Mike, I superglued a small magnet onto one of the Tender axles and then glued a Reed Switch on the Bolster about 1/4 inch from the Magnet. Because the Tender wheels are half the size of the main Drivers you end up with 2 chuffs per Rev. I used the Chuff connection to get power to the Headlight. The "My Loco" sound card is good value  for its price and it is adjustable regarding tone of whistle, volume and chuff start and rate. I also fitted marker light on the tender and they come on with the Headlight. Nothing worse than all your lights going out when you stop the train at the station. I also converted my Annie to R/C,courtesy of help from Loco Bill, the Guru of G Gauge.
    The Annie is a great Loco and you can do lots to them to make them a bit individual.


                           Cheers
                             Dave in NZ

I put a " My Loco" sound card in my Annie. Has Bell, Whistle, Hiss and Chuff and plenty of volume. I power it with a 11.1v Li-po Battery, which also runs the headlight. It works well for me.

                 Cheers

                           Dave

Mike,
      You have more Shay's than I have Locomotives!

Buy a bag of Dry Mortar mix and mix your ballast on a 6-1 ratio. Put the ballast down,bed your track in a little and then give it all a light sprinkle of water. You can add a little grey cement colouring to the dry mix as the mortar tends to make the ballast a bit of a light colour.1 tablespoon per bucket should do the trick.  I used this method on my Garden Railway and its lasted for years.

                Cheers
                    Dave
                    New Zealand

Wade, I think you might be right, on those wheels being LGB. They are a little tight against the Brake shoes and he also had lots of LGB rolling stock. Definitely Bachmann passenger trucks though. Might just put them on my Annie Tender,as they look good.

                  Cheers

                         Dave

Thanks for the info Bill.
        I might try them on the Tender on my Annie and see how they perform. If they don't cut the mustard they will make good junk material.

               Cheers

                       Dave

Today I was cleaning out my friends Garage and came across a partial J/S Bachmann kit with Spoked Wheels. Plastic spokes and metal rims. Are these still available, cos they look great.  This could be one for Loco Bill.

              Dave

Thankyou for the replies Gentlemen. I'm working on a solution now and it sounds like it will be just the Bee's Knees.

                 Dave

Does anyone know where I can get a new, or used, Tender for my Live Steam Mogul. I have a Big Hauler Tender but its way too long and the wheels are oversize for a 1/24th Loco. The Trucks and wheels need to be the smaller diameter size that Bachmann made.
  The Loco is an English " Pearce" model . Modelled in the "Baldwin Style.

                    Cheers

                        Dave
                        New Zealand

Hang his shovel somewhere, put some Blue Tac under his feet and put his hand on the Tender Handbrake. Works for me and he hasn't fallen off yet, touch wood!

Hi Sean,
         Bill is on to it as far as the wiring goes in the Shay. I have recently extracted the PCB from my Shay and found that the wire colors don't always match the Diagrams. When you cut the wires from the board wrap a piece of masking tape around the various pairs and mark them as they come off the board.This will save you a lot of heart ache later on.

                  Cheers

                           Dave

Some seated passengers for the J/S Coaches would be a great idea. Anybody know where to get them?

You are on to something good there Scot. I would remove the rear pony axle and move the cab forward over the rear driver axle. A Tender from a Mogul, and you've got a Model that Bachmann should have made instead of that Saddle Tank version. Just my two bobs worth.
                Dave

Thanks Sean, I will see if I can work out how to post some pics.

                  Dave

If i new how to post pics i would.

            Cheers

                Davr