Hi Folks. Been away for a bit and saw this subject when I got home. Favorite Bachmann steamer? Well for me it's a toss up between the 2-6-6-2 and the 4-8-4 Niagara, I love them both.This however could change when I get a Mountain, heavy or light I don't know yet.Cheers from those of us who live where it's upside down, and by the way, the coal doesn't fall out of the tenders cos we glue it in. Rob in Kiwiland.

Hi everybody. Has anyone out there ever built their own electro-magnetic uncouplers? I'm getting to the stage with my layout that I have to start thinking of such things and I love building my own stuff like switch motors etc. Any way, if you have, I'd like to here from you. Cheers from over here. Rob.

 Hi guys. Thanks for all the useful input but as I stated (I think) I now have the loco running in the same direction as the others after turning the magnet around on the motor.  As for not going as quickly one way as the other I think I'll have a look at the brush spring tensions, the brushes them selves are in good shape. As far as my controller is concerned it is a locally made DC walk around hand held, about six months old, and all my other locos respond perfectly in either direction.
Once again ,thanks for your assistance, I'll keep you all posted. Rob the Kiwi,modeling over there over here.

 Hi  all. I do hope someone can shed some light on my problem. I recently had two Athearn SW1500 switchers given to me, one of which is ok, but the other is a pain in butt. First off it wouldn't run in one direction so I stripped it down, pulled the motor apart to check it out. Nothing wrong with brushes or comm that a good clean didn't fix but then the first drama. The darned thing ran in the opposite direction to all my other locos. This caused some severe head scratching (wood splinters in fingers).until I realized that I had inadvertently put the magnet in back to front. Solved that problem only to get this one. The loco runs a lot faster one way than the other and after a short time it stops but there is no sign of overheating or binding that I can find. BTW both of these locos have Ernst (or is it Earnst) low ratio drive gear sets. Sorry it's a bit long winded but I'd appreciate any help on why a motor goes better one way than the other. Cheers from over this side. Rob the Kiwi. PS. I buy Bachmann but keep getting others given to me.

 G'day. Can I add my two cents worth. I do have a Niagara 4-8-4- by Bachmann,late model CC on board, and although it will go through an 18" radius curve your track work must be good. I have had more problems with the centipede tender than the loco when trying to run it on tight curves. Until I build a larger layout the 4-8-4 will become a shelf display along with its 5 matching coaches. Cheers Rob.

  Thanks M r. Bachmann and you too Gene. I'll take all that on board as I get further in to it. Cheers Rob.

 Hi one and all. The time is approaching for me to put a sound  system into some of my locos and the one I will start with is a Bachmann 2-6-6-2. My initial foray into the world of DCC will come about with the basic Bachmann EZ system. Now I realize that it won't allow me to change CV's but that can come in the future. So what I need to know now is, what is a good sound chip for this loco.I did see this loco advertised new with sound recently, is this from Bachmann and if so can I purchase the factory setup. Cheers from over here where I model whats over there.
Rob.

  To one and all. Thanks for all your input and with nervous hands on the throttle it all worked out fine. It does appear that the brushes are isolated even though the can is not. Once again thanks and what a neat forum. Cheers from here to there, Rob.

 Hi there. I had a similar problem with a friends loco and its a bit far to send from here to there for service/repair so here's what I did. I pulled the loco apart and tracked the wires to the PC board and then ran new wires from there to the tender as a permanent hard wire job. The only thing now is that you can't uncouple the loco from the tender but as his locos don't leave the layout it's no problem. Just be careful about the wire you choose to do the job. Try and keep it as flexible as you can. Cheers Rob in Kiwiland.

Gentlemen, and any ladies present. Can someone please enlighten this unenlightened one on where the term "War baby" came from in relation to the GS4 loco. Cheers from over here in NZ. Rob.

HI Guys. Thanks for all your help on this, I just hope I'm not being a pain in the $&%@*^!!. The loco is brand new,ex the USA one week ago and it has got the DCC plug on board but I suppose I was being a bit paranoid because although the brushes are probably isolated I still got a reading from the motor can to one side of the drivers. Ah what the heck' I'll bang it on the track and find out. I'll let you know the outcome.  Cheers from over here.  Rob. 

Thanks Gene. I do realize that the motor must be isolated and I presume that means the outer case of the motor as well. It was the outer case that showed up on the test meter to have a circuit to one set of drivers.  Cheers Rob.

Help.. Just doing a decoder install on a Mantua 2-6-6-2 and I find that the motor is not completely isolated from the frame. Has anyone done  one of these locos and did you have to do anything to the loco? Cheers Rob.

Thanks Roger. I like the little tip about "don't use this door". A few surprise tags on a couple of box cars on my friends layout will send his perfectionist switching crews into a frenzy. The neat thing is that although he has two turntables, they are some distance from the industrial areas where they do a lot of switching. This is gonna be good,I'll set it up when I go and set up the roster.Thanks once again, stay on track. Cheers Rob. 

Hi guys 'n' girls. Just a quickie. Was there any correct direction of travel for box cars etc regarding the brake wheel? Should it be to the front or rear of the wagon upon departure? I was told always to the rear, but what if it was returning, it would then be at the wrong end.Just wondering.Rob. Kiwiland.