Does anyone have a Western Maryland version of the Russian tender they would like to sell or trade?

Roger

paintjockey,

Adding a DCC decoder to the 2-6-6-2 tender will only take about 1 or 2 minutes. Turn the tender over, remove one screw just aft of the front truck, slide the top forward and lift off, pull the "plug" out of the receptical, stick the decoder plug in and repeat the process in reverse! It's really that simple.

Sound is a little more complicated but isn't rocket science. I've installed 6 Tsunamis in Spectrum and P2K engines with very little problem. Brass engines are a little more time consuming but not any more difficult.

Sound is one of the best advances in model railroading along with DCC as far as I'm concerned. A lot of folks get turned off because most people have the volume turned up so high. When running multiple engines it gets pretty annoying. I set mine so that I can barely hear them when over 3-4 feet away. The bell, steam release and pop valves can get on your nerves when set too high, I admit.

I guess I've been lucky with all my Spectrum steamers. I've had no shorting or derailment problems. I have 24"R code 83 Walthers flex track and use their #4 & #5 turnouts and #7.5 curved turnouts. I run my Russians, 2-8-0's, 2-8-2's & 2-6-6-2 with the tender in the first hole and they've never derailed.

Roger

Rich,

I agree with all your comments about the stock SY tender. I'm having trouble deciding what tenders to put behind them though. I have several brass N&W tenders that look good and I've thought about the USRA from my Spectrum 2-6-6-2 or maybe one from one of my Russians or the 2-8-0. So far I haven't been able to make the decision but ultimately the Chinese tenders will not be running behind my 2-8-2's. I've looked at the Spectrum small Vandy but don't care for the coal bunker that much.

Bowser is a great company to deal with. Always professional and a good inventory of stuff.

In case you need something a little different you can also try Greenway Products. They have a large selection of brass parts and are also good folks to deal with. They have some castings not available from Cary, Cal-Scale or PSC.

Roger

Larry,

If the engine ran fine when you first got it but has a short after adding the headlight and backup lights it sounds like you did something wrong. Why did you add the lights? I have 5 of the Bachmann Russians and they all came with lights factory installed. I have one of the undecs, 3 WM and one Susy Q.

All 5 of mine run fine and have been perfect right out of the boxes. I have had none of the problems everyone seems to have with shorting and drive bands.

Sending it back to Bachmann is probably your best bet.

Roger

Thanks for the review of the 2-6-6-2. I decided to take advantage of the Micro-Mark sale and get one. It arrived yesterday and it's really fine looking. I will be adding a Tsunami to it as soon as I have a chance.

Like most of the Spectrum steamers it's reported to be light on pull so what have you all done to add weight to it? Where are the best places available for extra weight? I usually use birdshot with Elmers glue or A-Line weights when there is enough space.

Thanks,
Roger

Kurt,

It's a great model with lots of detail. It runs very smoothly and is well worth the money. The Chinese details can be "Americanized" with just a little work. If you need or want a small Mike this is your ticket.

I have 2 and I have no problems with them. Mine are from the first run a few years ago that came without being DCC ready. The new run is DCC ready which helps.

Roger

Lanny...........very nice conversion! It's neat seeing all the various conversions being made to the 2-8-0. Seems Bachmann has gotten a lot of folks actually doing some modeling with this fine little engine rather than just sitting around complaining about the hobby. Congrats Bachmann!

With all the folks making the 2-8-0 into an IC version maybe someone will make a replacement sand dome available.

I have 2 of them but haven't even gotten them out of the box yet. I've been modifying and playing with my 5 Russians. I've got Tsunami's in 3 of them and they work great! The other 2 just have Digitrax decoders. I'm so thankful to Bachmann for doing the Russians! They're one of my favorite steamers along with the USATC S-160's.

Roger

Ken,

Sheldon is right about the SY being a fairly small Mike by USA standards but it can still perform better than out of the box. It's one of the better buys on the market today. I wish more smaller Mikes were available and less USRA's and Pig Boys!!!!

Weight can be added to several places in the engine which will really help it pull better. Disassembly, contrary to what's been stated in other posts, is not that difficult. There are many tiny and fragile parts but with caution and observation really pose no problems with removing the cab and boiler shell from the mechanism. Follow the included exploded break-down drawing for locations of screws and you'll be OK. Once the boiler shell and cab are removed you can add quite a bit of weight in the cab roof & sides, boiler and between the axles and also on top of the frame by the valve gear hanger and in the cylinders. I used lead bird shot in the cab, cylinder and boiler areas fixed with Elmers glue. Between the axles I cut A-Line weights to fit snugly and fixed them in with epoxy. I removed the double-back tape from the weights.

Use the same care you used during disassembly with gluing the weights between the axles and everything will be fine. To help make everything stick well wipe the frame areas to be epoxied with a Q-tip dipped in alcohol to remove any residual oils. Probably the trickiest part of disaasembly/reassembly is getting the strange drawbar setup all aligned and back in place. Like I said..........just use caution and take your time......watching everything as it goes back.

I love the little Mike and especially the Box-pok drivers.

Enjoy!!
Roger