Guys

Here are my first impressions on the new 4-6-0.

It's "BIG" when I first placed it next to my other loco's, it appeared to overwhelm them.

It isn't actually that large when you take into account the driver size compared to the 2-8-0
and the 2-6-0.

Size: It is 13 3/4" over the coupler faces, the 2-8-0 is 12 3/4" most of the difference is the tender length.
         The wheelbase is 11 5/8" just a little over 46ft in 0 scale it will fit on a 50ft turntable.
         The height is 3 1/4" from the rail head with the capped stack,  note the whistle is just a bit taller.
         The width measured at the rear of the tender is 2 1/8" this is wider than any of the other loco's.
         The engine weight is over 2lb w/o the tender.

Running:  It runs very smoothly and quietly no gear whine and I didn't see any surging when going
                downgrade.  It was pulling five coaches.
                None of my curves are over 20"r and I have one that is a tight 18"r with gaps in the rails
                because it leads onto a lift out, I had no problems with the pilot truck at any time.

The loco is equipped with Bachmann's new decoder,  it is smaller than the previous decoders and
seems to work much better.

The pilot truck link needs to be adjusted for better up and down movement.  I found that it would occasionally derail at the crest of one of my grades because the truck could not follow the change in grade.

Overall one heck of a loco,  its a keeper.

Tim Anders
Souderton, PA

Mr Bachmann and All

If you have been undecided about making the change, here is my experience.

The improvement in the appearance alone is worth the expense.
The cars also seem to ride/track better.

Coupler height is maintained and they come equipped with center shank couplers
already mounted.  The pockets readily accept Kadee #148 couplers.  The pockets
are too shallow for #5's.

Installation Notes:

The mounting screws supplied are the same as the ones you already have, and
as such they are too long by about 1/16".

The new frame is thinner at the mounting area than the old frame.

You can use washers under the head of the screw or shorten the screw.
I used washers on most of my cars, and shortened the screws on others.

The trucks will work without modification, but I found that they work better if
I chamfered the top of the bolster mounting hole.
There is a fillet at the bottom of the truck mounting post that wasn't there on
the old frame, and the chamfer on the bolster allows the truck to ride better.

Even with all the above it took me about an hour and a half to do nine cars.

These frames are well worth the effort.

Tim L. Anders
Souderton, PA

Hello Everyone

Bachmann just E-Mailed me about Dynamis.

You can learn all about it at the following site.

http://www.dynamisdcc.com/index.php


Tim Anders
Souderton, Pa