Hey Bachmann, any chance of this one coming back in stock as a DC version?  It would be nice to add it to the Sparrows Point layout next Christmas... along with some of those 70.5' drop-end gondolas for Patapsco & Back River RR.

Last year, I became part of the Dundalk Patapsco-Neck Historical Society Train Garden "builders and hostlers", which means I help put together the train garden and run the trains occasionally.

Almost immediately, I became head of the HO division on what is mostly an O-gauge pike.  The division basically operates a loop of track around a few buildings that represent some of the Bethlehem Steel plant in Sparrows Point (plenty of Google-feed here...).  This year I was given permission to enlarge it a bit more, to a full 4x8 spread.  So I did some track planning on AnyRail 6...

Last weekend at the train show in Timonium I was miraculously able to purchase all the pieces of track I needed.

This weekend, we're going to be disassembling some of the exhibits in the museum to make way for the garden.

Once I figure out images on this thing, I'll post some of the track plan.

Thanks to Roundhouse, the cars of the GD Line (John Allen's Gory and Defeated [or as I think he sometimes meant the gosh darn line]) live on.  I did not know this until the model train show I went to last weekend, where I came across some of the cars.  They are beautifully done.  In HO.

Mr. Bachmann,
     Have you thought about doing a Doctor Who train set?  Or has someone else already claimed that lucrative cash cow?

I know that Bachmann has gotten into the super-large-scale (G) models, but will it ever go into the super-small-scale models?

Being a guy in a one-bedroom apartment, space is at a premium.

I bought a Collector's Series Class J N&W 4-8-4 (DC).  The track I tried it on was 9 3/4" radius and it kept coming off.  So I tried squeezing the wheels together, thinking there was a small gap between the wheel stops and the axle (you know what I mean...).  It loosened the wheels.  I traded in all my curves for 11 1/4" radius and put a small dab of superglue on the axles.  It worked for a bit, but the wheels came loose again.

Anybody have a permanent fix for this?

Does it really matter?

Some people on this forum tend to pooh-pooh the circle choo-choo, on account of 'lack of real railroading'.  Maybe there's a poor individual who can't afford all the fancy craftsman kits, and makes due with already-completed models, gets them from yardsales, or just imagines they have buildings.  Are you going to shun them for lack of money?  Or maybe they live in an apartment and don't have the room for a big fancy layout that takes up a couple hundred square feet.  If they have a section 4'x8' to spare they may consider themselves lucky.  Will you shun them for lack of space?

If you run a 15" circle of track with a small train and one or two cars, you are still a model railroader.  It's not just 'playing with toys'.  These people (of which I was myself until a few years ago) are making due with what they have, and should be welcomed with open arms.  If they set up for Christmas and take it down on New Year's, THEY ARE INCLUDED.  Put up your nose and snob us off if you can sleep well at night, but we are legion (and I mean that in yesteryear's sense, that there are many of us, not that we have a hundred fb accounts and can troll you by ourselves).  We keep box sets on the shelves and in most cases keep trains alive in a store that would more than welcome getting rid of the stock and devoting shelf space to something else.

If you worked on a real train in a steel mill only, were you part of the Locomotive Brotherhood along with the cross-country engineer?  Yes.  Why should modelling be so "unprototypical", when everyone is hyping on how realistic model railroading is.  So whether you have a boxset and nothing else, or if you have an entire room devoted to your hobby, YOU ARE A MODEL RAILROADER.  Remember, if you can, the days of the passenger train, and take the words of the conductor to heart...

AAAAAAALL ABOOOOOOOARD!

Now let me just put away my soapbox....

I've heard this, that, and the other about how some people's nearest Local Hobby Shop (LHS), when they were children, was waaaaay off in the distance, and how sometimes that's still true.

Myself, there was always a 'permanent' stall in the back of the local indoor every-weekend flea market that catered to trains (mostly), cars, and trucks.  And French's Hobby Store was just down the street.  Having grown up, French's closed (after 50+ years), the local flea market guy is still there, and I've found two more stores within public transportation distance of me.  So I consider myself lucky.

But now I've been wondering, just how lucky am I?

And the question I put to you is this:  Where's your nearest hobby store at a physical location, either as a child, as an adult, or both?

