I'll second Peter O's comments on the fragility of the wires  connecting the tender to the loco on the 3-truck Shay; I had a wire break within a few days  of getting mine.  Rather than send it back under warranty, I got out my tiniest soldering pencil (a 16-watt one I've used for surface-mount component work) & was able to VERY CAREFULLY  resolder it. In particular, one of the outside wires is a speaker connection; that's the one that broke on mine.

All was well for a few months; then it broke again.   In my case, carrying the loco from indoors out to the garden RR requires unplugging the connector each time, since the two pieces would be ackward to carry together, to put it mildly!

- So I came up with a permanent solution  - did away with the original Bachmann wiring harness entirely & replaced it with a pair of regular telephone plugs & jacks!   A few pictures below -


The new wires as first installed on the rear of the loco-



A "Marks-A-Lot" marker turns them black  -



The new wires were soldered directly to the Bachmann printed circuit board (Not  a step for the electronically "faint-of-heart"!)



I cut out a larger opening in the tender floor & installed a pair of conventional 4-wire telephone jacks side-by-side -



A close-up of the completed conversion -



Ready to return to service!



The new system has held up well in service, much easier to disconnect & re-connect than the original Bachmann harness!                  Tom

Looks GREAT!!!   Same version I'm thinking of getting, the "undec" with red-&-white trim, to get my own roadname lettering.  Not too concerned about getting one in time for Christmas - just sprang for another live-steam Shay ($$$$  ), so got to let the budget "recover" a bit before springing for one of these beasts.  Sounds like it will pull comparable to the 3-tuck Shay (my current "tonnage champ"!  ).

                                                                                                             Tom

Peter, your comments got me curious a bit & I tried looking up some specs (& sound samples) on the LokSound decoder.  (My Climax DCC / sound conversion happened to be a "2-stage" affair  - I had originally converted it to DCC without sound when I converted my entire railroad over to DCC).  I added sound when a Phoenix 2K2 came up at the right price on eBay (this was before Phoenix came out with the P5).  I assume you used the XL (G scale) version of the 3.5 decoder?  If I remember correctly, I measured the Climax's current drain at @ 2 amps before converting it, so at 3 amps rating for the XL version, the LokSound decoder sounds adequate.  Guess I have to download their programming software if I want to check out the sounds, though.   I agree it's cost-effective, just slightly more than a Phoenix P5 sound board.          Tom

I'm a "do-it-myself" type!



- and here it is on video!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9khliFb58bo

(PS if you look closely at just over 3 minutes into the video, you understand why the Heisler engineer came down with a nasty head cold after this run!).                                                                           Tom

You didn't specify what scale or type of loco you're planning to run; #22 is pretty light wire.  For a typical small HO or N scale loco, pulling a light train, it might be adequate; definely not for a Large-Scale, multi-motored loco    (or even some of the heavier HO locos).  16-gauge stranded speaker wire (readily available from Radio Shack) would be a better choice for most model RR applications in my opinion; for heavy O or Large Scale locos (my large-scale, fully-lighted USA Trains 5-car streamliner, powered by 2 - twin motored Alco PA's, draws @ 7.5 amps , for example), the larger the wire size, the better.                                                                              Tom

QuoteHes entertaining but he should probably try decaf.

I agree - I think he must've drank a gallon of expresso while they were taping this.  The dyanmic braking diagram was also a bit inaccurate as well (feeding power back into the diesel prime mover instead of resistor grids ).

Overall, though, it was enjoyable.   - And credit to the producers for also showing some historic photos, brake shoe replacement on a steam loco at Steamtown, UP's method of changing out bad wheelsets, and some fantastic helicopter shots of the train descending Horseshoe Curve.    I will probably try to catch some of the future shows.   (But can someone on the producer's staff "spike" the host's expresso with "Lunesta"  please ) 

                                                                                               Tom

Since the Climax predates Bachmann's building locomotives "DCC-friendly" , there's a bit more work involved; you have to isolate the motors from the electrical pickups on the trucks, for starters.  Sound will also be a tight fit  as well - I used a Phoenix 2K2 board in mine (minus the back-up battery pack, which isn't needed for DCC operation anyway).  If I were doing it now, I'd use the much-smaller (& less-expensive as well!  ) Phoenix P5.  The internal sound switches in the cylinders are miswired as the loco came from the factory (they're wired in series, pretty much making them useless).   I was able to get acceptably close sound sync using the "auto-chuff" feature on the 2K2 board (also available on the P5).  You'd either need the Phoenix programmer (a good idea to get if you plan on using more than 1 of their boards) or have someone program the board for you.  Exact wiring depends on what DCC decoder you're using (I used a Digitrax DG-583S).   Hope that helps some.                                                                Tom

Could you describe the hiss a bit more?  Does it vary in sound or is it constant?  Is it high or low pitched?  Does it vary with the volume control setting?  (As in go away completely if the volume is turned all the way down?).

