which Bachmann

Greg Elmassian said:
No one buys Bachmann at the inflated list price... at least not in the US.

Greg
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Well, we try not to buy at the recommended price in the UK, but in general, as the engineering quality has improved, so have the $ signs and £ signs travelled northwards :nod::nod:

It,s probably not so easy here as the volume is less.
 
ARIA31 said:
What are you doing ? (lubrification ?)
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That's mostly it, pay attention to lubrication since the metal parts are heavier and can wear more than the lightweight plastic.
You want neither too little nor too much lubrication. Too much will attract dust and grit.
Then occasionally inspect the various joints of the rods and valve gear to see that it is all secure and not working loose.
Some of the same things a real steam engine crew does.
 
Paul M said:
Making locomotives robust enough for the environment they're used in
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And the cars too.
My HO trains haven't been blown off a trestle by a surprise gust of wind.
PRR engine in pictures was damaged in a derailment on an embankment, which can happen to the HO stuff too, but those engines aren't moving with the inertia of something which weighs 12 lbs, 5.4kg, plus the mass of the train it is pulling of cars which weigh 2lbs, 1kg, each.
 
dburdick said:
how do I find out about garden trains in my neck of the woods?
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You are in SC (South Carolina to the UK folk.) There is an online magazine, Garden Railway News, which is a compilation of articles in various club newsletters. Here's a link to the latest issue:
2021_#6_GRNews_Nov-Dec_2021.pdf - Orangedox

If you scroll down to page 39, you will find a list of affiliated clubs, unfortunately non in SC, but 6 in NC and 1 in Georgia.
 
Thanks to everyone for your replies, as I try to decide exactly how to plunge into this. I just watched a nice YouTube about a Lionel 4-4-2. Does Lionel still make G scale, and how do they compare to Bachmann and LGB?
 
dburdick said:
I just watched a nice YouTube about a Lionel 4-4-2. Does Lionel still make G scale, and how do they compare to Bachmann and LGB?
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No they don't make G scale stuff these days. The 4-4-2 is about 20 years old. However, they are good looking locos and can be made to work well. They look great piloting the Aristo Pacific (also an out-of-production loco.) This photo is from 2005.

PT062505-04.jpg

They are about the same quality as Bachmann. Nothing beats LGB.
 
dburdick said:
I just watched a nice YouTube about a Lionel 4-4-2.
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Fred2179G said:
However, they are good looking locos and can be made to work well.
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The real PRR E6 Atlantics they are a model of worked really well, how about this from page 127 of Alvin F. Staufer's 1962 book Pennsy Power;

"PUREST OF THE PURE, PRIDE OF THE FLEET". The E6s Atlantics were everybody's favorite, even though none ever had stokers, feedwater heaters, or power reverses.
Bud Rothaar got this quote from an E6 engineer, "nicest hand fired engines ever built. Speed Queens rode beautifully but at 75 m.p.h. started a 'tipsy' side motion that many times scared crews as they felt top heavy. Once up to 80 m.p.h., they settled back down and could keep right on climbing with no effort or effect on riding quality. They were very easy on coal and water, and were the pace-setters for timetable operations."
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You want to be careful buying an Atlantic, the rod/valve gear is easily damaged, and often repaired and the repair falls apart the first time you run it.

Here's some tips, and some mods that make it a real puller:

4-4-2 Atlantic

Greg Elmassian web site on large scale trains and garden railroads, cigars, and computers
elmassian.com elmassian.com

Note, there are 4 pages total, the main page and links to 3 more information pages, notice the RED text at the top of the page.
 
Metal side rods do tell me that it would be at least a version 5 of the 4-6-0 big hauler, but only the rear axle is driven by the motor. One must be carefull to not strain the power train on all Bachmann locos with only one axle driven by a motor.
 
Dan said:
One must be carefull to not strain the power train on all Bachmann locos with only one axle driven by a motor.
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Now that's a new idea. How come the real thing manages with only one driven axle? As long as your coupling rods work, the number of driven axles doesn't matter.
Driving 2 axles just lets you use flimsy plastic rods?
 
Actually, not relying on the side rods to transmit power (by gearing more than one driver) allows the strength of the rod gear to be less, that is for sure.

But the tolerances needed on inexpensive models normally make it impossible to have great pulling power AND transmit the power through the side rods.

So typically the side rods are "cosmetic" as the President of Aristo said. (In the aristo case, the drivers were all flanged and had huge side to side movement, requiring not only loose fitting rod gear but hinges).

Live steamers are of necessity different, have to work like prototypes.

Greg
 
Greg Elmassian said:
Actually, not relying on the side rods to transmit power (by gearing more than one driver) allows the strength of the rod gear to be less, that is for sure.

But the tolerances needed on inexpensive models normally make it impossible to have great pulling power AND transmit the power through the side rods.

So typically the side rods are "cosmetic" as the President of Aristo said. (In the aristo case, the drivers were all flanged and had huge side to side movement, requiring not only loose fitting rod gear but hinges).

Live steamers are of necessity different, have to work like prototypes.

Greg
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Yes, when it comes down to model steam locos, it's a little bit of everything - so the con rods do a bit of work, not a lot (as the saying goes) but every little helps.
 
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