Bachmann Shay Locomotives
- Thread starter Thomas Lambo
- Start date
stevedenver
Registered
in anticipation of the new shay arriving, now with a bit or trepidation, after re-reading other reviews elsewhere (which i recalled , but not in such detail)
has anyone fitted LGB hook and loops and if so, would you be so kind as to provide an overview of how?
i am reading mixed things, especially how the couplers sit at a height only suitable for bachmann rolling stock, and, that altering this is not easy.
my coupling options are: LGB hook and Loop, or, if required, LGB knuckle-or a paper clip or produce bag twist........
has anyone fitted LGB hook and loops and if so, would you be so kind as to provide an overview of how?
i am reading mixed things, especially how the couplers sit at a height only suitable for bachmann rolling stock, and, that altering this is not easy.
my coupling options are: LGB hook and Loop, or, if required, LGB knuckle-or a paper clip or produce bag twist........
maxi-model
UK/US/ROW steam narrow gauge railways 1:1
I tried to rearrange the supplied knuckle couplers to get them to the right height to match 1:20.3 Spectrum/Accucraft AMS stock without success. As supplied they will mate with Bachmann Big Hauler (non Spectrum) stock, LGB, USAT and Aristocraft with knuckles fitted. If you mod' a Kadee (sleeve down the pivot to it the pin in the buffer beam mounted block) then you will be able to hook up to std' 1:20.3 offerings. And as previously mentioned you can hook up to just abut any link & pip coupled stock. Max.
martenola59
Registered
I really like the 55 ton 3 truck Shay I have. Purchased in 2008 and still runs well (metal trucks).
I run DCC operation on 19V track voltage with on-board sound and touch wood has had no issues to date.
I did try to fit the supplied hook and loop (most of my rolling stock is LGB) and found it not that easy and ended up getting and using a couple of Bachmann wagons for the hook up with a hook and loop coupler on one end.
stevedenver
Registered
It is interesting that the last run was made 2008? And, like LGB of past, they are selling at close out prices and still in stock some 9 years later.
Our hobby just isnt that popular, i guess.
Our hobby just isnt that popular, i guess.
GAP
G Scale Model Trains, 1:1 Sugar Cane Trains
Its a niche market plus the biggest killer is the cost of postage/shipping.
For me to buy another Shay would cost more in postage than the loco purchase (last one was right after the GFC when AUD was above parity with USD and America was having a fire sale). $400 USD all up. Oh happy times.
Now for example I would really like an old Aristocraft RS-3 but the last one I found for sale was $400USD with a postage tag of $420 USD.
I like the loco but around $1000 AUD is just way to much for the treasurer to approve in less I buy the equivalent amount of jewelry, now that is an expensive proposition in anybody's language.
Also I would love a couple of LGB Stainz mechanisms for a kit bash but I had better not hold my breath for a couple of them to appear cheaply anywhere.
I really should have kept believing in Santa Claus
maxi-model
UK/US/ROW steam narrow gauge railways 1:1
It is interesting to note that at the top end of the market, brass/steel construction, the product keeps coming in 1:20.3 and other large scales. Probably because the tooling costs and production runs suit that market sector. And that there is a shed load of tooling available for common rolling stock to be re-released in 1:20.3. One or two retailers I have spoken to say its the middle ground product ("mass" produced, injection molded, track power) that is difficult to shift not the top end.
Bachmann started investing in its 1:20.3 Spectrum range just as a combination of the western economies hitting the buffers, subprime mortgages, and information technology started cutting into the middle income sector jobs causing massive loss of disposable income there. Just the area our little niche hobby's target buyer sits in. Just a thought, Max
stevedenver
Registered
Good thought.
I think of the mason bogies.
One of my absolute favorite locos, but $2500 give or take.
Sold out quickly.
Didnt buy one, maybe due to cost, maybe due to concerns about matching stock, metal and delicate livery, weather worthiness, maybe mostly about wear and longevity.
I have heard that $1000 is the top of the pyramid for the great majority of gscalers.
$2k being the next level. With far fewer willing or able to expend that amount.
And, right or wrong, i find myself wary about anything too pricey which may not have parts available. The current marklin practices have made me realize, one can drop $1000, have a twig mangle the running gear, and, one may be out of luck.....this is hard for me to accept. Thus, i am more hesitant to buy than i have been.
