My answer is to hardwire everything.  This is a modified MDC 2-6-0:



You probably recognize the boiler as "borrowed" from a Bachmann USRA 0-6-0, with the cab lengthened slightly.  Here's what's under the tender body:




The tender is a shortened Pre-spectrum Bachmann short USRA with Kato caboose trucks hard wired.  This was the first one I did, and I lopped off the flywheel to fit the Bachmann coal bunker.  Performance did not suffer with the "missing" flywheel, but on the later conversions that I did, I cut a hole in the rear deck of the tender body to clear the flywheel, and "hid" it with a toolbox.   If you look closely at the tender on the 2-8-0, you can see the "toolbox.  





These are still the smoothest running small steam that I have.  I have not gotten around to eliminating the contact strips in the tender I have on the 4-6-0 ... but I will.   Even though soldering the motor leads to the contact strips was not particularly challenging, I still like to eliminate as many of the sliding contacts as possible.  I have not taken any pix of the 4-6-0 setup yet, but I will.  I don't think the Spectrum Slope-Back tender ever came with any sort of "board" in it, but the length is about perfect for the B&ML engines, so that's what I used.


Respectfully,
Bob S,

Perusing the latest MR, saw an ad (Micro Mark) for a Bachmann trainset with a 4-6-0.   Looking at the pix real close, it showed a Spectrum tender (still the way too big and modern "medium USRA") hitched to the engine in the "normal" way, suggesting a non-DCC locomotive.  Just what I need ... a non-DCC, simplified (no external valve gear) easily converted to a reasonable tender.  Micro Mark had no stock, but I found a seller on our favorite auction site (sarcasm is only one of the many service I offer) that had one in stock.  Arrived today.

Hitched a Spectrum "slope back" tender to it, and it ran smoothly ... for about a foot... then stalled.  Nudge, repeat, ad nauseum.  There was obviously some pickup problem going on here.  "Lifted the hood" to see what was going on.  One screw aft of the rear driver, disconnect the pilot deck braces, and the whole boiler/cab pivots up, forward and off.  The motor leads run forward in a groove to the microscopic LED board for the headlight, which is screwed to both sides of the split frame chassis.  Could be a couple of things going on: one or both of the screws could be loose, or something funky could be going on in that tiny PC board for the light.   I took the easy route, snipped the motor wires from the light board, and ran them aft and out beneath to cab, soldered them to the contact strips in the Spectrum tender, and VOILA!  Smooth, reliable slow speed performance, creeps through the insulated frogs of the Peco Setrack turnouts in my small 2x3 layout.  The tender bodies from the Model Power/MRC 2-6-0 or 4-4-0 will slip on the Bachmann slop back Spectrum tender, with only a few styrene strips on the sides. I have a few of these that were "converted" to HOn30, so the tender bodies were available for this project.  Now I have a smooth running 4-6-0 that is passable for any of the Belfast and Moosehead Lake (former Bangor and Arrostook) 4-6-0's.


There may be no motivation for Bachmann to offer this simplified loco for sale separately, but I paid a little over $100 for the entire "set".  I have no use for the rest of the set, so I may substitute one of the new USRA 0-6-0 or 2-6-2 Prairie locos that I have, and donate the set somewhere.


BTW, Bachmann seems to be very conservative in their minimum radius recommendations ... they recommend 11-1/2 (?) radius, and that is what is included in the set.   FWIW, this 4-6-0 has no problem with the 9" Peco Setrack on my small layout.


Just thought you'd like to know ......


Respectfully,
Bob S.

Chris33 said:

"It would be great if Bachmann would get into HOn30. The Skarloey chassis would be a great start for this real 30" locomotive:


And it wouldn't be that far off to make a 0-4-4 Maine Forney like WW&F 9 that was just brought back into service and was owned by 3 different railroad, with 3 different paint/lettering schemes. 

Just sayin'"

Yeah, verily!   

Out of the box, it won't pull much because the longitudinal center of gravity (LCG) is too far aft.  This won't make a whit of difference to those who expect the engine in Skarloey garb to pull only a few short wagons, but for scale conversions, it would need to pull a realistic train of scale length cars.  I balanced mine so that the LCG is between the two driver axles, and balanced as such, it will pull the paint off the bulkhead.  This is going to be a VERY useful mechanism for HOn30 modelers.

Respectfully,
Bob S.



 

Mike, 
Thanks for the reply.
Where can one get a 6 pin plug that will interface with the pins?
I searched for info regarding this tender, the installed board, and the interface connections on this site and others, but no joy.
Bachmann could do us all a favor by putting some literature in the package that explains what the electronics are, and how to use them.

