Thanks Rich. I will stop by and visit Bachmann at the show.

Will Bachmann be at the Amherst show this year? You have been there in the past but I don't see it listed on the calendar on the home page.

The set you have would be from the 1800's. The Frontiersman set is the same era, though the Central Pacific ran out west and the B&O was an eastern road. You could always reletter the CP engine and caboose to B&O.

As an alternative, you can run any era trains and use the passenger set as an excursion train. The advantage here is that there is little available in N scale for the 19th century. You can find useable buildings with a little searching, but figures dressed appropriately, and horses and wagons and stage coaches and the like are hard to come by.

Also keep in mind that Bachmann no longer sells old time freight and passenger cars separately, only in sets. You can sometimes find individual cars at train shows, but they are not plentiful.

Quote from: sd45elect2000 on December 22, 2012, 06:34:11 PM

I'll probably try to convert a couple to 2 dome cars.

Randy

It would really be great if someone would make 2 dome tank cars. As far as I know, no one does. I think they would be popular. This is a not so subtle hint.

I bought 2 of the new 50' boxcars last weekend. They are very nice cars, but I have one question. Why are the roof walk and brake wheel not painted? The 40' boxcars have these details painted and I expected the 50' cars to be the same. It's easy enough to fix with a little paint, but I'm surprised it wasn't done at the factory. In any event, I really like the metal wheels, body mounted couplers and sliding doors, and I'll buy more of these cars.

I have a combine and 5 coaches. I took the lights out and replaced the trucks and couplers with Micro Trains passenger trucks and couplers. I haven't installed lighting but may try the Easy Peasy lights eventually.

For what it's worth, there was a story in one of the Kalmbach Classic Trains magazines (Classic Trains might be the name of it, but I'm not sure) that had pictures of a New York Central 4-6-0 similar to the Bachmann model. The tender was large, very much like the model. I also thought the tender was too large, but after seeing the pictures in the magazine I changed my mind. The tender is about right, at least for a NYC ten wheeler numbered in the low 1200's.

They just might need some running time to break in, Tom. All engines run better after break in, but steamers seem to need more running time to reach peak performance. I'm not sure if this will solve the problem, but it might.

Voltage to the track is programmable on my Lenz system. My layout is 11.5' x 11.5' with only one block. I don't have to throw any control panel switches to run a train. DCC is neither dangerous nor a fire hazard.

Marklin has had digital controls for many years, as has Lionel and MTH. It is basically DCC for AC 3 rail trains. DCC is no more dangerous than DC.

There is a lot of misunderstanding about DCC. All the books and magazines don't help. They make it seem far more complex than it really is. On a small to medium size layout you don't need power districts.

I don't have to select routes, set block switches, remember to turn them off after the train is gone, or anything like that. I just select the engine I want on my throttle and go. I can easily run 3 or 4 trains at a time on my layout.

My older layouts were DC and now I use DCC. I have plenty of experience with both. I would never go back to DC.

I have been a model railroader for many years. I built layouts using DC because that's all there was. I switched to DCC in 2006 and would never go back. For me, throwing block switches as trains run is not fun at all. With DCC I run an engine, not a block of track.

I don't understand why some have to insist that either DC or DCC is the best for everyone. It seems they want validation for their choice. DCC is not a gimmick. It is here to stay until something better comes along. Each of us pursues this hobby in the way that is best for us. I have no need to put down or insult anyone because they do things differently than I do.

There is no best way to do most things in this hobby. There is only what is best for you. This is a hobby. There is no "right" way to enjoy it. If a hobbyist is having fun he/she is doing it "right."

It looks very good in the new items announcement.

An S4 and a mogul, this is great. They are also coming out with a 50' boxcar in jade green. It's a good year for NYC fans.

This is very interesting news! The NY Central System S4 is on my list. Thanks for posting.

I have to find info about the 2-6-0. Will that come lettered for the NYC?

Hi Richard,

Check to see if the wheels are properly gauged. If you have an NMRA standards gauge this is easy to do. Another way is with a caliper. Wheels out of gauge is the most likely cause of the problem.

I'm glad to hear you were able to do it and the engine runs fine. I don't think anyone was able to help. I know I wasn't.