New to G gauge

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Nicholas

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I am new to g gauge and recently purchased a Bachmann #90018 Big Hauler set. I believe it was built in 1993. Since it is that old it probably does not have brass tracks. I was told that the track that comes with this set will not last very long before it rusts out. If anyone here can give some feedback on this. This set is missing the sitting engineer. Does anyone have this figure or know where I might find one?
 
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Nicholas said:
I am new to g gauge and recently purchased a Bachmann #90018 Big Hauler set. I believe it was built in 1993. Since it is that old it probably does not have brass tracks. I was told that the track that comes with this set will not last very long before it rusts out. If anyone here can give some feedback on this.
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Welcome to the forum.

I think that orignally the Big Hauler sets may have used steel rails which would rust or maybe aluminium which would corrode. There's nothing to stop you buying some LGB or Piko brass track and running ti on that.
 
Nicholas said:
I am new to g gauge and recently purchased a Bachmann #90018 Big Hauler set. I believe it was built in 1993. Since it is that old it probably does not have brass tracks. I was told that the track that comes with this set will not last very long before it rusts out. If anyone here can give some feedback on this.
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My first BH set came with plated steel track (which is still available). If you run the set inside a house or dry shed it will be OK. It should also be fine if used on the patio on a dry day (and taken back inside after an operating session.

As Playmofire states, if you want a permanent line outside you will need the brass track. Stainless steel is also OK outside.

Bachmann now make brass track too.

Welcome to the hobby!
 
playmofire said:
Welcome to the forum.

I think that orignally the Big Hauler sets may have used steel rails which would rust or maybe aluminium which would corrode. There's nothing to stop you buying some LGB or Piko brass track and running ti on that.
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Can all g gauge track be used together such as Bachmann, Piko and Aristocraft?
 
Nicholas said:
Can all g gauge track be used together such as Bachmann, Piko and Aristocraft?
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Pretty much all 45mm gauge track listed as "Code 332" (332 thousands of an inch from rail foot to railhead) can be readily intermixed without problems - that covers LGB, Piko, TL45, Aristo, USAT, Bachmann, Thiel, Heyn, Accucraft and most others. The only exception I know of is Tenmille code 332 which has a different rail profile, and even there you can get adaptor joiners. Rails of other heights such as Peco code 250 can also be made to fit with adaptors.

Jon.
 
I use only LGB track on my railway. Has served me well for 15+ years of outdoor use in a wide variety of temps, from 100'F with high humidity in the summer to 20-40'F below zero wind chills in the winter time. I went over to onboard battery power for any former track powered locomotives a few years ago as I grew tired of fighting with corroded rail joiners and the cost of rail clamp style joiners was more $$ and hassle. With getting into live steam, which leaves the rails oily and wet, onboard battery is the way to go right from the start if you have any desire to eventually get a live steamer. And yes, the track with your set is steel and utter rubbish to use outdoors. Keep it for under the xmas tree or other indoor use. Mike the Aspie
 
15+year old LGB track and a Merlin Loco Works live steamer, made in the mid 1980's. This is about the 5th outdoor layout I have recycled this track into. Just changed from a ground level line to raised as working on a ground level line gets harder and harder as one ages!
20170922_172036.jpg
 
Nicholas said:
Can all g gauge track be used together such as Bachmann, Piko and Aristocraft?
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There are very slight differences in the profile - as Jon (Zerogee) said, the height (of code 332) is all the same, and you can easily mix the tracks.

Joining them is the question, as some use sliding fishplates and some used screwed fishplates. We could bore you with an extremely long debate about individual preferences or methods for joining, but I don't think you need to worry yet.

Given that the track from most of the manufacturers that Jon has mentioned can be mixed, I think the secret is to get some brass track, new or secondhand, at the best price you can (because it has become quite costly) and then worry about the rail joining method when you know which manufacturer(s) you've ended up with. Many of us have a mix of track, and there are plenty of ways of joining the track :nod::nod::nod:
 
Welcome Nicholas, probably the best thing you can do, is find someone close to you who has a setup, and go and play! Obviously you'll need their permission first, but most G scalers seem to jump at the chance to show off their experience
 
A suggestion.
From personal experience starting with a Big Hauler, I would look at a simple battery R/C conversion of the loco that you can DIY and would lay the track in the garden then replace it as pieces become unusable. I spray painted all my early track with a reddish brown exterior paint and some of it is still in use nearly 10 years later although it is earmarked for replacement.
This way there is no upfront expensive outlay and you replace pieces as you can afford them.

