if the speaker isnt sealed when its mounted, it can sound like crap.   I have yet to see a Tsunami sound bad if the speaker is of good quality and mounted correctly.   I ordered the Tsunami this week for my Berkshire.   Mike

I am preparing to start a new layout over the winter months.  I am restricted to a 4x8 layout size due to room size and constraints.  I found a track plan I am happy with using Bachmann's Ez Track.  I plan to use DCC turnouts for the whole layout and control it with a Dynamis system.  I am a lone operator, I will run one around the ouside loop and then switch over to the smaller engine for in the inside loop.   I have several steam engines, 1 is a Bachmann NKP Berkshire that is getting a Tsunami installed along with working mars light, other 2 are older PFM Brass imports that will get a Tsunami soon.  I am hoping to not repower the brass, they both pull less than 1amp at full stall and are as quiet running as the new Bachmann.  Both have genuine Pittman DC70x motors in them.  One is a Berkshire and the other is a USRA Mikado that I redetailed to NKP 587 as she was in 1954 with mars light and flying numberboards.  Havent decided on the exact industres for each siding yet.   The idea is to get a general feel of the NKP around the Tipton/Kokomo area in 1954.  Probably set the season in mid fall with the trees ablaze in colors and a crisp nip in the autum air.   Here is the track plan I found.  I may modify the sidings slightly as I progress.  Right now I am in the aquiring phase, will hopefully get the benchwork up soon.  Havent deceided on what style benchwork yet, looking for cheap and lightweight.  I also cannot get a full 4x8 sheet of anything from the hall to the train room.   Hall and doorway is to narrow.   

Dont ya hate it when that happens, Enjoy your new engine when it arrives.   Mike

You should be fine purchasing it thru that hobby shop.  Any reputable hobby shop is ok, its some of the Etailers that deal on ebay or a website and operate out of thier garage that might be questionable for warrenty issues.  I deal with the Train Exchange in Kokomo, Indiana myself, excellent prices both instore and for special orders.   I just bought a NKP one.    Cheers   Mike

For a brighter and whiter headlight, pickup a package of Miniatronics Yeloglo LEDs, part number 12-310-05 3mm dia.  They are a drop in fit,  Just have your tender connected so you can make sure it lights up when it goes forward since LED'S are polarity sensitive.  You will have to shorten the leads on the new LED to match the Bachmann ones.  No soldering involved, just unplug the wires and plug them onto the new LED.  I removed the LED from the Mars light as one, it looks funny just steady lighted and 2, I plan to make the Mars Functional when I put the Tsunami in mine.   I left the LED as without it, the other wont light up.  I just put a short piece of shrink tubing over it and sealed it up and tucked it aside in boiler.   I do notice a sudden startup on normal DC, but if you gradualy bring up the power till the headlight comes on, she will start slowly.  This allows the Decoder to initilize and put power to the motor.  I will report on what extra ballest does to it.  There is room above the factory weight that is in front of the gearbox, as slippery as she is, I dont see an issue cooking the motor.   Engine is a great value for the money, its as detailed as my older PFM Brass NKP Berkshire, but already beautifully painted.    I plan to purchase a couple more to renumber.  All will have Mars Lights.    Now if I can remove the painted on duel beam mask on the headlight lense, I will be very happy, the effect doesnt work like it should and acutaly makes the headlight dimmer.    Cheers   Mike

There is only a small amount of room infront of the motor and gear box for extra weight.  I dont see it being enough to overstress the motor and gears, she will slip the drivers quite easily.   On another note, what is the recomendation for a speaker in the tender for sound?   I have seen a QSI super bass speaker recomended for better sound, anybody have a Tusnami in thier Berkshire and willing to share what speaker they went with and how it sounds.  I ordered the decoder tonight.   

Parts question.  I dont care for the painted on dual beam mask on the main headlight.  Any idea how I can remove it or get a lense that doesnt have that on it?  I could scrap off the paint with a hobby knife, but that would ruin the finish on the lense.  The effect the mask has, trying to simulate the twin sealed beam lamps just doesnt turn out very well, even with a bright golden white LED.   

I would love to see Bachmann rerun the old style Reading 2-8-0 with the huge Whooten firebox as well as the 2-8-2 with elesco feedwater header and vanderbilt tender.  Yes I know its just the Consoldation with a trailing truck, but with the feedwater heater overhanging the headlight, it had a nice compact/chunky freight engine look.  But this time put a good plus series drive system under them.  They looked great back when I was a kid, still look good to me, but suffer in the drive performance area.   If I can find a like new B&O Mikado that runs still,  I will pick it up for the sentimental value.  Hope we see some more reissues of old favorites with better drives in them as well as some great new items in 2010.   Happy Holidays. 

