I have four Spectra:  two consolidations, a ten wheeler and a Richmond 4-4-0.  The first two consolidations were fine out of the box.  The ten wheeler had a bad wire connection inside the tender.  I repaired it myself.  The 4-4-0 pilot truck kept riding up on the rails.  I noticed the ten wheeler had the same pilot truck and a load spring to hold it down.  The 4-4-0 was missing the load spring, and it did not appear on the assembly drawing.  I fabricated one and installed it with no further problems.

Since model railroading is largely a hands-on fabrication hobby, I would have to say a fair percentage of problems never reach the manufacturer.  Many of us take the process one large step further by significantly modifying our new purchases.  Fifty years ago, a large percentage of locomotive models were kits.  Ya’ gotta’ wonder how many kits never turned a lap on the layout, and how many of these the manufacturer ever heard about.  I don’t mind handling problems within my capability, but pity the person who depends on trouble-free, out-of-the-box operation.

Today the marvel is not how the manufacturers do it so well, it’s how they manage to do it at all.

Regards,

Bob

1) If it ran OK the last time out, I would start with the pick-up contacts on the drivers or tender.  I have one or two engines on which these occasionally slip off the tires and make contact with the metal frame.

2) Also, you could have picked up a piece of metal debris in the pick-up area.  A careful inspection should reveal the problem.

3) Is it possible the wheels or one of the trucks on the tender were reversed?

In any case, this doesn't sound like a motor or electronics (DCC??) problem, as the symptom would likely be a slow burn and smell rather than the sparks you encountered.

Regards,

Bob

Sheldon,

I'd have given up my birthright to the kingdoms of Castile and Aragon to have lived along the Ma & Pa during its day.  Sounds like it was already gone by the time you got there.  When Bachmann came out with No. 27, I knew I had to have one - then, 4, 5, and 6 - my allowance for the next five years, but I live along the line vicariously with these models.

Regards,

Bob

“The longest train I ever saw
Went down that Georgia Line
The engine passed at six o'clock
The cab went by at nine.”
-   a verse to “In the Pines”

I have seen some pretty impressive model train lengths on modular displays in recent years.  It kind of reminds me of those old Volkswagen cramming escapades we used to see years ago.  It’s fun to watch, but realistically, I think most modelers are limited.  A scale mile of HO track is just under 61 feet.  This probably qualifies as a mid-size home layout.

The question is, how long a train do you run on it?  There is another dimension to scale here, I’m not thinking about O, HO or N, but rather how much of the train you model.  Let’s call it train scale as opposed to model scale.  To a great extent, they are inversely proportional.  On my 20-sq ft layout, a coal drag consists of five hoppers; locals seldom reach this length; and passengers are generally just a combine and a coach.

The point here is that, just as it is not necessary to think of a layout being limited by a mere scale mile or two of track, you don’t have to think about your train being just a few cars long.  In the way freight example, I like to focus on the most efficient pick up a delivery of a carload â€" picking it up at an interchange point, bringing it back to the yards when necessary, getting it made up in the next available train out, and switching it in the fewest moves.  In short, it becomes a game, much like John Allen’s Timesaver.  While the size of the train may be limited by the size of your layout, you never really think about it that way.

Regards,

Bob

OK, consider for a moment the small-time railroad.  My Maryland Central operates, as George Hilton has described the Ma & Pa, in “genteel poverty.”  It is, in imaginary antimatter, to the south side of Baltimore, what the Ma & Pa was in real life on the north side.

I have no idea how old the layout is.  I started it with number two son, perhaps 12 to 15 years ago.  It’s not finished yet.  I still see a hundred or more projects.  They are only accomplished as the spirit moves me.  A couple years ago, I finally finished a scratch-built structure I began in the early ‘60s.  Some things just take time.

My Maryland Central is modeled on a piece of 4’ x 5’ ft plywood.  The mainline is a circle of track â€" as disguised as one can make it in that space â€" barely 2/10 of a mile around.  Physically, besides the loop, it consists of one siding, a three-stub yard, a switchback and an interchange track. 
Operationally, the spreadsheet-generated, random card order system can make running local freights about as challenging as life ought to be for one person.

On the other hand, there is an unparalleled advantage to a circle of track â€" no pun intended.  After a hard day in the mines, you can kick back with a cup of tea and watch an old 4-6-0 kettle turn laps with a combine and a coach at a scale 10 mph.  There are some classic bluegrass train songs playing in the background, and the cat is asleep on a nearby bench.  It doesn’t get any better than that.

Bob

Mr. Gumby,

I have had a Spectrum 4-4-0 (Ma&Pa No. 6) for three or four weeks now.

1.  It runs on DC right out of the box.  I don't have DCC either.  There is about a 1 or 2 second delay after you open the throttle before it starts.  I assume this is the time it takes for the decoder to figure out it is running on DC and makes the necessary adjustment.

The units come with jumper plugs you can use instead of the decoder.  You have to take the tender apart, pop out the decoder and insert the jumper plugs.  This is the way the Bachmann Spectrum engines came in their DCC-ready days.  I have not done this yet and don't see any particular need to do so.

