Need a Bachmann 2-8-0 diagram

Garden Railroading
1

I bought a Consolidation 2-8-0, a Phoenix sound system, and an RC battery power system at the GR Convention. Now I need to convert the Connie but the Bachmann owner’s manual is lacking in any kind of instructions or diagrams for disassembly/assembly. I’ve been calling the customer support number on the website for Bachmann for the last week but no answer. Today I called the sales office and was told that the 800 number for customer service isn’t working - duh - plus they weren’t working today because of the heat. It’s 106 here in Phoenix today and it isn’t keeping anyone from working. Oh well …

Anyway does anyone have a diagram of the Spectrum Connie they could share?

Thanks,

Rex

2

I ran into the same problem with Bachmann. I have two of the 2-8-0 Consolidations that I have installed AirWire900 and SoundTraxx Sierra systems into.

As near as I can recall, you must first remove the ash pan cover below the cab. There are two larger Phillips head screws that can then be removed to loosen the rear of the boiler. Somewhere in the front, possibly under the leading truck, is a large Phillips head screw that loosens the front of the boiler.

I discovered that the problem with my first Consolidation, which was dead on arrival, was that two wires had not even been soldered to the circuit board during assembly in China.

I asked Bachmann about the color coding since every wire was either red or black, and their response was that they did not have a wiring schematic available because the factory in China had not provided one; and besides, they seemed to just use whatever color of wire they had on hand.

I wound up removing all of the Bachmann circuit boards anyway because you must remove all electrical contact points with the wheels when converting to battery power and the AirWire900.

If you didn’t receive an instruction booklet with the Consolidation, the following two items may provide some helpful informatiion:

SOUND INSTALLATION

Your Spectrum locomotive is pre-wired to make installation of after market sound systems easier. To access the sound PC Board under the tender shell, you need to:

Loosen the two Phillips head screws located near the front corners on the underside of the tender.

Tilt the tender shell towards the back and pull forward to release the assembly tabs on the rear.

DCC INSTALLATION

Remove smokebox front by snapping out with your fingers. Be sure to pull carefully to avoid damage to the wires attached to the rear of the smoke box and pc board.

Next, gently pull the wires (with service loop) until taut to give yourself working room.

Remove the two small P

3

If you still think you need the exploded diagrams and if you have a fax machine, give me your fax number.

4

If you are going to be taking your Connie apart, I would recommend checking out this web page. It has great photos on where all the little screws are and a nice warning of that incidious little screw connecting the Johnson bar in the cab to the reversing gears on the frame.

http://www.homestead.com/islsmr/ISLSMR_tips_page9.html

5

Thanks but with your instructions I now have multiple pieces laying all over my board. The next trick will be to assemble the AIRwire.

Thanks again.

Rex

6

The motor/gearbox assembly seems to be a sloppy or floating fit to the drive wheel. Is this okay? There doesn’t seem to be a way of tightening it up.

Rex

7

Hi There may be able to help have what I think you require do you have a fax no then I will fax what you want? Ive got phoenix sound in mine only thing I did not do was to pick chuff sound up from loco. I use magets and reed switches on the under side of the tender. Hope this helps

8

Thanks. FAX number is (480) 554-7602 (which I’ve emailed to a couple of you). I’ve got the loco and tender apart now. It’s getting it back together with Airwire and Phoenix Sound that’s going to be the trick.

Rex

9

When I installed the AirWire900 in my 2-8-0s, I took the smoke generator out and put the receiver/decoder in the front of the boiler on top of the weight with the antenna wire sticking up into the chimney. Be sure to put insulating doulble-sided foam tape between the AirWire receiver and the weight if you follow suit.

I removed the smoke generator because Bachmann produces nothing but wispy, white smoke that doesn’t look anywhere near realistic, and their smoke generators burn out very quickly if you forget to turn it off and let it run dry.

Yes, it is normal for the motor to flop around on its mount. I don’t know why Bachmann left this so loose, but they are all that way.

Another word of caution: I made the mistake of pushing my Consolidation by hand a short distance down the track one day, and the nylon drive gear on the main axle broke loose. The motor would spin like mad but the loco wouldn’t move. I had to get a replacement wheelset from Bachmann.

P.S. Did the faxed diagrams come through okay?

10

Yep the fax came through just fine. I really appreciate you sending them. My box contained 4 sheets, all the same, of just the wiring schematic.

Right now I’m just finishing up the installation in the tender of the battery, charging jack, switch, and the Phoenix Sound system. I unplugged everything before connecting the battery which was a good thing. My new on/off switch provides power in both the on and off positions! I disconnected the battery and started checking the switch with my ohm meter. I found the charging jack black and gray wires shorted. I disconnected the charging jack so now there is nothing on the battery side of the DTDP switch. I now get a backwards on/off event with the negative poles (shorted when off and open when on). The positive terminals stay shorted no matter what position the switch is in. Is this normal?

Tomorrow I’m going to finish wiring the RX into the loco. Do I need to keep the Bachmann board for anything like to run the LED’s for the firebox? I like your idea of doing away with the smoke unit and running the anntena up the stack. AirWire instructions say to use #18 wire to the motor however the Bachmann wire to the motor looks like #20 or #22. What did you use?

Thanks again,

Rex

11

I’m glad to hear that your conversion is progressing well.

I retained the wire to the Bachmann motor and have had no problems with it not being a heavy enough gauge to handle the load.

For my toggle switch, I used a double-pole double-throw mounted to the center front of the tender. When the switch is in the down position the battery can be charged; in the up position the AirWire900 and SoundTraxx Sierra are turned on and the locomotive is operational.

I wire all of my locomotives this way so the battery is disconnected from everything except the charging jack when the switch is in the down positiion.

12

I’m having opportunities with the firebox and ash pan LED’s. The headlight and tail light have resistors on their positive leads so I didn’t have any issues wiring them to the RX. The other LEDs’ resistors appear to be on the main Bachman board which would be difficult to remove plus I can’t tell which is the positive lead and which is the negative lead to the LED’s. Resistors are cheap so I suppose I could just go get some and experiment.

I’m also having opportunities with the bell and whistle. The Phoenix diagram shows wires coming from the RX to terminals 13 and 14. The AirWire RX diagram doesn’t show bell or whistle control terminals. I’m guessing they are the AUX DCC outputs so I’m going to try that.

The vendor I bought the battery isolation switch from at the GRR show is sending me another one so I have to wait on that before I can test the completed wiring. An’t life fun!

Rex

13

You’re right about the firebox and ash pan LED flicker being controlled by the main circuit board and their having no localized resistors. I removed their circuit board, too, when I removed the main board since they would no longer flicker. Unless you’re operating in total darkness you’d never see them, anyway, so why bother?

The Auxiliary DCC outputs of the AirWire900 will provide the trigger for the bell and whistle sound effects.

14

Thanks for the advice on the LED’s. I don’t plan on keeping the Bachmann board so I might just follow suit and drop the LEDs.

I’ve wired up the AUX DCC controls to the Phoenix board but have to wait on the replacement battery isolation switch.

Thanks again,

Rex