Hi guys,

Anyone out there with a new Bachman 2-4-4?  I am contemplating getting one for running around my bar, see pic below:



And the boys were only there for the trains!! They are German, so I had to run my German train for them.

Back to the topic... 

I am thinking a 2-4-4 with sound, of course, and a couple of Dogfish Head Reefers, a low sided gon or two (for shot glasses) and a combine might be all the On30 I need (besides the Hershey Trolley I've already got!)  I'm not worried about trying to run two On30 trains at once since the inner loop is dedicated live steam (Hornby Mallard). Track spacing is about 1.5" center to center.

So, my question about the new 2-4-4 is how well does it track? Is it picky about vertical changes? Would it be able to handle 4-7 cars, possibly hauling a few glasses with 1.5 oz of Tequilla, Vodka, or possibly some low grade whiskey?

Thanks,

Mark

Dusten,

Like the others have said, a lot of times, it is easier to buy something cheap, then paint it the way you want it.  I've used regular spray paint on my large scale (1/29) locomotives.  Taking them apart can be a little tricky, but if you take your time and don't force anything, you'll likely not break it.  The trick with all painting is to apply light coats several times.

I'd bet a lot of the folks on here have taken their 2-6-0's apart for a variety of reasons, so you could ask how it comes apart, etc. Likely, you won't have to disassemble the running gear to remove the cab.

Good luck, and remember, if you mess it up painting,  you can always re-paint it. 

Mark

Kevin,

I'm following what you are saying.  I wonder how much the rail surface can play in to the original challenge.  If there is more surface roughness on aluminum rail then perhaps yes, the locomotive achieves better adhesion when on grades.  However, I think there will also be more friction from the consist.  If the surface of the stainless is something less than the Aluminum, then there's less adhesion to the rails to pull a train with less wheel rolling resistance.  I think we're splitting some hairs there.  BUT, I don't have any way to verify that with my railroad (built with aristo stainless) since I don't have any aluminum rail.   Sort of like comparing tractive effort of locomotives on dry rail vs wet rail vs wet rail with SAND!

Posted by TOC

QuoteIf I can haul 28-34 loads consistently up 150' of 4% with ONE Bachmann Shay, I sure would like to hear what folks with Stainless are able to do.

I think this challenge is inherently flawed since the testing has to take place on each individual's railroad. My railroad is built different from TOCs and yours, so how could I compare my pulling power to either?  And what would be the result of  that data?  I believe in the end it would show that on my railroad you could pull XX number of cars, on TOCs, you could pull YY cars, on yours ZZ, etc... I think that each of us, consiously or unconsiously, wants to know the capabilities of our locomotives on our railroads. At some point, I know I do my own load up test on all of my locomotives to see what they can pull on my railroad.  It might be the same as someone else or it might be completely different, and in the end, there's no real way to correlate.  To me, it just seems like there's too many variables at play.  Oh and what's the weight of the cars, etc...

I don't have the same 4% grade for the same distance with the same geometery (curves, etc) for this to be a fair comparison. (Oh yeah, if I had a Shay.)  I have pulled 20 car freights with a single locomotive before.  I've also stripped gears in a LGB mikado (broke at the star drive pulling too long a train) and a LGB Mogul (locomotive derailed #1 driver, got itself in a locked position with the motor still trying to turn.  What gave out? The gear).   The gears are the cheapest thing to replace in the drive train, and accordingly, those are what strips out when the wheels are locked or stalled instead of the motor burning out.

Later,
Mark

OK,

Based on the locomotives you've mentioned, I'd recommend:

8' diameter minimum curves for inner loop, 10' outer
1' from ceiling.
Double line: I don't know..

Mark

No sweat, Bachmann! 

Thanks!

Hi Bachmann,

Is it too soon to ask about this year's Sams Club set? 

Thanks,

Mark