Hello Mr. Bach-man! 
Just picked up one of the last - run Bachmann LS Climax locos to replace my oldest Bachmann loco - an original-production LS Climax (think I bought that loco something like 16 years ago; it still runs but is a VERY tired old loco).  Bought a Tsunami 2 TS-4400 4 amp Sound decoder for it; this is a screw-terminal decoder, so I'm wiring it through the Jumper PC board supplied with the loco.  Basic functions such as motor control & forward headlight are working fine; with the built-in speaker, sound quality is AWESOME.  There are a few items which aren't clear , though; wiring for the backup light (the pinout diagram in the manual specifies J1 pin 4, a white wire, as "Front Locomotive Headlight"); what pin is the Rear Headlight?  J1 Pin 8 is listed as the Smoke Unit; J2 Pin 8 as Cab lighht, & J2 Pin 10 as Firebox Flicker.  The TSU - 4400 has 4 additional function screw terminals; I'm going to research a bit on the Tsunami site & see if there are any specific recommendations for the use of those, but any info your guys might have would be appreciated. 😉

Tom Lapointe

Hi Mr. B.! 

The smoke units in several of my locomotives have died of old age.  I'd like to order replacement smoke units for my 38-ton 2 truck & 55-ton 3-truck Shays, as well as my 2-6-6-2T Mallet; is the Smoke Unit 2911 (HO/Large scale Universal) the correct replacement? 

                                                                                                                                                                                                      Tom Lapointe 

As an electronic tech who started his career 40+ years ago   in a small "Mom-&-Pop" style radio-TV shop, love it!!!    GREAT job on modeling the vintage radios!    Do you have any better photos of the test bench area, Ray?  (Can make out the soldering iron holder, think I see an oscilloscope as well!).   OUTSTANDING!!!  

                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                   Tom Lapointe

I'd like to see the little On30 T-boiler Shay done in 1:20.3.  Since it's based on a smaller prototype than the "36" & "38" ton Shays, would be nice for switching in tight places.     I have a live-steam one - the Accucraft Mich-Cal #2, which is a beautiful running live steamer  - but unfortunately, it doesn't have insulated wheelsets like my 3-cylinder Accucraft Shay, so it doesn't "play nice"  with the Bachmann "sparkies". 

                                                                                                                                                                                    Tom

I'll second Dave's comments on a 1:20.3 version of the On30 2-cylinder Shay;  I have an Accucraft live-steam   one, but with uninsulated drivers, it doesn't "play nice"   with the track-powered, DCC controlled Bachmann locos (Accucraft DID do an electric version, but being a brass loco, it was as pricey as the live steamer!)  .  For a larger prototype, a 1:20.3 3-truck Williamette would be nice (although I'm not sure if any 3-foot gauge prototypes of the Williamette actually existed).  A Little River 2-4-4-2 Mallet would also be an interesting prototype.

I can certainly understand why Bachmann may be getting into 1:29th as well; I occasionally change time period on my "Watuppa Railway" and run 1950's New Haven prototypes.  I'm also a Pennsy fan & one steam prototype which would probably sell VERY well would be a PRR K4s (especially if multiple prototypes were produced such as Bachmann has done with the K-27; a "classic" 1930's K4s with the "chicken coop" pilot   , a 1950's version with the so-called "beauty treatment"   with the reversed turbogenerator & headlight positions, and cast pilot with drop coupler).  There are also plenty of diesel prototypes which the the existing 1:29 manufacturers have not produced (I'd be a potential customer for a New Haven Alco RS-11, for example).  And one VERY modern prototype Bachmann already produces in N & HO - the Acela!    (As far as I'm concerned, the LGB "Acela" - a relettered German ICE with STICKERS for windows!   - was a joke!).  I think a Large-Scale 1:29 Acela, done to a level of detail comparable to the fantastic Spectrum Large-Scale long Rio Grande caboose, would be a fantastic piece of modern equipment.    Just my 2 cents. worth.    Tom

I was thinking of kitbashing a fire car; but if this is coming (especially an "undec" version), I'll wait for it! 

