# New to "G" with an "Annie".........,



## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

Hello, My wife and I have been doing O scale for a while but kindda got burn out.







I had always Liked the size of G scale and fell in love the with Bachmann Annie and the K-27 as well. 
This weekend we went on e-bay and found a 4-6-0 Annie, new for about $100! Note: this is the real thing, not a stock "Big Hauler" I resurced that before buying. My thing is this.......DETAIL, DETAIL, DETAIL, lol







Over time, I would like to upgrade this engine with after market smoke and sound, add cab lighting, fire bax glow and marker lights. Also, the cab on ours has some nice detail, however I think I would add more if I can, ( johnson bar, ect) and paint the inside green. What color green is that any? I would like to add passanger cars at some point, which would work better for the scale? NOTE, I an doing this at a "stand off scale", in the 1/24 area. Please keep in mind that we are not very "techno savy" and are more of the "push the button and watch it go" types, so please make it easy on us, lol. Can you guys get us on the right "track" with hits, tips, products to look into, costs, ect? 
Thanks gang, 
Paul


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## rdamurphy (Jan 3, 2008)

The correct color for inside the cab is Zinc Chromate, you can get it from Testors. There's tons of info on this site about the Annie, in fact, one by me just recently where people showed some photos of how they modified it into some very nice locos. My first loco was a Bachmann 2-8-0 "Connie" although in the past month I've added two K-27's. I'm not sure if I'm going to keep the Connie and the Annie, since I'm a self-confessed rivet counter and the Connie is sort of an oddball and the Annie would require an awful lot of work to convert it into anything Colorado Narrow Gauge. That never stopped me from "polishing the wheels" of my Connie to a nice shine, though! 

Robert


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

Congratulations! 

I love my Annie. Still runs great after 6 years and 2 plummets onto hard surfaces. 

http://www.outsidetrains.com/mls/annie2010.wmv


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## SRW (Jan 13, 2010)

"NOTE, I an doing this at a "stand off scale", in the 1/24 area." 

That's good because as near as i can figure, the "stand off scale" is exactly what the Bach man used to model the Big Mauler/Annie. Kind of a by guess and by golly, one size fits all, sort of scale locomotive depending on whether you're modeling narrow gauge or...oh never mind. It's the Big Hauler and it's Large Scale model trains so...if it looks right...it's probably close enough. 

Robert mentioned Zinc Chromate which I always used on my model airplanes but I've also seen sort of a 'sea green-ish' color on the inside of cabs too. I think there may be a bit of leeway there too. 

I love my ET&WNC Annie. Runs great and I will probably leave it stock as I was gifted a 3rd gen Hauler from my Uncle and that's the one I 'hack' on. The sound is...well...it's sound. There are many better sound systems out there if you want to spend some money down the road. The valve detail is much more fun to look at on the Annie. Other generations are pretty toy-like in that respect. The Annie seems to be the better running of all the Haulers from what I hear. 

I would like to direct your attention to the following link by George Schreyer: 
http://www.girr.org/girr/tips/tips1/big_hauler_tips.html 
Good website for new G-scalers with Bachmann and Aristo and some other asst'd. stuff.

Welcome aboard! Politely ask these fellows here any questions no matter how stupid [speaking from personal experience here] and they will long suffering-ly steer you in the right direction. Most guys here have forgotten more about Large scale trains than I'll ever know and they have patiently guided me through my questions and queries.

Scott


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Welcome Paul!
Thats a great deal on an Annie!
and a classic locomotive..the best value in Large Scale IMO..I have several! 

