I think so about the plugs, although I havent seen them outside of the package. At least two bundles of wires with plugs in the pack.

I wish I HAD that many cars! It pulls all the cars I own. I guess that's good enough.......for now!

I have become "stunned and amazed" at the new-found pulling power of my recent purchase of an older (non DCC-equipped) Western Maryland Consolidation. I found out that one of the tire-equipped drivers wasn't putting enough pressure on the rail due to the axle bearing being too deeply recessed into the frame. Noticed a little bouncing on that driver as well. So I lifted the drivers and inserted a small piece of plastic tape under the bearing (was NOT easy), and now I have a smooth-running puller from Hell!! This thing is pulling 25 freight cars without so much as a GRUNT! Just sharing this in case some of you might have the same issue. Also, you might have to loosen the nearest bottom cover screw to free things up a bit. I did, and the result is simply mind-boggling!

Ran it again tonight for about an hour or so, with no problems. The motor is getting noisier now. Still think some lube on the armature bearings might help. Ideas?

Riptrack, You're exactly right. I've got three turnouts that started losing current thru the rails. Started as intermittent, but has become constant. Locos just STOP in the turnout. Tried cleaning the points, as you said, but didn't solve the problem. Started soldering jumpers on the outside to solve the problems, but it looks like crap. Didn't initially want to pull up the track to get under them. Now I wish I had! Also, the plastic frogs are getting worn, and getting rather "bumpy" with the steamers I'm running. Two of my steamers (4-8-4) are rather long wheel base, and I think have accelerated the wear on the turnouts. The Bachmanns do seem to be exact fit, as far as dimension, just don't care for the plug-in wiring.

Well, everything seemed to work for the longest time, but last night, when I tried to BACK into a siding, the motor started acting up again. Seems that "backing up" initiated the problem! Do we still think it's the MOTOR? No amount of "fiddling" withe the tender wires seems to matter. My next move was to run the loco at high speeds in REVERSE for an extended period of time. After bucking & jerking for a while, it began to clear up, and now it's running normally again. What gives??

You mean you used TWO wires instead of SIX? That's what I'm talkin' about! I'd like to know exactly how you did that. Lights work also?

Unable to remove the boiler shell, I decided to remove the tender shell and inspect the wiring. WOW! Each wire looked like a "brass paint brush" where it was soldered to the (gizmo they were soldered to). Clearly a case of possible shorts! Since all six appeared to be soldered (but very frayed, with stray strands everywhere), I decided to just coat the wires at the joints with thin Super Glue. Before glue dried, I tucked in all the stray wires where they belonged. The glue held them firm, and kept the wires apart. Then I gobbed some clear silicone over the solder joints for good measure. I then painted each wire from tender to cab with flat black paint. So far, so good! No apparent motor problems! (I'm keeping my fingers crossed) Obviously ****-poor soldering, and sub-standard wire! If I can ever get the shell off, it would be my intention to replace all six of these wires with decent (properly insulated) wires.....

What? Is it me, or did you just answer your own question?

There's a little "Ma and Pa" hobby shop in town that sells Bachmann trains and accessories. A lot of his stuff, while new, seems like older stuff that he's "collected" over the years. I've got two Atlas turnouts (standard "snap switches") that have become troublesome on my layout. This guy in town has two Bachmann remote switches, but they are not the "EZ-Track" ones that have the plastic roadbed attached. They seem identical in dimension to the Atlas ones. Does anyone have an opinion, from experience, as to whether these will make a dependable replacement for my Atlas turnouts? They look decent enough, and maybe a little simpler in design. Any ideas?

Thanks for the picture! It appears that maybe I have to pull BACK on the bottom rear of the cab to make it unlatch, and then lift up? Also, can I lube the motor and worm gear without separating the frame halves? I have found that a teeny bit of Labelle (thick, but liquid) gear lube really works well on the armature bearings. You should hear the difference it made on my Spectrum 2-8-0! By the way, the motor on this J is quite noisy compared to the other one I have.

Thanks, I thought about that, if only I could get the shell off! To me, less is better, when it comes to electrics and wires.....

Skipgear, I removed the two screws under the cab, and tried to lift. while doing so, the "floor" of the cab tried to move with it, almost as if glued in place. After some serious pulling-up on the cab, I realized it wasn't going to happen. The front of the boiler is loose, moves up and down a little (as if in a "notch"), but the REAR of the boiler/cab is held firm, with screws removed. Tender drawbar removed, rear truck removed, no more screws to take out, that I can see! Maybe if I pull HARD ENOUGH, and something breaks, I'll at least find out what was holding it! Simple motor and worm lubrication should NOT be this difficult!! And yes, when the motor slows, the amp draw is tremendous, sometimes tripping circuit breaker in power pack, if I don't "goose" the throttle to get it back to speed! I'm also worried about those odd wires running to the tender that the "black color" is rubbing off of, exposing what appears to be BARE WIRE? Could that not be a PROBLEM?? Why no "real" insulation?

Are any of the (six?) wires running from the tender to the engine NOT necessary for normal DC operation? I don't intend to ever run DCC on my little layout, and it would be nice to eliminate some of those wires. Of course, I still want motor power from tender and working lights. Seems all I would really need would be TWO wires?? Also, I think I may have a shorting problem involving these wires that affects the motor. The wires don't even seem to be INSULATED! I know they would have to be, but with WHAT?

Anybody got any idea why some of MY posts on this topic are MISSING??? Seriously, hasn't ANYBODY (successfully) removed the shell from this loco??? Once again, instruction/ parts breakdown doesn't help! And no, I don't want to send it back, as I've done just too much detail work on it.