I have been learning how to program my American 4-4-0.  I have the loco on a 22 inch radius circle that I laid out a long time ago on a 4x4 piece of Homasote.  While I had the loco on that circle, I thought of calibrating the speed dial on my MRC Tech 6 control.  I got the loco going with the Tech 6 dial at 40 and timed one revolution and it took 26 seconds.  Using 87.1 for the scale factor, the speed came out at 26.3 scale mph.

Then I tried to translate that result into a simple calculation using just the time it takes to go around the circle, and I came up with 684 divided by the time around the circle in seconds is the scale speed in mph.

The next step was to realize that hardly anybody has a 22 inch diameter circle just lying around somewhere, so I went one step further and came up with this:

59.4 multiplied by any distance in feet divided by the time it takes to travel that distance in seconds is the scale speed in mph.  All my numbers used in arriving at that result were rounded off to only three digits, but the answer you get should be as accurate as your numbers for distance and time.

I think that lots of people have gone through this same process, and I would be really interested to know if anyone has seen this before.

Does the Sound Value On Board decoder have a CV for automatically sounding the short whistle blasts when a loco begins to move and when it stops?  On the Bachmann list CV 198 might have something to do with that but the default value 0 does not do it.

I have a CP Jupiter 4-4-0 (new tooling) and I'm running it with a MRC Tech 6 controller with the walkaround controller.  I can program the Jupiter as loco 1-5 and it goes forward and reverse and buttons 0-3 all work, but if I program it as loco 6 it will not move.  it sits on the track making steam idling noises, and buttons 0-3 all work.  Forward and reverse do not work -- it can't move.

After programming Jupiter as loco 6 I hit button 0.  I got a short blast from the whistle and the light came on, and the idling noises got much louder.  Just another strange thing.  Then I made it loco 3 and all was normal.

My UP 119 4-4-0 (new tooling) is the same.  As loco 6 it can't move. I don't know if the trouble is in the loco or in the controller.  Talking to MRC is not so easy, so I'm starting here.  Any ideas?

Back on June 6 in a new 4-4-0 thread that I started, bbmiroku had comments about the cowcatchers on the old 4-4-0s, and the possibility of going up and over an obstruction.  This link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KBaQ41TMaU

tells the tragic story of two 4-4-0s that went partly up and over in a different way.

BTW, in a picture book about the Green Bay and Western and also the Ahnapee and Western, I have seen a lot of pictures of 4-4-0s in the late 1800s or early 1900s that have knuckle style couplers cut into the pilot on the front end of the loco.  They look just like the new Bachmann 4-4-0s that I was so unhappy about a few months ago when I first received mine.  Well, slowly, I'm learning about the evolution of the 4-4-0.

I'm wondering if there is any reason why I should not remove the traction tires from the drivers on my new 4-4-0.  I think that there would be enough traction without them and without the tires I could get the wheels really clean, and the wipers on those drivers might pick up some electricity.

Hi Mr. Bach Man,

I have a new 4-4-0 Jupiter.  It has stalling problems.  I found that the wipers on the rear axle of the front pair were bent far away from the axle, and on one of the front pair two of the three were bent away.  I straightened them and ran the loco again but it still stalls here and there on just plain track.  I will work on it.

But, here is my first question:
While I was straightening the worst of the bent wipers, the square plate that holds the wiper assembly on the truck came off.  I could put it back on and it would stay, but any pressure on a wiper would take it off again.  I'm thinking that the "snap on" feature of the plate is worn out, holes too big or whatever.  The part number for this plate is 00P05.  I would like to get a few new plates but they do not show up in a search for 00P05.  Even a new truck (00N01) does not show up in a search for that part.  So, is there a source for these plates?

Second question:
There is no electrical diagram for the new 4-4-0 locos.  It looks to me as though all the electrical pickups for the loco are in the tender.  It looks like wires from the tender are attached to a plug that plugs into the rear of the loco to power the motor and light.  Is that right?  It would be very helpful to separate the tender from the loco when I'm working on one of them so I hope it is a plug..

Thanks for your help.

Hey Bach man,

I received my Jupiter and 119 yesterday, and already I have some things to tell you about the all new 4-4-0 Americans.

I noticed in the Bachmann store that Bachmann designers realized that B&O and Pennsylvania are eastern railroads and therefore their locos are coal burners, so the tenders on the B&O and Pennsy locos have coal loads.  Apparently, they didn't know that in 1869 the Union Pacific was an eastern railroad, so they gave it a tender with a wood load.  If there ever is another production run, please let the designers know that the 119 belonged to an eastern railroad and should have a coal load in its tender.  Strange that the 119 has a smoke stack suitable for a coal burner but it has wood in its tender.

Both my Jupiter and my 119 have front couplers, and the coupler boxes take up the middle third of what should have been a beautiful pilot, or cowcatcher, so, the appearance of the fronts of all the all new 4-4-0 locos are ruined by a ridiculous front coupler when there could have been the elegant pilot that the locos actually had.

Just show them pictures of the replica 4-4-0 locos at the Golden Spike National Historic site and let them take it from there.

Ed Berners in South Bend, IN

I would like to know the overall length of the Bachmann HO scale 4-4-0, e.g., the Jupiter.