Does anyone have this model?
I bought it in a baggy and it seems like all the pieces are here, but no instructions.  And it came with a small sheet of thin wood which I don't know where to put.

     I was rooting through a hobby shop and came across a used Bachmann Exploding Car (Old Time Combine car, Central Pacific), #1401, in box.

     First time I ever saw one or heard about one.  Did a little research after buying it and found that it started life in a set that was offered in 1976 through 1978, the Great Iron Horse Train Robbery.  Surprisingly, the stand-alone car I bought still included the little stack of dynamite, the safe, and a little money box (for the GOLD)!

     What it was lacking was, of course, the plunger to make it go boom.  On the non-esplody side, there is a bar on the bottom of the carriage that hen pressed releases the spring mechanism, 'blowing out' the side and roof.  Supposedly.

     When I took it out of the package and tried it out, I realized that the top pegs on both wall sections were broken and the spring on the section with the door was missing.

     Oh well.  It still looks cool and adds some action to the layout.

     (not my pictures or site)

http://tycotrain.tripod.com/bachmannhoscaletrainsets/id37.html

Are there any HO train clubs in Southeast Baltimore County (Essex through Bayview and Bayview through Turner's Station) or Southeast Baltimore City (Downtown through Bayview and Highlandtown through Canton)?

I'm putting my 2-6-0 Mogul & Tender (smokes, DC) away in storage for a while and I want to wipe down the smoke unit.  With my other, older Bachmann 2-6-0s, the shell lifts right off with the removal of the rear screw.  This one won't.  Should I just try to pry it off, or something else?

Before telling me to go check the product sheets online, I already have.

I was thinking of making a tumblr page about the models I build (and other model train things) and the steps/processes I use.

Would anybody here follow it?

I've noticed that the 'standard' (aka horn-hook, aka X2F) coupler tends to push the ends of the coupled cars to opposite rails instead of a straight line.  So I'm thinking of Kadee-ing them.  Which number should I use?

Timonium, MD (Maryland State Fairgrounds)
Feb.  3 + 4, 2018

Gonna be awesome.
Y'all should come.

Mostly, the answer will be NO.

The hard, thin plastic most things are packaged in now?
          I cut it into rectangles small enough for my spare parts bin and use it to glaze windows in structures or passenger cars.  And I cut the plastic base off of the 'little people' (after painting, if I paint them) and glue a small square to their feet so they won't fall over.

Tissue paper?
     I mean the kind of stuff that's used in gifts, not snot rags.
          Useful to wipe up spilled liquids or ball up to use as paint sponges.  Or if used correctly with the plastic packaging, making a 'glazed window' effect.

The plastic (sorry, resin) sprues that most of your injection-molded plastic models are packaged with?
          Cut, slice, or (miter) saw them up in tiny pieces and glue them to trees as fruits, birds (in the smaller scales), or Christmas ornaments.  Use them to create your own pipework for an oil refinery.  Or super-detail a scene with downspouts, garbage, drainpipes, etc.

The foam blocks electronics are packaged in?
          Glue them together and shave them down for hilly scenery.  Cut (or dig) out space in them and put some fragile things in them when you're not using them.  Actually, that last one is kind of what they're made for anyway...



A lot of the things you toss can be used on your model railroad if you just stop to think for a moment.  Hold it in your hand and turn it around a few times.  Ponder.  Imagine.
And what you may not realize, is that you're recycling and liking it!

So, a while ago I bought the train, cars, and box to the Bachmann/Department 56 Heritage Village train.
So far, I've been able to buy the proper type of controller box and almost all the right (Bachmann) track.  But one piece still eludes me.  A straight section, 9", rerailer.  But not a rerailer/terminal.

The question is, was this the only set that had this particular piece of track?

Part 1:
What is in the Bachmann smoke fluid?  I've heard propylene glycol, glycerine, and both.  And I'm wondering if I would be able to use vape juice in a pinch, because there's a vape store down the street and the local hobby shop (flea market permanent booth) is a bit small in inventory, specifically accessories.

Part 2:
If I wanted to use non-Bachmann smoke fluid, whose would cause the least 'spitting'?

So I noticed that, while a very good small engine, but big enough to bridge gaps from insulated frogs, it seems to be a little light.

Any kind of a grade, and the wheel just spins.

Any idea of how much weight I should add to it to help?