I'm wondering what "scale" the N gauge Thomas range is adhering to, since N gauge in Europe and the USA is proportioned at 1:160, in Japan it is 1:150, and England it is 1:148, and it's predecessor (called OOO or "treble O") was 1:152. While the Thomas range is pretty much fantasy, this "scale" question relates to the general size and proportion. The Japanese "Thomas" Models, supposedly at 1:150 proportions, seem noticeably larger when compared to American N gauge models, how do the new Bachmann N models stack up in comparison?  

Do the all of the new On30 2-6-0's have tender pickups with wires and plugs between the tender and loco, or only the ones with metal gears. On the currently available ones with plastic gears, is pickup only in the loco like on the previous releases? I'm guessing the ones with metal gears (including the new 0-6-0's) will have tender pickups since they have DCC & Sound boards in the tender, but did they also change the non-metal geared 2-6-0's when they made the new ones with metal gears? Seems like not having to deal with the fiddley wires and plugs between units is a plus for those running around the Christmas Tree...

Bill

Is Rosie based on the same tooling as the HO 0-6-0 rectangular side tank switcher, or is she new tooling? I can't really tell from the illustrations. If the answer is yes, then she should be a very good running engine.

Bill in FtL

I just picked up an HO "Toby" to run on my club's modules for the upcoming season (Thomas and Friends are real crowd pleasers), and during a test run on a 3' section of track set up on the dining table, I see Toby is very slow, he can barely crawl along, even at full throttle. Thomas, James, and Percy are three to four times as fast at the same power setting. He runs quietly and seems pretty smooth, so I removed his shell to see if there was a bind somewhere, but found nothing. I was surprised to find him wired up with a circuit board containing two resistors and a couple of diodes, and even after a short run one time back & forth on the 3' track, the resistors get too hot to touch (this cannot be right). This circuit board doesn't appear to be for interference suppression, and Toby has no lights, so I can only guess that this is a circuit to drop the voltage going to the motor, but given the heat it's generating, it can't be long before it melts the surrounding plastic or burns itself out. I checked the Bachmann parts list and photo of this circuit board on the Bachmann website, and the resistors seem to have the same color code value (red-green-black-gold). Is it normal for Toby to be so slow moving? I can't imagine any kid running his train at this speed, so it seems like this can't be normal operation.

Bill in FtL

Bachmann came out with a bunch of EZ-App locos in HO, first diesels, then even the 2-6-0 steam loco, but I think they might have missed the boat by not doing a version of Thomas or a Williams 3-rail O loco with EZ-App Control. After all, it's the younger generation that more fascinated by smart phones, wouldn't  they appreciate using their phone to run their trains? Personally, I would like to see an EZ-app board with a DCC plug made available that could go into some of my On30 locos without requiring extensive modifications (the Blue Rail Trains board was just a bit too big).

Bill in FtL

In looking for E-Z App HO locos on the web, very few are still listed, many are shown as O/S, and a couple show a blowout price, indicating possible discontinued product. Has this technology been abandoned by Bachmann? I have a couple of E-Z App locos in HO, and I like them a lot and was hoping to see E-Z App expanded into the Thomas HO and the Williams O gauge product lines, but it looks like this may not happen. Sad...

Bill in FtL

I recently read somewhere that the On30 18 foot cars suffer wheel interference on curved track. I have tried to find this article and now it seems to have disappeared. I would have thought out of all the On30 cars in Bachmann's line, the 18 footers would be the ones least likely to require larger radius curves. Has anyone else heard of this? I was thinking about a mini or micro layout using some of these cars, now I'm thinking I need to run some tests...

Bill in FtL

Hello Bachmann,

Is Skarloewy now discontinued, or are we simply waiting for US inventory replenishment? If the latter, when can we expect back order fulfillment? Our LHS had orders in with distributors, but never received the first piece...

Bill in FtL

Wow! A used Bachmann mail car with the original "Sodor Mail" graphics just sold on eBay for a rather staggering price! See eBay item #381591739848 for some serious sticker shock...

Looks like there are some pretty serious Thomas collectors out there.

Bill in FtL

What type of plastic does Bachmann use for the shells in its Thomas line? I have made some modifications to some of my Thomas items, and I have noticed that my solvent cement is not as effective with the Bachmann plastic as it is with other models, such as Athearn. This makes me think that they may not be made of styrene, but possibly ABS. Can anyone with Bachmann confirm the type of plastic?

Bill in FtL

I just got my first E-Z App loco (a PRR Alco RS3) today and set it up on a test track on the dining room table for a trial run. I used an old MRC Tech II 2400 with the throttle knob set at about 3/4 power for the test. The first thing I noticed is that the loco would sit for a short time on powered track, but would eventually start moving if there is no BlueTooth signal. This effect seemed to be polarity sensitive, but I didn't take the time to fully test it out. Once the Bluetooth was powered up, the loco didn't show any further tendency to creep. For a controller, I was using an iPad Air, since my cell phone is too old (Apple 3GS) to be compatible. The app loaded onto my iPad with no drama in just a few minutes time. Turning the iPad on, it took me a second or two to initiate the start, and the loco began running as expected, with all controls functional. There were a few times when the unit seemed to get " confused" during a slow start with the bell on, where it would start to roll, then stall with the headlights flashing. This may have been a low voltage issue, since even at full throttle, the power pack is supposed to only put out 14 volts. I don't think it was caused by dirty track, because recovery was simple, just return the throttle to stop and try again, maybe with a bit more throttle this time. I tried operating at about half DC throttle power for just a few seconds, and the operation seemed to be the same, so the system seems pretty tolerant of voltage input

I only have the one loco to run at the moment, and the system recognizes it only as "Bachmann Loco", although I see there is an option to change it's name. I'm curious to see how it works with multiple locos, and wonder whether multi-unit loco sets will be possible, but if they're not, it's not a major issue, since my layout is fairly small, and large lash-ups would probably look out of place.

