Old Bachmann "HO scale powerpack" question

Grotto

New Member
Hello.

I have a Bachmann "HO scale powerpack" circa 1965- 1978 that I was hoping to use for an N scale railroad.
Just because it says Bachmann "HO scale powerpack", does that mean that it must be used on HO only?

Here are the particulars

Bachmann "HO scale powerpack"
Made in Canada
Bachmann DMA ind.
input 120 vac 60 Hz
output 16.5 vdc open
17.5 VAC 10 VA
1 amp max
 

jasbourre

Member
Your Bachmann HO Powerpacks run the same amount of current as N gauge so yes you can use it. You would not be able to use that Bachmann HO Powerpack on O gauge.
 

60103

Pooh Bah
The rating is the 1 amp limit. That would run 1 HO lcomotive, perhaps 2 modern ones. It might run 3 or 4 N lcomotives. To run an N loco, a pack might only be rated .5 to .75 amps. They don't give you much margin when you buy a starter train set.
 

pgandw

Active Member
Grotto said:
Hello.

I have a Bachmann "HO scale powerpack" circa 1965- 1978 that I was hoping to use for an N scale railroad.
Just because it says Bachmann "HO scale powerpack", does that mean that it must be used on HO only?

Here are the particulars

Bachmann "HO scale powerpack"
Made in Canada
Bachmann DMA ind.
input 120 vac 60 Hz
output 16.5 vdc open
17.5 VAC 10 VA
1 amp max

As the others have said, it has sufficient power to run N scale trains. However, it will probably not provide very good speed regulation. There is a good chance your N trains will jump into a fairly high speed, and will be unable to run slowly.

You can build a transistor throttle with better voltage control to use instead of the speed and direction controller on your power pack, or replace it with an MRC Tech 2 or later (can be used or new). Circuits for throttles can be found here: http://home.cogeco.ca/~rpaisley4/CircuitIndex.html#index under DC throttles.

my thoughts, your choices
 
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