I would go with the Bachmann coaches with the Annie..they look right at home, and are also cheap (cheap in $$, not cheap in quality)
nice looking coaches: 

Coach photo 1 

Coach photo 2 

Coach photo 3 

Coach photo 4 

Coach photo 5 

Scot


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## SRW (Jan 13, 2010)

Yeah, what Scot said. Getting started Bachmann is hard to beat for the money. You may want to switch rolling stock over to metal wheels. Not too expensive to switch them out and they seem to perform a good bit better in my opinion. I have used all Bachmann Jackson Sharp coaches for my ET&WNC train and even re-painted a B&O coach with a Valspar satin green spray paint right from the racks at Lowe's over their plastic primer as an undercoat and used an off the shelf acrylic red from the hobby shop for window trim, both of which matches almost perfectly in indoor and outside lighting to the Bachman cars and the Woodlands Scenics lettering is a close enough match that most people won't notice any difference on. But you probably know most of that stuff from 'O' Gauge and that is, of course, the Tweetsie stuff which I too model so your mileage may vary. Don't know what line you intend to model with, narrow or standard gauge but read that link I sent you over on maintaining the known Bachman gearbox issues etc. and you will most likely have long service from your Annie. There's lots of stuff already made for it too [kind of like Harleys, Jeeps & VW Beetles] as it is so popular a model if you choose to upgrade or improve it. 

S


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## TJH (Dec 27, 2007)

Besides Bachmann, probably the most common other coaches of this style are LGB. Their cars are more substantial, and the older (ie made in Germany) ones generally feel better made than the Bachmanns (I have both and do mix them on trains). The LGBs are also better detailed, but are shorter than the Bachmanns (which are already compressed vs the prototype so the LGB's look even smaller), don't offer as many standards features like lights and metal wheels, and are definitely more expensive. Bachmann has an observation car, which LGB doesn't, and small detail but Bachmann's baggage car is two door versus one on the LGB. LGB also offered (now out of production) a closed vestibule version of their car in the style of the D&RGW. This is actually my favorite and the one I generally run the most of. LGB's open vestibule cars have been offered in a variety of roadnames and colors. The closed vestibule were only offered lettered for the D&RGW and painted the Rio Grande Gold of the Silverton train.


The other two main ones would be either the Hartland Locomotive Works coaches or Aristocraft's Sierras. The HLW are 1:24 scale. I don't have any and haven't checked one out in person so I really can't say much about them. Not sure how that scale would look with the Annie. The Aristo Sierras are of a debaeable scale (I think Aristo claims 1:29 but they don't look out of place with narrow gauge scale stuff...we have one that sits in between the Bachman J&S in our cabinet and size wise it fits right in with the others). I'm not a huge fan. It's a substantial feeling car with lots of details like lights and smoking stoves but they look rather toylike to me.


I know accucraft makes some J&S in 1:20.3 but not sure if those will look oversized with the Annie. They are correctly scaled for, and from what I've seen in pictures look great with, the Spectrum line of locomotives (Connie, Kay, Mogul, American). Then again the Annie is a relatively large 1:22.5 engine.


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## sailbode (Jan 2, 2008)

Welcome Paul. I have 2 10 wheelers and have had them both apart and have done some upgrades. Most important upgrade for me was battery & RC. Now I can run my trains anywhere. Next nice upgrade was sound. I started with an LGB sound tender ($90) which sounds very good actually compared to the original Bachmann junk. I have since upgraded on Bachmann to Phoenix, which is fantastic and very expensive ($300). 
If you haven't already, take a look at Gearges "tip" page of his web site....an amazing amount of info http://www.girr.org/girr/tips/tips1/big_hauler_tips.html 
Don


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

Thank you all for the replys! Some good stuff. 
Robert, I feel your pain, I am a "reforming" rivet counter! LOL. 
Scot, You've sold me on Bachmann coaches, I like them! (beautiful pics, yours?) 
TJH, I also like the look of accucraft cars, but yes, may look a bit "big" for me. 
Don, I'll look into the LGB sound tender, it seems to fit the bugit, thanks. 
SRW, narrow gauge is the plan. No Road name. (keep reading, you'll see) Thanks for the heads up on the gearbox issues. 