This coming Monday, I will take the loco and the iPad to a local library where our club is displaying modules in several scales for the Holidays, for a real system test, and will check out the range as well. So far, though, I like it, and I think this method of control has great potential. I may even have to get a newer phone now, since the iPad is a bit too big to hold and operate with just one hand. I'm also anxiously awaiting the release of the plug & play boards to convert existing DCC-Ready locos, since I have a few candidates in mind.

Bill in FtL

Will there be samples of locos equipped with the new EZ-App loco control system being demonstrated at the NMRA NTS next month? And, will the plug-in boards themselves be on display to be seen for a comparison with DCC decoders?

I'm looking forward to the release of this system, so far it looks like it has great potential.

Bill in FtL

I haven't seen much posted about the new BlueTooth EZ-App since it was first announced that it would be released in Summer 2015. Since Summer is now half over and no chatter has been heard, I'm wondering if this product has been delayed, or has it "died on the vine". My current cellular contract is up, and I'm still using my old Apple 3GS (not Bluetooth 4 compatible), but I don't want to upgrade the phone until the BlueTooth App is released...

Bill in FtL

I thought Bachmann announced a new line of HOn30 trains at the 2014 NTS last July, but I notice there is no mention of these in the newly released 2015 Bachmann catalog, although there is mention of a narrow gauge loco & cars for the Thomas range (not cheap, either!). Has Bachmann changed their mind about the previously announced HOn30 items, hoping they will be quietly forgotten?

Bill in FtL

How did they fill the water tank on the Stearns Heisler, since there doesn't seem to be a water hatch in the tender section? Did it use a siphon pump with a hose dipped into a lake or stream?

Bill in FtL

Are the new sound boards for the 2-4-4-2 and the Heisler physically the same units, except for the sound files recorded on them?

Bill in FtL

No local dealers will stock On30, so I can't see before buying. I am interested to know the widths of the new 18 footers, as well as the height of the 18 foot boxcar. Obviously, they are shorter than the other On30 cars, but are they also narrower and lower as well?

Thanks, if you can help out with dimensions.

Bill in FtL

A post on thr RRLine forum stated that the new Heisler had limited pulling power, only 4 Bachmann On30 log cars (with logs). I would have hoped for better than that, especially since the Heisler is closer in configuration to an HO diesel than a steam powered rod locomotive.

Has anybody tried pulling anything with their new Heisler? How does it pull compared to other On30 locos?

Bill in FtL

I'm wondering if anyone here has installed a DCC only (non-sound) decoder in their Bachmann HO scale Alco 2-6-0, and if so, which decoder you used? At first, I tried a Digitraxx DH163IP, but it interfered with the tender shell, so then I looked at a DH123P, but decided there was too much wire (maybe a DH123PS might work). Then I tried an NCE N14IP and it seemed to fit OK once I removed the 8-pin plug spacer. I believe Digitrax has a similar decoder with integrated pins like the NCE N14IP. I had originally purchased the N14IP to use on another loco but I haven't gotten around to doing that install yet, so before I go out and buy another one, I'm wondering if there's a better decoder for the 2-6-0 (maybe one with BEMF)?

Bill in FtL

Today I received my Bachmann N scale RS-3 loco, and while putting it on the track, I was thinking "what a great looking little loco". Then, when I hooked up the DC power and turned the knob, nothing happened! I tried the DCC power system also and same thing, no lights, no go! After removing the shell and looking closely, I noticed the decoder board wasn't sitting level because it's retainer clips wouldn't seat properly due to pressure from the motor wires. When the loco was assembled at the factory, the technician twisted the wires going to the motor (3-4 turns), which made their diameter greater than the space available between the board and the loco's frame, resulting in the contact fingers on the board not touching the frame on one side. I carefully unclipped the board, and pinching the wire to the board with my thumb to prevent it from flexing and breaking, I rotated the board 3 or 4 turns to eliminate the twist. Then I reinstalled the board after tweaking the contact fingers just a tiny bit, and snapped it into place on the clips. I then used a toothpick to work the wires into the gap between the board and frame, making sure the board didn't get any pressure from the wires to make it come unclipped. I put the loco on the track and applied a little power, and the loco started to move (whew!). I don't know if all of the RS-3's may have similar problems, or just the ones assembled by this particular technician, but if you get one that doesn't run right out of the box, it may have the same problem.

After getting it operating, I again thought "what a beautiful little loco!"

Bill in FL