Bachmann Big Hauler Saga

[Klinger]

I want to make a point here. If you are ever offered to buy a Bachmann G Scale big hauler that is not 1st generation......turn it down.

Mine is not the first generation. Its a newer one, not by much, but enough. At some point, the brilliant minds at Bachmann decided to move on from a brass gearbox and axle, to a brass gear coming off the motor, connected to two plastic gears. Guess that was easier to do in China rather then a full brass gearbox. Well, anyone who has ever run a big hauler for more then a year knows, the gears turn to dust, and just spin on the axle. Well that happened to me a while back, so I came up with a clever solution.

I drilled a hole through the gear and axle in between gear teeth. I then tied it off with a wire, and knotted the end so it would not come lose. Well, for about 6 months, it worked. I barley run my G scale equipment, even once a month is often for me. Well this weekend in Denver is the Great Train Expo, so we decided for the first time in 3 years to set up a G scale Display. Well I ran my spectrum 2-8-0 for about 4 hours, and decided to give it a break.

I put my representation of RGS 20, pretty heavily modified to be accurate (in fact its getting a new cab soon that is closer to the real cab), but its still a basic, cheap, bachmann big hauler. Well after some quick switching, I set 20 out, and it ran great.....for 5 minutes. As soon as I walked away to check on the HO display, kaboom, down goes the gearbox.

I took it all apart, and the gear was intact, but the wire had torn its way through the side of the gear, so I set about fixing it with another hole. Well, halfway through, the drill bit broke, seizing the axle and gear. Well, great, it solved the problem by breaking something. Well as soon as it hit the track, the motor mounts broke.

So I went to my friends house, and we set about disassembling a broken Big Hauler that we had given up on, same basic problems. Well the axle was a better design, so I too it for 20, the cab plus all the piping, air compressor, even the stack got taken for mine, we epoxied the gear and wheel ends in place to weld everything together, so tomorrow I get to test all the new work to see if it helped. We fixed the motor mounts with a lot of hot glue.....

I also had a little 2-4-2 saddle tank, same problem, busted bachmann gearbox. Well, when it was taken apart, the brass gear on each end of the motor took a different toll, it shredded the gears so badly, they are now sprayed all over the inside of the gearbox housing, it may never run again....after I put $50 worth of paint and details into it to bring it back to running and cosmetic condition

 

[cascaderailroad]

Bachman is in NE Phila Pa ... although all their stuff is Chinese imports ... as well as everything at Home Depot, Walmart ... etc ... What isn't nowdays.

Bachman used to be pure worthless trash ... although Bachman Spectrum has had "some" satisfied customers, but it is still Chinese imports.

Stay away from prepackaged boxed RTR trainsets ... generally they are no good, run poorly, and break down within a few weeks.

If it has rubber traction tires ... do not buy it ... pure junk.

New Athearn is the only brand that I would recommend ... I used to by an Athearn analog loco for $20, but now their digital models sell for $100+ easily.

Some older analog stuff can be bought at model RR train conventions ... let the buyer beware, "as is" means: "sold AS IS".

 

[UP5521]

good point,cascade,now speaking of bachmann,I was looking at a new HO scale 2-8-4 berkshire and despite the nice detail and the train show that is coming to my city,I still worry about the internal parts such as the gears and other motor componets,like my 4-8-2 and other steam engines that I own!

 

[cascaderailroad]

LaBelle lubricants are what I recommend ... "3In1 Oil" and other general lubes will melt plastic.

I have never seen an Athearn HO motor break down.

I have 2 N Scale ConCor PRR U50's, and some ancient HO Riverrossi steamers bought for $44 ... needed slight work

Over lubrication slimes the track and wheels.

Analog DC will run over a slight track oil slime ... DCC needs constant meticulous daily track cleaning.

Bright Boy gritty rubber abasive track erasers are great ... but the residual grit must be vacuumed thoughly up prior to running ... I clean track with a 2"x2" bedsheet patch dampened with a slight tad of Isopropal Rubbing Alcohol. I have dozens of old toothbrush's for cleaning track and gears.

 

[UP5521]

oh and klinger,I seen those big hauler series trains by bachmann,nice locomotives but,just like the smaller scale steam engines,I still question the way that they were made that caused you to go through all of that trouble and not to mention parts to 'kitbash' into a consolidation steam engine!

 

[UP5521]

LaBelle lubricants are what I recommend ... "3In1 Oil" and other general lubes will melt plastic.

