Finaly after I made the jump to steam. Main thing that has held me back was the poor tracking laying skills I had. Ken at K-10 Trains and I talked, he knew I want steam but knew what I was worried about, engine not making it around the poor but way better track I have laied.
I won’t go into details about the details Ken at K-10 and I struck but I finaly made the plung to steam.
I could chosse betten two IHC engines but the 90 day warranty bugged me! Or I could go with this.
It is a plain Jane Bachman GS-4 Daylight, but for $80.00 what the heck.
So far I am pretty darn happy with it. Just made it throught break in and no derails so far! [:)]
As far as the details, I am fine with them. But I am half blind anyway. [;)]
Smoke, well you can hardly see it and does not last long. Light are a little dem at 55% thottlel on the MRC 2500 it is running on. Pulling power, well I did not hope for much. I have yet to tax it but draging only 8 cars up a 2% grade. On the level grade it hauls, on the grade slows way down but keeps draging the train.
Over all I am still pretty happy with it.
Now the question. Would adding weights or traction tires void the warranty?
Congratulations KEN !!! Maybe Santa will bring you a Berkshire. I have several IHC engines, they are on the lower price scale, but they run OK for the price. I wanted to do my own eval on several manufacturers of steam locos before settling in on one or two vendors, maybe three. Enjoy your new locomotive and STEAM !!!
not sure about the weight as i suppose it could be added.not for sure if that engine has the wheel’s for traction tire’s.don’t think you can put them on unless the driver’s and etc has a groove in them.yes steam loco’s are wonderful aren’t they? i have an ihc premier 0-8-0 that will pull 15 car’s very easily on the flat.haven’t got my upper level done yet but i doubt it will haul that many up the grade.have fun! terry…
Congradulations Ken! Now Your in Trobble! Your Hooked haha, I did the same about 6 months ago ,Picked up my 1st steam engine 2-6-6-2 Challenger now just picked up a 4-6-6-4 , so im getting hooked as well ,not to menchen, i started with 3 engines ,now ,im looking and need to get a cabinet built for the many im equmeulating.
Steam has a power. I got a Cab Forward for Christmas a few years ago and man, it got me hooked so bad, I had to run 2 era’s. Careful, it can be a slippery slope
Yeah, me too. I got a little 0-6-0 with sound about a month back. I have to remind myself to bring the diesels out of the roundhouse now and then. We’ll see what happens after I get sound into a couple of the diesels, though.
I’m not even finished with the first era (late 1960’s,) but I’m also planning to put a Way-Back machine in my train room. I think I caught something from Bob Grech’s collection of Jordan vehicles.
Ken, your wonderful experience (been there!) is the reason that I make it a point to counsel newbies who post here about track planning, curves, and grades, to think about a year down the road. Most of us learn quickly what will work together, and we get right to building a fairly decent first layout, but we don’t realize that our minds are still acquiring knowledge and learning more about what pleases them. Invevitably, that means growth, or certainly change. I urge newcomers to pause and understand that 18" curves may be fine for now, but that they will almost certainly not be sufficient for the ranges of rolling stock and locomotives that we will favour within a few short months.
Anyway, who among us doesn’t love the excitement of making that decision to take the plunge into our first clunker, and then falling in love with the whole genre and era?
Want a tip? Keep a sharp eye on Broadway Limited Imports’ Outlet Direct (linked at their website) for bargoons. They offer refurbished, factory seconds, or refused items for other reasons, and they have the full warranty…you can’t go wrong. Another tip, keep an eye out for their Mikados…they are quite inexpensive through Outlet Direct, have full sound, and of course have the BLI quality.
Now, be a good fellow and hand me my pitchfork while I wipe my horns. [}:)]
Traction tires may not be availible, but if they are, they help. Adding weight helps but probably not worth the effort. My BLI Mike with Traction tires is my best puller.
As the others have said, you are in big trouble with your desires now.
Welcome to the club, Ken! [#welcome] Here’s hoping that the steam bug has bitten and doesn’t let go.
I have two Plus series Bachmanns – a K4 and a SF 4-8-4, and neither one is much of a puller. Adding weight doesn’t do much for traction, and overheats the motor. They couldn’t have used a slipperier metal for the wheels. However yours may be from their retooled basic line that use Mabuchi motors, which are more durable. If you try extra weight, do it a little at a time and make sure the engine stays balanced.
It used to be if you added weight to Bachmann Steam the axles turnes inside the pressed-on wheels - rendering it useless. NOW if you add weight you can overheat the motor and render it useless Rubber tires add friction to the track until they break - or decompose - again, rendering the engine useless. There needs to be a CHANNEL cut into the metal wheel for the tire to stay aligned. Trying to run on a empty grooved metal wheel is guaranteed to lose traction.