I have seen a couple of friends dive in and make grand purchases of infrastructure only to find the hobby is not for them, one sold an accucraft "Lady Anne" for $500 AU after paying over $2500AU for it another sold me a box of code 250 flex track for $100.

My recommendation is take baby steps and learn to walk before running, this is a hobby that can be enjoyed over a lifetime so don't rush it.
 
Likewise, I started with a big hauler, but a battery operated one on plastic track.

Also got a track powered one. Luckily there was a lot on the forums and I realized that the steel track would not last in my climate.

But the forums also allowed me to benefit from other's experiences. I also learned that understanding my priorities for what I wanted, knowing my budget per year, that I could minimize the amount of mistakes.

My thinking process and evolution is on my site, I don't want to start a DC vs DCC vs Battery vs limited budget vs unlimited budget thread here.

If I can give my best advice, ask a lot of questions, do a lot of reading, and sit down with yourself and see if you can list up what is important to you to make your hobby fun.

Greg
 
As all have stated, the rail is pretty much the same etc. etc.

What is different, however, is the sleeper size/style. There are two basic slepper/tie types, one called Euro, and the other American (for want of a name). The Euro style is basically for LGB track, or copies thereof.
The American style is one of the versions of Aristocraft track. it has smaller, and more sleepers/ties than LGB Euro track. It looks better with trains scaled at 1:29. It does look wrong with LGB, Bachmann, etc etc., but, it is still 45 mm gauge, and any brand will run on any 45 mm track, subject to the curve radius you choose. Basically, the longer the wheel base of your stock, the bigger the curve radius needs to be. Many proponents of this hobby will tell you to use the largest radius possible, a noble suggestion, but, just starting out, R1 is both plentyful, and cheap(ish). I've used R1 for 18 years now (check out my thread on Taita Gorge Railway).
The 'classic' train set track is what is called R1 (radius 1), and is 2 foot radius. Most LGB will get around this, as will most small to small medium stock.
 
Welcome Nick to a world of disapointment, self harm (why the hell did I do that!) and fun. There are always old buggers like me who think they are becoming too decrepit to continue or whose SWMBOs are left on our departure from this mortal coil with a garden full of track. Lots of the good hobby stores that pamper to our needs keep second hand track and are best well avoided as visiting them introduces you to the potential of where this hobby might lead. If you have Scottish blood in you where you are long in the pocket and short in the arm there will be someone there who will assist you in getting your wallet out! I managed to spend a small inheritance on my layout a few years back before Heart disease, failing eyesight and arthritis, along with dribbling senility began to mar my ability to get down and do the things that are needed to be done. But dont let me stop you! If you have the space go fo R3 (4ft radius) at least, that way you wont be constricted by the limitations that R1 imposes. Good luck and dont listen to me I have a bit of the Marvin about me.
 
Gavin, unfortunately, while you can find a lot of LGB locos that fit your layout/desires, and virtually all of them run on R1, there are few USA models that work on R1 curves that are not little switchers. Also R1 switches will throw most for a loop.

I got my first loop of track, 4' diameter (R1) curves, and purchased the most popular US outline locomotive, a USA Trains F3. It won't traverse that curve. I could not understand why USAT would make it so their most popular loco did not run on the most popular (10 years ago) radius. Also most of the popular 1:20.3 stuff won't either (Bachmann steamers). So, Nicolas needs to determine what locos he would like to run before selecting minimum radius. Most people in the US recommend nothing less than 10' diameter, but in reality you can run 8' diameter curves on most locos, although it's pretty tight on some of the 1:20.3 "mikado" steamers.

So, determining what you want to run should be done before selecting minimum radius unless LGB makes everything you want.

Greg

Gavin Sowry said:
As all have stated, the rail is pretty much the same etc. etc.