Do you guys know if there are open sided passenger excursion cars in G? 
As I said, I want the "train" to be detailed as if real, but... 
The layout plan is, (some of you won't like this, LOL.) "Fictional narrow Gauge Tourist RR located in Anytown USA." We go "Over the river and through the woods" to Grand' Ma's B&B , stoping to have lunch. Passing along the way, a water tower with three girls and dog peeking out, (Like, "Pettycoat Juction"). A Biplane offering rides in a field with Snoopy as your pilot. A Civil War reenactment with troops on either side of the tracks. (Train passes between the Blues and the Grays. as they fight it out.) Ect, ect. Any thoughts or ideas this? 

Okay, off to cheek out the links you guys gave me....thank you! Paul


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Posted By skyraider568 on 10 Jan 2011 10:57 AM 

Scot, You've sold me on Bachmann coaches, I like them! (beautiful pics, yours?) 
thank you! Paul 







Nope! not my photos...google found them for me.
but the last three belong to "Rayman4449" who is a member here at MLS..

Scot


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

Okay, cool. God bless Google, what would we do with 
out it, LOL. Thats how I found this site.


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## sailbode (Jan 2, 2008)

Paul,
The LGB sound tender comes wired to work only with their (LGB) products but it's a simple thing to set it up for independent use (track or battery) (I would be happy to coach you through that). You can see & hear it at : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dLOuOUr7_u0 I think the chuff sounds a little better in person, but you can hear how nice and crisp the bell sounds. Whistle aint bad either. Both the whistle and the bell are triggered by placing magnets on the track. Put the magnet towards the left side and it will prompt the whistle, right side for bell. The speed of the chuff is determined by track voltage (or battery). This system seems to work well.
Here is a shot of the guts of the thing. Don











-


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## tomplatten (Sep 12, 2008)

I have two Annie-both in Bumblebee. They run well--I use batteries--but IMHO they did not offset the eccentrics on the main driver enough to provide sufficient valve motion!


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

My "vidiette" shows my Annie pulling 2 Aristo coaches. The Christmas one isn't mine. The brown one hides my IED [email protected] url(http://www.mylargescale.com/Providers/HtmlEditorProviders/CEHtmlEditorProvider/Load.ashx?type=style&file=SyntaxHighlighter.css);@import url(/providers/htmleditorproviders/cehtmleditorprovider/dnngeneral.css);


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## TJH (Dec 27, 2007)

Posted By skyraider568 on 10 Jan 2011 10:57 AM 


Do you guys know if there are open sided passenger excursion cars in G? 

Are you referring to excusion cars like you'd see on the Durango and Silverton (ie the gondolas with a roof on top and benches inside)? 

http://www.gbdb.info/details.php?image_id=210

LGB made (and the new LGB may be making) some in different colors and lettered for multiple roads. I always recommend going with old LGB. Cheaper to buy and better build quality.

Nicholas Smith has one for the D&RGW for what I think is a fair price for an LGB pax car but don't know what the market value is on these.

http://www.nicholassmithtrains.com/store/product/10065/LGB-D&RGW-SIGHTSEEING-CAR/ 


one cost to add is couplers. the LGB's will likely have hook and loops which do not work with the knuckles I assume your Bachmann's have. Also, in my experience, Bachmann knuckle couplers do not play with anyone elses, so you will either need to put Bachmann's on the LGB (not sure if they'll fit but I think the design is about the same) or put something else on your Bachmann's. All my Bachmann rolling stock either has LGB knuckles on it or has been modified to take KD or Aristo's.


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## rdamurphy (Jan 3, 2008)

Or, you could just do one car with an LBG hook and loop on one end and a Bachmann knuckle on the other, and use it midtrain as an adaptor of sorts... 

Robert


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

This seems like what we want. The video really lets you "hear it", lol. Yes, if you could walk me through the install, that would be great. I think we'll be doing track powerr and maybe change up at some point. Whats th benifit to one -VS- the other? Can you do both?


