# DOE"S ANYBODY KNOW HOW TO TURN A BIG HAULER TO RC?



## tweetsie12fan (May 10, 2012)

I have an electric bachmann big hauler, outdoor track is too expensive 

how would I switch my tweetsie model from electric to RC?


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By tweetsie12fan on 04 Oct 2013 11:34 AM 
I have an electric bachmann big hauler, outdoor track is too expensive 

how would I switch my tweetsie model from electric to RC?



First of all, an r/c loco is electric - it usually runs on battery power, but the Aristo Train Engineer / Revolution uses constant track power and r/c commands to control the loco. Most DCC systems are the same. 
Almost any commercial r/c system can be used to add r/c to the big hauler. Most people fill the tender with batteries - I prefer to replace the weights in the loco with batteries. There's a document here [ http://gold.mylargescale.com/peteth...ntrol2.pdf ] ( http:// gold dot mylargescale dot com/petethornton/ECLSTS-seminar/Battery%20&%20Radio%20Control2.pdf if that link doesn't work - remove the spaces and convert the dot and copy it to your browser.) It is a primer on r/c and includes the wiring diagram for my 4-6-0 conversion.

Read some threads in the RC/Battery forum about the various systems. Some can be installed quite cheaply.


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

Batteries in the boiler is a non-starter. You need to feed power back to the tender where there is room for the electronics (throttle, receiver, speaker), requiring more wires. 
Batteries in tender along with electronics is the way to go. 
Had a guy local several years ago who temporarily bought into that batteries-in-boiler BS. 
LGB Mogul. 
I challenged him on it...he brought his over, I dug mine out. 
On a 13' diameter, 4% grade section, we tested with six cars. No problem on either. 8 he had issues with wheel slip....I did not. At 10, he was dead in the water with wheel slip.....I went to 12, and I think 13 before I got wheelslip. 


Then there is maintenance when you need to change batteries in 5, 6, 7 or 8 years. FAR easier to install in tender instead of opening up the loco. 
787/Honeywell/Tesla batteries...no way would I ever want those enclosed in a boiler with no provision for fan cooling of batteries. 
I know what happens. 

Make life easier for yourself. 

TOC


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

Batteries in the tender. Keep your wheels lubed and the engine won't notice. 
I weighed the weight removed and the 14 AA s that replaced it, the weight was nearly twice as heavy. Nuff said. 

I compensated with lead shot in the domes and glued in availabe spaces. It's a tank now, batteries are out and the weight is back. 

John


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## Homo Habilis (Jul 29, 2011)

I couldn't get either of Pete's links to work. 

Try this link to his informative presentation - Pete's PDF 

Hope this helps.


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## Fred Mills (Nov 24, 2008)

Go to the OVGRS web Page and see how Paul Norton does it.....all well described, with good pictures.... 

www.ovgrs.org/


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

who temporarily bought into that batteries-in-boiler BS 
Dave, 
It is at least 5 years since we had that argument. It's good physics - why make the wimpy Bachmann motor and plastic gears drag around all that extra weight? 
And you admitted that, if you add weights in the boiler to make the weight the same as the cast iron lump, then it shouldn't make any difference to the hauling power. 

I had to defend myself. But on the other hand, most of my engines have batteries in the tender, for all the reasons mentioned above! 

BTW - check out George Schreyers tech tips - he has a lot of good ten wheeler info. 
http://www.girr.org/girr/tips/tips1/big_hauler_tips.html


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

RailBoss 4, Phoenix P8, 14.8V 4400 mah Li-Ion battery pack, Battery Conversion Module Floor Mount, all in the tender. 4-wire connector to the loco for motor control and front headlight. Of course you strip out all of the track pickups and the crummy Bachmann chuff board.


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

With Li-Ion batteries, there's no longer an advantage of putting batteries in the boiler, because the batteries weigh less than the weights you have to remove to make room for them. Add to that their lack of weight means the loco is not dragging around extra weight anyway. That, and has been mentioned above, having all the electronics in the tender makes maintenance a breeze. 