What is different, however, is the sleeper size/style. There are two basic slepper/tie types, one called Euro, and the other American (for want of a name). The Euro style is basically for LGB track, or copies thereof.
The American style is one of the versions of Aristocraft track. it has smaller, and more sleepers/ties than LGB Euro track. It looks better with trains scaled at 1:29. It does look wrong with LGB, Bachmann, etc etc., but, it is still 45 mm gauge, and any brand will run on any 45 mm track, subject to the curve radius you choose. Basically, the longer the wheel base of your stock, the bigger the curve radius needs to be. Many proponents of this hobby will tell you to use the largest radius possible, a noble suggestion, but, just starting out, R1 is both plentyful, and cheap(ish). I've used R1 for 18 years now (check out my thread on Taita Gorge Railway).
The 'classic' train set track is what is called R1 (radius 1), and is 2 foot radius. Most LGB will get around this, as will most small to small medium stock.
Click to expand...
 
Greg Elmassian said:
Gavin, unfortunately, while you can find a lot of LGB locos that fit your layout/desires, and virtually all of them run on R1, there are few USA models that work on R1 curves that are not little switchers. Also R1 switches will throw most for a loop.

I got my first loop of track, 4' diameter (R1) curves, and purchased the most popular US outline locomotive, a USA Trains F3. It won't traverse that curve. I could not understand why USAT would make it so their most popular loco did not run on the most popular (10 years ago) radius. Also most of the popular 1:20.3 stuff won't either (Bachmann steamers). So, Nicolas needs to determine what locos he would like to run before selecting minimum radius. Most people in the US recommend nothing less than 10' diameter, but in reality you can run 8' diameter curves on most locos, although it's pretty tight on some of the 1:20.3 "mikado" steamers.

So, determining what you want to run should be done before selecting minimum radius unless LGB makes everything you want.

Greg
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I'm successfully running an Aristocraft FA-1, hauling over a dozen reefers, around R1 trackwork, and that includes R1 crossovers too. The secret, of course, is attention to track maintenance standards.
 
Agreed, the Aristo FA will make it, but not the RS-3, or the RDC or the E8, or the SD45 or the Dash 9... or the 2-8-0 or the 2-8-8-2 or the consolidation etc.

You found an exception with the FA, one of the first locos Aristo produced... but since they are no longer made, how appropriate to recommend this to a new person?

No amount of maintenance will make the above locos work on R1... you might be able to force the SD45 around the corner, but it will throw the car coupled to it off the rails, and it won't run well.. (pretty sure it won't make it, but my ownership of an SD45 is pretty recent, and all R1 curves are gone here in Sandy Eggo).

I own all these locos, so this experience is first hand.

Not sure why you don't see the wisdom in this, but tons of people have gone out and purchased big locos to start and then try to put them on R1. Since we are advising a new person, isn't the best course one of success?

Greg
 
Greg Elmassian said:
Agreed, the Aristo FA will make it, but not the RS-3, or the RDC or the E8, or the SD45 or the Dash 9... or the 2-8-0 or the 2-8-8-2 or the consolidation etc.

You found an exception with the FA, one of the first locos Aristo produced... but since they are no longer made, how appropriate to recommend this to a new person?

No amount of maintenance will make the above locos work on R1... you might be able to force the SD45 around the corner, but it will throw the car coupled to it off the rails, and it won't run well.. (pretty sure it won't make it, but my ownership of an SD45 is pretty recent, and all R1 curves are gone here in Sandy Eggo).

I own all these locos, so this experience is first hand.

Not sure why you don't see the wisdom in this, but tons of people have gone out and purchased big locos to start and then try to put them on R1. Since we are advising a new person, isn't the best course one of success?

Greg
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Perhaps Nicholas could show us what space he has to build a line - or what he'd like to achieve? We could then advise better.

Whilst I had to go down the road of using R1 curves and switches for my trailer layout (and a couple of R1 switches still on the garden line - which are a pain in the proverbial), if I had known about Forums like this in 2005, I would have opted for larger radius switches to start with instead of having to reconfigure my garden layout!

I think it is all a case of horses for courses and that there are ways of overcoming the problems that are real and apparent with R1s (and, of course there are numerous exceptions that prove the rule!).
 
Welcome to the forum Nick.

I concur with all advice already given here....
 
Unless you are dealing with really severe space constraints I would suggest you follow the generally accepted advise of "nothing below a 4 foot radius" - and avoid reverse curves like the plague. Sure, if you see yourself never breaking out of the LGB make (as you already have) or running nothing much above an 0-4-0 and non bogie short wheelbase stock then R1's are ok. But if you want to give yourself maximum flexibility in the development of you hobby interests, along with brass code 332 rail systems, then keep it as wide and open as you can from the beginning. Now what was that about motive power options ? Max

P.S. welcome to the forum :)
 
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