So, despite being able to afford a bogie, with a wince, and a feeling of questionable priorities and reality, i passed. If the the shay breaks....well i can live, begrudgingly, with that.
I think of the mason bogies.
One of my absolute favorite locos, but $2500 give or take.
Sold out quickly.
Didnt buy one, maybe due to cost, maybe due to concerns about matching stock, metal and delicate livery, weather worthiness, maybe mostly about wear and longevity.
I have heard that $1000 is the top of the pyramid for the great majority of gscalers.
$2k being the next level. With far fewer willing or able to expend that amount.
And, right or wrong, i find myself wary about anything too pricey which may not have parts available. The current marklin practices have made me realize, one can drop $1000, have a twig mangle the running gear, and, one may be out of luck.....this is hard for me to accept. Thus, i am more hesitant to buy than i have been.
So, despite being able to afford a bogie, with a wince, and a feeling of questionable priorities and reality, i passed. If the the shay breaks....well i can live, begrudgingly, with that.
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stevedenver
Registered
well then!
ordered Friday, here today, since, my am post.
I wont go into features as there are great in hand videos on youtube, as well as those posted above.
I did remove the truck cover plates. IMHO, short of being careless, there is no issue, and, proper internal lube of drive gears and motor shaft is much easier. The lube port plug is awful. I used LGB gear grease, although there was plenty of original Bmann grease, still soft, and seemingly high quality.
Spotted the electrical tether to the tender with hot glue at the plug. And, I gave the male and female portion of the tether's plug and socket a good puff of graphite powder-this might help once it works in-it didn't first go, however.
was able to get the engineer into his seat easily, though the side window and without removing the roof.
The loco runs beautifully. After about an hour at 12 volts, divided between forward and reverse, the loco will crawl, as do my other spectrum locos. Much better super slow speed running than any LGB loco I own, other than the rack locos.
On nice clean track, this loco really will go sleeper by sleeper with time for a cup of coffee in between.
Its big. But I knew that. Yet, it's seemingly bigger than it ought to be.
I think you lot would call it fiddly. loco, limp wiggly trucks going every which way, tender, draw bar, tether plug at impossible angle, whizzy crank pistons and cams waiting to grab a leaf stem, or twig, needs three hands at least to handle. Its difficult to find a place to safely lift it out of the stryo cradle without grabbing something that will snap.
Indeed the knuckle couplers are......an issue. that being said, I get 50% face contact with an LGB knuckle and, short of a heavy train, it should work. A solution does not seem obvious. I pulled the bmann knuckle, contemplated surgery on the stock supplied hook and realized this was not an option.
My loco runs fine on R2, but the tender consistently jumped the R1 turnouts into a tight siding, ie turnout immediately into an opposite curve R1 to create a parallel siding. I suspect if I added a straight before the reverse curve I might be ok. I suspect the drawbar and tether are the issue.
Smoker is......odd. Smokes profusely at 18v then not, then does. Bmann smokers, in my experience leak like a sieve. With each fresh squirt of smoke fluid, it went well, but then, stopped smoking more quickly than any of my others. I wonder if it has a circuit protector and if there is a sweet spot voltage wise?
Stack was easy to swap, just tug and off it comes.
old style yellow orange LED lights.....uh, imho, they don't look like the 3 truck shay in Georgetown on the Loop, which are bright white.
I realize, now that its mine, that like my other shay, this will get modest running, as, its even more of a PITA to handle , transport, hook up, and store in its box. (I am rather compulsive this way.) That tether is a problem, I realize, and I think it will be a mental hurdle. It will indeed give way with repeated tugs. It will likely be run a lot at crimbo, along with the C19, as both are cumbersome to handle, and tether, and none can be left out as any moisture will be a major problem, including rust. Perhaps ....a shed for the fairest days of summer.
yes I am glad I bought it, and more glad it arrived when swmbo was traveling, allowing me to take a lot of time with it. We are in the mid 70s for this week, after a good deal of snow earlier in mid October.
As for OP wishing to re-model this into a 2 truck.... well, im not gifted at that, but it looks a chore. chassis is wrong length to have bunker sit properly over the rear truck, bunker is too short, oil bunker way too long to swap, will need a pilot, coupler rig, etc. But, the loco runs so nicely it merits the effort from the razor saw gifted.
ordered Friday, here today, since, my am post.
