam & Bass reflex speaker in this model?

I can not find any descriptions about this anywhere on this site.

I run MRC Advance (older model) DCC.

Any help or advice would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

John

Quote from: jlester343 on November 04, 2010, 01:45:06 PM
I have two of the EZ Track DCC Crossover switches.  They respond to switch position 3.  I am using a Digitrax controler.  How can I reprogram them so each of the 4 switches had a different number?

You'll first need to check to see if you have the second run of DCC switches, the first run had decoders without a memory chip.
Bachmann will replace these if that is your problem.
I have a MRC Advance DCC system & using the ACCY feature, can number my switches by using a pen or something similar to hold the button down in the switch assembly - it will look like a nail hole but larger.

Assign a number to each switch - my Advance unit then assigns a number to it and I have to keep a written copy so I know the value of each it's also stored the the DCC.

You have to decide if #1 or #2 is straight thru or the turn.

Hope this helps.

John