I have a 51511 2-6-2 B&O Prairie loco/tender, and have lost the parts list.  I need 2 sets of Pilot trucks and 3 sets of trailing trucks.  I'd also like to order the appropriate springs and screws to attach the trucks to the loco.

 I know this diminutive loco has had its problems, but I like it.  If somebody could tell me how to order these parts, I'd be most appreciative.

 Thanks in advince.

  John Murphy

Hi, all.  I was very ill from mid-Jan.'08 - late April '08, but am now ready to restart my little 4'x4'9" Christmas railroad.  Hopefully it'll be up by Dec.
  IMHO, the key to keeping a small road looking right is to keep buildings small.  Detail is critical, and to that end, I'll be using Plasticville Kit Barn, Suburban Station, and perhaps several Cape Cod Houses kitbashed into a farmhouse/Bed+breakfast.
  No building is over 2 stories, and, unfortunately, the Plasticville Gas Station is a bit too big, though I will be using parts from it.  (As a sight gag, I plan on putting a Mom, Pop, and 2-cub Polar Bear family at the Coke Machine, with poppa getting the soda.)  It's too bad the Plasticville Gas Station lost it's clock tower it had in the mid-1960's -- Now THERE was a distinctive structure!  I might have even tried to intigrate that into the layout -- Santa's sleigh in an open bay up on the rack getting a last-minute tune-up?  Hmmmmm....  Will think on that.
  Will keep all interested posted.
   John Murphy

Maybe this should go on the HO board, but here goes:

I've always been attracted to the deminutive 0-6-0/2-6-0/2-6-2.  The older Christmas loco (green/gold) 0-6-0.

  Since purchase, I've converted it to a 2-6-2.  Loco ran well as 0-6-0, and still runs well as a 2-6-2, plus it looks better.  However, tender wheels have started falling out of their trucks.  I plan to remedy this by replacing the plastic wheels with 36 inch diameter wheels from Proto2000 (WALTHERS item # 21257).  Will post what happens.

   John Murphy

To all at Bachmann:

Many thanks for the HO NP&S Box car.  It's going to be a great addition to my Christmas train.  I only hope more cars in HO follow in following Seasons!

John Murphy

Is there any chance the 1950's MoW Jeep "wagon" will go DCC on-board?

I have an 0-6-0 Christmas train which ran perfectly last year ('06) but now has a tender wheel problem -- the front wheel/axle of the rear truck fell out.  As I have several models with the identical tender, I thought the simplest, fastest way would be to buy better trucks from my hobbyshop and simply swap them out truck for truck.  My problem is that I want the tender coupler and drawbar to be in the right plane.  Does anybody know the tender wheel diameter or otherwise advise me?  Thanks.
BTW, the little 0-6-0 (without valve gear) is a great little runner, and has been upgraded to a 2-6-2 with no problem.
- J

What size micro-screws are used to secure the EZ-Track Bachmann turnouts to the plastic roadbed?  00? 000? Other?  Please help.  Thanks. - JohnM

I'm planning to put an HO gauge airport "ramp" (where airplanes are parked and boarded), and needed a large hanger.  Guess what? The Plasticville "O" guage hanger works well (The old "K-line" "O" hanger is better because you don't have to kitbash new entry doors for people)....
   Just something to consider....

2 short questions:  Did the 1960's era Plasticville Gas Station have a clock and a top piece on it over the roof?
        How come the new Plasticville Gas Station decals have the Esso Tiger and catch-phrase "Happy Motoring" yet omits the Esso Logo?  (or am I the only one who has caught this?)
John Murphy

I'm trying to build my first HO gauge railroad since 1971.  I aready purchased the EZ Track with #4 turnouts for sidings and #5 turnouts for crossovers.  The outside loop will be 18" radius and inside is 15" radius.  Because this is a holiday layout, I'll be using short locos (among them, a Spectrum 0-6-0 Saddle Tank steamer and several re-lettered 0-6-0's [the others are 0-6-0's w/ tenders).  This brings me to the crux of the question: The # 4 turnouts have plastic frogs and the #5 turnouts seem to have metal frogs.  The planned layout can use either #4 or # 5 turnouts for the inside sidings.  Which would provide greater engine running reliablity - the # 4 or the #5 turnouts?  The layout may or may not be DCC, depending on if I can get the track isolation needed for DC (DCC would sure simplify things, since I can always switch to DCC compatible steamers).

