Rescuing a Bachmann 4-8-4 Northern...

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shaygetz

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petey said:
I have read shaygetz's writings here, for some time. Always impressed with his mechanical skills...Moral of the story...they look good...get a used Bowser chassis, and slap that shell on it.
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Thanks, Petey, I do enjoy the tinkering right now...much to the dismay of my layout's scenery :eek:ops:

I like that pinning idea and might just do that as a pre-emptive strike while everything's in quarter. Most of my steam is nostalgic. Art imitating life, they can be mechanical nusances...but I luvs 'em. The newer releases coming out make these early birds less appealing to most modelers and therefore, more affordable to folks like me whose hobby budget trains us to squeeze Labelle #106 from a rail spike :D . Even now I've got my eyes on Ebay looking for one of those Bowser re-powering kits.
 
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lester perry

I now have three of the set in quarter one to go. Droped some small pieces onto carpeted floor. Just bought 2 sound decoders guess what i am doing now. By the way Bob I did find the tender.
Les
 
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shaygetz

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lester perry said:
I now have three of the set in quarter one to go. Droped some small pieces onto carpeted floor. Just bought 2 sound decoders guess what i am doing now. By the way Bob I did find the tender.
Les
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Just remember, between the blue commentary as you're looking for those small parts, mutter "Model railroading is fun, model railroading is fun..."
 
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lester perry

The sound decoders are for P2K GP7s. They sound pretty good. My first time installing decoders. Not as hard as I thought. Dropped, lost the small parts about week ago. Those diesels even run better on DCC. The drawer is now inhabited again. I can make those P2Ks move so slow you can hardly tell they are moving. Might look for small parts again tomorrow after I run GP7s.Did I say how good the P2Ks run now with DCC installed? I am kind of new at this DCC stuff and I like it.

Les
 
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shaygetz

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lester perry said:
The sound decoders are for P2K GP7s. They sound pretty good. My first time installing decoders. Not as hard as I thought. Dropped, lost the small parts about week ago. Those diesels even run better on DCC. The drawer is now inhabited again. I can make those P2Ks move so slow you can hardly tell they are moving. Might look for small parts again tomorrow after I run GP7s.Did I say how good the P2Ks run now with DCC installed? I am kind of new at this DCC stuff and I like it.

Les
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Cool beans :thumb: :thumb: They aren't that hard are they? Certainly not hard enough to fork over $65 to the guy at our LHS. There is still some equipment out there that, by design, can't be converted but they're usually the older stuff.

lester perry said:
The drawer is now inhabited again
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Does that mean I have a shot at one of those Northerns again? :D
 
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lester perry

Slow down a little. Man I like those sound decoders. Did I say how slow they move now? I might look for the parts again tomorrow. I also have the BLI T1. That is kool Diesels rumbleing and steam talking at the same time. I might need some help like a close up pic of the front part of the drive gear, no hurry still have to find small parts. I have the MRC dcc and only one control this is a problem when 2 trains come to RXR at same time. Which one blows the horn/whistle? OK then I promise i will look for the parts tomorrow. Might have to make something my self.

Les
 
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shaygetz

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All together now...ready for paint. The tender frame and wheels came from a fellow modeler in the Bachmann forum. Not bad looking for a lokey that two months ago was scenery in a model junkyard:thumb:
 

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lester perry

Tender to go

OK guys I am ready to part with a tender. Ray I am sorry but I am keeping the loco. So Bob how do I get it to you? I was just cleaning out my train building and I only have one tender ( this type I have about 10 others) and do not need it. It will probaly be scrapped if no one wants it.
Les
 
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b28_82

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whos loco was that anyway Bob? Hows things at the club going? I still have things all over the place in my new house and my trains are still packed up in boxes. I have plans for a layout in my basement however it might be helpful to add 33 sqft to the room.

Tell everyone I said hi,
Jacob
 
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shaygetz

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Hey, Jake, how's life in a missle silo?sign1 That was Mo's old Northern that Wayne gave me when he was selling Mo's stuff. Alas...to have a basement...sigh.

OK, Miles, keep your eyes peeled this weekend...you've made my decision for the next victim:thumb: I did paint it but now it needs a little dirt:D
 
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Thoroughbreed

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Not meaning to resurrect an old thread, but I need info on repowering 1 of these 4-8-4 northerns from bachmann. It's 1 of there lower class engines I picked up dirt cheap, and now I know why. When 1st ran, she was great, with no load. After a brief, and I do mean brief, traction test, all wheels out of quarter. Upon exam, the plastic gear sets between the drive wheels were cracked.:curse: I managed to get them back into quarter and used a lil super glue on the gear set to keep it in quarter. I filed down the frame just a lil, where the paint meets the drives, and the joints of my super glue to put them back into round. :thumb:
Now, she'll stay in quarter and runs good, but I won't chance putting it on traction test. I would rather regear the whole thing. The whole body is in excellent condition, no parts missing or bent on engine and tender. I want to use her to pull my consist of riverossi hvywghts, cal limited, all nine cars (2 transcontinental duplex sleepers included, 1 B&O and 1 Blue Comet). Ironically, the Blue Comet never had any sleepers, but she looks good.:rolleyes:
I'll post pics of the Comet Sleeper when I get a chance, if anyone's interested.
 
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