Quote from: JLK2707 on December 03, 2025, 05:20:17 AMEvidence?

What is there no evidence, I was saying a theory I have...

Does anyone have any information on the availability of On30 3 bay hoppers?
Mark B.

What if the main axle gear assembly for the 0-4-0 Porter is intentionally designed to fail after a certain period to encourage more purchases? Could this be a hidden strategy by manufacturers to boost sales, or is it merely a coincidence of wear and tear? Let's discuss the implications of planned obsolescence in model trains.

Quote from: Len on November 20, 2025, 04:29:45 PMIf it's used, have you tried a factory reset to clear any previous programing, such as an address change?

Len

At this point in time, they are all used unless you somehow luck into one that was never sold and has never been unwrapped.

That's a beautiful engine. I'm glad you got yours working.  I've lost count, but I must have eight or nine of those in all of the deep-fried Dixie Southern road names they offered at one time.  With a little CV adjustment they run like clocks and crawl like ants.  The only real flaw they have is that the sound volume turned all the way up is still extremely low, especially the whistle which in real life was overpowering.

If you want to power your cars via track power, you'll have to get inside of them and do some very simple, easy wiring connections.
It's not hard.
In fact, it's a very simple and easy process.
If you're not willing to do the simple work, then don't.
Stick to the 9v batteries.
I don't have time to walk you through what is a simple, and fairly easy project.
I've done over a dozen of these Bachmann cars.
And several from other manufacturers that I can't name here.
Do you think that I knew how to do the job from the get go ?
No.
I disassembled the cars and figured it out on my own.
I even figured out how to change the original incandescent bulbs out for  5MM Warm White LED's.
I added capacitors and bridge rectifiers so that the lights don't flicker(what the capacitor is needed for),and bridge rectifiers(for the polarity change) so that the lights stay on when the cars are going both forwards as well as reverse.
LED's only work when the current is flowing in a forward direction.
And that's what you need to do.
Here's a video showing some of my lighting work
Note that every car on both trains has had track powered lighting added by yours truly:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WIVpc0aSktc&t=11s
Good luck!

Quote from: Zorran202 on December 03, 2025, 01:41:50 PMANYWAYS before we end up derailing from the topic here: I could be living under a rock, but if Sir Handel is now released, where could I find him in person instead of online? Like is he distributed throughout the physical model hobby shops too?

I'm unsure about any shops directly but I know he was at the Greenberg train show, so any U.S. Local shop very well me be getting him in shortly. U.K should be getting him similarly within a week or two.

Hope this is helpful

It's nice to see Sir Handel out now, he looks stunning one of the all time greats.

Although given the 2026 initial release window he had I am a little surprised.

The only other products with a 2025 release window were the anniversary vans and they are currently nowhere to be seen, I wonder what's going on there.

There has to be an easier way to do this. Why do you have to take the whole car apart?

Thank you for the update! It sucks that Duncan couldn't be made initially due to his CGI model being very far off the mark, but I'm curious to see how he'd be made IF greenlit... ala Beau mixing both CGI and real-life elements intact, we shall see...

ANYWAYS before we end up derailing from the topic here: I could be living under a rock, but if Sir Handel is now released, where could I find him in person instead of online? Like is he distributed throughout the physical model hobby shops too?

We don't have a date decided to restart development on Duncan, or if we'll be able to do so. If or when it happens, we'll make sure to let everyone know with an official announcement.