I returned my MRC Tech 6 Walkaround Controller with this letter:

> I am returning the Walkaround Controller because it can't control a loco unless the loco and the controller are set for loco 3.  My grandkids have another Sound Controller 2.0 and another Walkaround Controller and the same types of locos as mine, and their controllers work as described in your literature with no problems.

> I have a Bachmann Alco 2-6-0 Mogul DCC Sound OnBoard and a Bachmann Alco S4 DCC SoundValue OnBoard.  The Sound Controller 2.0 can control either loco as Loco 3, forward/reverse, lights, and sounds.  The Walkaround Controller can control either loco as Loco 3, but it can't program either loco to be Loco 1, 2, 4, 5, or 6.

> For example, with either loco as the only loco on the track and using the Walkaround Controller, I push P and then 6 and then Enter.  The display says Send, but the loco does not move as the grandkids locos did.  Then I push Enter for the other functions until the display says Loc 6.  Then the loco does not respond to the speed knob nor to any of the buttons for light, bell, horn, or mute.  The loco continues to make its idling sounds.  If I reprogram for Loco 3, then the loco will respond normally to commands from the Walkaround Controller. <

MRC said today that the problem is with the Tsunami decoder -- that it cannot be  programmed from one two-digit address to another two-digit address.  Funny thing -- I have reprogrammed two Sound OnBoard and one SoundValue OnBoard locos.  MRC seems to think that they can't help me.

Any comments?

I have a new HO Alco S4 DCC SoundValue OnBoard NYC P&LE.  The shell color is dark green, the handrails are yellow plastic and the stanchions were painted dark green over the yellow, at least I assume they were.  The stanchions on my S4 have lost about half of their green paint - on one side the stanchions are mostly half yellow and half green.  The other side is not quite that bad, but does have green paint missing.

Most of the stanchions seem to be glued to the shell, so I don't know if I can just replace those parts.  Should I return the whole loco?  I'm asking that because when I try to remove a shell I almost always break something.

Ed Berners
in South Bend, IN

I have a small layout almost 4x8 powered by a MRC Tech 6 Sound Controller 2.  My Bachmann 2-6-0 DCC Sound OnBoard runs over all of the layout without any hesitation anywhere, and my Bachmann Erie S4 DCC SoundValue OnBoard also runs over all with no hesitation.  My P&LE S4, just arrived today, stalls out at about a dozen places on the layout, but not always at each place, and after a few runs over the whole layout I know where stalls may occur, and those places do not change.  The entire layout is made of sectional track.  Some stalls occur at frogs, but most occur on continuous, although sectional, track, connected only with rail joiners, no soldering.  There is one pair of feeder wires to supply the layout.

Part of the layout is a loop with one turnout for entering/leaving the switching tracks.  On the loop the P&LE will stall, then start up gain with no help, and a few inches or a few feet farther it will stall and maybe start up again.  I'm really puzzled that there can apparently be dead places in the track that are still able to feed the next track sections.

Is it not surprising that two locos have never stalled while a third stalls all the time?  Was I just very lucky with the first two, and I should really have a lot more feeders?  The layout is portable, built on three Homasote sheets joined together, sitting on the floor, and working on it is fairly easy.

Ed Berners in South Bend, IN

I have a Bachmann Mogul with sound and two Bachmann 70 tonners with DCC.  What control/throttle/power setup do I need to run any two or three locos with two or three operators simultaneously and independently on one layout, making the sound available whenever the Mogul is one of the locos running?  My layout is all one block.  I can't tell from what I have read if the E-Z Command system will do it.  It seems that E-Z Command allows only one cab but multiple trains - not what I want.

I started a thread on this problem on June 17 and then could not find the forum again.  Forgot it was Bachmann - hard to believe?  Well, wait until you are 84 yrs old. 

Rich, if you see this, my loco is the same as yours.  I got the shell off and found that without the shell, the loco runs very quietly, almost totally silent.  With the shell, it makes rattling/scraping noises.  It is hard to think of a reason for the noise, except perhaps the faint vibration that can be felt on the weight is amplified by the shell and starts the shell, windows, couplers, everything shaking.  I'm sure that the only parts of the shell that touch the rest of the loco are the two screw pads and three pads that touch the frame.

It seemed that perhaps the shell mounting screws were bottoming out before the shell was firmly fastened, but putting another turn on them did not help.

I put enough thickness of foam peanut between the weight and the shell so I could really smash it down, and that reduced the noise noticeably, but did not eliminate it.  It's still annoyingly noisy and would make it doubtful that it would make sense to try to add diesel noises to this loco.  If I can find some foam the right dimensions I will try filling all the empty space with it and see what happens.

BTW, it is not necessary to remove the couplers and it is difficult to put them back on.

edpb aka Ed

Some of the new Alco 2-6-0 locos come with sound.  I have a DC layout.  If I buy one of those locos, what else will I have to get in order to enable the sound?

I searched "sound" but of course I didn't find my question.  It's too elementary

edpb

My two new GE 70 ton diesels are very noisy.  I'm trying to disassemble one to clean and lube the drive.  I have broken two of the tabs holding the cab to the chassis, but that does not help.  It appears that the railings must come off first, but they are glued on.  I did get the bottom cover off one truck.  A screw through the box between the tanks underneath will come out, but that does not loosen anything.  The exploded diagram does not help much.  Can anyone help?