BOWSER has a chassis Kit for the GS-4 that has weight + a bigger motor, so pulls more cars, but it’s not for those that want to play trains - it’s a kit.
Bachmann’s SPECTRUM engines are more expensive with more detail, but have not been considered 'puller’s, so those who want RTR can buy Brass - or wait for a higher priced Bachmann. Frankly, Broadway’s future GS-4 looks more PROMISING. It won’t be built for the toy market.
Personally, I don’t recommend traction trires. I find that they reduce overall electrical pickup, they get dirtier faster than normal metal wheels, and they derail more easily.
That is what I did to my GS-4. The drive was terrible so I bought the Bowser kit. It took some time to assemble but I enjoyed building it. The pulling power is outstanding and best of all no “mailbox shuffle” with Bachmann Service. As Don says it is not for the RTR crowd but if you want a good quality drive it is the way to go.
Okay, so now you have one REAL locomotive. You can check to see if adding a little weight will help enough to make it worth your while by just draping some weight on top of the engine and running it that way a little bit. Remember, you can’t fit but so much weicht inside. Also, stick on golf club weights are easier to find than model weights locally, and the thin ones can sometimes even fit on the bottom of the engine. A good thing for trying the weights is a little piece of scap pantyhose and some BBs.
Unless an engine came with traction tires, or you have and know how to operate a mini lathe, you basically are out of luck. I really like traction tires, personally. I have never had electrical issues and I do not have derailments unless a track glitch develops. BLI and the later P2K stuff have two pairs of main engine drivers so you can have traction tires or not as you wish.
Oftentimes just wearing the “new” surface off drivers will help traction quite a bit. You will find with steam locomotives there are few genuine bargains. Stay away from older Bachmann, Lifelike, Tyco, and the Rivarossi with the pizza cutter wheels. They are NOT fixable. Mantua don’t have the detail of some, but some of them may not be breakable, I am not sure.
Good luck. As a car tinkerer you will now get to hone your skills on itty bitty stuff, too.
Hum, seems I have two now a 3rd on the way and 4th in layaway! Pick up another GS-4 this time a War Baby paint. All so have a Nigeria coming as well, hope to have this coming Wednesday.
Now for you Boradway fans, layway is a all so a Nigeria . It is the the one that does not have sound. Can’t not tell you what I am getting for, but is under $210.00. Reason it is not here at the houes, seems I need at lese a 21.5 radius turn.
Till the new bench is ready I willl still have a 18" turn. But that may only take a few months.
Spell Check cannot help stupid. Yes Dan you are right, they are Niagara’s not the other word I missed spelled.
As far as impressive (spell check) thank you and by most standreds still in the child like stage. My roster of engines will be getting better a long with my bench. Seems I am either getting real lucky at my new job or getting better at it. My store was Store of the Month, Added Value Store of the Month and I was Sales Person’s of the month with $70,000.00 in sales. That is $300.00 plus I won $100.00 at a sales meeting today as well! [:)] OH, I forgot Kingsdowns Sales person and Kingsdown store of the month as well, so there is another $100.00. (Kingsdown is a vendor we sell for).
Sorry I am bragging, but been a great day all around. Just had to bost a little. Guessing there will be a few more engines on the board Wendesday.
I don’t think adding weight will void your warranty, especially if you can remove it if a problem arises & you have to snd it back. For the motor’s sake, I would check the stall current of the loco & then check the amp draw with the added weight. To check the stall current you need an amp meter connected between the rail pickups and the motor, then apply enough downward pressure to make the drivers & motor stall, then take the reading on the amp meter. After adding the weight open the throttle up to about maximum speed and see what the amp draw is. It should be less than the stall current. It is highly recommended to check the stall current on a loco when installing a DCC decoder to make sure the decoder can handle the load the loco’s electric motor needs & not overwork or overheat the decoder. Some of my older Athearn diesels pull over 2 amps when stalled, compared to 1 amp on a LL P2K or Kato. Tweet.
Tweet I added 1 OZ today to the Daylight speical. It has helped a lot, dragging 15 car now and there is more room for weight. It will still spin the wheels when I nail it so I should not be over loading the engine.
I might added .25 more and that will be it. I am not going to kill the GS-4’s, if I can make it to 20 cars and spin the weels great. But I am not going to push it either. BL-2 will be used as a helper if needed.
I would buy more but yet to figuer out how to doubled head them? Seems the front coupler is a fake, no pocket for a Kadee and is glued in.
I have a total of 2.5 OZ in the Day Light and has helped alot! With the extra weight I sure it will pull 18 cars. They will be added Wensday and see what happen’s.
For only $79.99 I am pretty happy still with the cheap Bachman’s. Have around 30 hours on the bench and neither one as derailed.
