I purchased a Bachmann spectrum 2 truck Climax w/ DCC & sound. It lasted 2 hours and now it’s on the way black to Bachmann. From what I’m reading on the forums there is a good possibility it won’t last very long even after they repair it.
Are there any other manufacturers of HO Shay’s (shay, heisler, climax) that have DCC & Sound?
From what I have read in some forums, others do what you are doing. A few have had gears crack when the loco came back.
No idea if Bachmann has switched to steel gears yet. I do not watch the Bachmann forums mutch anymore. There are company reps there.
Someone in the MRH forums measured the steel shafts and they are all the same diameter. Gears for model trains are made in plastic injection molding machines and there is the issue. Not all are consistent. The gear is pressed on the shaft and if the hole is to small the gear cracks over time.
A couple have bought brass versions and put their own decoders and speakers in.
Some bought the steel gears from NWSL.
Good luck
Rich
I sent my Shay back to Bachmann three times and it never worked. I had put a hidden mark on the frame and every tine I received it back it was the same frame. The second and third time the packing slip said warranty replacement.
It wouldn’t run out of the box new, the next three times it never made it around my double loop layout before it quit, (93’ of track).
I finally pulled the shell and tinkered with it myself and after several attempts I figured out that the motor mount was worthless, poor engineering. I glued the motor in place using Amazing Goop and it has run perfect for five years after my fix.
Haven’t had a cracked gear just the lousy motor mount.
Mel
No, you won’t find another brand of factory installed sound shay or climax (did Rivarossi do a sound equipped Heisler?). Speaking of the Spectrum shays, there are repair kits for these locos or you can buy the trucks or the truck side frames with the new metal gear replacements.
I had three Spectrum shays that ran flawlessly for ten years with heavy use, before developing the cracked gears… They are now waiting gear replacement.
You will find people who actively dislike these models, but I am not in that camp. These are well detailed, affordable locos that run well out of the box (with the caveat of the cracked gears). When you consider the older brass offerings with less detail and running issues, the Spectrum really shines - even with cracked gears.
opinions do vary,
Guy
Hornby offered a Heisler with sound.
Do they still offer it? I don’t find any Shay on their site.
LOL
Good for you, Mel.
That is sad that the manufacturer would commit such deceit.
Rich
Well, technically speaking, a Heisler is not a Shay, although both are geared steam locomotives. So Hornby did not produce a Shay, but a 2 truck and 3 truck Heisler, including some with DCC and sound. The original ones were produced by Rivarossi, that was acquired by Hornby a few years ago. And yes, Hornby does not offer them at this point in time. They can be found used on Ebay, and some dealers still have some new ones in stock.
I think that the reviews of the Heislers are generally positive. Even the old ones built by Rivarossi still look and run good by today’s standards. Adding DCC to a 70s model is fairly easy to do (I converted two myself). Probably the most accessible and reliable geared loco in HO right now.
The Shays and Climaxes are a different story. In my opinion, only the brass models are acceptable from a running and reliability perspective (although opinions differ, as mentioned earlier). They need a bit of work to convert them to DCC - I would not try this as a first-time DCC conversion project. An online search will lead you to how-to’s on how to do this. I do have a running Bachmann 3 truck shay on my layout, but I would not bet on its longevity.
Simon
BTW –
Bachmann manufactured Shay models in all scales (they produced) are presently a Discontinued Item.
RR Baron
The tiny gears are the problem. Bachmann used plastic but it appears that only metal is strong enough for the job.
The Roundhouse Shay used plastic gears, but then the gears were nmostly along for the ride, just to turn the engine. Power in those was transmitted via the large bull gear in the center an drive shafts from there to the trucks - same basic mechanism as the boxcab diesel and the Climax that was just a cut down boxcab body with a boiler stuck on one end.
–Randy
Interesting Bachmann in my experience replaces broken equipment a lot.
Marty,
Most of the items we are discussing here are readily available on Ebay. Condition ranges from new in the box (old stock) to used items.
Guy
not with DCC but Keystone has/had a kit shay in HO/HOn3 (maybe 30) otherwise you’ll have to check brass/ebay and add your own DCC if not installed.
Yes, a static model that could be motorized with a special NWSL kit, in HO and HOn3. The NWSL kit is not produced anymore but pops up on Ebay from time to time. These are difficult kits to assemble. Katsumi made a brass shay of the same size (18 ton if memory serves) that is a much better runner. Not cheap but can be found used.
I bought an original run Rivarossi Heisler. It runs well, far better than any other Rivarossi I ever had. I remember the Model Railroader review of it saying it had a fast top speed and that it was noisy, (all metal gears) but geared locos were. Heislers did have a higher top speed than Climaxes and Shays. And they ended the review with something like this is a welcome new model to what is normally a brass only market, with no apollogies.
I agree. I still have mine. With very low miles on it. It did only have 4 wheel current pick-up, the addition of wipers on the other wheels helped greatly. Dan