Bachmann's Facebook just showed the Large Scale Tidmouth Milk tanker. It's the model series design. That, along with some other Large Scale rolling stock samples will be shown.

Don't know if we'll see the fully painted sample of N Scale Henry just yet. We have next month and November before we see the first full unpainted sample of HO Scale Flying Scotsman. Both that, and N Scale Henry fully painted should definitely be shown before the year is up. Won't be much longer before we see packaged samples of N Scale Diesel, Paxton, LBSC Thomas, Origin James, and some rolling stock like the express coaches and open wagons.

Hello, Old Pilot. I have owned one of the On30 Gas Mechanicals now for at least 5 years. When I first received it, it ran very well out of the box. Then life intervened and the little loco had to sit on the layout for probably 4-5 months before I had a chance to run it again. Now, the "little engine that could" couldn't. It just sort of loped around , stopping here or jumping rail there. Closer examination showed that one of the gears on the main drive train was split. I ordered a replacement drive mechanism (drive wheels, axles, connecting rods and wheel hubs) and installed it per the included instructions. Ran fine for a couple of weeks (if that long). Same problem. Rinse and repeat above. After replacing the drive train three times, I gave up and now have a "park monument" sitting on the layout. BTW, the "instructions" that came with the part were just about useless. Hope this helps.

Fred

I don't mean this to say that I'm "soured" on the little GM. As a matter of fact I'm looking forward to seeing the GM Mark 2 once it goes to dealers. I still would love to own one that works, so depending on my budget and price, it may possibly be in my future.

Hello All,

I just purchased a gas mechanical engine on Ebay. It has a slight hesitation on each rotation of the wheels. Before I try to take it apart to check the plastic gears for cracks, I would like to find some guidance/direction on how to properly take it apart.

Do these plastic gears crack with age as do some other manufacturers plastic gears?

I see the Bachmann parts store has a replacement set of gears (all 6 gears) to order if that is my problem.

Has anyone replaced these gears? If so, is it difficult, any special tools needed, etc.?

Is there any other area to check relative to this hesitation problem?

Thanks for any help.

Old Pilot

Hi TrainFan,

Please contact the service department. Make sure to have the receipt/purchase information ready so that repair/replacement is covered under your warranty. https://shop.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=service

I am quite excited to see new Shay locomotives coming sometime soon.

I looked in my 2026 catalog, and I saw that Bachmann says, "Performs best on 22" radius curves or greater."

Since I started back in January with a Thoroughbred starter set, all the track I've purchased for my setup have been 18" radius curves.

Does this mean that I'm out of luck?  What would be expected to happen if I go ahead and buy it anyway?  Constant derailments?  Problems with my turnouts?

Thanks very much in advance for your advice.

smp

Thank you!

I just got Sir Handel for my birthday, and not long after I started running the model, it stopped moving, but the motor is still running. Is it defective? Do I have to return it? What is wrong with it? Please respond ASAP.

Maybe my product is defective.

Why do some On30 cars have single insulated wheels and others have double insulated wheels? I understand the the single insulated wheels could be used for power pickups. A vendor at the Chattanooga, TN train show asked me this. I never noticed my fleet (1990 - 2026) had both configurations.

 Is there a reason?

Sorry it took so long to see your message-if you haven't been able to get your 2-8-0 running, I'd seriously consider sending it back to Bachmann-they do a great job with repairs, and if you have checked all your connections between the loco and the tender, anything after that will take a bit of expertise to repair.  Chances are, the problem is the actual ends of the connectors, as when pulled out without a bit of care it's easy to separate the wires internally.  There's a plastic clip on the side/bottom that needs to be gently pried away from the plug (which I then cut off so it's not a problem in the future) and if you didn't know to do that, damage can happen.  I know the reason the "catch" is there is the factory way for keeping things together, but unless you treat you trains like Godzilla the connectors will stay together just fine without the clips.  It's well worth the cost for mailing and repairs, as purchasing another one will be VERY expensive as they have become rare as hen's teeth.  Let us know how you make out. 

If Toby's HO Scale model was to be revamped, he could possibly recycle Thomas' chassis like his N Scale model did, but with blackened metal wheels. He would finally have side rods, which even his Large Scale model lacked, so Bachmann wouldn't have to design a whole new chassis. Toby would run a lot better with the addition of side rods. Might be some changes to the tooling, including a CGI face. To go with a revamped Toby, we would need Henrietta's HO Scale model to have a face, plus Hannah to finally exist in that scale.

But for now, James is the highest priority for a tooling revamp, since he has more glaring flaws, and is the last of the original three models in the HO Scale range. His new model would have a CGI face, open cab, and a front coupler.

We might see partially open cabs on the new Thomas and Percy, like what Ryan and Stanley have. Their chassis will be largely the same, but with some modifications. The new Thomas must have the same side rods as Stanley. Percy's can also be more accurate.