I'm working on a 4-6-0 conversion right now. I'm using 6 wires running between the loco and tender - two for the battery power forward for the headlight, two for the motor, and two for the chuff contact. All the electronics in the loco were gutted, and the noise filter board on the motor removed. Battery, speaker, Airwire, and Phoenix all mounted in the tender, with a 4800 mAh, 14.8v Li-Ion battery. Power switch mounted under one toolbox, charge jack mounted under the other. Phoenix volume switch and programming jack mounted to the floor. 

Later, 

K


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## tweetsie12fan (May 10, 2012)

alright Ive read alot of the respones plus that document (the diagrams gave me a head ache)


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## TonyWalsham (Jan 2, 2008)

I have just finished replacing the chassis/drive system in my old 4-6-0 demo loco hoping that it would be a little more robust than the (worn out) sloppy old mech that was in the loco. I bought a brand new chassis that leaves me a little dissatisfied with the result. The front drivers have a wobble on one wheel that is so bad it will occasionally cause a derailment from picking the frog points. Plus the chassis will not fit into the bodywork as it comes. The steam chests on the new chassis sit a little higher than the old ones. The body top would not sit down properly because the air tanks hit the top of the steam chests. Easy fix to move each cylinder back a smidgen. Now to try and extract a decent set of front drivers from Bachmann via my supplier. BTW I eliminated the stock wiring on this conversion and followed the same idea as Kevin using 6 wires. I also converted the chuff timer from two to four beats per revolution. I did have an article on how to set up a 4-6-0 but the link at LSC got broken when they changed the website a few months ago.Now I have to trawl through the pages to find it again. In the meantime this might help: # BIK-ANNIE[/b]


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## Curmudgeon (Jan 11, 2008)

I recall when the Anniversary came out. Loose wheels was the norm. Not sure how "new" your "new chassis" is....Howard Himself told me they have Celcon bushings in the wheels, as (are you ready?) Delrin was no longer being made. 
We corrected most of it (and you cannot fix all of it...slop is designed in to compensate for non-precise wheel quartering) by removing the siderods, pressing the plastic spoke assembly out from the backside, and putting a small flatwasher under the screw. 
You would be amazed. 
Was (is) saving half a cent per wheel by not putting washers in? When the recess is there for said washer? 
The screwhead tends to work into the Celcon bushing without a washer. 
I always did 8 wire plugs...two for chuff, two for motor, two for headlamp, and two for switched battery power, for smoke, future cab lights or classification lights. Left the red and black power leads rolled up and terminated in the smokebox. 
8 chuffs was always easy, with all the junk 4-6-0's hanging around...just pulled the bits and added the straps.


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

I had a recent request for the PDF as the link doesn't work (MLS lockout of the files, plus it had a & in the file name.
I re-uploaded it:
http://www.largescalecentral.com/filesharing/file/view/8915/battery-and-radio-control2-pdf


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## mendoFrank (May 2, 2015)

Depending on your need for synchronized chuff, a simple alternative is the generic steam sound that is part of the Revolution Train Engineer remote receiver. With a 14.8 volt Li-Ion / 9Ahr battery in the tender, and using the “light” wire cable that is part of the ten wheeler, you can easily pull 6 - 8 cars at 70% applied power. Removing the track power connection is vital to eliminate the “back-feed” of battery power to the track. I have done some 20 conversions with this set up. I have evolved the basic wire connection to a more reliable cable & connector - but initially it worked for years before the connections failed. The headlight will always come on - in either direction, but the reverse light can be wired to the remote board so it only come on in reverse. I too have put one battery set in a boiler, but it’s tractive effort was lacking - having to remove the weight to make room for the battery. Check out our club’s FB videos, almost everything is battery & T.E..


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## TonyWalsham (Jan 2, 2008)

Here is one way of doing it..

https://www.rcs-rc.com/app/webroot/PDF/Acessories/Installation-kits/BIK-ANNIE.pdf


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## W3NZL (Jan 2, 2008)

I have to ask why U would want to put a bunch of money into converting a Big hauler
to battery RC ??? U've probably heard the one about " putting gold teeth in dead horses" !!!
Why put a bunch of time & money in a $100 starter choo-choo... Start out with a decent 
engine to start with, then U'll have something when Ur done...
Paul R...


