I was just watching an episode of rescue 911 on youtube, where a pair of runaway boxcars collided with a car at a crossing (perfect T-bone too, what are the chances of that??) because the elderly driver and passenger had no indication that the cars were coming. No gates, bells or lights. They just drove onto the crossing and the boxcars hit them. Now I was under the impression that the warning signals were operated electrically. There is a current running between on the rails, and when the car/train drove onto that particular section of track, a circuit would be completed by the wheelset (kind of like with block signaling) thus triggering the warning lights. But, looking at this video, that does not seem to be the case.

Also, the video I was talking about can be seen here

Quote from: Tim on June 21, 2008, 05:36:27 AM
Guy's

I am using "Firefox 2.+" , and have no problems with this site.

Do you have "Java" installed ?, and check how Your browser is set to handle cookies.

Your firewall and antivirus programs may also have an effect on what you can do.

Mr Bach-Man, you need to get rid of "Netscape ", and Install "Firefox 2.0" or above.
"Netscape" is no longer supported.

If you are using a"Windows" machine, you have "Internet Explorer" on board, try accessing this site
with that and see if you still have problems.

Foe example I cannot view anything on "Woodland Scenics" site with "Firefox" but can view it
with "Internet Explorer 6.0".

Tim Anders
Souderton, PA

PS:  I posted this using "Firefox"

The site also worked fine when I was using Fire Fox 2.x. But now that I am using Fire Fox 3.0 I have been having the logging out problem, and the posting time-out problem.

When you say 3 level, do you mean two scenicked levels plus one lower staging level? Or do you mean 3 scenicked, operating levels? And also, how big is your room? How much separation do you want between levels? How high do you want your highest level? How low do you want the lowest one? Do you want to use a helix or a nolix? If you are using a helix, how big will the radius be/how many revolutions/how steep a grade? If you are using a nolix, how much running space do you have to gain the elevation change between levels? Will the grades needed be appropriate for your protoype? What kind of power do you plan on using? Do you want helper services? What kind of cars/how many cars will a typical train be? These are all questions that you need to ask yourself before asking us.

Also, overuse of the smilies is another annoying thing. One "" does just about the same job as " "

You know, If you sell off all of your stock, and buy some HOn3 stuff, you would be just fine on a 4x8... HOn3 locomotives typically max out at 2-8-2s (not counting articulateds), cars average out at just over 4" long, and are quite at home on 18"r curves... :-^

DCC Ready means it is ready to accept a decoder via solder pads, or an NMRA plug.

DCC Equipped/Onboard means that it has the DCC decoder already installed on the locomotive.

DCC Sound onboard means it has a Bachmann Custom Soundtraxx Tsunami motor control/sound decoder and speaker installed.

Basically, the only way to know if a model is DCC Ready/Equipped is to look at the details on the product page on the website, regardless if it is or is not the Bachmann site. I'd doubt they would advertise a DCC Ready loco as DCC Equipped.

Also, for a good price, and clear details on Bachmann (among other manufacturers) products, I would recommend www.micromark.com not to mention, they have a great selection of small tools that work well for model railroading.

Quote from: kevin2083 on May 29, 2008, 10:08:39 PM
The folks at BN had some fun with the number on this one too:
http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=143967&nseq=0

Quote from: Guilford Guy on May 29, 2008, 07:57:59 PM
Don't forget Widdle Conwail!

GG, what is the point of that? It seems too small to be able to get any traction. Do you know anything about it?

It is used to pull cars one at a time onto a scale. Since the weight of a road or switcher loco would break the scale. (Just like yo mama! )

Quote from: Santa Fe buff on May 11, 2008, 03:35:54 PM
I saw an train, the trunks appeared to be floatling, I studied them and found out they have wheels. I never took any care in modeling them until one Christmas my dad bought my a Life-Like HO Rolling Thunder set, seeing the realistic senery that came with it, and the extra real locomotive and cars made me want to model for life. I still love real trains, just not as much as modeling them.

Which Life-Like was your dad buying from? I know all of the Life-Like sets I got as a kid were only slightly above complete and utter s***.

