Same here, in Australia....

Amen to that, brother!

I can identify with what you say....my HO layout never LOOKED right with my trains on those tight radius curves, but with On30, it all looks acceptable, because you KNOW it is narrow gauge, and that is the exception to the rule...

Very Groovy, George....

(Also, I haven't heard anyone say "pike" for years and years.....)

Err,

More or less, I think that's what I'm saying.....

In any case, it's still a lot of fun!

Hi guys,

It just occurred to me...

"On30 lets you put MORE into LESS...."





=)

Hello all,

Having just installed a turntable (Atlas HO) on my newest On30 layout, and taking great pains to assure that the drive mechanism is hidden from view, it has just occurred to me that nearly all the pictures that I have seen of turntables over the years have not shown any form of propulsion for the decks.

Now I know that they can be motor driven, presumably by a small (steam or diesel or petrol fired) engine and adequate reduction gearing.

I also know that they can be operated via vacuum or compressed air, drawn from storage cylinders, and also, that in their simplest form, they can be man-handled by the old 'armstrong' method.

But how do I show this in O scale? 

If I place a couple of likely figures manning a pair of push levers, they will look out of place when the deck is rotating, as their legs will not 'walk'. Also, if I were to reverse the direction of rotation, as one tends to do, they will look even more ridiculous.

I can fit a couple of compressed air 'tanks' and a small operating cab off to one side, I guess...........but.....I just went to a lot of trouble to cover the mechanism - in this case, it is under a shelf of overhanging rocks that make up a cliff face.

Does anyone have any great ideas?

How do you show your turntable operating under its own power, without getting into the ludicrous?

Thanks to all.

Hey thanks JohnR,

I may have found the problem. When I removed the baseplate cover to get at the axle drives, there seemed to be an excess of what looked like a light oil.

Do Bachmann use oil on their drivelines? 

Anyway, I cleaned this all off, and also gave the pick up contacts and wheel backs a polish, and the loco now seems to be running nicely again.

It's good to have someone to toss around ideas with.

What a great bunch of blokes you are...

G'day blokes,

I am having a spot of trouble with my new Bachmann On30 Gas Mechanical Loco.

I run my layout on DC, and when power is applied to my G-M, the LED headlamp illuminates, but more often than not, the loco just sits, doing nothing. No amount of pushing seems to assist.

Other times, it all works correctly, and for the main part, runs well.

I have cleaned the track, and the loco wheels, and my DMM indicates sufficient voltage to the rails.

All my other locos (including the repaired Forney) run perfectly.

I am wondering if the DCC chip may be causing problems....

Has anyone else noticed similar erratic behaviour from this loco?

Hey, there's a clue.....

Hello guys,

I have contacted Bachmann and they advise that replacement parts are not currently available, so I am stuck with repair. 

The bogie/truck assembly DID take the bulk of the shock, and as a result, there is a small crack in the truck frame. It will be fairly simple to repair, but there appears to be excessive freeplay in the claw of the hollow king pin.....almost as if there is a piece missing().  I carefully swept the carpet just to be sure, but located nothing. 

I have since added a shim which I shaped and filed up out of brass, and I will give that a try.

The rest of the loco seems OK, apart from the roof hatch, which I can repair. I ran the loco without its rear truck, and it runs smoothly.

I have now also repaired and refitted the two collector wires to their locations, and have re-established circuit continuity, so I will see how it runs.

(I am very lucky that Forney-Kate fell onto the carpet, rather than onto the terracotta tiles on the other side of the layout.....)

Many thanks, blokes....

Hello all,

I recently had the misfortune to watch helplessly as my (almost) new Bachmann 2-4-4 Forney took a tumble from the layout track and landed on the carpet. <Ouch> 

The mishap broke the rear bogie (truck) from the king pin, as well as tearing the two contact wires from their mounting screws. Some other body parts were also broken off, but I managed to find all the bits.

Calling myself every useless kind of moron that I could lay my tongue to, I set about the repair.

I soldered the tiny wires back onto their eyelets, screwed them back into their locations, and re-mounted the bogie onto the king pin. I also used some silicone lube on a cotton bud to grease the king pin slot, just to make certain that there would be no binding.

Now, I cannot seem to keep the thing on the rails. The rear bogie/truck appears to be very sloppy on the king pin, and as a result, keeps derailing and rattling along behind, which causes the loco to stall at the first turnout it comes to.

(Before the mishap, the Forney was my smoothest and most reliable-running loco, easily negotiating my less-than-minimum radius curves....)

Has anyone else had any similar trouble with these fiddly things?

Additionally, is it possible for me to purchase spare parts for my Spectrum locos direct from Bachmann?

Any advice would be very much appreciated.