Tom Lapointe   

   Google is your friend -   just put in "Vulcan Duplex":.  

Here's a couple of image links.  PFM apparently produced a brass HO one, both painted & unpainted.

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v631/diesel_fireman2001/Brass/VulcanDuplex2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://brassbackshop.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t%3D771%26sid%3D58805001cee9bab7095e537e5c209cbd&h=418&w=799&sz=81&tbnid=oLm4uwzC64z-TM:&tbnh=90&tbnw=172&zoom=1&usg=__GbCCdkijFC7k9rIr3l4tdLWJV5Y=&docid=c_ShNn39UZ3_oM&sa=X&ei=P7U0UvL4O5be4APl7IHwDQ&ved=0CDMQ9QEwAQ&dur=341

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.brasstrains.com/images/products/016024/016024-2.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.brasstrains.com/classic/Product/Detail/016024/HO-PFM-Vulcan-Duplex-1980-Run&h=1200&w=1600&sz=1952&tbnid=1NcT62YsbC3MPM:&tbnh=95&tbnw=127&zoom=1&usg=__BdRRG518yyb0qqdSh2mMyEMB5gE=&docid=Yoc6avJNLn-F3M&sa=X&ei=P7U0UvL4O5be4APl7IHwDQ&ved=0CDYQ9QEwAg&dur=357


http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://www.brasstrains.com/images/products/032262/DSC07971.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.brasstrains.com/classic/Product/Detail/032262/HO-PFM-Vulcan-50-Ton-Duplex-1967-Run-Painted&h=1199&w=1600&sz=1432&tbnid=3W9RtHWoNg7OfM:&tbnh=94&tbnw=126&zoom=1&usg=__f7G6RLe5IaQcZDhwnbBX-bpiJ88=&docid=Muz45vGit4ONKM&sa=X&ei=P7U0UvL4O5be4APl7IHwDQ&ved=0CDkQ9QEwAw&dur=350

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://narrowmind.railfan.net/Vulcan_Duplex.JPG&imgrefurl=http://www.rypn.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f%3D1%26t%3D5809&h=829&w=635&sz=178&tbnid=6p81kTMb8PMd5M:&tbnh=95&tbnw=73&zoom=1&usg=__th3Ba5bZpwZNtiA_yJH7KngT26Y=&docid=wAzAWGNharUIgM&sa=X&ei=P7U0UvL4O5be4APl7IHwDQ&ved=0CDAQ9QEwAA&dur=292

As you can see by the photos, a relatively small prototype that would've looked right at home next to the B'mann Shays, Heisler, or Climax.     Maybe now that the Colorado fans' appetites have been sated with the K27 & C-19, maybe Bachmann would reconsider?     Tom

 Yes, Bachmann had proposed producing a Vulcan 0-4-4-0; unfortunately, being a very unusual prototype owned by NO railroads popular with railfans, it was quickly derided   by those who wanted something more conventional (especially Colorado narrow gauge prototypes).  As soon as it was announced, it quickly acquired the nickname "Lenny",   after Leonard Nimoy of Star Trek fame, who played a rather well-known "Vulcan"   in both the TV series & movies.  To me, it was a fascinating prototype even though exceedingly rare; I was disappointed when it was cancelled.    Think I was "Lenny's" only fan!     Unfortunately, he neither lived long nor prospered! 