Quote from: Conrail Quality on May 05, 2008, 07:47:34 PM

Quote from: Santa Fe buff on May 05, 2008, 01:11:01 PM
Simple magnitisum.
You have two magnites sticking to each other, sooner or later, the magnitisum in the magnites will wear of, then you should try to make thecouplers less movable, I DON'T REALLY KNOW WHAT TO DO..
but I can tell why the magnitisum is going away.
try to call the service department for a refund. If you get new couplers it might happen again, you should likely get the other couplers that aren't knuckle ones, I forget the name, but they are black and are on every life-like product.

Magnets have no part in keeping the couplers held together. The only thing magnetic about the coupler is the trip pin, which is used for automatic uncoupling. The couplers themselves are held together simply by friction. I second Gene's suggestion of Kadee couplers; they are easily the best on the market. The Kadee #148 is a drop-in replacement for an EZ-Mate (And it rhymes! ).

Timothy

It was Roger that recommended the Kadees

Quote from: Santa Fe buff on May 05, 2008, 01:11:01 PM
If you get new couplers it might happen again, you should likely get the other couplers that aren't knuckle ones, I forget the name, but they are black and are on every life-like product.

I REALLY hope that was a joke...

Quote from: SteamGene on April 11, 2008, 09:31:00 PM
Gone is the is the ill-fated era
I'd suggest working on this.  It doesn't seem to be quite the right touch.  Also - and far more important, you mention only the south west corner of the steam world.  Think of what you have excluded.
Gene

Thanks Gene, I'll work on that!

This is just a little something I wrote in my spare time. It started out as like 3 lines on a comment I posted on one of Paul's You Tube videos, and I just wound up changing a bit or two and expanding it.

"Gone is the is the ill-fated era of the steam locomotive, never again to return. Many of the living, breathing leviathans of the rails have slipped into an eternal slumber, only to remain a fading memory... Never to be seen, smelled nor heard again. Gone are the days of smelling the hot oil of a steam locomotive. Gone are the days of seeing steam and smoke pouring from a Big boy as it pulls a 150 car freight train up Sherman Hill. Gone are the days of hearing the far cry of a Denver and Rio Grande Western K-36 echoing through the Toltec Gorge or steaming down the Chili Line. No more will you find shots of a Baldwin 2-6-6-2 shooting sparks as it climbs up a 7% grade with 20 loaded log cars behind it. You will never again see a Southern Pacific Cab Forward pulling a 120 drag up Donner Pass. And the sad truth is, soon enough, you will never see a steam locomotive again."

And it is a sad truth indeed.

Assuming you are talking about hard wiring a decoder, It depends on whether they know what they are doing. If someone whos never done it before, and doesn't even know what has to be done, chances are they WILL mess up the engine. If someone whos done it a million times, or has never done it before but knows what must be done does it, chances are everything will be fine.

^Umm, Bob, first off, 6 feet per second is just under 4.1 mph. And second, what are you talking about?

Quote from: rocknblues on April 03, 2008, 05:16:03 PM
It is advertised as the A and B unit are both supposed to be powered. I have it printed out. When you order a product, I see no reason to have to take it apart, fix it, oil it, or whatever. This to me is a reflection on the company that makes the product, what is a consumer paying for?
Here is your new TV set, oh by the way, you may have to take off the back and change a wire or two if you need it to work. What???
Collectables Today are not disputing the fact that the B Unit Engine are supposed to be powered. The second B Unit is not free wheeling, I have cleaned the wheels, cleaned the track, my other train runs fine, the Bachmann product does not. I am just frustrated, a person pays good money expecting a quality product. I probably will take it to a hobby shop and see whats wrong.
One other note, I have a dummy unit on another train, the B Unit Engine for the Bachmann is equally as heavy as the locomotive, I don't believe dummy units are weighted this heavy. But thanks for the input people, I do appreciate it, and will appreciate more input if anyone has any. Thanks

Someone does not have a concept of this new thing called 'maintenance'...

^Yeah, because everyone and their brother can read Japanese...