Hi,
I just thought I would add a little to the Connie debate about the gearing.
A couple of years ago a prized Spectrum 2-6-0 cracked the main drive gear, after much aggro and some very helpful assistance from other users of this page ( thanks Peter)
I obtained and with great care fitted a new Gear, and all was well with the world.

UNTIL I got my Connie out ready for a run prior to open day 3 days ago and what happens???
you guessed it a whirring from the gearbox and no movement.
I did the obvious and checked but not looking for a another split did not find one but upon sitting on the track same happened again.

I am Totally disgusted! words fail to describe the anger and frustration I feel that I have to go through the same rigmorole all over again because of penny pinching OR worse poor design and quality control.

I am the original owner and the loco has clocked up all of 6hrs runtime from new, BUT I live in the UK and do not have the luxury of sending it back to Bachmann. and If I did I certainly would not want another cheap solution fitted.

I will be sending off for another gear and like as not will end up doing it myself, the sad thing is I have a Spectrum 4-4-0 which no doubt will do the same thing to me.

I would demand that this is put right for I really feel that this should never have happened, but the waiting time and cost of posting is really not worth it, I blooming well hope that this has been dealt with otherwise I for one will not be buying anymore Bachmann loco's if this is what I have to do in order to run them.

Oh I failed to mention the tender truck problems of which one was broken from new. But thats another story.

Kind but angry regards
Casey.

Hi, I have just purchased a new Thomas the tank green Southern coach thinking it would look nice behind the Spectrum L&B LYN loco. Having tried this I am disappointed to find the following:-  1) the coach with flangeless centre wheels does not like R3 track and pointwork. 2) has no interior detail.  3) Is not to the same scale as the LYN.
As it turns out I will have to sell the coach as this is not acceptable to me. The question is:- Do Bachmann intend to produce a nice coach to go with the LYN?

It is a shame that such a nice looking coach as the Green one is not to the same scale as the two complement each other very nicely.
Could I also venture a suggestion? If the centre axle and one end axle were mounted on a clemenson truck principle then taking tighter curves would not be a problem.
I think there could be a market for this type of coach as there are many narrow gauge modelers out there that could also use the coach for kitbashing if it was the same standard that we have come to know and love from Bachmann trains. 

Hi,
Having recently replaced the plastice drive gear on my Spectrum 2-6-0 I thought that this last weekend I would take advantage of the good weather ( here in southern UK) and run it and the 4-4-0, A great time was had and this also highlighted another fault, namely the pony truck on the 4-4-0.
I pride myself on the fact that on open days we don't get derailments due to poor track as I find it tiresome and the extra effort in track laying is always worth it.
However the 4-4-0 always seems to find the tiniest flaw and pop off the pony truck.
Last night I turned the loco upside down and tried to figure out the problem, as after watching it going along I felt that if the truck was lower It might help, anyway I ended up removing the plate which holds the spigot for the pony truck and added 3 2BA washers (originally I was going to lengthen the screw which holds the truck but did not have the same size thread) anyway I tested this tonight and can report that this simple fix had a 100% improvement.
Now this is my question and please don't take offence as this is an attempt to try add some constructive criticism.
Before these loco's are put into production what kind of road testing is done? it is evident from the experience I have gained that some of these faults are so elementary that they should have been picked up VERY early on.
I don't know if it is practicle but is it not possible to send out a couple of pre production loco's to be tested on various model garden railroads and get the feedback, I realise that this could add a further 6-8 months to the project but there would not be the constant niggles , complaints and returns that occur as these obvious faults would in general be found.
This is something that won't be found on a rolling road testbed or an indoor track.
This is not a pop at Bachmann, all the other manufacturers tend to suffer the same (though I can't comment on Accucraft as I don't have a loco of theirs) Bachmann are certainly market leaders in general quality but it is a shame to have "the ship spoiled for a ha'peth of tar"
Regards Casey.   

Hi
   Whilst hauling 3 cars up a gradient my 2-6-0 suddenly gave up but I could hear the motor whirring I am gathering that this is a stripped  or loose gear, I noted that "Scrappy" had the same fault last March and fixed it with JB weld, I am hoping that Mine is as easy to fix, question is are there any exploded diagrams to download to assist in this? the one that came with the loco does'nt really cut it.
Thanks.

Hi can anyone shed some light on this, Last summer I purchased a new outside frame consolidation Locomotive I was impressed by the size and the detail, though a small part was broken in transit so the oilers do not move on one side. first time out I went very cautiously around the mainline confident that all would be OK as everything else did. (even the LGB drovers caboose which generally finds the tight spots)
I found a good 6-7 spots where clearance became an issue and sorted all out except one which entailed widening the bridge over the pond, anyway when I cleaned out the pond this year I widened the bridge as well.
So out comes the Connie, this time all was well so several slow circuits later and the engineer opened the regulator a little all still okay so again the engineer opens the regulator a little more, now we are doing approx 40 mph ( scale) and on the 3rd circuit at that speed it came to dead halt.
After checking power etc the diagnosis is the loco is seized solid, has anyone else had this experience?? has anyone got an exploded view so I can remove the chassis and check it out?
On checking underneath it appears that springing on the drivers is not as it should be. I am not to pleased the loco has actually done only 7 circuits or 5 scale miles.
this has affected my decision upon purchasing a K27.
Any help would be greatly appreciated ( needless to say sending the thing back to the states is not an option as the postage is darn near the cost of a new loco).