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## TJH (Dec 27, 2007)

Posted By rdamurphy on 10 Jan 2011 09:27 PM 
Or, you could just do one car with an LBG hook and loop on one end and a Bachmann knuckle on the other, and use it midtrain as an adaptor of sorts... 

Robert Yeah, due to a shortage of knuckle couplers and limited funds to purchase more, that's what I've had to do in a couple situations. Since my passenger cars and log cars usually run in a fixed consist, they're the ones that are in that situation and even though it looks kinda funny, it runs fine and in most cases, holds together without any problem (those that didn't were given the knuckles). All my freight cars and locomotives have knuckles, either KD's, Aristos, or LGB's. Not sure how many of these observation cars the OP wants or how much flexibility he wants in being able to mix up the cars in his consist and the order they're in. It's not a huge expense, especially if the Bachmann knuckles will fit the LGB cars well and he's happy with the way they work. I just wanted to make sure he was aware that it would be something he'd have to deal with since he's new to this.


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

Yes, something like that. I was thinking to run a "winter" train (closed) and a "summer" train (open). The cars you pointed would alright, however, I'm for more of J&S look. something more like these. Sadly, these are N scale. But you'll understand the "style" I'm after. Thanks

http://www.blwnscale.com/Bachmann%2...%20Car.htm


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

Don,

I wanted to ask a few things: 1) Will I keep my tender or have to use the LGB tender? (would rather ues mine.)

2) Can I control the Bell & whistle or does do it on it's own? ( Either is cool with me.)

There was something else, but my thoughts derailed! Thank you, Paul


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## sailbode (Jan 2, 2008)

Paul, 
I suppose you could transfer the guts to the Bachmann tender if you want to do all that work.....aint much I suppose. 
There is a "dual reed switch" in the bottom of the tender and when it passes over a magnet it momentarily activates the bell or whistle depending on which side of the track the magnet is placed. Where ever you place a magnet on the track you will have your sounds. If you would like to be able to actually control the bell or whistle, will need a new control system for your train. DCC is one way to go which I know nothing about. There is gent here named Greg who seems to know a lot about it and he also has a web site with multiple tips : http://www.elmassian.com/ 
The other option (which I prefer) is simple radio control. Let me know if that interests you and we can discuss options. I'll warn you that sometimes the discussions here turn into a debate regarding DCC vs DC (or simple battery) 
Don


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## TJH (Dec 27, 2007)

Posted By skyraider568 on 11 Jan 2011 11:00 AM 
Yes, something like that. I was thinking to run a "winter" train (closed) and a "summer" train (open). The cars you pointed would alright, however, I'm for more of J&S look. something more like these. Sadly, these are N scale. But you'll understand the "style" I'm after. Thanks

http://www.blwnscale.com/Bachmann%2...%20Car.htm

hmm yeah I know what you're looking for. That almost looks like the cars on Disney's trains. If any g scale manufacturer's made models of those, they would probably be your best bet. Otherwise, I don't know if any were made. Would be an interesting kitbash to try to start with a J&S car and then turn it into that.


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

interesting kitbash to say the least! Maybe I'll try that down the road, might fun to do.


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

Hi Don, 
Well lets start with the tender and go from there. DCC, DC, andRC all have good and bad points Isuppose. I'm not sure which I like, I'll think on it and get back to you on that part. Where to start with that tender then? Thanks, Paul


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

We just got the"ANNIE" in the mail today.....WOW this thing is SWEET!!


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

Okay. Test run went fine, all stock compants work great. Now I'm going to start the retrofit!


