Thanks Skipgear, I will check this out.

According to the documentation that came with this engine, it is DCC ready. I don't know for sure if it is fully set up for DCC or not. I have been running this engine on my DC layout for over a year now with no issues, actually I have been very impressed with it's performance. As for the power supply that I use, its a MRC Tech II Railpower 1400. I did check for dirty wheel sets and gears today, I moved the motor armature with a toothpick through the cab window and now it seems to be running normally again. I'm assuming that I am having contact issues with the motor and brushes.

I also own the Black Widow F7A and F7B set, I agree that this set is awesome. What I would like to have is a similar set with Santa Fe War Bonnet colors and the Super Chief numbering, (21 & 22). I have the "El Capitan" passenger cars so I would need the Super Chief engines to make the set complete, two A units and two B units.

I am having an issue with my Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0 Consolidation, it stops running when I switch directions. I can put it on the track and run it for as long as I want until I stop and switch directions, then it seems to be dead with only the headlight operating. Does anyone have an idea of what could be going on with it?

Wow, thats a lot of information to take in. I really appreciate all the responses to my question. All have good advice and I will study up on each of these ideas. Thank you.

This would be a question for DC layouts. Would it be possible to add a capacitor to a passenger car's lighting circuit to help keep the lights from flickering while going over breaks in the track circuitry? Another advantage could be to allow the car's lights to remain lit when the train is stopped.

Thanks for the information guys, I do have an Austrian made version by the way. It runs really well even with dirty wheels. I plan on giving it a good cleaning and oiling as it sounds like it is in need of oiling. Most of what I run are in the Santa Fe/BNSF line so I will have to figure out how to incorporate this little guy into my layout. I do have a Bachmann Spectrum Rock Island Consolidated Steamer that I received for Christmas a couple of years ago so maybe I can create a seperate RI line maybe.

I was just at a model railroad train show and I found an N scale GP40 with "Texas Special" paint scheme numbered 101. The chassis has Atlas markings on it. My question is does anyone remember a Texas Special line ever being run?

I do repairs for my local hobby shop so this issue caught my attention. We have one of these sets in the store for sale so I am very interested in whether this is an isolated issue or if all the acelas will have this problem. I had a conversation with the store owner and he asked that I stay on top if this so any information that can be passed along would be appreciated. We have a concern that the set we have for sale may also fail so you can see why we are so concerned about this. I would like to know what Bachmann did to remedy the issue so we can be prepared to correct our set. Thank you.

An even easier solution would be to use Elmer's white glue. No heating of a glue gun required, and it can easily be removed later if needed.

Thank you both for your input, I will do some research and see what I come up with. If anything, I may just wait and see if the hobby shop I do repairs for gets a trade-in that is only good for parts. Sometimes I get lucky that way.

I recently purchased an assortment of HO scale engines and rolling stock at a train show. In this lot was what appears to be a Bachmann U36B with UP #824 paint scheme. I can't find anywhere on this Bachmann site that they even made a U36B in HO scale. I need a PCB for it and am having trouble locating one. Any help would be appreciated.

I have the Bachmann Spectrum F7a and b Black Widow Southern Pacific set and they have the rapido couplers on them. I would like to convert them to knuckle couplers but I don't know which couplers to use. There seem to be so many out there these days, how do I choose? I do have the Kato Santa Fe El Capitan passenger cars that are equipt with Kato's version knuckle couplers so I would like something that would match well with those cars. Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks for the information, that does shed some light on the subject for me. I think I am becoming a fan of passenger rail all of a sudden.

I am venturing into passenger rail, new to me since I live in South Texas and passenger trains are few and far between. I'm confused as to how to determine if passenger cars are lightweight or heavyweight. However, I recently purchased some used passenger cars from my hobby store, three Atlas Rivarossi "Chicago and Northwestern" cars and three Lima cars that have italian decals on them. I also purchased a Kato "El Capitan" set. Anyway, I could use any information on the subject.

Thanks,
En4cer