Depending on what sound file the 2K2 is programmed with (I have 3 of the 2K2 boards & 1 P5 installed in some of my Bachmann locos), it could actually be one of the Phoenix effects (air pumps, turbogenerator, blower noises come to mind).  If you have one of the Phoenix PC programmers, you can go in & "tweak" (increase, decrease, change, or turn off entirely) some of the effects to your preference.

                                                                                                                   Tom

Welcome to hobby, Neo!

From a practical standpoint, the only electrical limit on track length is voltage drop (which will occur primarily at rail joiners).  You didn't mention what brand of track your using, but from the description of your train set, I'm going to guess you're probably using the Bachmann tubular-steel rail that came with the set.  If the track is new, with clean rail joints, probably not too much of an issue for the size layout you're talking.  My advice would be to simply set up the size oval you want & try it; if voltage drop IS an issue, it will show up as the locomotive slowing down (or possibly stalling) at the farthest point on the layout from your power pack.  There are 2 ways to cure this; either solder jumper wires across each track joint (the better way), or at least add a second set of feeder wires from your power pack to the far side of the oval.  (Make sure to keep polarity correct - for example, connect the same power pack terminal to the outside rail at both points).  Even if the loop runs fine to start with, the joints MAY loosen up over time, so if you plan to leave things relatively "permanent", that may be advisable from the start.   Oh, & by the way, if it IS the Bachmann steel track, don't even CONSIDER  using it for an outdoor layout!  (It will QUICKLY rust away to nothing! ).

Regarding running the smoke unit dry, it may have survived if you didn't run the engine at full throttle all the time - just put some smoke fluid in & try it!   (Don't overfill, @ 6 ~ 12 drops of fluid).

And yes, you can get Big Boys - but be prepared to shell out $$$$  (the USA Trains one is $3600, is an 80 - pound die cast monster & requires 20-foot diameter curves!).  I think the MTH one is just over $1000, the Accucraft one in the $2300 range.

                                                                                                   Tom

Perhaps a video clip of mine in action (taking a 9-car train up a 3% grade - including 4 AMS cars  in the consist) will help:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hz9m0LUCJ0g

I think mine has "maxed out" at 13 cars (depending on how many AMS cars are in the consist  ); typically 11 cars upgrade is the most I expect out of it.  I also run an Accucraft live-steam (2-truck) Shay, so my rails (Aristo brass track with LGB turnouts) may be a little a bit more slippery due to live-steamer "drippings".   The Bachmann 3-trucker is the only loco I have capable of dragging the Accucraft Shay dead (if it runs out of butane at an inopportune spot!).    (The Accucraft pulls about the same as a Bachmann 2-truck Shay, but is considerably heavier!).     I rarely even run 11 car trains, as only 1 of my passing tracks will accomodate a train that long.                                                                      Tom

Add my vote to the list for these, Mr. B.!   The Nantucket RR. (a 3-foot gauge, turn-of-the century shortline on the island of Nantucket, MA (a relatively short distance from my hometown) ran an open passenger car VERY similar, if not identical to this, behind a 4-4-0.   These also look VERY similar to the open coaches down at Disney World in FL!     (In Disney lettering, you'd probably have an INSTANT market for these in large scale - especially if packaged as a set with one of the Centennial 4-4-0's also in Disney colors!).                                                                                                                 

                                                                                                            Tom

Ooops!  Guess the YouTube "embedding" DOESN'T work here on the Bachmann BBS!   Just click the links to view the videos.  Tom

I have a couple of sets of the LGB disconnect trucks, one string as "empties", the other as "loads".   I cut up some limbs pruned from the large maple tree in our backyard, so I'm hauling genuine "logs'.

In my case, I've equipped virtually all my locomotives (& most of my rolling stock) to G-gauge Kadee couplers.  The LGB disconnects are a "partial" exception to this rule; I installed  Kadee's only on the end trucks of a 6 truck (3 "cars") string, retaining the original LGB link-&-pin couplings (& "roosters", the long poles that interconnect pairs of trucks to form cars) on the others.  These 2 video clips will show a bit of them; the first 2 cars immediately behind the loco (an Accucraft live-steam Shay) are Bachmann "skeleton" cars, the remaining 3 are the LGB disconnects.   ....

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If buying new, you may also want to look at Accucraft's disconnect trucks, VERY nicely detailed!                                                    Tom

GREAT  NEWS!!!   Definetely looking forward to seeing these; now just have to decide what color to get (leaning towards a green one). .                 Tom Lapointe

"Hi, Tom!
What I really remember is that you promised SOMEBODY a Eureka!
Heh, heh, heh...
the Bach-man"

I've got one on order - Ridge Road had a clearance sale price on them last month that was just too good to pass up!   Just waiting for UPS to show up with it now...

I did order it on the condition that she  comes out & actually runs it instead of just me telling how the railroad should be "decorated"!

                                                                                                   Tom