I'm looking at the building situation myself, and I'm about to place an order / evaluate kits from this outfit.

http://www.coloradomodel.com/

I've been reading some VERY good things about these kits!   



Mr. T.

Well...  to deal with my particular trackage problems, the experimentation begins.

On the E-Place, I got high bid of a dozen sections (37") of used Gargraves Flextrack. They'll become the sacrificial lambs for this endeavor. If things work out, I'll be looking for some more of this stuff.

The first problem seems to be home construction of mating pins; pulling the pin from one end of the transitioning  Bachmann section, and replacing it with an adaptor pin to Gargraves.

Looks to be a matter of attaching round rod (to fit the Gargraves) to a blade (to fit the Bachmann). I suspect the best way to fabricate it is "hard soldering", even tho I DO INDEED hate torch work, especially with the tiny flame required to join items this small! 

As for the Bachmann track stash that I already have...  rethinking this whole thing, it seems to me that the most practical plan for using it is to set up a fairly elaborate yard, and, assuming the Gargraves track grafting is successfully accomplished; completely banish Bachmann track from the main line.


BTW, in case anybody's interested...  still in the planning and practicality determining stages as yet, but I'm thinking along the lines of roughly modeling the Chicago & Northwestern's last narrow gauge operation in southwestern Wisconsin, locally known as "The Dinky", or less commonly "The Ridge Runner". It was about a 17 mile long short line railroad that carried passengers, milk & cheese, livestock, and assorted freight down the Green River valley between Fennimore (where it met the standard guage C&NW) and Woodman, Wisconsin (on the Wisconsin River), with two intermediate small town stops (Werley and Anderson's Mill). The Dinky was a line so small and simple that the ENTIRE RAILROAD had only ten turnouts! 

That's the basis of the road...   but then, Modeler's License kicks in! 

The Dinky was a single track road; I wanna make it a double track.

The Dinky, as far as I can tell, never had any block signals, mainly because only one train at a time ever operated on it at a given time! I'm toying with the idea of lower quadrant semaphores.

The Dinky went belly up and was abandoned in January, 1926; Henry Ford's Model T and better roads made her unnecessary after about 50 years.

I want to take The Dinky 15 - 20 years beyond that, still operating into the 1940s.


While trying to sort out trackage issues...  I'm working over a basket case White Pass 4-6-0 Big Hauler, trying to shorten it and make it into a 2-6-0, Class D11 Mogul! The razor saw will be descending on that boiler very soon now!

If I get hold of another basket case Big Hauler loco, even MORE drastic surgery may be undertaken; conversion to a 4-4-0! 


Mr. T.

Another thing...

Not  to be overly PC or anything like that... but how about some Black railroad workers?

Bachmann's Big Hauler products seem to be roughly based on the 1880 - 1910 time frame, and people of color were DEFINITELY a part of railroading back then.

One of my Bachmann conductors got demoted to a Pullman porter for a service on a kitbashed "private varnish" coach, and a station agent got converted into a bartender on that same coach. I've gone over some of my firemen and assorted people with a paint brush too...  but it would be nice to have some of them come off the shelf reflecting reality and history.   

Actually, after looking over my original post, I notice that I misspoke about the proposed new crossover. A 45 degree won't work with the Bachmann track system.

Instead, a 60 degree crossover would be compatible, since existing curves are 30 degrees each.

At the same time, some HOBOS would be nice to add!   


Mr. T.

Yeah, I know, it was dumb to even  start down this path... but I'm planning my permanent layout around Bachmann sectional track. 

Bachmann track has the major advantage for Newbies like me of being the most cost effective  track option out there right now if you're going for an indoor only layout.

Real fast tho you discover the limitations inherent in that sort of a plan.

First... is Bachmann planning on ever introducing another radius of curve? Like one that allows the construction of a 2 track main line?

As it is, using existing  straights and turnouts it's quite possible to set up passing shunts...  but the moment you hit a curve, church is out.

Next... a 45 degree crossover, to supplement  the existing 90 degree, would be a handy item to have available.

Finally... the MOST valuable thing to produce would be track adaptor sections that would mate Bachmann track to, say, Gargraves flex track.

I fear none of this is ever gonna happen, but I figure it can't hurt to ask!


Mr. T.

Well...  I'm lucky in that I'm at work right now, with a lightning fast Internet connection at my disposal. As sometimes happens on a Saturday night shift, things around here are quiet to the point of boredom this evening!    That allows me to do some intense nosing around on the Internet on this subject as I wait for something to happen that's work related...  in this case, usually a computer gear failure.

As for my immediate coupler problem, research indicates that it appears retrofitting the cars with Kadee #831 couplers should take care of the problem quite nicely!   

Even more interesting... in my Googling I encountered an NMRA report (January 2010) that deals with the whole subject of coupler compatibility between brands in the large scales (#1, F and G). It's fascinating reading, and there's a ton of practical information in there.

They're telling you flat out what brand mixes work and which don't!  THAT'S something I've been looking for ever since my little adventure with the Bachmann Bobber caboose that was equipped with AristoCraft couplers; it just DON'T WORK worth a diddley!!!   

http://www.nmra.org/standards/sandrp/LS%20Coupler%20Technical%20Report.pdf


Mr. T.

I got lucky on the E-Place, and got high bid on an apparently NOS boxcar (unmarked) and a work caboose (likewise, unmarked) from Hartland Locomotive Works.

Sure, there's a bit of a scale discrepency between them and my Big Hauler stuff (HLW stuff is 24:1), but I'm not that much of a stickler on that point...  they'll do quite nicely, especially at the price I got 'em for!  

