Good Evening All,

     The FA,  RS3,  and S2 & S4 units do not have a start up sound if what you mean is when the sound comes on you get the sound of a prime mover kicking over to run mode.   The sound of these engines will come on in idle mode when put on the tracks or when track power is turned on.   As for other sound decoders,  it depends on the manufacturer,  but many come on as the Bachmann engines do,  but with the start sound that was previously asked about.   Others come on only once the engine address is put into the system.   I have 6 of the value sound engines from Bachmann and they are some of the best running,  pulling,  and great sounding engines that I own and I have sound engines from Atlas,  Bowser,  and Intermountain.   For the price,  you cannot beat the Bachmann equipment.   BTW......Mr B.  It would be nice to see other road names available such as Reading on the RS3s(olive green scheme) and the F7 units.  I also got a chance to see the new GG1 up close on Friday and you have another winner Bachmann.

Ken Price,

      I see that you are an N scale railroader doing western roads such as the UP.   If you go to YouTube,  put the name Bill Fagan in the search box and take a look at his N scale model railroad.   What you will see there is a railroad,  that at the time Bill filmed it,  was less than 2 years old.   BTW.....if you are interested,  put my name,  Bob Rule, Jr. in the search box.   Bill has upload 4 or 5 different views of my HO/HOn3 and On30 railroads.

Jward,

   I have several Bachmann diesels.   Two have dcc but no sound.   They both run like Swiss clocks,   The other 6 engines have dcc and factory installed sound.   Except for the basic generic detailing,   for the price,  these engines are a steal.  I love my Bachmann engines in HO scale but can remember a time not that long ago that they were iffy at best.   Because of that many people who come into the train store where I work partime still do not want to invest in Bachmann.   You know what I say to that?  "More Bachmann engines for me to buy.
My two non sound engines I use to pull my track cleaning trains equipped with the Bachmann track cleaning tank cars.   Those two engines probably already have close to 100 hours of run time.  The long and short of it is that Bachmann has improved the quality and selection sooooo much,  that I feel sorry for those who still turn up their noses at what Bachmann offers today's model railroaders.   BTW.....earlier I mentioned my HO scale engines.   That was done because all but two of my On30 engines and 95% of my On30 rolling stock are from Bachmann and I love that stuff!!  Keep up the good work Bachmann!!

Hey Mr. B.....saws the Bachmann GP30 in the B&O scheme yesterday.   Any chance Bachmann would offer that engine in B&O with the "sun ray" scheme?

Good Morning All,

     I agree with Mr. B,  I have never been disappointed by my purchases from Banta.  But,  in regards to the wood decks for the Bachmann flat cars,  I would encourage the use of extra adhesive especially at the ends of the deck.   The adhesive that comes on the bottom of the deck is good,  but in every one that I have installed,  the ends start to peel up after a couple of months.   

Sorry I have been away for this site for a while.   To Roger,  why five cars - I put one on each of my mainline trains so that I am constantly cleaning at least the mainlines.  Also,  when I run just track cleaning trains I usually have two of the cars on each train.

Jward,

       I have five of the Bachmann cleaning cars and have zero problems backing them up. 

Good Morning all,

       First of all,  spacing will have to be determined by you,  keeping mind what type of equipment you are using.   My On30 is my poor man's version of On3.   I have two of the MMI K27s and they require a fair amount of space because of the way the cyclinders slant out from the body of the engine.   I put one of the Ks down a piece of cardboard and then drew a rectangle around the engine so that the cut out was a small bit larger than the over all engine.   I then drew a center line on the rectangle to be matched up with track center lines.   I made a second rectangle for the other K and then used them to determine where my track needed to be laid.
I also made cardboard templetes to determine the size of my tunnel portles.
        Now,  Micro Engineering On30 track was mentioned.   I use their track and it is a great representation of U.S. narrow gauge track.    There is one small drawback depending on the code of the rail.    I use the ME code 100 track,  BUT,  they do not offer turnouts larger than code 83.   Makes no sense to me,  but that is their deal.
I made most of my turnouts using Peco HO scale electrofrog turns,  cutting off almost all the plastic ties and remounting on wood ties.  The only plastic ties left after surgery were the ones at the frog,  the hinge point of the points and around the point throw bar.

That is really a shame as they were some of the best trees I have ever used.

Good Morning All,

Some time back I posted a thread here about trees.   I have lost track of the thread so I bring it up again.
Are the autumn trees,  Sycamore,  Elm,  etc discontinued?

Good Afternoon all,

     I use chalks from a company called Bragdon.   They have a bit of an adhesive mixed in so the final spray of dullcoat is really not necessary.   But,  if you are going to dulcoat after putting on the chalks,  make sure that you weather with a heavier coating because the force of the spray will dislodge some of the chalk.   The advice to practice on an old car body or building you do not care for is GREAT advice.

In response to the comment about the size of the K27 in On30,  I have enclosed a picture of my K27s flanked by two Bachmann On30 engines.

Good Evening Rube,

      First of all,  the engines you mentioned are available in both HO and On30.   It may help us know which scale you are referring to.
       Secondly,   in the internet world,  typing in all caps is considered yelling.  Help we can get more info from you.

Respectfully

     

       I have made trees in the past.   Right now,  there are soooo many other things that need my attention and these trees are REALLY nice!!!!!!

Good Evening All,

      In the 2013 Walthers cataloge,  from Bachmann,  Scene Scapes line,  there are autumn color trees in HO scale such as Elms,  Sycamores,  Aspens,  etc.   They are advertised as new yet they don't seem to be available.  Are they discontinued?   I certainly hope not as they are WONDERFUL trees.