I have never seen an Athearn HO motor break down.

I have 2 N Scale ConCor PRR U50's, and some ancient HO Riverrossi steamers bought for $44 ... needed slight work

Over lubrication slimes the track and wheels.

Analog DC will run over a slight track oil slime ... DCC needs constant meticulous daily track cleaning.

Bright Boy gritty rubber abasive track erasers are great ... but the residual grit must be vacuumed thoughly up prior to running ... I clean track with a 2"x2" bedsheet patch dampened with a tad of Rubbing Alcohol

I'll remember that,and if you are looking for a great steam engine,avoid some of the tender driven ones because one of my bachmann 4-4-0 american engine's motor was running hot and smoking a little bit which frightened me alot,which is why I am restricting my purchase of HO scale steam engines with motors inside,in my opinion,again some of the tender driven steam engines made by different brands are junk and not very smooth running and detail is not very good!:n:

 

[Klinger]

Not converting it into a Connie, just converting it to look more like RGS 20.

And I knew going into this that big haulers were bad, I just didnt know they were THIS bad.

My attempted fix has since broke, so on my days off this week I intend to take it apart again and try and solve the problem with a metal pin though the axle and some epoxy to hold it in place

My Connie is going through a makeover as well, and I may be using crappy big hauler compressors to scratch build a cross compound, since I have 2 more big haulers lying in my room now to try and fix the one I care about

 

[simulatortrain]

Yeah, make sure it's Anniversary edition. Metal valve gear, more detail, and higher all-around quality. I have a 1:20.3 4-8-0 conversion in my head right now... I guess that leaves the 2nd engine for a 4-4-0...

 

[sawyer811]

this is strange, my first G-scale engine was a balloon-stacked Bachmann big hauler 4-6-0. She's been good to me, and, despite her fireman's side crosshead guide breaking off (my own fault, by the way) she still runs like a charm. original gears, original...

well okay, in the name of total honesty, the bottom of the frame cracked and the pilot fell off a few weeks after i ran her outside for the first time (several months to a year later, after all that time of running on the crappy aluminum tubed track...she was part of a RTR set) i was sad and upset, but i sent her in to bachmann and she came back with a metal plate, of all things. But as for other bachmann stuff, i run their n-scale steam engines all the time. Spectrum's awesome! My little 2-8-0 pulled eighteen cars and a dead Life-Like GP-18 (you wanna hear about crappy engines, try their N-scale stuff--my two GP-18s barely ran on my Tech 2 powerpack, and refuse to work on my new tech 4) around my layout without so much as a slip. I don't know where you get off saying traction-tired engines are bad cascade, In N-scale they're mandatory.

In short, in N-scale at least, Bachmann steam engines are far superior--save for maybe the Kato 2-8-2 and the GS-4. And my old 4-6-0 is still churning down the main with her D&RGW Reefer and 4-wheel bobber caboose in tow. I have plans to turn her into a modified oil burner at some point. I might buy another one and put a barry's big trains (or is it trainz?) 2-8-0 conversion frame under it.

 

[Klinger]

Yeah, make sure it's Anniversary edition. Metal valve gear, more detail, and higher all-around quality. I have a 1:20.3 4-8-0 conversion in my head right now... I guess that leaves the 2nd engine for a 4-4-0...

The Annie is even further from my prototype, the valve gear is completely wrong, rather then just partly wrong.

going to rip it apart Wednesday, and do some testing. I got the new cab painted today, got the decals and some detail parts for it and my 2-8-0.

Just need to decal the cab and its ready to install.

 

[TweetsieDude]

And this is why I go to On30 lol. It's poor mans narrowgauge, and you have alot more room to model.

 

[K4driver]

Odd, my Spectrum K4 with sound runs fine, The wheels are too smooth to go up a helix,(any advice on how to fix this is welcomed btw) But Bachman generic is a rip off.

 

[simulatortrain]

The Annie is even further from my prototype, the valve gear is completely wrong, rather then just partly wrong.

going to rip it apart Wednesday, and do some testing. I got the new cab painted today, got the decals and some detail parts for it and my 2-8-0.

Just need to decal the cab and its ready to install.

Well it depends what you're doing. For overall quality it's much better.

 

[magickmaker]

Klinger, A friend of mine had the same problem with his Big hauler. In the end he bought a couple of those powered trucks they use for trams in G scale and just powered the tender of it.

Have you considered doing that? Just keep the locomotive as cosmetic and power the tender bogies?