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## barnmichael (Jan 2, 2008)

tweetsie12fan said:


> I have an electric bachmann big hauler, outdoor track is too expensive
> 
> how would I switch my tweetsie model from electric to RC?



I have not seen a response to the OP comment "outdoor track is too expensive". It would appear he wants to convert to battery because outdoor track is too expensive. You still need track to operate. Converting to battery does nothing to alleviate the cost of track. What are you planning on running the locomotive on?


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## Totalwrecker (Feb 26, 2009)

tweetsie12fan said:


> alright Ive read alot of the respones plus that document (the diagrams gave me a head ache)







Guys this was the OPs response to reality. He was a youngster trying to do it on the cheap, IIRC
Angle iron or bar strap would have been next ...


But it was asked years ago...


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## Pete Thornton (Jan 2, 2008)

W3NZL said:


> I have to ask why U would want to put a bunch of money into converting a Big hauler
> to battery RC ??? U've probably heard the one about " putting gold teeth in dead horses" !!!
> Why put a bunch of time & money in a $100 starter choo-choo... Start out with a decent
> engine to start with, then U'll have something when Ur done...
> Paul R...


Paul,
This is a very old thread, but as you asked yesterday let me respond.


The original el-cheapo Big Hauler was battery+r/c. Since then there have been 5 or 6 iterations, with improvements all the time. George Schreyer documented them here:
http://www.girr.org/girr/tips/tips1/big_hauler_tips.html 
Most of those 5th generation locos turned out to be good runners.


Since then, the "Anniversary" edition was released with brass gears, and those have migrated back to the standard edition. Many people are quite pleased with the performance of the current 4-6-0 locos, and many have been converted to r/c.


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

With respect to the Big Hauler, it's important to note that the "generation 5" version of the chassis was released in 1999, for the 10th anniversary of the release of the Big Hauler line (hence the nickname "Annie"). This drive has proven to be very reliable and smooth. It's only been in the past 3 or 4 years that Bachmann upgraded the drive to have brass gears, following the pattern they started with their "Spectrum" series locos about 10 - 12 years ago. They didn't change anything else, just the materials out of which the gears were made. The upshot is that for nearly 20 out of the 30 years the Big Hauler has been in production, it's had a proven drive. It may be inexpensive, but that doesn't mean it's "cheap." If you do happen to have one of the older-generation drives, you can buy a "version 5" chassis from Bachmann for $50 and retrofit it to the earlier versions. (I think you've got to do some cutting and fitting on the version 1 and 2 locos.) 

To Paul's question about why you would put expensive R/C in a $100 "starter" loco? Why not? It's not how you start, it's how you finish that counts. Many a great model started out as a cheap "starter" piece of equipment, be it a locomotive, flat car, caboose, etc. These inexpensive pieces are a Godsend to modelers, especially those on a budget or those who are timid about taking a razor saw to a $500 locomotive. 

A control system isn't about the cost of the locomotive into which it goes, it's about the user's experience of operating the locomotive. A good sound and control system would make a shoebox a pleasure to operate. If you want the top-end user experience, you're going to spend top money to get it. Speaking from my own experience as I've upgraded R/C control systems over the past 34 years, the locos which aren't as "fun" to operate simply don't get run. As I get newer technology, I run that instead. What's more of a waste of money--spending $300 for a top-end sound and control system for a $100 loco and running it frequently, or spending $50 for a "cheap" control system for that $100 loco, but never running it because it's so inferior to your other systems? I've upgraded the sound and control systems on some of my locos 3 or 4 times over the years as the technology has improved. 

Later,

K


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

I have to agree with Kevin about cost. I have gotten LGB engines for less than $30 and I spent over $100 adding a Zimo sound, good speaker, and smoke to these engines. I am very satisified with the results.


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