                                                                                                                                                                                                            Tom Lapointe

This past June, while vacationing on Cape Cod, I decided to try to catch the MBTA's new summertime weekend Boston to Hyannis train, the "Cape Flyer", on video.  I own a full broadcast-grade Sony camcorder & set it up to catch the "Flyer" as it crossed the Cape Cod Canal Railroad Bridge, as well as getting video of the bridge being lowered (built in 1935, it's the second-longest vertical lift RR bridge in the world), & also caught a Mass Coastal "Trash Train" (which hauls trash from transfer station to a large waste-to-energy power plant alongside the Canal in Sandwich).  A few days, later, I got an after-dark shot of the "Flyer" about 15 minutes out of Hyannis at Yarmouth Junction.  On either side of the Cape Cod Canal are the Canal Service Roads that the US Army Corps of Engineers uses to maintain the Canal (they also maintain & operate the railroad bridge); they are open to the general public as bike trails.  (I've ridden them often).  About a ½ mile north of the railroad bridge, the line to Hyannis parallels the bike trail.  I don't ride a conventional bike (partially due to some severe knee injuries I've had); instead, I ride a tricycle (but not what most people would think when they hear the word "tricycle").    My ride is a Catrike recumbent – a very comfortable, low slung "tadpole trike" (2 wheels in the front, one in the back).  It has 27-speed gearing, disk brakes, and with the low center-of-gravity, corners like a Porsche!    (I also have a lot of fun surprising the hell  out of 20 year olds on racing bikes with it - & I'm 60!  ).  So last Friday, I mounted a GroPro Hero3 on the Catrike frame facing the railroad track, drove down to the Canal (about 45 minutes from where I live, if the Cape traffic isn't too bad), parked under the Cape side of the Bourne (highway) Bridge (where I stationed my girlfriend with the big Sony on a tripod), while I rode the Catrike down to the railroad bridge just as the "Cape Flyer" was crossing - & got a different sort of "pacing shot"!  Here's the result:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LL21BrzBzi4&feature=share&list=UU16ll7Zsaf3MDKXajV761UA     Tom

If all the engines run the same way, you could also have a problem with your power pack or feed lines to the track.  Is this an indoor or outdoor layout, & what type of track?  In addition to dirty electrical pickups, jerky operation can be caused by poor electrical joints between rail sections.  Watch if the problem occurs over specific sections of track; often the resistance of a poor joint will change as the weight of the locomotive passes over it.  How old are the locomotives? - The Shay in particular?  Early production Bachmann Shays had problems with the electrical pickups overheating & causing the plastic supports to deteriorate.  Best cure is to replace the original equipment trucks with the upgraded die-cast trucks (which come "standard" on the later production "38-ton" (steel-cab version) of the Shay; the later ones are excellent runners.    Tom

OK, here's some video of my layout....

http://youtu.be/dscAE-32Kuc 

Initially, this was shot as "practice footage" for getting used to my new "broadcast-grade"  camcorder I bought last spring (somehow I never got around to editing Part 2, though). 

                                                                                                                                             Tom

Tom, I've ordered some 3" speakers from Futurlec; here's the link to their page with them:

http://www.futurlec.com/Speakers.shtml; the one I used was their "Large Speaker", Part Code "LGSPK".  Hard to go wrong at $1.50 ea.!  

I recently installed one of the QSI Titan sound cards in my Mallet, with a little advice from Kevin, I was able to "tweak" the sounds a bit more to my liking (didn't care for the "default" bell & whistle sounds they had programmed into it.  The video shows before & after reprogramming the bell & whistle sounds.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9_TUPGB-e20&feature=share&list=UU16ll7Zsaf3MDKXajV761UA

                                                                                                                                                                                           Tom

You didn't specify what brand of track, but I know that LGB & Aristo track have holes for small nails or screws (I use the latter to secure track to the plastic decking I use for roadbed on my garden RR).  Or you could use "Plastic Nails", silicone rubber or similar adhesive for less noise transmission from the track to the plywood.  .     Tom

Hi tac! 

Nice to hear from you again.  .   I've had such a positive response to the live-steam videos that i'm planning to re-shoot them sometime this year with a full broadcast-grade HD camcorder i bought @ 2 months ago & offer them on DVD & possibly Blu-ray as well.  Check out one of my newer videos on YouTube (Busy Days on the Watuppa Railway) if you want to get an idea of what the video quality is going to be like.   

                                                            Tom

Both the 2-Truck Shay & Heisler will handle 24" radius (LGB R1), 4' diameter curves if you're using truck-mounted couplers; the Connie 2-8-0 really needs 48" radius (LGB R3), 8' diameter curves.  With the 48" radius curves, you can go to more prototypical body-mounted couplers on both the Shay & Heisler as well; & virtually all 1:20.3 scale Bachmann or Accucraft cars & locos will handle 48" radius curves as well. 

                                                                     Tom