Mr. Bach-Man, bring back the 45 tonner please ... in G scale of course !

[patpol44]

Mr. Bach-Man,

Any chance too see the little critter in your catalog soon ?
I need a couple of them for a new project ...
Thanks

[OLDBANDIT]

HEY MR BACH-MAN !
WE NEED IT !

[armorsmith]

@Oldbandit - Please don't shout, you will be heard.  (All caps is considered shouting on a foru6m.)

@Mr Bach-Man - Please consider that we understand all the manufacturers are making much shorter runs so there is much less 'left over old stock', making availability less.  We also understand that with the tighter economy there are also less buyers able to afford the increased per item cost of shorter runs. There are times that commercial interests would like to use a product some time period later than the 'rush' to purchase when these items are released. We also understand that the cost to 're-run' an existing set of molds and tooling is minimum compared to releasing brand new items.  I applaud the updated release of older product where Bachmann has done an excellent job of correcting earlier weaknesses.  We would all love to see new product, but barring that I think I can speak for many saying that updated or just re-releases of out of production stock would be greatly appreciated.

Bob C.

[The Old Bandit]

OK ! Now I'm cooooooooooooooooooooooooooool !

[Mike M]

Guys the 45 tonner did not sell well when released. A lot of people felt they were too large for most layouts as they are wide in 1:20.3 scale.They were dumped on the market at very cheap prices I bought my first one for $200 later I got two more for $60 each. I doubt that it would be rereleased. But I do not speak for Bachmann just what I saw happen when they were first released.
Mike

[Kevin Strong]

I tend to agree from the sales standpoint, though foolishly I did not pick a few up when they were being blown out for $60. The trucks alone are worth that and more!

I'm actually in the process of putting a 45-tonner on a diet, reducing it to about the same size of a Whitcomb 40-tonner. I lopped about 1" from the width, lowered the hoods about 1" as well, and the cab around 5/8". To my thinking, it's now much better proportioned, being more the size of a "typical" narrow gauge loco, not a small standard gauge loco riding on narrow gauge trucks, which simply dwarfed the 1:20 narrow gauge rolling stock. (Even if it is now freelance vs. the original one being prototypical.)

Having said that, I also think something like the SP's "Little Giant" or maybe something like the GE units that run up at Georgetown and/or Colo. RR museum would make great diesel fodder.

Later,

K

[Tony Walsham]

I rarely buy anything for myself but I would buy anything modelled from the SP narrow gauge.
Great dismal, great steamers  and great rolling stock.
Much of it still preserved in the Owens Valley.
Different from the Colorado narrow gauge, but a perfect example of narrow gauge equipment.
Bring it on.

[big red]

hello, i'm looking for a exposed drawing for the 45 tonner. would you know where i might get one?
i have one and one of the moters is not working, i would like to repair it.
i talked to bachmann and they don't have anything.
brian

[Kevin Strong]

Likely culprit will be the contact pad at the top of the truck where it connects with the body of the diesel. The hoods and cab are screwed to the frame from below, so you have to remove them to get to the screws that hold the trucks in place. Each truck has a big honkin' screw that goes down into the center post of the truck. Remove that, and the truck will drop down. What most people who have this issue do is to hardwire the truck to the wires in the loco. To do this, remove the electrical contact plunger assembly, give yourself some extra slack on the wires (solder extensions on if necessary) and solder them directly to the PC board that sits at the very top of the truck. With a thin enough tip on your soldering iron, you may not have to disassemble the truck to get to it.

I bought mine used, so I don't have the parts diagram.

Later,

K

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Regrettably I could not find my diagrams either.   The big fault with the 45 tonners was the electrical plunger system.  The plungers contained a spring to maintain electrical contact between the chassis and the trucks.  I have seen the springs fry from a derailment leading to a short, and also from long hours of running which overheated the springs causing them to fail.  Hardwiring as described by Kevin was well worth the effort and afterwards the units run perfectly.  If you go battery there are four fewer connection needed.



I bashed mine into an oil electric boxcab, built by the shop forces using a surplus WWII submarine engine in 1946.  Some of the shop crew served with the 85th Railway Operating Battalion during the wars and had connections.  The Missouri Western President approved and Boxcab #100 was built and became the first locomotive on the MW not powered by steam.  

Now what to do with the other one!!

[tac]

Bill - that is just great!!!  More pics please.

LOTS more pics.

Do you have sound it in?

tac
Ottawa Valley GRS

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Hi Tac,

Glad you liked it, It does have sound, my son gave me a sound board for an ALCO RS-3 and I love the burbling sounds it makes, even though a real submarine engine would not sound like that.

It is an extremely great running loco and can really handle rough track, way more tolerant than the steamers.  I use it to pull my work train whenever I am reballasting and releveling my track. 

I lowered the frame by rebuilding the bolsters lower and cut away interfering parts of the underframe. I had to raise the couplers to maintain proper height. The side vents are the grills from the nose of the original body and the headlights are from a Bachmann 4-6-0.  The body just lifts off making battery changes super fast.

I have more pictures someplace and I will try to find them. 

Bill

[Joe Zullo]

Bill,

What happened to the pictures?

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Joe, Dang if I know, I will look into it. 

[Loco Bill Canelos]

Ok it is back in my original post,  I am still looking for some other pictures of it.  I have some construction pics for sure, and will post when I find them