I have a small set of jewels/modelers files.  I use the flat one to dress the ends of the rails and the tips of switch points.  Yields a much smoother running layout.  I also have a "stone" used to dress steel molds for plastic molding that works good for track that is already assembled. One is white/greyish in color, other is a ruby stone.   I am debating on using extrack on my new layout to take advantge of the DCC equipted turnouts.    Mike

I usualy run a lap of the club layout with just the locomotive, with the hills and having to stop for other traffic it gets a nice easy waking up.  Then I relube all the axle points, side rods ect and add the 2 club business passenger coaches and run a "special" for a couple of laps.  The coaches are weighted to NMRA specs and have Central Valley sprung trucks.  Not a huge load, but no running engine light either.  My NKP Berk is virtualy silent as it runs.    Address any squeeks or dry bearing sounds right away.   

Speaking of the 0-6-0, 2-6-2 and the old B&O 2-8-2 with the elesco feed water heater.  Is Bachmann planning to ever upgrade these models with a can motor drive system instead of the horrible disc motor?   I always loved the squat B&O 2-8-2 with the elesco feedwater heater overhanging the headlight.  But the running qualities were poor at best.  The 0-6-0 and 2-6-2 are great small layout engines, but again need an updated drive chassis.   Any chance of seeing an upgrade Bach Man?

My initial runs were at the large local club layout. Track is quite clean and the wheels on the Berkshire are brand new and are clean, I checked that.  Pulling power was around 15-20 cars on the various grades, 1.5 to 2 percent, all cars are weighted to NMRA specs and most have metal wheels.  Lots of slipping was involved getting up the grades with that length of train.  I know there is room for additional weight from when I had it appart to swap out the LED's  Mine is very smooth and silent in the motor/gears dept, no noise other than wheels on the rails.   Cheers   Mike

I love how smooth and quiet my new NKP 759 Berkshire runs, she is a bit slippery in the traction dept, wont pull much as a Berkshire should.  I had the top off and upgraded the main headlight to a Minitronics yelglow golden white LED instead of the yellow one.  This is a total plug and play swap out.  Just shorten the LED leads like the Bachmann one and plug the wires back on.  Have the tender already connected and a test track handy to see if you have the polarity correct, if not just reverse the wires.  I removed the Mars light LED and just tucked it away off to the side as I plan to make the mars functional on my engine.  The LEDs just plug into a tube inside the boiler front.  Boiler removal is a snap!  remove the lead pilot truck, remove the 1 screw under it.  Then remove the 2 screws on either side of the trailing truck that go up into the firebox.   When I pull the boiler shell again to install the working mars light, I will look into additional weight if possible and report back.  I did also go thru and lightly oil all the bearings as both pilot and trailing trucks were squeaking after a short test run.   Excellent engine for the money, I hope Bachmann does a Spectrum version next time around with full sound and working mars light.  The Tsunami does both of those things.   Cheers   Mike

Well, MTH seems to be proving modelers are willing to pay big $$ for engines with lots of bells and whistles.  I am sure the production numbers for the NKP Berk and the Undec version with the Mars, along with the GS4, would measure in the thousands.  If they ever decided to do the CB&Q 4-8-4 again, those had Mars lights.   The amortization of the different circuit board costs over even a single run of models, should only give a slight raise in price.  I still stand by my opinion that modelers would be willing to pay a slightly higher cost if the lighting system worked properly.  For it to work though, it would need to be a good effect and not one of the poor twin filiment "flip flop" mars light circuits that are a poor representation of the real light effect as viewed from the front of the locomotive.   Putting light control technology on all thier DCC boards would add a "value added" feature on future models.  They could add more than mars lights, also put gyra lights, single and double pulse strobes, prime stratolight and rotary beacons.   Then any diesel they do that would have had that feature would have it working.   Thier Compitition in the form of Athearn is doing this. All the RTR engines have beacon light castings on the roof if the prototype did, on the non sound engines, they are lighted but not flashing, on the sound equipted models they are flashing. Alteast they are easier to properly light over the Bachmann set up.     Modelers are demanding more and more detail, I think this needs to carry over to proper lighting on the models.

I disagree, if Minitronics can offer a mars light circuit for $35 and they are making money on it.  Then I am sure Bachmann, who can amortize the cost over many different models, keep the board seperate from the DCC board, or include it in the board, then its just a matter of running the proper wires to the lamp/LED and proper programing at the factory.  I wont go into brand battles, but if the movement of the hobby is toward more realistic models, IE sound, smoke, DCC ect.  Then I believe modelers would put up the slightly extra $$ if the features were there.   Kind of like BLI's blue line, sound and the lighting without the DCC.  Even Kato has made an attempt with thier recent N scale GS4 having a flashing mars light, it wasnt a very good result, but an attempt non the less.   All the youtube videos I watch show modelers spending thier $$ with other companies to upgrade the lights in ther models, and its not always a DCC upgrade.  Just $$ lost to Bachmann.  And more work for the average modeler who might like a proper bright headlight and working Mars or other effect light.