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## sailbode (Jan 2, 2008)

Paul, first step with the tender is to buy one








Next step is remove the 4 screws holding the top on.
If you're going to gut the thing and transport inards to the Bachmann tender, now is the time. I have'nt done that so you will have to figure a good way to secure the stuff in the bachmann. The Bachmann is bigger so should not be hard. You can use the Bachmann speakor or try the LGB and see which sounds better. The trick with these tenders is mearly providing power. As you look down on the inside of the 5 pin connector, from inside the car, the two wires on the left are your power wires. Connect a pair of wires (you can see my red and black wires in the picture) to those two wires and run them through a hole (you will have to drill) to the under side of the car near one of the wheel assemblies. You will then have to "rig" some sort of "pickups". I have found stranded wire rubbing gently against the edge of the wheels works well and does not cause any significant drag. I have tried using thin brass strips "tabs" but the drag was noticable.
Take a moment to notice the 3 wires going into the bottom, 2 black with brown in the middle. Do you see them in this picture under the 5 black wires? They are for the sound triggers. When you momentarily connect the brown wire with either black wire, you activate a sound (bell or whistle). These wires go through the floor to the magnet sensor. Any questions feel free.
Don


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

Hi Don, okay, I'm with you so far. Yes I see the wires in the pic







You are right, we to buy one of these first I supose, LOL. Local hobbie store or is this a mail order iteam? Do you have a catalog number for the LGB, so I'm sure to get the right one. Please note, it might a little while before we pick one up. Thanks, Paul


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## sailbode (Jan 2, 2008)

Paul, 
I went looking for a tender for you and I am shocked and apoled. I could not find one! There used to be several on E-bay ranging from around $50 up to $150. I see one did sell on E-bay this month. But there are currently none out there. If I were you, I'd set aside $100 and watch e-bay. What you are looking for is "LGB 69232 AMERICAN SOUND TENDER". You could try calling a bunch of hobby shops...maybe you'll get lucky. Good luck and sorry for getting your hopes up. 
Don 
dang, if I knew that was going to happen I would have snapped up several while they were plentiful!


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## sailbode (Jan 2, 2008)

Paul, 
It sounds like you are not in a rush for sound so you might want to just wait and get the phoenix. If you haven't already, go to their web site and check out all the different steam sounds they offer. Their quality is unsurpassed. http://www.phoenixsound.com/products/p8.html to hear samples go to http://www.phoenixsound.com/library/am_steam.html enable your pc to recieve pop-ups and then click any picture on the left side of the page. a small window should pop up and play the sample. These systems sell for $195 
Don


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

Don, sorry it was few days getting back to you. No worries, not your foult there are no tenters. E-bay got cleared out from x-mas thats all, it happens. It's not that we'er not in a hurry, just letting Finaces catch up with us, lol. I sent you a "friend request" on here. We''ll come back to this topic soon. Tell me about R/C. Why is that a good way to go? Thanks, Paul


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## sailbode (Jan 2, 2008)

If yours will be an indoor layout, then track power will probably be for you. If you want to have a lot of control than DCC is probably for you. If you plan on an outdoor "garden" layout, battery power might make sense. With RC & battery we dont have connection issues even on track that has survived 15 years in the cold North East. Before battery, spring time ment dealing with multiple connectivity problems. With RC you can Go, stop, reverse, speed up, slow down, ring the bell, blow the whistle and some systems offer more ...like automated station stops, auto reversing, etc. The RCS system uses transmitters that are the size of a pack of cigerettes...actually like one of the older garage door openers. Nice to be able to walk around the yard and have the controller in your pocket. Others use a radio transmitter like you might see an RC plane guy using.....box with 2 sticks. I suggest you try to see the different options in action and get a feel for what they offer. Our friend Del at http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/DelTapparo/ not only has a nice RC system, but he also offers some nice simple battery controllers that enable you to turn on the train, set the speed and let her go. these systems also offer a station stop feature that is triggered by magnets and/or automatic reversing. If you just like to run em and let them go, this may be a very inexpensive way to go. 
Don


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

I went away for a few days. Un pluged the power pack and all. I come back the ANNIE is dead!!!! 