Respectfully,
Bob S.

Greetings,

Compleat DCC Idiot here. I model in HOn30, and I have used Bachmann N scale tenders just for all-wheel pick-up in regular old DC. I have one of the short USRA tenders that has a small circuit board in it, with a six-pin (male) connector. Is that in fact a decoder, or is it something else? If it is "something else", what is supposed to plug into the pins?  Most decoders I have looked already have the 6 pin connector.

I am about to build another 2-6-0 based on the Model Power unit, and the motor is already isolated from the frame, so it might be fun to build it with DCC, if it's not a PITA. (I bought a Prodigy Advance system a few years ago, but never used it) I just don't know what I'm looking at inside that tender.

Tutorials, suggestions are welcomed ....

Respectfully,
Bob S.

I second the motion.

I bought the HO version "just because" it seems perfect for the Green Bay & Western and Ahnapee and Western 256-260 series.  And it's about as close as it can get.      So I need this in N.

Resp'y,
Bob S.
 

I need this one done in N.   Perfect for GB&W!

Resp'y,
Bob S.

There is more than one page here ... scan down.


http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,15131.0.html

Resp'y
Bob S.

Unfortunately, there is insufficient internal volume in the short USRA tender to do anything like that.  I may explore some really tiny decoders after Christmas ... but I have other projects ahead of this one on the priority list.

Resp'y,
Bob S.

Thanks for the reference to the A-Board, it was instructive.  I think I agree with that poster's conclusion that this board isn't very helpful.   Soldering I can handle ... but that circuit board takes up too much internal volume, unless the decoder board itself is half the size the existing board and can be levitated aft of it.   The pin connections leave zero vertical clearance under the coal bunker.

Is the array of pin connections for a "standard" connection from a locomotive, or is this a Bachmann-proprietary connection.  If the latter, which Bachmann locomotives will successfully mate to this board?

Resp'y,
Bob S.

Explain to this peabrain engineer how this thing "allows me to wire in a decoder"?  This does not seem like the circuit board in any "DCC-ready" diesel I have ever seen.   If this is not a decoder, then it seems that it would just be in the way if I wanted to install a decoder.








Thanks in advance,

Resp'y,
Bob S.

... and here's a dumb question.   The "DCC Ready" version of the short USRA tender has a circuit board in it.  Is this a decoder?  If so, what functionality does it provide.  If no, then what the heck is it??

Resp'y,
Bob S.

Mine showed up from Klein's today. It will be painted and decal'd for Ahnapee and Western 600. I have another one coming for No. 601.

I took it out of the box and set it on my test loop and backed into a ten-car train, which it hauled around the loop with no wheel slippage. The ten cars were a random mix of 40' Atlas, MT, Red Caboose Xm, reefers and a few tanks, just what was behind A&W 31 (a bulked up Bachmann 4-4-0) because I was too lazy to rearrange things. The loop is 2'x4' TruTrack, that has morphed into a switching layout. There are no grades per se, but in it's current location it isn't level, so it does have a "grade" of sorts, although only a small fraction of a percent. Curves are 11". When I tacked a caboose on the tail (A&W 33, bashed form MT 34' wood sheath converted to offset bay window), I started getting some slippage. So at present, the "tonnage limit" is ten 40' units. That's right out of the box, with no breakin, and no added weight. Without taking it apart, there is room for four small cubes of lead in the corners behind the foot boards. I'm guessing the total may work out to about 100 grains,and that's probably good for a few more cars. Of course, since I am an engineer, I will have to take it apart to see how it works when I get A Round Tuit.

I'd say this is a Home Run for Bachmann.  Slow speed performance on pure DC for switching was excellent, better than my 2 44T units. I'm not into DCC, I have no technical need for it as A&W never had more than two operable locomotives on the property at any one time, but I am tempted to go get a Prodigy unit or similar, just to experiment with, and keep me off the streets.   

Resp'y,
Bob S.

Tender drive might be OK.  The Roundhouse/Athearn 2-6-0 and 2-8-0 are tender drive and very smooth runners.  I had to change the tenders to something more modern, though.

"Before":



"After"





Bachmann folks will recognize the boiler and tender shell.

For motor-in-boiler ... Nigel Lawton has a 10mm x 12mm 12v motor that works out very nicely, for 23 dollars American.  How small does it need to be???

Resp'y,
Bob S.

Quote from: richG on January 19, 2008, 09:51:11 AM

Look under Product Reference at the top right of this page.

Rich

If it's HO, you're in business.  If it's N, you're SOL.

Resp'y,
Bob S.