Anyone add weight to a Bachmann 4-6-0?

[Mark.S+10]

I shaped a lead weight to go under the smoke box on the front of the engine and gained about 3 cars up a 2% slope.

Have fun, Mark

[Dave V]

what is the current and voltage?

I don't know.  I don't own a voltmeter.

I shaped a lead weight to go under the smoke box on the front of the engine and gained about 3 cars up a 2% slope.

Have fun, Mark

I assume you mean inside the smokebox and not outside, right?

EDIT...  Corrected the bind with the valve gear and now back to no pulling power...   

[Lemosteam]

Is the traction tire slipping in its groove?

[Kisatchie]

EDIT...  Corrected the bind with the valve gear and now back to no pulling power...   

Hmm... Kiz has a unique
solution for problems
like that:
1) Pick up loco
2) place on floor
3) stomp on it...

[Dave V]

Is the traction tire slipping in its groove?

No, because it's bound in place with a thin coat of Bullfrog Snot.

[Chris333]

I think mine had a bind where the siderods would hit the valve gear, and I put a small notch in the rods to fix it. I'll have to look when I get home.
I did try to prop up a 2x4 layout to make a grade, but also can't remember what happend 

[Dave V]

OK...

I tore out the grade.  I happen to have enough 2% risers on hand to get where I need to go.  What I lose is the clearance below the mine spurs because I've had to back the climb up to the branch switch.  That's fine...  Just means the mine sidings are going to be short and stubby...!

So...

She makes it now, but still with a little slipping.  For whatever reason, she also slips with 3 cars and 1 caboose on 10" radius on the level!  WTF?   

[mmagliaro]

Dave,

Perhaps the tender and drawbar are pushing down on the rear end of the engine, thus
pulling the weight off the front where the tire is.

Place the engine on really level straight track, and make sure there is some up/down wiggle and play
in that drawbar and the wiring, so that it can move freely up and down without affecting the engine.

If you can take a super-close, sharp photo - a straight-on horizontal shot of the side of the engine, that might be helpful too.
Spare no pixels when you post it.  Leave it huge so we can zoom in and really look at it.

[MVW]

If you can take a super-close, sharp photo - a straight-on horizontal shot of the side of the engine, that might be helpful too.
Spare no pixels when you post it.  Leave it huge so we can zoom in and really look at it.

This is getting exciting. I hope you can save her, doctor. She's so young! 

Jim

[SkipGear]

Something is not right with that loco. I have to put my 2 cents in, clean the BFS off the traction tire. The stock rubber tires have better grip.

Mine pulled a 15 car random train on a friends layout which is basically a giant 1 to 1.5% grade helix that makes 3 laps around his basement. The only place it struggled at all was on a section that he admitted was a bit more than 1.5% grade. It pulled the train for about 30 minutes, the time it takes to go from bottom to top of the layout at scale speed.

Tony

[Dave V]

[victor miranda]

to get as much traction as possible...
shim the bearings over the #3 axle
or
file at the top of the bearing pockets of the #2 axle

your traction tire is not getting on the rail.
....I suppose you could add BFS to the #3 axle drivers.

that may be the easiest.

victor

[SkipGear]

I wonder if this is one of the first release loco's that had the pilot truck installed upside down? That could explain it. Upside down, it lifted the front of the loco and took weight off of the TT.

[Mark.S+10]

Dave,

I put the weight on the outside under the smoke box.  If you look at Skipgear's picture you can see a large space under the smoke box.  I managed to get nearly 1/4 ounce under the smoke box.

Have fun, Mark

[SkipGear]

Dave,

I put the weight on the outside under the smoke box.  If you look at Skipgear's picture you can see a large space under the smoke box.  I managed to get nearly 1/4 ounce under the smoke box.

Have fun, Mark

That is Dave's photo.