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Big hauler ?

Started by lrparks, May 23, 2007, 08:31:11 AM

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lrparks

I'm new to garden railroading and I am looking for my first locomotive. I'm considering the Mountaineer set (90048). I am assuming the locomotive in that set is different from the Anniversary Edition 4-6-0 locomotive. What are the differences?

What is the maximum grade I can expect to pull with the Mountaineer starter set if I added a caboose? I'm using Aristocraft track with a 10A 0-20V power supply.

I saw the tractive effort test article at http://www.girr.org/girr/tips/tips4/tractive_effort_tests.html. Is there a newer article out there that compares all the current Bachmann locomotives to each other and other Aristocraft and LGB locomotives? I prefer Bachmann, but I am curious how the different Bachmann's stack up against each other and other manufacturers.

Thanks for any comments.

Matthew (OV)

#1
The Anniversary Edition locomotive has Walshaerts valve gear, in metal, an updated drive, and a lot of seperate detail parts that make it very like its Spectrum cousins.  "Standard" edition 4-6-0's don't have these upgrades.  Many recent sets have used the Anniversary locomotive though, so if you're interested in getting your hands on one (you should be...) but still want the set, it's worth checking into which sets are now offered with one. (The Sam's Club christmas set is an example, and there are others.)

George Schreyer wrote that page before a lot of the current offerings were available.  While the Shay was, and is, an excellent pulling locomotive, there is annecdotal evidence that the 2-8-0, and the other geared locomotives pull very well also.  The 4-4-0 and 2-6-0 (Spectrum) are a bit lighter weight, and the small industrial 2-6-0 is very light weight unless you modify it ....  and of course the new Shay is, powerwise, the old Shay plus one more power truck.

While there are no (that I'm aware of) attempts at a standardized list along the lines of what George did with the older locomotives, some guildelines apply no matter what you're doing .... any locomotive will pull a lot more cars on level track than it will on a grade ,... and even in the "real world"  the most extreme narrow gauge "mainline" stuff didn't seem to get much steeper than about 4% grade (4" rise in 100" run...) and while you'll find logging railroads with upwards of 10%, this is not something you'll see in a "normal" railroad environment.   So the short answer is, keep your grades as gradual as you can, even if your locomotive WILL pull steeper.

Of course, if you really want your 4-6-0 to pull, try a Barry's drive ...http://www.barrysbigtrains.com/ ...   there's a video of one pulling some 40 cars or more on his site.  You can even convert your 4-6-0 to a 2-8-0 if you like. 

Now ... entirely unscientifically.... I had an "Anniversary" 4-6-0 that would (and regularly DID) pull half a dozen cars on a 4-5% grade on the "old" Slate Creek ... and it had an R2 curve at the top of the grade to boot.  Your mileage may (and probably will) vary ....  and I can't tell you for sure how many more cars I could have added before it would have slipped or stalled.  We have another guy on here who has a Shay that regularly handles 15-20 cars on a 4% grade in the pouring rain....  but that's with a conversion to battery power and with the shiny plating worn off the wheels.

Hope this is somewhat helpful...

Matthew (OV)

calenelson

I currently have 3 of the "Sams Annies" from 2006 and 07...

There is one converted to RCS and Battery power with Sierra Sound, while the others pull Christmas Tree Duty and Shelf Time. 

I have been pleased with my Annie Conversion, and I have some Steep Grades...

I'd not hesitate to start over with another "Annie".  Although my current interest is Fn3 (1/20.3 vs 1/22.5 that the Annie is built to) (confused?sorry)...I may would have started with a 2-8-0 Connie, or a Shay had I known what I do now.

...with that said, the Bachmann Starter Sets give you alot of train for not a lot of dough!  I look at most things through a poor mans eyes, so the Deal always wins me over...but sometimes the "Deal" bites me in the end...
..so once you decide what you really want to do as to scale/operations (if that matters to you) then, go for it!  Almost all of my stuff is Bmann and I am a happy camper!

cale

Tim Brien

If considering a starter set,  then look at the newly released or soon to be released Bachmann White Pass set.  This has an Annie loco with simplified metal inside valve gear and metal rods,  as opposed to the commonly seen outside valve gear.  The loco has all the Anniversary options (with the exceptions of the outside valve gear).  Should be definately worth the asking price.

scottychaos

Quote from: Matthew (OV) on May 23, 2007, 08:54:07 AM
The Anniversary Edition locomotive has Walshaerts valve gear, in metal, an updated drive, and a lot of seperate detail parts that make it very like its Spectrum cousins. 
Matthew (OV)

that is all true, except not ALL Anniversary edition Big Haulers have the Walshaerts valve gear, some do, some dont.

All Anniversary edition Big Haulers DO have metal valve gear and metal main rods and side rods, (non-annies have plastic rods) but not all Annie's have Walshaerts valve gear, some have the simpler Stephenson valve gear.

Scot

calenelson

my 3 girls have simple workings

cale

lrparks

Thanks for the info everyone. Being new it all is a bit confusing, but I believe I have a handle on it. No matter which Big Hauler I get I believe I will eventually go with Barry's upgrade. It's a little expensive, but probably worth it.

I like the looks of the Denver & Rio Grande Annie Loco so I'm thinking about that, however the White Pass set may be worth the upgrade in Loco. ??? ;D