Best bet I think is to buy the replacement trucks if you can find them. I don't think that Bachmann sells the individual gears or truck parts, but only the whole replacement sets. Just curious, are you actually talking about the 38 ton Shay that did come with the upgraded trucks, or are you really referring to the 36 ton Shay that has the earlier failure prone trucks. If you really are talking about the 38 ton model, that is rather concerning that the upgraded trucks are now failing as well?!?!

Yep, I think you're right about that full baggage lack of lighting.

I don't know this for a fact, but suspect the difference might be between battery powered lighting and plastic handrails and track powered lighting and metal handrails?

Thanks Greg and Bill for this seminal information. Just exactly why I for one am soooooo glad this Forum is back up and running!

.... and Bill, I'd have to say that Ol' Loco Bill's wise saying is spot on in my personal experience!!!

I'll still dig them out of storage to be certain sure of the driveline properties by giving them each a quick test. I'll get back with you all with what I find .... eventually.

Thanks Greg, will be grateful for any info that might help along these lines.

In the end, I'll likely need to dig them both out of storage and test them to see what configuration they were actually built to. If the earlier version with dual bevel gears, then I'll need to get a replacement assembly for the rear truck drive line with slip joint instead of bevel gear.

Thanks for the heads up Bill .... I'm making my list and checking it twice!!!

Hey Bill ... or anyone else.

Does anyone know if there are specific product code I.D.s for the different versions of the Large scale Climax that identifies the models that have the drive shaft geared at both ends such that they sometimes bind? Both of the engines I have are #85098 painted unlettered and DCC ready. I have heard that the early issued engines have bevel gears at both ends of the drive shaft, and have been known to bind up because of this, but later production only has the drive shaft driven off of the front truck, while the rear truck is blind on the drive shaft so no interference bind is realized.

Quote from: Bachmann Industries, Inc. on January 30, 2023, 07:32:39 PMGreg,

All of the administrators of the board are Bachmann employees. It is their choice to reveal any personal details.

The board was down, now it is back. There is no need to dwell on it.  It is a free service that we provide. We felt that it served a purpose, so we put in the time and effort to bring it back.

We want to focus on positive and problem solving topics. Negative posts with no purpose will be deleted.

Thank You

Thank You All for bringing this valuable resource back to where we can access the needful information that it contains. It was well missed, but I cannot express my gratitude that this wonderful resource is now back and available!!!

Yep, you can still get the upgraded replacement trucks for these Two-Truck Shays, though they are pricey to say the least, but worth it if you want to run your Shay!

Welcome back Bill & Bachmann, you've all been well missed!!!

Quote from: Fred2179 on January 25, 2023, 03:18:00 PMThere's a comprehensive review in the GR News Nov/Dec 2022 by Kevin Strong.
GRNews2022.6.NovDec2022

Did you know it has ball bearings on the driver axles?

Thanks for the link!

Great review by Kevin, and seemingly a worthwhile purchase to consider!

Thank you, Bachmann, for bringing this valuable resource back for our use. I for one am deeply invested in Bachmann large scale with many engines of many different flavors, and definitely need this resource to easily access critical info to keep them up and running well into the future!

BRAVO!!!

Thank you, Bill, for all youR many threads and helpful posts over the course of, for as long as I've been looking in here. You the MAN, and I'm certain you had more than a little input into getting this resource back for us ... again, THANK YOU!!!

I think NWSL (North West Short Line) is destined to become our go to source for all of our large scale gearing needs. It is hoped that enough of this sort of business will go that way to keep NWSL in business and profitable for many years to come, and perhaps even encourage them to develop entire improved replacement gear trains, motor blocks and alternate drive systems.

Yep Greg, you're right. Other than driving the fake cylinders and drive line, the "drive line gears" are just for show .... however they can still bind up and jam the mechanism causing damage to the details and to the power truck gearing as well. So best that they be properly lubed too!

A couple of years hence, and my Shay is still hauling along fine with mostly graphite for lube on the exposed gears and drive line. I've found that making a slurry of the graphite with a rubbing alcohol solution makes it much nicer to apply, and helps wick it in to where it really needs to be in a lot of the situations. It also seems to work well in conjunction with more typical lubes like Labelle plastic compatible, and I can't think that having a bit of both on key lube points would be a bad thing.

Ran for about four hours today pretty heavy hauling for about two actual miles traveled, without adding any lube this run nor the previous, and all seems fine, so I'm likely up in the 25+ actual total miles running on almost exclusively graphite for the exposed surfaces. Heavy haulage this day was two Bachmann cars with couplers modified to be adapters for the string of six AMS logging skels, that are quite heavy and were the heart of the consist, with grades a little in excess of 5% for 10-12 feet on a fairly sharp curve of about 5.5' radius.

Looks like I still don't need to add any further graphite for my next run either, but pretty soon it will be time to open up the power trucks to re-lube in there, but with a Labelle oil & grease, and definitely NOT graphite!