I wont go into features as there are great in hand videos on youtube, as well as those posted above.
I did remove the truck cover plates. IMHO, short of being careless, there is no issue, and, proper internal lube of drive gears and motor shaft is much easier. The lube port plug is awful. I used LGB gear grease, although there was plenty of original Bmann grease, still soft, and seemingly high quality.
Spotted the electrical tether to the tender with hot glue at the plug. And, I gave the male and female portion of the tether's plug and socket a good puff of graphite powder-this might help once it works in-it didn't first go, however.
was able to get the engineer into his seat easily, though the side window and without removing the roof.
The loco runs beautifully. After about an hour at 12 volts, divided between forward and reverse, the loco will crawl, as do my other spectrum locos. Much better super slow speed running than any LGB loco I own, other than the rack locos.
On nice clean track, this loco really will go sleeper by sleeper with time for a cup of coffee in between.
Its big. But I knew that. Yet, it's seemingly bigger than it ought to be.
I think you lot would call it fiddly. loco, limp wiggly trucks going every which way, tender, draw bar, tether plug at impossible angle, whizzy crank pistons and cams waiting to grab a leaf stem, or twig, needs three hands at least to handle. Its difficult to find a place to safely lift it out of the stryo cradle without grabbing something that will snap.
Indeed the knuckle couplers are......an issue. that being said, I get 50% face contact with an LGB knuckle and, short of a heavy train, it should work. A solution does not seem obvious. I pulled the bmann knuckle, contemplated surgery on the stock supplied hook and realized this was not an option.
My loco runs fine on R2, but the tender consistently jumped the R1 turnouts into a tight siding, ie turnout immediately into an opposite curve R1 to create a parallel siding. I suspect if I added a straight before the reverse curve I might be ok. I suspect the drawbar and tether are the issue.
Smoker is......odd. Smokes profusely at 18v then not, then does. Bmann smokers, in my experience leak like a sieve. With each fresh squirt of smoke fluid, it went well, but then, stopped smoking more quickly than any of my others. I wonder if it has a circuit protector and if there is a sweet spot voltage wise?
Stack was easy to swap, just tug and off it comes.
old style yellow orange LED lights.....uh, imho, they don't look like the 3 truck shay in Georgetown on the Loop, which are bright white.
I realize, now that its mine, that like my other shay, this will get modest running, as, its even more of a PITA to handle , transport, hook up, and store in its box. (I am rather compulsive this way.) That tether is a problem, I realize, and I think it will be a mental hurdle. It will indeed give way with repeated tugs. It will likely be run a lot at crimbo, along with the C19, as both are cumbersome to handle, and tether, and none can be left out as any moisture will be a major problem, including rust. Perhaps ....a shed for the fairest days of summer.
yes I am glad I bought it, and more glad it arrived when swmbo was traveling, allowing me to take a lot of time with it. We are in the mid 70s for this week, after a good deal of snow earlier in mid October.
As for OP wishing to re-model this into a 2 truck.... well, im not gifted at that, but it looks a chore. chassis is wrong length to have bunker sit properly over the rear truck, bunker is too short, oil bunker way too long to swap, will need a pilot, coupler rig, etc. But, the loco runs so nicely it merits the effort from the razor saw gifted.
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beavercreek
Travel, Art, Theatre, Music, Photography, Trains
Glad that you are enjoying it Steve, The rear bunker is a bit light so if you weigh it down inside, it should mange your R1 okay as the tension exerted from the connecting wires tether should be overcome.
stevedenver
Registered
Thanks for both tips. I will give them a go today.
Greg Elmassian
Guest
Steve, don't use graphite around electrical contacts like fine pitch connectors, it can conduct.
I had a friend that was graphiting everything in sight, and moisture and oil got on the back sides of the wheels, and with the graphite (which was excessive) actually shorted across the insulator between the axle and the wheel on both sides.
Many other lubes you can use, best is a dielectric grease that has moly or graphite suspended in it, they are not conductive, but I use the clear silicone grease, like you use in the distributor caps of ancient cars. Much less messy.
If you really want a powdered lubricant, use powdered teflon.
Greg
I had a friend that was graphiting everything in sight, and moisture and oil got on the back sides of the wheels, and with the graphite (which was excessive) actually shorted across the insulator between the axle and the wheel on both sides.
