Colorado Midland Railway Engineering Report

[OldEastRR]

Yes, check the pilot frame -- the leaf springs should form an inverted pyramid. If not the truck is on upsidedown. My locos also ran very quietly and smoothly, nearly silent. But if you have an early production model that batch had problems and Bachmann basically recalled them. Maybe you should just send it back for a warranty replacement.

[Chris333]

The 4-6-0 squeak might be the tender wheel edges rubbing their contacts in the side frames. Just a guess since I've had other Bachmann trucks do that. Here is a quick vid of mine going around 10" curves:
Not a valid vimeo URL
Mine has been completely blown apart many times to lower it, but I don't remember it running any better or worse before I attacked it.

About the Kato turnouts. I've read where people pull the stock rails out and file notches for the points so that the points set into the rails and don't get picked. Myself I've never even held a Kato turnout to know.

Skipgear's pilot fix, if that is your problem:
http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?127802-4-6-0-Pilot-derail-Cause-Fix

[delamaize]

Squeeking is a new one to me, but the front truck issue I may have the answer to! some of these 4-6-0s had the front truck installed upside down! this will cause the wheels to bind, and it will cause it to ride funny, and not track well. Mine was upside down, flipped it over, and everything was good. In addition, I also cleaned every bit of flash from the front truck drawbar(? not sure what to call it.) See this old A-board topic.

http://forum.atlasrr.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=63775

Info about the pilot starts on page 12 post 10219.

Hope that fixes at least one problem for you! they are a sweet little loco.

Lots of repeat info, but all the pictures seem to be available still:
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,15711.0.html

[Dave V]

That was it, guys, thanks!  Indeed, the leaf spring tattled; it was clearly upside down.  Flipped the pilot truck and now all seems well!  She's tracking better, pulling more, and much quieter.  The squeak is almost gone.  I do think, since what little remains of the squeak always comes after entering a straight from a curve (remember I'm testing on Unitrack, but she'll be running on code 55 with transition curves) that it's probably tied to the tender truck sideframes.  Tonight after our Cadet Meteorology Club meeting I'll put a little graphite in there and see what happens.

An NMRA standards gauge shows everything is in proper gauge.  Like I said, now she sails through turnouts with ease.

[VonRyan]

My 4-6-0 can haul 16 MT 36' woodside reefers and my kitbashed bobber with hardly a problem.

Just gotta keep the tender wheels clean and she'll be fine.

[sirenwerks]

I really like how you lowered the boiler and cab on your 4-6-0 Chris!

[Dave V]

Actually, I may try some Neolube in those pickup axle pockets.  Then I get lube plus conductivity.

[delamaize]

That was it, guys, thanks!  Indeed, the leaf spring tattled; it was clearly upside down.  Flipped the pilot truck and now all seems well!  She's tracking better, pulling more, and much quieter.  The squeak is almost gone.  I do think, since what little remains of the squeak always comes after entering a straight from a curve (remember I'm testing on Unitrack, but she'll be running on code 55 with transition curves) that it's probably tied to the tender truck sideframes.  Tonight after our Cadet Meteorology Club meeting I'll put a little graphite in there and see what happens.

An NMRA standards gauge shows everything is in proper gauge.  Like I said, now she sails through turnouts with ease.

Glad to hear! you'll quickly fall in love with this loco!

[Dave V]

School delay due to ice storm, so even though USAFA isn't delayed (like every other military base in Colorado Springs), since I don't teach today and the spouse does, I had an hour to kill in the train room this morning.

This is the before shot. 



Since this shot I NeoLubed all the running gear and the tender truck sideframes.  Yes, they were already nicely blackened, but now the squeak is gone completely and she runs as silent as anything can on plastic roadbed track.  I imagine she'll be even quieter on the code 55 track. 

I also stripped the lettering on the fireman's side after this pic.  What an ordeal that was!  The Mircosol/paper towel trick did nothing.  What did work was a good 15 minutes of scrubbing with a brush dipped in Testor's Airbrush Thinner.

I have to do the engineer's side and the rear of the tender next.  I think I'm just going to paint over the number plate.

[M.C. Fujiwara]

If you want to replace the huge Bmann couplers with MTL 905 Zs, it's not very difficult.
On the Short USRA tender, the 905 fits the space without modification:



If you're keeping the huge stock tender, then I think there was a metal bump that had to be ground down for coupler boxes to fit.

For the pilot, I removed the stock coupler and then (slowly, carefully) reamed out space for the 905:





The 905 then just slips in:



I think I put a small dab of CA near the outer lip before pushing the box all the way in.
No screw needed.

Here's post-conversion, coupled to an MTL N scale coupler for size comparison:



Later I used Neo-Lube to tint both the coupler and the shortened trip pin.

Four years, no problems.
(Except looking soooooo much better than the Bmann stock coupler  )

[Dave V]

Nice!  I did exactly that with the Bachmann 2-8-0 I bashed into an H10 (currently out of service).

Eventually I'd like to really make this little engine look much more like a Colorado Midland class 29 4-6-0, and that includes a new tender (the  Bachmann "short" tender also looks nothing like a Midland tender), new headlight, and other changes, but for now all of the work will be cosmetic, as most of my energies will be focused on building the layout and its structures.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

Dave, have you given any thought to the season for the layout?

I think it might be a good chance to try something outside of summer.

I'm not saying deep snow drifts, but maybe something in between?

[Dave V]

Dave, have you given any thought to the season for the layout?

I think it might be a good chance to try something outside of summer.

I'm not saying deep snow drifts, but maybe something in between?

Indeed!  First weekend in October 1905...  Aspen at peak gold with red fire weed and orange scrub oak..  It would also be snow-covered above timberline (~11,000') that week.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I dig it.

[davefoxx]

I'll be interested in watching you pull off the autumn colors as you describe, too.  Carry on!

DFF