Hello all and thank you very much for the support. I'm still very new to the world of model trains and my learning curve is still quite steep.

The train I purchased was a Bumble Bee 4-6-0. The box says #91602. It did come with the metal swing arm thing up front and shortly after running it the thing would stutter and was kind of jerky. The lights would flicker. After some of you offered suggestions on how to troubleshoot, I used my Ohm meter on the truck assembly and could see that under certain conditions the pickups would present an open circuit and drop voltage.

After explaining this to the tech at Bachmann, he sent me a replacement swing arm assembly. After replacing the swing arm assembly all was running very very nicely but then after a few hours of use I detected a second problem which presented as a ticking sound. It got worse over time and then when I opened the bottom cover I then noticed that it appeared that the brass axle carriers were turning in the plastic chassis mount locations and were chewing up the plastic.

After again contacting Bachmann they asked me to send the entire locomotive in. The turn around time was very fast. I was quite pleased with this. It appeared as though they replaced the entire unit. Before putting it onto my track I thought to inspect and lubricate as I know this is important. When I turned the unit over I noticed that the bottom side was very much different. The front carrier assembly was a plastic affair and now had a spring in the middle. When I removed the bottom lubrication/inspection cover so as to apply grease, I noticed that the gears were now plastic instead of brass.

I did contact Bachmann again and asked why the different unit. The service manager said she would look into it. A few days later I received a phone call from the technician who essentially said that the replacement chassis with the brass and metal parts were not available and that the unit that I received was as good as the one I previously had and that it would serve me for many years to come. It was explained to me that this is how they do warranty replacements and that I should not be alarmed. I was encouraged to put it on the track and run it.

Currently I have my replacement engine running, pulling my newly lighted caboose and so far after about 2 hours of run time, all is well :-)

Thanks very much all. The big boy in Cheyenne was the closest I've been to a real steam train in person. Enormity of it is so impressive I'm going to make an effort to get out and see some other real world examples. Pictures simply aren't going to be enough now :-)

Thanks to you both for the recommended visit locations. I'm actually very close to the Denver area so I will make an effort to go see that one first.


Thanks!

Fantastic! Thank you.

Thank you Bill,

My original train did come with a metal swing arm front wheel assembly. The thing was giving me difficulty when running anti-clockwise corners. After putting an Ohm meter to it I could tell that when the wheels shifted or leaned to one side or the other the continuity would drop out. I contacted Bachmann and they sent a replacement front wheel assembly which did correct the problem. Laura has been very VERY good to work with. She has been exceptionally responsive.

After replacing the front wheel assembly I thought I was good to go and a very happy camper but then after a few additional hours of run time I started to hear this ticking noise. After pulling the bottom wheel cover plate off I then noticed the brass axle carrier parts were chewing away at the chassis. This time after contacting Bachmann again, they asked me to send the entire engine in for repairs. Keep in mind, the original did have the heavy metal front wheel swing arm assembly and brass gears.

After what I thought was a very quick turn around, Bachmann sent me what appears as a brand new engine. However, it is quite different from the original in that the front wheel assembly is plastic and sits on a small spring and the drive gears are plastic.

I had a brief email exchange with the service manager who says that the technician will be emailing me with an explanation to effectively suggest that this version that I now have is as good as the model I had previously. I'm looking forward to his explanation.

Again, thank you very much Bill. I learned much from your suggestions and make no mistake I'm still very happy with the service that Bachmann has offered. I'm sure I simply had bad luck but, I am interested in knowing more about the different versions, options improvements and draw backs.

To Zubi, my caboose is great! I recently set up an update on another post. I bought the new metal wheels and electrical pickup parts. I also installed a voltage regulator, LEDs, rectifier, load resistors and capacitor. The lights are set up to run at 5 volts so they come on even before the train starts to move. They don't flicker, they dont get bright/dim with speed and work when the train goes forward or back. This has been a great little project. Couldn't be more pleased.

I now wonder if there should be light in the cabin of the engine where the driver would sit? It looks very dark when I run the train at night. I don't know what the real trains would have.

Really great stuff. That website has some really neat stuff. I had no idea there were so many old trains so near by. Thank you!

