Another idea would be to swap the motors for LLGP20's. At least the LL don't have the cracking problem. One trick is to find a cheap supply of them.

Making the Faller bridge with your EZtrak will be easy. The bridge you are buying is a fine styrene kit. Once finished, the EZtrack will fit into the bridge channel. You may have to file the roadbed some to get it to fit. You could also get a length of flextrak then shim the bridge up so the rails match up. You may be able to find Microengineering bridge track that has the extra guard rails & etc.

A call to Bachmann Service will answer your questions.

Chances are, if you send in the loco, they may even swap shells for you & return the extra one. You may want to get this fixed soon before it gets pushed into the Christmas rush.

You could always use a diesel helper. Check out any of the LL cab units, either the Alco FA 1 or 2 or the FM units. An ABBA set will pull anything on your layout. You could also use them for your heavy coal/grain trains. Just be sure to get a split frame unit. (For the money you get 4 motors pulling a freight).

If you prefer EMD power, you could also find ABBA sets from the FT, F3, F7, etc from MTL, IM, Kato.

I don't know if the 0-4-0 is still in production. I've seen one with a tank tender & one with a regular tender.

Keep your eye out for the 44t if that may meet your needs.

You may want to modify the layout to take 11" curves & grades below 4%.

You will be restricted to 4axle diesels. You may need 2 motors for the steep 4%, or use a cheater boxcar.

Exactly. Many of the new Bachmann freight cars come with  them & have Rapidos packed in the box. It's easy to swap trucks. You can run cars with one type at one end & the other on the other.

Bachmann like MicroTrains sell trucks with the couplers installed. (With the MTL truck, you would need to enlarge the bolster hole to get it to fit over the Bachmann bolster. It may be easiest just to use Bachmann trucks on Bachmann freight cars)

You could decide to keep the Rapido's till your 8yr old turns 10 or older. This offers an upgrade path in the future. It may be more important now to have a decent layout and have fun running trains.

The spring, coupler & box combo will be what you need.

Also, you can get the Bachmann trucks with the new knuckle coupler.
All you have to do is remove the truck screw & swap it out with a good one.

You may want to do this later when it's time to swap couplers.
You may find newer Bachmann product with the new couplers, then swap as needed.

I'd rate the Bachmann knuckle coupler as a good step in between the old Rapidos & the MTL/Kadee style ones.

Your hobby shop may also have Red Caboose Unimates. They have a similar Tshank to twist out & in, but you would need the spring & coupler box.

Atlas Right Track software is free to download. You may get some dimensions there?

my cargoes slow this weekend. Not to panic but Nashville appears to be out of gas, at any price. I've heard conflicting reports about the oil pipeline that connects Houston with Nashville.

Maybe it's time to hook up a Berk with some Gas/Oil Tankers!

If you can get to a swap meet, you could look for a LifeLike GP20. If you can get it cheap enough, swap the LL shell for the Bachmann.

I haven't seen new "shorty" heavyweights for some time. They may be about 10years old. You have a real find.

IIRC the cars are lighted with a truck mounted tab over the axles. You may find the tabs create too much drag. Bending the tabs can help some.

Bachmann has a huge hit with the new tenders. I'd like to know if Bachmann has plans to upgrade the standard line steamers with them? Then you could offer more steamers with the correct tender. Also, they could be used as an upgrade for other maker's steamers.

Quote from: WGL on August 26, 2008, 02:07:26 AM
GlennW,
Thanks.  I don't know how a 10% increase in power equals pulling twice as many cars, but I can understand if both units have equal power, they can pull twice as many cars.
  I want to know what B unit would work with my DCC FA.  I don't see how a DC B unit would work with a DCC A locomotive.  I see some B units with DCC & sound, but it makes no sense to me to pay for sound in a B unitl  I find few details of specifications on manufacturers' or sellers websites.

Sorry for the confusion. Yes, adding a second unit does get a 100% increase in pulling power. However, you get about 10% more than that. Real units have the same result. In N/Z scales I do this all the time with regular DC units. You should get a similar result with a pair of DCC units.

In your case, I'd go with a DCC FA type unit of the same brand. You can decide if you want to have a ABA, ABB, type set. In DC land, I look for units that will be similar in operation. Buying my locos in pairs usually solves that problem.

In DCC, you have the option of using another mfr's units. It may just take a little more work for everything to work together. THis solves the problem of A) one unit starting before another or B) The speed range of the units is closely matched. C) TE will be increased because you have more weight & axles on the rail to move the train.

WGL, In a normal DC setup, you can get better performance from a 2nd powered unit. Try to get a 2nd unit similar to the first, or buy your power in pairs.

1) The 2nd unit will "nudge" the first, giving a slightly lower starting speed.
2) You may gain about 10% pulling power in using 2 units. For example, if the FA pulls about 30 cars, 2 units will pull more than 60 cars. (Actual amount depends on your layout).