DZ123 for all my spectrums.
For non spectrums, you need to mill and work on the frame to fit.

Former race car driver (F1 Grand Prix) Riccardo Patrese has a hugh collection.

Quote from: Big Sol on August 07, 2007, 05:41:36 AM
My local shop has a ton of Bachmann stuff, and all of Bachmann's stuff seems fairly priced and plentiful, so I'll probably go with that.

I'm now regretting not having paid $5 for the Bachmann 2007 catalog they had there...I'll have to remember to pick that up once I get off work (Graveyard shift...what fun!)

The catalog is on the website.

Do you think you can convince them to make a series of old HK locomotives and passenger cars (under Bachmann China brand)?

What is this model really?  Is it a B23-7, or a B30-7?  How come in the catalog it is always listed as B23-7/B30-7?  There is no B23-7/B30-7.  All I know is that
B23-7 was made for Santa Fe, while B30-7 was for BN.

What is the factory's Chinese name...I know that they are putting in a new Chinese name for their holding company for stock exchange purposes.

Speaking of which, are you member of the HKRS?

Quote from: ASIANLIFE on August 06, 2007, 07:37:55 PM
I live in Hong Kong and have visited Kader- as said before, they are subject to the laws here. Although Hong Kong has reverted to China, there is a  one-country two-systems agreement which includes the rule of law which is still basically that introduced by Britain.

I'll take the liberty to do the edit for some parts...in <>


Model Trains
The turnover for model trains for the year ended 31st December 2006 was approximately HK$365.62 million <edit: approx USD$50 million>, a slight increase of 3.36% as compared to last year.
During the year under review, the manufacturing costs stood at a high level which adversely affected the performance of the Model Trains section. To face the challenge, the Company followed a strategy of further improving the quality of the products. This strategy has succeeded in gaining the loyalty of customers and maintained our leading position in the industry<...
...> The Bachmann’s E-Z Command® series continued to be the key contributor to sales growth. This is a Digital Command Control (DCC) system incorporating the latest digital technology to bring a DCC system to control speed, lighting, and direction of multiple locomotives that is easy to use and
affordable for both the novice and experienced hobbyist. With the latest offerings of DCC Sound On Board locomotives, model railroads are able to come to life.
<......>
The Group is committed to maintaining its competitiveness in terms of productivity, quality, reliability and delivery. Efforts have also been placed in enhancing safety precautions and quality control. Safety standards, regulations and code of practices are the Group’s major concern. The
Group is always adhering to the Code of Business Practice of the International Council of Toy Industries (“ICTI”) and has passed and satisfied the ICTI audit, namely, the ICTI CARE Process.

Check your trucks' wheels gauge.

New pictures

http://www.cygoth.com/~buzz/index5.html

Quote from: Craig on August 05, 2007, 11:30:20 AM

Quotewhy are model trains so expensive

I got two children involved in railroad modeling last Christmas by gifting them each a complete Athearn train set with EZ track. They cost only $50.00 each, with shipping included and came with a bonus Genesis freight car.

That is so sweet!

Quote from: ebtbob on August 04, 2007, 07:01:48 AM
Prices go up, that is just a fact.   It would be interesting to see if there was a way to calculate the average percentage of increase in prices in comparison with other more important things in our lives such as gas,  milk,  etc.

Well, you asked for it...and I think this is a good idea: Let use one of the most common Bachmann N scale products, which also happens to be the cheapest over the years, the D R G & W (Denver & Rio Grande) 41' Box Car, as an experiment..

Year  Catalog#  MSRP  Manufacturing  Tooling   Notes
1968  6115        $1.50 Hong Kong          1
1969  5066        $1.50                         2
1973                $1.75                         3
1976                $2.25
1979                $2.50
1985  53-1000   $3.50                         4
1992  70050      $4.00  China                5
1996                $4.50
1997                $4.75
1999                $5.42
2001  70089    $10.00                          6         "Cookie Box" Paint scheme
2007  70089    $10.00                                     "Cookie Box" Paint scheme

The annual averaged inflation rate of this product is 4.9848%.
Notice that the true inflation rate for the past 40 years is 4.7505%
If Bachmann were to charge this car exactly the price that reflects the true inflation rate, the 2007 price should be $9.17 instead of $10.00...or put it this way, Bachmann "made" a profit of 0.2343% a year.

Keep in mind that the last tooling was done in probably 1999, and Bachmann had five tooling during its entire 40 years history, and for this product it probably has 6 tooling, so you need to account for depreciation cost of the old machineries.  Running factories from China instead of Hong Kong around possibly 1991, also temporarily lower the cost of operation, but then there is the start up cost for the new factory.  All in all, quite a complex matter. 

Of course, all we know is that the company is obviously making a profit...(you can read the annual financial report to the stockholders...)

Keep in mind that Kader (Bachmann) technically is a Hong Kong company (ok, they do register, technically, at Bermuda, like a lot of companies in Hong Kong), not a mainland Chinese one.  There is a HUGH difference between the two countries when it comes to the laws.  The former has a well established system that was British based for more than 150 years, while the latter is still trying to figure out how to apply commercial laws in a still de facto and very much de jure communist country.  Since Kader controls its own factories in China, I highly doubt that there will be any problems.  If something coming out of Dongguan is not right, Kader will be the first one to get hurt.  Finally, Dongguan is not one of those middle of nowhere places.

If you really want to learn about Bachmann (Kader), the best way is actually read their annual financial report.  You will be able to not just figure it out what they are doing now, but also what they will be doing.  Want to know if they have any plans to expand the current production offerings?  Want to know what they will do with a latest acquisition from Europe and what to do with this newly acquired train company?  Planning to have a staff layoffs in Philadelphia?  Read the reports.

http://www.kaderholdings.com/announcement.html

The real problem of an US company using a Chinese factory is that, if they choose to use a mainland Chinese supplier that either they have no control over, or has no trustworthy supervising agent to act for them, then they are asking for trouble.  Most companies in China are still learning the idea of "financial responsibility", so the idea of "manufacturing responsibility and quality control" is really secondary, or rather, hard for them to understand.
This is especially true to the manufacturing sect, ie, factories, which are usually not publicly traded.  With nobody to answer to (stockholders), owners of these factories can be very short sighted, and work on shortcuts that can lead to disastrous results.  The idea of quality control, good manufacturing means continuing to receive orders, good business practices, etc etc etc...is really a foreign idea.  Many factories, especially in the rural area, are basically owned by party officials, former party officials, or friends of party officials.  To ask these people, some of them lifetime communists, to learn about manufacturing in a capitalistic driven economy within 10 years, is unreasonable.   I have friends who came from former East Germany and since run their own business...while I am not accusing them of cutting corners to the point of unethical and hazardous to their customers to their face, all I can say is their idea of running a business and business philosophy are definitely a bit different from us.

It is the manufacturing version of buying a house site unseen in another state.

If you are not picky...you can pick up vintage cars on *bay for $2-3 each.
I don't think model trains is an expensive hobby..if you know what you are looking for, and budget accordingly.  My entire set of trains (some 120 of them plus tracks) cost probably less than someone's G scale loco. 

It's more like IP address broadcast in a computer network...the same idea of packaging and continue transmissions.

Quote from: PRRThomas11 on August 02, 2007, 07:40:07 PM
It takes 18 curve, 8 straight, and a 90 degree crossing (or 2 more straight if you use risers).

OK, the two half circles account for 12.  so how the rest of the 6 curves be distributed?