Many other lubes you can use, best is a dielectric grease that has moly or graphite suspended in it, they are not conductive, but I use the clear silicone grease, like you use in the distributor caps of ancient cars. Much less messy.
If you really want a powdered lubricant, use powdered teflon.
Greg
stevedenver
Registered
thanks mr greg!
moly grease it is,
did this yesterday as a matter of fact.
the graphite didn't do a damn thing to make plugging in and out any easier, the moly helped a bit, and clung to the sides-
I think I actually knew that about graphite......but forgot........indeed a potential disaster
It seems like under pressure, as in fishplates it can be conductive.
It is fall, my favorite time of year. Yellows and golds and pale green and brilliant red and orange leaves in my area, and today it is 79F!.
As fall arrives in Denver, I have a ton of crispy maple leaves, and have found a few bits of leaf mashed into the crown gears on the wheels, so, no shay for now...I have a carpet of browns and yellows and golds over my railway.
I am using an LGB Forney with snow plow pilot to plow leaves.
moly grease it is,
did this yesterday as a matter of fact.
the graphite didn't do a damn thing to make plugging in and out any easier, the moly helped a bit, and clung to the sides-
I think I actually knew that about graphite......but forgot........indeed a potential disaster
It seems like under pressure, as in fishplates it can be conductive.
It is fall, my favorite time of year. Yellows and golds and pale green and brilliant red and orange leaves in my area, and today it is 79F!.
As fall arrives in Denver, I have a ton of crispy maple leaves, and have found a few bits of leaf mashed into the crown gears on the wheels, so, no shay for now...I have a carpet of browns and yellows and golds over my railway.
I am using an LGB Forney with snow plow pilot to plow leaves.
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Greg Elmassian
Guest
I'm sitting in the Denver airport typing this, been here all week, what wonderful weather! Jumping on a plane in a few. Yeah, powdered graphite in large quantities can conduct a bit, and if oil gets into it, it's a mess.
Greg
Greg
Gavin Sowry
Garden Railroader and Raconteur
Denver Airport must be a frightfully delightful place if you have been there all week.
Joking aside, did you get to the new Caboose Hobbies at all? The old place was always a must when in or passing through Denver.
stevedenver
Registered
Sadly new caboose is, imho,
Overpriced (full retail) limited stock, limited gauges, a very good toy store in terms of what it carries, landscaping, paints, trains, but little if any detail parts, books, periodicals, electronics. G is very limited, as was the case with the original caboose towards the end. In a word, an ordinary train hobby shop.
It just doesnt have the jaw dropping, crammed hardware store inventory, stunning dioramas, collectibles, displays, employees running cool o gauge, ho, n with sound for customers, etc.
I went shortly after it opened and havent been back. What i need , paints, glues, etc is at closer hobby shops, and, if i need the esoteric, ie parts, details, figures, in g, n or z, i find them on line. Basically the incentive i had to drive, browse and pay retail for the things i saw are gone.
To counter this negative post, I have a link, to the Georgetown Loop. scroll down and Click on Loco #9 for a short video of the real 3 truck shay and its environs (mid summer by the green of it- a few weeks back the slopes were dotted with brilliant golds and fluorescent reds.
Video shot by some non rr numpty who only captured the wrong side of the Shay.
My country is indeed going to hell. LOL
https://www.georgetownlooprr.com/
Overpriced (full retail) limited stock, limited gauges, a very good toy store in terms of what it carries, landscaping, paints, trains, but little if any detail parts, books, periodicals, electronics. G is very limited, as was the case with the original caboose towards the end. In a word, an ordinary train hobby shop.
It just doesnt have the jaw dropping, crammed hardware store inventory, stunning dioramas, collectibles, displays, employees running cool o gauge, ho, n with sound for customers, etc.
I went shortly after it opened and havent been back. What i need , paints, glues, etc is at closer hobby shops, and, if i need the esoteric, ie parts, details, figures, in g, n or z, i find them on line. Basically the incentive i had to drive, browse and pay retail for the things i saw are gone.
To counter this negative post, I have a link, to the Georgetown Loop. scroll down and Click on Loco #9 for a short video of the real 3 truck shay and its environs (mid summer by the green of it- a few weeks back the slopes were dotted with brilliant golds and fluorescent reds.
Video shot by some non rr numpty who only captured the wrong side of the Shay.
My country is indeed going to hell. LOL
https://www.georgetownlooprr.com/
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