Will the upcoming Santa Fe 4-4-0 have a Funnel stack or a cylindrical stack?

A thread in the N scale forum had a discussion about the N-scale crossing gate (44879) bouncing since they were weight activated.  I found a solution that could also apply to HO scale (44579).  This isn't the cheapest solution but it increases reliability.

1.  drill holes in the sides of the counterweight part of each gate arm, to allow the use of a .025" diameter steel or brass actuator wire.  Remove the old plastic actuators from the counterweight portion of each gate arm.

2.  Remove the pressure springs and plate from the track base.

3.  Use in infrared motion activated crossing signal controller with tortoise switch motors or micro servos (azatrax only).

4.  Make sure the steel actuators are the cut and bent to the right length before connecting the gate to the motor.

5.  If you want working flashers, you can get them from Model Power or NJ International.  These are to be placed in front of each gate.     

6.  If the stock gate arm pedestal breaks off,  it can be replaced with the gates that come with static signals (N scale item #42504 or HO scale Item #42200) available from Bachmann.  A hole will need to be drilled on the upper part of the counterweight (marked with an "O"). 

I have had succes with this installation.  Hope this works for you as well.

-Aaron

The turnout motor is powered by the AC Terminals on the N-scale Power Pack.  The DC terminals power the Rails, which allow the train to move.

I noticed the 2011 Catalogue only has the Cafe Car and the nonpowered engines available as separate sale items, and a starter set.  Is there a possibility that the First class, Business Class, and End Business class cars could become available as separate sale items again sometime in the future?

I would like to see the following cars to expand the train from the McKinley Explorer set.

Rolling stock
-Princess Cruise passenger cars.

-Generic Alaska Railroad Passenger Cars.

More Locomotive options:
-Separate-Sale Powered Alaska F9A unit

-Additional Road numbers and/or Liveries for the Alaska GP40 Locomotive

I would like to see an Acela express train capable of handling 11-inch radius curves at slow to medium speeds without derailing so it won't require much space as the current Acela Express.

I would like to see replacement knuckle couplers for the n scale amfleets because the ones i have contain rapido couplers.

I bought the Kato V11 double track set.  The inner radius is about 15" and the outer radius is about 16."  The curves are superelevated (banked). I ran the acela express on this track.  The train had a tendency to slow down slightly, especially on the the inner curve, but the train did not derail.  If you feel the need to use a tighter radius, I do NOT recommend running the train on a curve with a radius of less than 15".

Dear Mr Bach-Man,

I am thinking of expanding my acela N scale train, but the distributers show that the business class car (#160-89973) is out of stock and that walthers indicates that it is "sold out." Are the acela cars currently in production but out of stock on some distributer sites?

-Aaron

Quote from: Santa Fe buff on June 20, 2008, 06:59:15 PM
Try tiling your turns, it helps the G-Force.

I just bought the kato V11 track set with superelevated (tilting) curves with an inner radius of 15 inches and an outer radius of 16 inches.  The train runs great on this track.

Dear mr Bach-man,

I own an Acela Express train, which is recommended to run on a 19-inch radius curve.  If you run it on an 11-inch or a kato 12-3/8 inch radius curve, it will slow down dramatically.  The HO scale acela runs on a 22-inch radius curve.  In proportion, that is like a train running on an 11 inch radius curve in n scale. Is there any way you or the company can design or make an upgrade mechanism that can allow the acela to make tighter turns without slowing down?  A 19-inch radius curve on the main line will take up a lot of space.  If an upgrade was made, the appearance may be less prototypical during the turns, but many people would then be able to operate the train on a smaller layout due to space constraints. Please take this suggestion into consideration.

Thanks,

-Aaron

I have seen them on the micro-trains website:
<http://www.micro-trains.com/special_edition_birthday_loco.php>
and
<http://www.micro-trains.com/special_edition_birthday_freight_car.php>

Hope this helps.

-Aaron

Also, dont forget about producing knuckle couplers for the amfleets.

-Aaron

I would like to create a thread on locomotive suggestions for the  Williams O-gauge line.  Please note that the trains I am suggesting do not have to scale exactly, due to space and track diameter concerns.
Here are my suggestions:

Trains (currently in HO and N scales) -

> E60CP and HHP-8 (both shortened to run on O-31 curves, intended to be 
   used with the 60-ft amfleets previously released by Williams)

> Acela Express (Shortened to run on O-31 curves)

> 4-4-0 Locomotives (i.e. CP Jupiter, UP #119, etc.

Bell and Horn Sounds to include in future locos-

> Acela Express and HHP8 (if produced): K5LA Hybrid horn and bell recorded
   from the real Acela locomotive (s)

> P42 Genesis: K5LA horn and bell recorded from the real Genesis
   locomotive(s)

> E60CP (if produced) Nathan P5 Horn and bell

Mr Bach-man, please consider these suggestions seriously.
Thanks.

Aaron

what tool do you use to file the tabs