Reminds me, I have to take a look at the anniversary motor block we bought a few years ago.  It runs OK with a 10 pin analog piece in place on the non-plug and play board, but when I install the REVO board, it causes problems. Fried at least two. Better check for dead shorts again.

Thanks Bill!

Well, even though I have a spare LGB motorblock that almost fits (it is a little short of wheellbase and a little tall on case), I'm going to give the replacement Bachmann motorblock in the webstore a try.  Why not, they're having a sale right now anyway!

Just for my own information, have these been upgraded over the years or will it be essentially the same motor block that I've got? Any recommendations on extending the life of these units?

Hi all,

I've got an old trolley (Hershey paint job) and the motor seems to have a dead spot on it.  If I manually advance the rotor, with voltage applied, it runs smoothly.  Applying more voltage does not cause the motor to jump. Looking in, I can see some blue arcing.   I got this unit at auction and from the wheel condition, it appears to have been run a little.

Is there anything I can do to remedy or is my best bet to order a new motor block assembly from Bachmann?

Thanks,

Mark

Hi folks,

I just picked up a used bachmann streetcar. This is one of the four wheel streetcars, not a Peter Wit.  I tested the motor and it was a little noisy so I opened the gearbox and saw the old white grease was pretty much gone.  I added some LGB gear grease, and then the motor wouldn't turn.  After some further inspection, the motor appears to have a bad sector. Also, I noted that during the testing (with a 1 amp LGB power supply) that the motor would run at a high speed and then start to do what I can only describe as 'rpm drift'.  It appears this design just isn't really that beefy.  Looking online, the spare part replacement is an entire chassis. Has the motor been upgraded or will it be the same?

Thanks for any feedback,

Mark

This is risky topic for a Bachmann trains board.

LGB moguls have been around forever and most of the problems they have are well known and documented.  Generally, these are great engines.

The newest Bachmann anniversary locomotives have metal gears and better pilots than the circa 2000 anniversary, so you need to clarify a bit which Anniversary engine you mean.

In terms of scale to prototype, I suspect, but do not know for certain, that the Bachmann anniversary is closer to the prototype (ET&WNC Tweetsie 12) than the LGB 1884 Cooke model of a 2-6-0.

Bachmann parts are generally easy to work with and I find their service to be quick and efficient, but I do most repairs myself.

Digital sound is not offered by Bachmann so that comparison is not valid.

What else?

Hey, I know it seems like we're always asking for new paint schemes before the latest releases hit the street, but I thought I'd give a heads up regarding a recently restored narrow gauge Baldwin 4-6-0 that might be worth offering:

Huckleberry Railroad 152.  It came across my feed from the Strasburg Rail Road (who did the restoration).  Looks like they painted it for the US Army when it was in Alaska. Here's a link to a youtube video of their recent railfan event.  Who knows, might even be a regionally smart choice for a starter set with two of the yellow J&S coaches. Doubleheader event

I always like seeing new large scale products being made. And do my eyes deceive me or do these seem to show a flanged center driver?  Is it too much to hope these are anniversary engines as well?

I think they gave us their answer in the form of "HO".

A friend of mine painted up a bunch of the Jackson and Sharp cars in G scale for his Thomas, Percy and custom built 2-10-0 to pull. They turned out really nice.
https://youtu.be/YG-jjK_ktsE

I would still buy a big hauler set painted for the SRC.  Maybe test the waters with a Strasburg boxcar?

I think track is the key to building a market for g scale trains.

I had that same thing happen with the annie chassis I recently installed.  I removed the two switches in at the rear of the cab, too when I did my Revolution train engineer installation.

I ordered an anniversary chassis for my son's Big Hauler last November and it arrived and was soon installed.  Then I noticed that the engineer's side main rod was actually the fireman's side!  I sent a note to Bachmann's service group along with my invoice number.  A couple of days later, a complete set of valve gear showed up at my mailbox.  

Thank you, Bachmann trains, for the fast and prompt service!

Mark Oles

I'd buy a SRC set...it is our favorite railroad! A friend of mine (Charlie Zimmerman) painted up Bachmann's g scale passenger cars and decorated them for the SRC

Theoretically - you could have a cross over offering- SRC Coaches and Thomas/Percy.  

For a 4-6-0, there are a variety of choices for locomotive number: 972 (George Hart's 4-6-0), 475 (which has similar lines as the big hauler 4-6-0), or even LIRR 39, which could also be used to cross promote that restoration project.

I do love those new 2-6-0s.  I keep telling myself to get the Grizzly Flats version before it is gone!

OK, so back to the original topic,  I am happy to see that Bachmann has taken a lot of time and $$ to revamp their Anniversary 4-6-0 to include metal gears and a better lead truck.  The 4-6-0 has been one of the most well received locomotives in the large scale hobby, almost as universal as the LGB stainz. 

Taking a look at the reasons:
- It operates on an R1 curve. Like it or not, the R1 is about as big as most people are willing to give up for a Christmas train. 
- It doesn't take a huge power supply to operate.
- It is a well proportioned, good looking locomotive.
- Spare parts are readily available.
- They are relatively inexpensive.

As a suggestion, perhaps some minor details could be changed to give this locomotive an overall look of a smaller scale (1/29-1/32 ish).  There have been numerous building logs where skilled modelers have taken this engine and converted it to a 1/20.3 scale engine through the addition of a larger cab.  Bachmann themselves have done this in the On30 line using drives from HO scale engines to build larger scaled models.  Perhaps, just perhaps, it would be possible to adapt a smaller cab and to the existing 1/22.5 Big Hauler 4-6-0 to give a more standard gauge 'look'.

Here's a shot of an engine that looks similar to a big hauler (wagon top boiler, extended smokebox): from this website: http://www.taplines.net/July/wtrr1.htm

While I do not have line drawings to do a 1:1 comparision, my sense is that a smaller cab in both height and width would be the bulk of the requirement to make a Big Hauler look more 'standard gauge'. 

Going in a completely different direction...what about the new Siemens Sprinter locomotives that have recently started in service on the North East Corridor? Do we always need to look backward?

I have a Starbucks boxcar!!