Power pack light comes on, but no "hum", no nothing. When I unplug the pack, the light "fades" out. Train dose nothing at all. 

All wheels are contacting, all leads are conected......what the heck?


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## sailbode (Jan 2, 2008)

Several ways to find the problem. You need to find out if the problem is the train or power pack. A volt meter would be helpful.


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Does the headlight on the Annie come on?


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

don't have one.Never had this happen with o scale. I am so mad I could throw it. 

Okay any way othen voltmeter? It was just fine 2-3 days ago. 

I took it off the track and laid a screw driver accross the track. ( you can use a penny with O) to try getting spark....nothing.


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

No head light or back up light


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## lownote (Jan 3, 2008)

Sounds like it's the power pack. That or there is some short across the track somewhere. 

Bachmann should replace it, but yeah it should not have quit in the first place


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## Torby (Jan 2, 2008)

I have an auto tail-light bulb. Handy for checking things and for a load when I need to test something under load.


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## flats (Jun 30, 2008)

Does the power pack have a reset button on it, maybe just need 
to reset it than the power is there. 

Ken owner of K&K the road to nowhere


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

I don't think the power power pack has a reset. I'll for look one, maybe I've over looked it. This was real odd, darndest thing I eve had happend. (See, with Lionel power box, the light will blink or flash...something.) tHE bACHMAN had no reson to to quit, all I did was unplug it and left it 2-3 days. 

I do have it (for the time being) on a test track that is only abour 3 feet long. I could only move it back and forth a few secs. at a time foward or back. That was to change this week. Now, who knows?


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Harbor Freight has inexpensive voltmeters, $5 when not on sale, $3 when... failing that, a 12 auto bulb to the rails like Tom said is ok, although you don't know the voltage or current, and can burn your fingers. 

The meter can read the volts and amps... either of these wrong and your loco will not run right or at all. 

Regards, Greg


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## sailbode (Jan 2, 2008)

Paul,
First, don't let this stuff overwelm you. DC electric is pretty simple and easy to figure out. It sure sounds like the power pack is the problem and my experience with Bachamnn customer service was very good. Even if its not under warranty, they'll probably fix it or replace it for $30. They are located in Philidelphia PA. If you've decided to stay with track power, this might be a good time to upgrade to a nice 10 amp power pack like the MRC big "G" http://www.hobbylinc.com/htm/mrc/mrcag990.htm yikes $200!! Think I paid $120 a year ago. Watch e-bay, loads of transformers. I would suspect a 1 amp LGB would serve you well and they seem to go for as little as $30.

Don


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

Thanks everyone. I don't get frustated ofton when it comes to things like this. A lot going on and my "outlet" is dead, bummer, lol. We've only had the ANNIE about 2 weeks, haven't had time really enjoy it, and this happened. Oh well, .... 

I need a voltmeter anyway, looks like now maybe a good time!, lol. We have a Harbor Freight just down street, thanks Greg.


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

We'll keep an eye open.


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

I just had a thought. I have a spare O scale Transformer, it's a Lionel from a "box set, could we use that?


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Nope, AC transformer, you would want to at least have a rectifier bridge to convert to DC, and even then it would be pretty radically "pulsed", not nice smooth DC, which could cause issues with your sound unit.

Don't use it.

Picture of the HF meter:










Regards, Greg


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

okay cool. Thanks Greg


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

So it seems fairly common that these Bachman "box set" power packs quit? If so, what are some reasons or maybe I did something wrong without realizing it?


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Just got a coupon in the email from Harbor Freight, the meter is on sale until the 25th for $4... 

Yeah, those power packs are not great, not a lot of power, and inexpensively made... 

Greg


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## skyraider568 (Jan 9, 2011)

okay coo,l hopefully I can pick one up. When I use the VM to check the thing out, is there anything I should "look" for... IE power spikes, ect? what should the volts be ?


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Volts up to at least 18, and then if the voltage does not hold, the meter can tell you if it's the pack not putting out enough amps or the loco drawing too much. 

