Hey, no worries about this. We´re arround here to help.

There is a real "Bumblebee" on the market, if you check Ebay, you will probably find one.
These engines come from Broadway Limited and they are DCC+sound, but will run with sound
on DC too. They´re accurate, but reasonably priced.

Bachmann has a wonderful 2-8-0, and this is a model you can get at low prices now.
To me, this is the best ever Bachmann On30 engine and I´ve made several conversions
with the little Connie. She´s much more "Chunky" than the little 2-6-0 is.

Enjoy! Have fun running your trains.
Be aware, it´s that easy to get bitten by the bug...

Kind regards,
Tom

Hi there,

well, if would have a H0n3 engine in hand, this would give you a good idea how small these narrow gauge engines are or - have been. Imagine a O-Scale , let´s say a Dash9, will be the triple size of your On30 Bumble Bee engine... These moguls are small, though. Colorado´s narrow gauge lines, the Denver&Rio Grande Western, Rio Grande Southern, Colorado&Southern had much bigger ones.

You will find, that the Bumble Bee is lettered Denver&Rio Grande Western, but this is not prototypical. There has been a 2-8-0 No.268 painted in Aspen gold and black/silver, but this little lokie, today to be found in Gunnison, Co. has been slightly a bit larger in size. The Bachmann Model follows a Colorado&Southern prototype...

Check out this site:
http://www.midcontinent.org/rollingstock/CandS/index.htm


Kind regards, Tom

Let it please be something "really Narrow Gauge" for us "narrow minded" freaks...

-Logging:         West Side Heisler, preferably No.3 or No.2
-Logging:         A more "chunky" and modern Shay
-Logging:         The long overdue... H...... engine, no-I´m not saying the H-word again...

-Colorado:       RGS 20 and RGS 74/C&S 74
-Colorado:       A reliable and well detailed K-27, just your Fn3 model in On30 please (including RGS 455)

-Maine:            SR&RL No.23 (somehow a "lil Mudhen to me - beeing a Colorado Narrow Gauger...)

That´s not much, isn´t it...? 

Please lift the secrets a bit what´s coming next. We all know about the struggles all the companies have been through and still are, but I think it would be time to let us know what´s out of the hat next...

Happy new year to you all out there.
Tom

Go for a ESU or Soundtraxx tsunami. What you get in the Factory installed 2-6-6-2 is a tsunami.
Since the built in Bachmann DCC decoder is not the best ever you can grab, cut the plug, solder the new Sound Decoder to the plug using care and shrink tubing (smallest size you can grab at your electronics store) and use a Soundtraxx speaker/speakler baffle kit or fabricate one from a plastic bottle cap or anything else of a fitting size. That makes a big difference in sound quality!

If you want to have the most easiest installation, get the Digitrax DHMHP harness and cut the purple shrink tubing of the Tsunami a bit (this won´t harm the decoder nor its factory warranty!), install the harness and so you have just to solder two wires: to the speaker... Please keep in mind that the aftermarket Tsunami is slightly a bit bigger as the Factory installed one is.

More or less, it´s a straightforward job. Take your time, read the manual and there you go.
Enjoy!

Cheers, Tom

Mike,
it´s a straightforward job. Go for a Tsunami (Medium Steam, D&RGW C-class or Heavy steam if you want to give her a "Chunky vocal" which suits this engine pretty good) and if you´re a lazy guy like me, use the Bachmann decoder´s harness to wire the Tsunami. Just cut it off and solder the Tsunamis wires to the harness, best using shrink tubing to isolate each soldering to the others.

Max one hour as Chris said. And you´ll enjoy the Connie´s totally changed behaviour under DCC with a good decoder´s control. Enjoy!

Cheers, Tom

Yep. You´re right folks. To me - the Connie is the most beautiful and fine-detailed model that Bachmann ever produced in the On30 range. I´ve got three of them plus have kitbashed two into a D&RG C-21 and C-25 engine, following a dear friend´s hints - Bill Iwan, thank you so much!!!!