Hello all,

Pardon me but I'm still very new to trains. Initially I only wanted a little something to go round and round but I find myself more and more interested in the history. I recently had cause to go up into Wyoming and stopped at a local park. They had a train on display.

This thing was entirely enormous. I initially thought it was a more modern train simply because of the size. This would dwarf the real scale 4-6-0 that I like. They call it a Big-Boy which was made for Union Pacific. It is a steam train but the proportions are simply rediculous. There was a plaque that told a lot of it's history. Only a few were made and only a couple left in existence. I seriously do believe the tender would be much larger than a 4-6-0 engine. I look at the photos and still cannot believe how big it is.

The train number is #4004 and if you ever get to Wyoming I would encourage you to have a look. It's located in a local park in the town of Cheyenne.

One final update.

Thanks to everyone for the information and recommendations. I purchased the metal wheels and the little springy/plunger parts which went really well. I also purchased a number of soft white LEDs, 1k Ohm resistors, an adjustable voltage regulator, bridge rectifier and capacitor.

I was able to use the bridge rectifier to give me polarized DC output regardless of the track polarity. The capacitor is used to store/buffer the input voltage to the voltage regulator. The regulator output is set for 5VDC out and provides voltage to the load resistors and LEDs before the train even begins to move. I used three LEDs in the front of my Combination Caboose car, one in the observation section and two more in the baggage area.

In my opinion, the lighting is perfect...not too white, not too bright, never flickers, works forwards and back. I'm very happy with the results. I may look at some of those fancy ball-bearing wheels as I do notice the pickup springy things too cause the wheels to drag a little.

Next on my "hope to do" list is to figure out a way to but some light into the lanterns on the back. I bought some micro electronic surface mount LEDs which would easily fit inside the lanterns but the bigger problem is how to run wire into the lanterns but,...that's for another day.

Thanks again to you all for the information and advice. This was fun little project!

Thank you Loco Bill Canelos. I sent them an email. Laura replied and said she would contact the technician and get back with me.


Thanks!

Hello everyone,

A bit of an update on my train and a follow up question.

I sent my 4-6-0 Anniversary back to the factory for repairs. As some of you speculated, it does appear as though they replaced the entire unit. I believe this to be true because of the front wheel assembly being entirely different.

My original train had a rather heavy metal swing arm affair from which the front wheels were supported/suspended. The new unit has a plastic assembly with a spring between the wheel assembly and main chassis. A completely different design. Also, after a more close inspection, if I'm not mistaken my original had a metal gear that could be seen through the inspection cover whereas the new has a white plastic gear.

My question is, is the new replacement considered an improvement? Is it a newer or older model? The original heavy metal swing arm seemed to be a sturdier product. Anything here I should be concerned with?

Thanks very much!

My 4-6-0 has a big door on the very front of the train where they hide the smoke switch and polarity switch but then there's another smaller door inside the cab where the conductor sits which is where the coal would get shoveled in. Not sure which door you're hoping to change our.

Thanks again everyone,

When I bought my train I also purchased a lubrication kit that was recommended for G scale trains. It comes with four different lubricants. Excelle Lubricants #XL9012 Kit For O-G Gauge (Medium, Heavy, Gear, NLGI 2). The needle tube ends truly are the only way to go. It makes placing the oil in exactly the right place and does wonders for regulating how much is applied. I couldn't agree more...this is the only way to go :-)

Before I ran the train I saw the care and maintenance video and I did lube all the moving parts I could get to. Not too much, just a drop or two. That really is a well done tutorial. I also put a little dab of the heavy grease onto the brass gear inside the service hole on the bottom.

Again, thanks so much for all the very sound advice!

Maybe this isn't the correct place to put this but I just found this little regulator board with a rectifier. http://www.ebay.com/itm/321781381504?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT


I ordered this today along with some warm white 5 volt LEDs, a capacitor and some resistors. Hopefully my wheels and pickups get here soon so I can try my hand at adding lights to my caboose.

Do you take the bottom of the train off every 4-6 hours and lube that brass bit as well?

Thanks gentlemen...this is very informative.

Thank you very much Joe.

I really like the way those lights look.

That looks great. I saw in a different posting where it appears as thought the lights went from dim to bright depending on how fast the train was moving. Will these behave the same way?