Power spikes are usually too short in duration for viewing on a meter. 

Regards, Greg


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## sailbode (Jan 2, 2008)

Paul, 
I would put the train on the track ("load") and turn the transformer up to high. Then connect your meter to the 2 wires or the 2 rails. The train should be moving if you see anything over 6 volts (my Bachmann starts moving at 4.5volts). With the train on the tracks, I suspect you are going to see zilch or something very low like 1 or 2 volts. If you take the train off the tracks (remove the load) you might actually see high voltage (18 + volts), but this means nothing (no amps behind the volts). 

For giggles, you could take a pair of jumper wires and connect your train to a car battery. My Bachmann runs at a nice comfy speed on 12 Volts and your car battery has enough "juice" to run that thing nonstop for a week! Of course you wont be able to "control" the speed. If the train runs backwards just reverse the wires.......If it goes too fast, add some cars and/ or turn on the smoke....but remember not to run the smoke without smoke fluid. WARNING: there is enough amperage in a car battery to do bad things. An in-line fuse would make this little "for giggles" experiment safer. If you short out your transformer not much will happen. If you short out a car battery, something is going to burn....where ever the greatest resistance is..... probably.

So now you're thinking how can I control the voltage from my car battery....or perhaps a car battery charger (which will probably put out 14- 16 volts). To do this you would need a variable resister that can handle 2 or 3 amps. I would not recommend such a course of action. this was just a "for giggles" thing to confirm that the Bachmann loco is fine and give you a train fix until you can replace the transformer!  or join the dark side (battery guys).
Don


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## Dan Pierce (Jan 2, 2008)

Most auto bulbs take more power than the wimpy Bachmann pack can deliver. 

Meters can be decieving as they are high impedance. 

For making my trains are powered, I keep a 24 volt 33 milliamp bulb attached to the track away from the power feed. 

When I see the bulb lit, I immediately know my problem is either dirty track or bad engine. 

If bulb does not light, either a short on the track or power supply issue. 

Works great for me and I get instant results with method. 

PS, a side benefit is a small load keeps mosfets in power units from giving leakage readings on meters. Aristo 27 mhz trackside TE is famous for that.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

Don, have you considered what your suggestion would do if there was a short in the loco? 

Regards, Greg


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## sailbode (Jan 2, 2008)

Greg, Did you not read the WARNING and the suggestion to use an in line fuse, or am I missing something? 

"WARNING: there is enough amperage in a car battery to do bad things. An in-line fuse would make this little "for giggles" experiment safer. If you short out your transformer not much will happen. If you short out a car battery, something is going to burn....where ever the greatest resistance is..... probably."
Regards, Don


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## sailbode (Jan 2, 2008)

Greg, After rereading and considering your comment/ question, you're right. I was assuming the pack is bad in the first half of my post. A shorted loco is still a real possibility and armed with just a volt meter I dont think we can determine the fault unless Paul see's high voltage with the train on the track which I would assume means the loco is open or very high internal resistance. Unless 'Im mistaken (and please feel free to correct me) The second half of my post however should get us the answers we're looking for. Substituting the power pack with a known "safe" fused alternate will tell us:. If the loco is shorted the fuse will blow. If the old pack is bad the train will run. and if the loco is open the train wont run. Don


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

I was concerned with the power pack at full voltage into the loco.Your first paragraph says turn the transformer up to high. No mention of a fuse. 

Better way is to put meter in line in amps mode, start with transformer at 0 speed, and turn up SLOWLY and monitor amps... Then if there was a short, you can stop before you damage something. 

You can melt wires at 3 amps and above... I did not even read through the battery paragraph after I saw the "turn up to high"... re-reading, you want to specify a fuse for someone who is unfamiliar with this. 

I'd suggest a 1 amp fuse, which will blow at 2 amps normally. 

Regards, Greg


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