I'm glad I could help. This comes up every few months or so (usually in the HO forum), and it seems to be a problem exclusive to Bachmann decoders and the Digitrax Zephyr. Most other combination seems to work fine. I'd like to be able to explain why this happens, but I really don't know.

Timothy

Edit: According to Jim banner on the HO forum, the problem is that the Zephyr cannot read the acknowledgment signal from the decoder to the Zephyr without the resistor.

Try putting a 1000 ohm resistor across the rails when programming it. Bachmann decoders usually cannot be read by a Zephyr without one (the decoder does not draw enough current for the Zephyr to acknowledge it).

Timothy

Revell imported Arnold-Rapido's N-scale line way back in the day. And, yes those did move, so there have been moving things from Revell (at least in 1/160).

Timothy

I saw a Great Northern "big sky blue" boxcar last year while I was on vacation in Montana. And yes, it was on the old GN mainline. I'm not sure if this is fallen flags enough, but a couple months ago, I also saw a Chessie covered hopper in Maryland from an Amtrak train (while, naturally, our train was on a siding waiting for the freight train to pass us).

Timothy

Northwest Shortline probably has the gears you need.
http://www.nwsl.com (their site is best viewed with Internet Explorer rather than Firefox; the text shows up transparent for some reason)

Timothy

No, not really. The visibility and ease of maintenance were slightly better than the F units, but they were vastly inferior in those regards to locomotives like the Alco RS-1, which EMD later copied to make the GP-7. Basically, they were an awkward and mostly unloved transition locomotive.

Timothy

Power packs are generally very reliable- I'm guessing you just happened to get lemons. For what it's worth, I've been using a Bachmann power pack for years with no problems at all.

Timothy

There are too many variables to give you a number. How long have you broken it in, how free-rolling are the cars, and so on. All of these factors and more affect how many cars a locomotive will pull. Generally, the Bachmann GP-50 is a decent but unspectacular puller compared to other N-scale locomotives.

Timothy

A GE E-33! We have no freight electrics available at all in N scale right now. After all, Bachmann already has the research done from their HO model, now we just need the N version. 

Timothy

Bachmann did three different runs of HO Metroliners (or multiple runs with three different designs). The first design had a can motor and unique couplers. The second design also had a can motor, but had horn-hook couplers instead. The third design was the same as the second, except that the can motor has been replaced by a notoriously poor-quality pancake motor.

Timothy

Even the locomotives sometimes ended up in strange places. I recall reading somewhere that the Pennsylvania experimented with putting helper engines in the MIDDLE of the train itself, right after the head-end cars. That would have been something to see...

Timothy

Bob, are you sure that first site is showing an HO prairie? That one has all the hallmarks of Bachmann's N-scale prairie, especially the infamous motor that's clearly sticking out of the cab.

Timothy

Bachmann couldn't find a suitable motor for the 4-6-0 (and 2-10-0) for what they thought was a reasonable price. So the project has been delayed indefinitely until Bachmann can small enough motor at a price they think we will pay for.

Timothy

This locomotive does not come with a DCC decoder, so you will have to install one yourself. How easy it is will depend on if you have the new mechanism(gray metal) or the old (black metal). If you have the new one, installation isn't that bad, relatively speaking. Solder the wires from the decoder to the pads on the lightboard, numbered 1-7, and that's it, mostly. You may or may not want to cut the big yellow capacitator on the lightboard, depending on what decoder you use. If your decoder is performing poorly, the capacitator is the most likely culprit.

If you have the old mechanism, you have a much a larger task ahead of you, including milling the frame to fit a decoder, electrically isolating the motor, and basically rewiring the locomotive.

For the new mechanism, this guide is actually for the SD-45, but the SD45 and C40 mechanisms are very similar, so it may be helpful.
http://www.tcsdcc.com/decoderpics/Bachmann_Spectrum_SD-45/Bachmann_Spectrum_SD-45.htm
For the old mechanism:
http://www.tcsdcc.com/pdf/N_Bachmann_C40-8_M-1.pdf

As for the decoder itself, a TCS M1, Digitrax DZ125, or any similarly-sized decoder should be fine.

Timothy

Thanks to everyone for the replies. Bob, your suggestion sounds exactly like what I need.

If anyone is curious, what I'm contemplating is taking Bachmann's ancient (and poorly-running) E60CP and, after some shell work, mount it on the more modern Life-Like mechanism. Based on the dimensions I found it should be a good fit, except for the frame height, hence the milling.

Timothy