4-6-0 w/63" drivers DOES negociate 15" radius curves, though the pilot coupler is parallel with outside rail, which makes double-heading is out. - JM

I'm trying to build a Christmas Layout and need advice w/Bachmann EZ Track/turnouts:
I'm planning a straight DC oval w/2 passing tracks on the curves, 18" radius curves, and a 2-track siding on a 40"x6 1/2' foam board.  Since it'll be DC and not DCC, and I have moderate to severe disability, I need to add plastic railjoiners - or something equally simple, since it takes time for me to cut plastic -- I can, but I don't want to wait 'till Christmas '08 to see it running.
Anybody got any good ideas?  The track is purchased, as is everything else.  Railjoiners are the only sticking problems, and I want railjoiners to keep track alligned.
John Murphy

Dear Bachmann, et al:

    I was sorry to see that the HO guage Spectrum Climax B Shay and the 0-6-0 Saddle Tank switcher leave the lineup -- I can only hope they will return as better models in the future;
   I was pleasently surprised about three new items in the lineup which almost makes up for the loss:  1) The Christmas Boxcar in HO and N;
   2) The HO 2-6-2 Prairie in Southern Livery;
   and 3) The Non-USRA Spectrum Mikado.
   Time's late, but I just wanted to express my opinion.  Oh, is there a best way to make suggestions for future products?
   Best, John Murphy

For those of you who have short line railroads and must use a minimum radius of 15" or greater, the Ten Wheeler w/ 63" diam. wheels runs on this minimum.  Haven't yet gotten the 56" wheeled version to try, but this is great for me.  Haven't run it past ~ 7 volts straight DC so I don't know if the blue-white headlamp will turn true white or remain blueish-white as it does on 3 v. or less DC.  DCC comes later, but will come.  Kinda wish Bachmann would have put a "Warm White" (yellow-white) LED as headlight, but am sure if I go to DCC, the Ten Wheeler's light will be nearly white.  One last thing: If you run the 4-6-0 on 18" radius curves or sharper, use the end drawbar hole lest the tender hang-up on such a short radius curve....
    Now, all I must do is decal a tender for my Christmas railroad and one for the big seaside/mountain railroad I'm planning....
    John Murphy

Does anybody know if EZ Track Turnouts (nos. 14561 and 14562 in particular, as well as the #5 and #6 turnouts) are power routing (do frogs turn sidings off electrically automatically) or should I try to isolate the sidings to create blocks?

My display railroad will look something like this:

         _____________
        /  /            _____\
       |  |          _/_____ |
        \_\____/_______/

There will be 2 passing sidings and 2 railroad car sidings, and minimum radius of 18" as well as a single track for a Holiday Trolley car (not shown).

Thanks in advance.  - John Murphy

I'm currently trying to get back into HO by starting with a Holiday Display layout (steam).  Since the layout is going to be small (40"x6'6") I had a problem:  I wanted a (inexpensive) whistle, so I hit on an idea -- I got the Bachmann Plasticville "N" guage whistle, cut it out of the warehouse it was in, and will put it in a built-up HO guage Plasticville barn.  Since the layout is going to be part scale and part whimsy, I was only looking for an "approximation."  Also, since the layout is very small and the barn will be centrally located, imagination hopefully will take over and the mind will place the sound where it is to go.

I'm also using the HO Plasticville Suburban Station (heavily modified, painted, lighted) to be another focal point....

When I was in another scale in the 1970's-1980's, a model railroad car and coupler company came out with RR cars without roadnames/numbers, but all the car's data was there.  This would be great for those of us who either have custom roadnames or who need strings of cars with different roadnames/numbers than those offered.