Mr Bachmann; please pass along my desire to see a re-release of the popular 2-6-0 Mogul up graded with features such as DCC on board and tender current pick up, like the rest of the current releases. It doesn't make sense(to me) that this bench mark loco has not been offered in an up graded version. ???
Please do it! If you do PLEASE offer it with a short tender like most of the C&S locomotives had.
Have to think a retooled 2-6-0 DCC would be a no-brainer, it wouldn't require much investment in new tooling.
But I'd suggest also offering an upgrade kit for the older locomotives that would include the decoder, new wiring, tender pickup wipers and axles for those of us with existing 2-6-0s.
I second this request. I have 3 moguls and love them. One has a Digitrax DCC decoder in the in locomotive and a Soundtraxx sound decoder in the tender. Syncing them up was a project in itself!!! Next one will have a Tsunami or QSI "U" in the tender.
Peter
Sounds like a good idea, but which would you rather have? An upgraded 2-6-0, or an entirely new loco? Even if the 2-6-0 would be inexpensive to retool, it would still take time from the schedule for making the parts and running them through the assembly line. That time and money could be spent instead on a Heisler, a 2-6-6-2, or whatever else Bachmann has in the works.
Manager
Heisler ? Heisler? What's that? Some mythical beastie with a Germanic name? Or a much needed, wanted and slobbered over lockey that everyone seems to clamouring for ????????????????? ??? ??? ??? ??? ??? ???
Quote from: C.S.R.R. Manager on January 21, 2009, 03:57:31 PM
Sounds like a good idea, but which would you rather have? An upgraded 2-6-0, or an entirely new loco? Even if the 2-6-0 would be inexpensive to retool, it would still take time from the schedule for making the parts and running them through the assembly line. That time and money could be spent instead on a Heisler, a 2-6-6-2, or whatever else Bachmann has in the works.
Manager
As stated in my original post, I would rather have a 2-6-0 that is at least DCC ready. This should only involve a minor electrical engineering change that should have minimal impact on the development of new products that may or may not be on the drawing board.
I would go for an upgrade kit for the original 2-6-0. In fact, I would go for three or four of them. Along with the Heisler, of course. And all the separate tenders which I've been nagging for since the previous century.
As stated in my original post, I would rather have a 2-6-0 that is at least DCC ready. This should only involve a minor electrical engineering change that should have minimal impact on the development of new products that may or may not be on the drawing board.
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In terms of development costs, I agree. But there is also the manufacturing process to consider, and Bachmann only produces a couple of On30 locos each year. I'm guessing that adding an updated Mogul to the production schedule would bump other On30 locos back by months. With all the scales that Bachmann is making now, that factory has to be a busy place.
But I do like the idea of a DCC kit. Maybe that's because of the 5 old Moguls that I have.
Manager
The idea of an "up grade kit" doesn't seem likely to me, since i am not aware of them ever offering any such thing. It is a shame that the Mogul, the first ON-30 locomotive produced by Bachmann, has been (forgotten?) in the trend to DCC . I predict that another production run of a DCC equipped Mogul would be a sell out. I am not convinced that this would signifcantly delay development of any future products.
I don't think the Mogul has been forgotten. Bachmann just released a replacement pilot with a front coupler, so they realize that people are using them.
They're probably keeping it simple because it's the loco they're selling in all those licensed train sets like the Thomas Kinkade set, etc.
And I just took one apart this weekend to install a decoder. I'm putting a TCS MC2 in and rewiring the whole thing, but a replacement circuit board decoder would do the trick as well.
Quote from: drgw268 on January 22, 2009, 11:31:32 AM
I don't think the Mogul has been forgotten. Bachmann just released a replacement pilot with a front coupler, so they realize that people are using them.
They're probably keeping it simple because it's the loco they're selling in all those licensed train sets like the Thomas Kinkade set, etc.
And I just took one apart this weekend to install a decoder. I'm putting a TCS MC2 in and rewiring the whole thing, but a replacement circuit board decoder would do the trick as well.
It has been left behind in terms of the current (and future) trend of equipping virually all locos with DCC. The new pilot won't help it operate on most of our layouts. Many of us started in ON-30 with one of those ON-30 sets. Within a relatively short time we discover the wonderful world of DCC, and our Mogul becomes a shelf queen unless we take it apart to rewire it to install a decoder. I suspect that a fair number of us do not posses the skills to do this or would rather spend a weekend doing other stuff. If the loco included in all those sets was at least "DCC Ready", it would have growth potential.
I'm admittedly electrically inept and clumsy with my fingers. Nevertheless, I have seen two different techniques for converting the Bachmann 2-6-0s to DCC. One method involves putting the decoder in the tender. The other involves using an N scale decoder within the locomotive itself.
Sorry, I don't have any pictures or a description of just HOW the decoders were installed.
Quote from: Mister Lee on January 23, 2009, 11:26:46 AM
I'm admittedly electrically inept and clumsy with my fingers. Nevertheless, I have seen two different techniques for converting the Bachmann 2-6-0s to DCC. One method involves putting the decoder in the tender. The other involves using an N scale decoder within the locomotive itself.
Sorry, I don't have any pictures or a description of just HOW the decoders were installed.
http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/mogul_dcc/ (http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/mogul_dcc/)
I had my Mogul converted to DCC with Sound, because I did not want to commit her to the shelf. But she cannot compete with the more recent Bachmann products like the Consolidation or the Forney, as their mechanisms are really superior to that of the old 2-6-0. The Mogul will never have adequate slow motion abilities, unless Bachmann develops a new drive for the model. A plain DCC upgrade will not do.
Kind Regards Dieter
Quote from: C.S.R.R. Manager on January 21, 2009, 03:57:31 PM
Sounds like a good idea, but which would you rather have? An upgraded 2-6-0, or an entirely new loco? Even if the 2-6-0 would be inexpensive to retool, it would still take time from the schedule for making the parts and running them through the assembly line. That time and money could be spent instead on a Heisler, a 2-6-6-2, or whatever else Bachmann has in the works.
Manager
Since Bachmann can't seem to make any prototypes that I want I would much rather see a 2-6-0 since I could use several more of these.
Quote from: steinked on January 23, 2009, 03:17:41 PM
I had my Mogul converted to DCC with Sound, because I did not want to commit her to the shelf. But she cannot compete with the more recent Bachmann products like the Consolidation or the Forney, as their mechanisms are really superior to that of the old 2-6-0. The Mogul will never have adequate slow motion abilities, unless Bachmann develops a new drive for the model. A plain DCC upgrade will not do.
Kind Regards Dieter
Ahh, but the DCC circuitry will use some of the transformer voltage and allow greater control of the voltage the motor actually uses, resulting in a slower locomotive that can be programmed to run with other DCC-equipped locomotives. No other changes should be necessary.
Quote from: steinked on January 23, 2009, 03:17:41 PM
I had my Mogul converted to DCC with Sound, because I did not want to commit her to the shelf. But she cannot compete with the more recent Bachmann products like the Consolidation or the Forney, as their mechanisms are really superior to that of the old 2-6-0. The Mogul will never have adequate slow motion abilities, unless Bachmann develops a new drive for the model. A plain DCC upgrade will not do.
Kind Regards Dieter
During the installation, were electrical pickups added to the tender? What brand of decoder was installed? Is the decoder equipped with BEMF? Just curious.