However...   a nasty thought has just occured to me while waiting for mail delivery. Couplers.

Has anybody out there added HLW stuff to his/her system? If so, how big a headache was it to graft on Bachmann couplers???

I'm not REAL crazy about Bachmann's coupler, but I've got so many of them at this point that changing all of the rolling stock over to something else would be a major killer.


Mr. T.

Thanks for the information Bach Man!

I guess that I have a twisted sense of humor here...  or I've been in Wisconsin (the home of a ton of brewerys) for too long; I personally LOVE the series!.

An old college buddy of mine recently moved back to Wisconsin, and bought a bar / supper club.

When he saw my reefer collection, he instantly decided the place just HAS to have a G scale train running around the bar's walls, on a shelf up near the ceiling...  and he now has me looking around for MORE beer reefers for HIS proposed layout.

Besides another kitbashed tank car (Johnny Walker Red), he also wants a kitbashed Budweiser caboose! I've got a couple of bobbers here that I don't really want or use very often (somehow, those bobbers are a bit disconcerting in terms of scale), so the project seems quite do-able.


Mr. T. / Gavno the Ugly

THANKS Bill!!!     

The information was right on the money!


Mr. T. / Gavno the Ugly

Now...  I'm not trying to be a smart a-- or anything; I'm just curious.

Is there a serious alcoholic in the Bachmann marketing department? 

Here in Wisconsin, we don't mind beer or ads for it...   heck, around here, we ENCOURAGE that kinda thing... but I'm amazed by the number of different reefers Bachmann has put out that are liveried in the logos of breweries...   almost exclusively small local micro breweries centered in the New England and Tidewater areas.

Every time I think I've collected them all, ANOTHER ONE pops up!

I can understand small runs of 100 or so units for each label, to be sold in the region where the brew is consumed...  but there appear to be THOUSANDS of copies out there, distributed nationwide!

As it happens...  my layout is gonna include a spur line that  serves a brewery (I got a deal on a BUNCH of Bachmann barrels to go on the warehouse platform!), and the reefers are getting assembled into "The Hangover Special"...   complete with a kitbashed tank car that has a Wild Turkey logo on it!     Ya gotta chase SOMETHING with all that beer! 

Seriously tho...  there's GOTTA be an interesting story behind all of this booze related rolling stock! Anybody know what triggered this trend?


Gavno the Ugly

I recently picked up a NOS Porter; the price was an offer I couldn't refuse. 

I assume it's a "Pre Spectrum" product; the model number is 11398 (I can't find any information on it on the Net).

There was no documentation of any sort in the sealed package.

Can anybody give me an idea how old it is, or at least give me an idea of how long ago it was replaced by the Spectrum version? 

Being older, I assume that there's no nice handy DCC connector in there anyplace. I'm thinking that one of the side tanks is the place to stash a decoder, but I'd appreciate any advice from folks who have successfully installed a decoder in one of these beasties. 


Gavno the Ugly

Thanks for the responses!   

I came into a bargain on several Lenz LE 102 and LE 103 decoders...  which are now sort of useless for my purposes. I might try one of them on my 0 4 0 Porter, to see if they can handle that load without blowing.

In any case...  I also managed to get my hands on three MRC AD324 decoders which will surely handle the current of the 4 6 0 locomotives (8 amp rating).

This is my first excursion into DCC...  so I got hold of an older, discontinued system that is simple and cheaply available, but IMHO is adequate for Big Haulers; an MRC Command 2000.

To take care of the current requirements of G scale, I also got hold of the AD600 buss extender (necessary if you want to connect a booster), and I've exercised my skills as an engineer to construct a regulated, 10 amp DC supply (variable, 18 - 25 volts, based on an LM338T regulator chip and an MJ2955 pass transistor). Right now I'm debating if I should mount this beast on a 19 inch rack panel to make it look more professional (aesthetics are important), and allow for possible future consolidation and expansion of electronics.

Personally...  I'm wondering why commercially made boosters are SO damned expensive. The technology in them doesn't seem all that complex, and by scrounging, virtually all of the components can be had for next to nothing; the booster parts all came out of the "junk box" of my ham station...  cost = zero, except for a few hours to put it together!

Oh well...   looks like I'll find out about this technology.

Again, thanks for the responses.


Mr. T.

Excuse the questions of a DCC Newbie and G scale Novice.

Most DCC decoders I see out there have a maximum current capacity of 1 - 1.2 amps for motor control.

That's no doubt adequate for handling HO and smaller stuff, but is it enough to control a Big Hauler's motor?

What decoders are others using successfully for G scale locos?

Thanks!

When I was a kid, my 027 gauge Marx and Lionel sets ALWAYS had at least one  Plasticville signal bridge for safety on the line! 

Now that I'm into my 10th or 12th Childhood (the others including ham radio, motorcycles, guns, hunting dogs, kilts, and, would you believe, officiating in Womens Flat Track Roller Derby!) and I'm getting back to it in G scale, I REALLY miss that signal bridge.

I know that Aristo Craft makes a similar item, but Bachman / Plasticville can do a bit of "One Upsmanship" on them with this item.

The old O gauge bridge, and the current G scale Aristo Craft, are both configured for spanning a two track main line. However, these days we think in larger terms than that sometimes.

How about reengineering the bridge to accept 1 or 2 track "expander sections" in the middle to make it useful for 3 track (2 track main plus a spur or passing shunt track), or 4 track areas?

It's worth a thought, anyway...