2.  The Spectrum 4-4-0 can run well on 18" radius curves.  I say this with some qualification, not because of any wheels binding, but because the pilot truck tends to climb the rails on curves.  It may do this with wider radius as well.

I solved the problem by fabricating a leaf spring between the pivot point on the mounting bar and the top of the truck.  This provides some load on the pilot truck and makes it behave.  The Spectrum 4-6-0 comes with the same pilot truck and has this spring, but for some reason Bachmann did not think it was necessary on the 4-4-0.  It is not on the parts drawing.

In other respects the drivers have the usual lateral play which allows them to track well on tight curves.  For a 4-4-0, this is probably not necessary (short wheel base), but it's there anyway.

Go for it.

Regards,

Bob

Roger,

I'm going to have to revisit this to see what I am missing.  I plugged the Vandy into a stock Bachmann 2-8-0 using the female plugs on the loco and male jacks on the tender and she chugged right off.

I had the Vandy tender apart and also checked the parts list.  It appears to have the same circuit board and male connectors as the original tender.  My railroad operates in a state of genteel poverty and we are still operating on DC, so the circuit boards have shorting jumpers on them.

I just assumed the extension cables were provided in case the existing cables from the loco from a Bachmann loco were too short or you had to locate the tender further back on the drawbar.  The latter may be the case if you try to run the tender on a loco with a long cab roof.  The Vandy's coal bunker is very high.  I tried it first on an ICH Mogul (no Bachmann cables).  The loco-tender separation was too great for 18" radius curves.

I'm still interested in any results from your search for connectors.

Regards,

Bob

Sorry I don't have a source, but I have thought about the problem myself and want to install quick disconnects between some of my other steamers and their tenders.

I have thought about trying to adapt some of the small cable connectors that come on many computer components, for example the audio cable on a CD-ROM or various motherboard connections.  These are much longer than the Bachmann connectors and most of them are female which mate with pins on the components.

Interestingly, the Bachmann medium Vanderbilt tender comes with a set of 2- and 4-pin extension cables about 1 1/2" long.  As these have female connectors at both ends, I'm not sure just how you are supposed to use them.  The tender couples right up to the 2-8-0 and, I assume other models in the normal way.

A source for some thin, pliable wire would be just as valuable as one for the connectors.

Bob

Both replies above are good advice.  A third possibility is that the gear on the driver axle (0AC03 on the parts list) has a burr or possibly a piece of dirt between the teeth.  This would show up on every rotation.  Since the load is applied to different sides of the gear teeth in forward and reverse, the problem might only occur in one direction as you indicate.  Also ensure that this gear and the worm gear are lubricated with a plastic compatible grease such as Labelle #106.

I usually give the driver bearings, rods and valve gear a shot of #108 oil periodically.

Bob

LD303 has some good advice.  I have never had a bad experience on eBay.  I credit part of this to luck, but just like judging people you meet for the first time, you can usually grade your sellers by the auctions they post.

Some sellers don't tell you much about what they are selling.  Others become very defensive with their auctions.  They relieve themselves of as much responsibility as possible while imposing it on the buyer - not the sort of thing you learn in Salesmanship 101.  Then there are those who post ridiculously low buy-it-now prices and make it all up on shipping and handling.  I stay away from these types.

There are a lot of modelers who have neither a brick and mortar dealer nor periodic train shows nearby.  You can't always find a Varney 10-wheeler or copy of "Mixed Train Daily" at the mall.  For these reasons, eBay is a godsend.

Regards,

Bob

No. 6's tender has chains on both sides.  Maybe I should check the box again for some hidden goodies.  I know there is an original pipe pilot in there in addition to the wood load.

Yes, I have been through Mixed Train Daily three or four times, as well as most of Beebe and Clegg's other train books.  The Mississippi and Alabama had a couple remarkable old kettles.  I guess the latter day short line steamers down south were fed lots of pine knots.  Must have kept the yard crew busy keeping the flues clean.

Bob

A check of Ma & Pa photos indicates the chains were installed on the tenders in the early years, but at some point they started carrying poles for switching maneuvers.

Were any of the "modern" Richmonds really wood burners?

Bob

Here's Ma&Pa No. 6 on her arrival 2/24/07.




Bob

If you can get the high boiler 4-6-0 (63") to run on 15" track, the low-boiler (52") should be no problem.  I have Ma & Pa #27 (Bachmann #82302) running on 18" radius with the tenter on the short drawbar.  The trick is to get the two wire bundles free and clear.

The yellow-white headlight came on the 4-4-0 and is the nicest I have ever seen.

Bob

rikc9 - Thank you for the offer.  I have fabricated a spring using a part from my junk box.  So far, it is doing very well.  Never throw anything away.

pete - Yes, you can generally eliminate trackwork.  Mine is an old layout I built for No. 2 son years ago.  It is Atlas snap track - not very good but most everything runs reasonably well on it.

The pilot truck was most affected on curves (18"), and I could find no fault with  them.  When the engine is going forward, the truck is pushed rather than towed, which contributes to the problem - kind of like pushing on the end of a string.

Bob