Cheers, Tom

Thanks folks. I have already checked the OGR forum, there are several solutions in the market,
but I´ll check the Williams trucks first, if I can isolate and remove the wheels from their bearings, replace them with NSWL wheels and decide, if I can live with one truck beeing "+" and the other beeing "-", Atlas did this on their more recent engines.

While Atlas has the right trucks coming from their FM Erie-builts, I´m not sure if I can buy them separate.
I´ll give it a check.

Thanks to you all!
regards, Tom

Hi there Joe,

thank you so much for sharing your thoughts with me and all the people who read this too. 3-Rail is much more popular in the States, while 2-Rail becomes more and more important to a lot of people. Here in Europe, it´s 2-Rail what´s more popular.

Well, I´m not a member of a 2-Rail club, just running a D&RGW/UP O-Gauge Standard gauge and N.G. layout here. The coupler conversion is a snap while I´m really a bit confused about changing the wheels and isolating them. If there´s a way to convert a PA-1 (which is, apart from the clumsy wheels and movable buffer beams, quite a nice model) I´ll  give it a try. Any other solution isn´t yet in sight.
MTH seems to have a decoder which will take DCC commands too, but no one ever knows when they will go and have their Alco PA´s in 2-Rail version again...

Beein´ a Rio Grande Modeller, I can´t wait to have a Yampa Valley Mail running here...

Kind regards,
Tom

Hi there folks,

..as I´m considering a 3-Rail to 2-Rail conversion: Is there somebody who has done that before - converting a Alco PA-1 to 2-Rail? I would need to know what diameter the axles have to get a set of NSWL wheel disks...

Any comments? Any hints?
Would be awesome!!!

Kind regards, Tom

Well. It depends how much you want to spend on sound. The best sounds you can buy are either by adding a Soundtraxx (TM) Tsunami for a Logging Mallet or a ESU. Both give you perfect control on low speeds-something I do like that much-like most of us do.

The more economic way is to add a MRC Sheer brilliance decoder (which you could buy at Micromark at a reasonable price), but I have tried them - I wasn´t quite happy with the slow speed control, though.

ESU is fine, Soundtraxx is the stuff Bachmann uses on their sound equipped engines. They are perfect to me-sound great, give perfect control. But you would need to add a 8pin plug and solder the two purple (..?) wires to the speaker. Using a Soundtraxx speaker baffle gives a better sound. But please keep in mind, that the aftermarket Tsunamis are slightly a bit bigger than the ones they deliver to bachmann.
They should fit on top of the Bachmann electronics.

Cheers, Tom

Hi there,
it appears to me, that you are referring to the HO scale model which is scale 1:86 Standard Gauge. On30 is 1:43,5 to 1:49 Narrow Gauge.

The HO models do have different truck construction details according to their prototypes.

Kind regards, Tom

Definitely Royce, Keith has done a great job with these classics. The old V&T Heisler and the reintroduced Wsm kit have very delicate cab sides, but Keith already had given me advice to add some kind of metal plate behind the cab sides to make this a bit more robust. I have painted my lil´ Heisler a bit "Westside" style with yellow lettering, though... It´s the old Rivarossi frame underneath, so it gnarls a bit, well....

Cheers, Tom

I do have a tiny little Heisler here, a conversion from the Rivarossi/AHM HO engine using Keith Wiseman´s On30 conversion kit, a former Dale Darney production. Dale has done a great job and I´m happy since Keith did buy these old icons to re-introduce them step by step.

It´s a really nice, good looking lokie; well nothing chunky but a really lil´gem.

Cheers, Tom

Hi there Jerry,

it´s quite difficult, as there are masses out there: check Ed´s at: www.deerfieldriverlaser.com

And did you check Bill Banta´s kits: www.bantamodelworks.com
or go for BTS, really resonably priced their "Cabin Creek Series": http://www.btsrr.com/btsstrct.htm
and their "Red eye saloon" and the "Kee´s Chinese Laundry" are cheap, good made Lasercut kits.


I´m sure there are masses of others arround, check out as mabloodhound said, via Google or browse the various shops such as walthers.com or my fav´www.caboosehobbies.com

Cheers, Tom

oooops... Jiiiiiiinxed it again... (****...    )

Would make my day to know if there is already a  in the tube...

Cheers, Tom