# Evolution of a Big Hauler.



## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

The Evolution of a Bachmann Big Hauler.
A Twelve year journey, 2001 to 2014.

Christmas 2001. My Dad mentioned earlier in 2001 that he had noticed some large electric trains
running around the ceiling of some local businesses..grocery stores and restaurants..
what are those? G-gauge? I started looking into it..
My Dad already had a rock garden going in my parents front yard, and I thought some G-gauge trains
would be perfect! So for Christmas 2001 I bought my Dad a Bachmann "Annie" Big Hauler,
a car, and a caboose. My Dad took to it like a fish to water!  he absolutely loved it..
(see the Stonehedge & Shady Pines Railroad webpage for the full story!)

http://1stclass.mylargescale.com/scottychaos/LSHRR-main.html


(And this is also what got me into large scale as well..
After I bought the locomotive and cars for my Dad, I also started getting some for myself! 
(I had been into HO scale as a teenager back in the 80's)

Here are the first photos of the locomotive and cars, new and unmodified, November 2001:



















The locomotive is a "10th Anniversary" Bachmann Big Hauler, 4-6-0 Ten-Wheeler,
Generation 5 of the Big Hauler 4-6-0 line, which had just recently come out. 
They are called "Annies" (for 10th "anni"versary) as a nickname.
I chose the SPC version on purpose, because of the snazzy paint scheme.

Before giving it to my Dad, I re-lettered it for the "Lawrence & Stone Hedge" Railroad.
(the railroad name later evolved to "Stonehedge & Shady Pines" )

Here we are on Christmas day!














































Construction on the railroad began in the Spring of 2002, and the 4-6-0 was the primary 
(and only) locomotive for the first few years.





































The locomotive was converted to Battery power right from the start. The baggage car is the battery car. 
My Dad's railroad was built under pine trees, and we made the decision right from the start to not even attempt track power.


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

The railroad grew quickly!  Buildings (all scratch built by my Dad) and tracks spread out all over.























































Eventually a second locomotive arrived on the railroad! A Bachmann Spectrum mogul. 
The mogul became the railroad's primary freight engine, which freed up the 10-wheeler to become 
the primary passenger locomotive! A new passenger train was created, "The Highlander", 
the crack-express of the Stone Hedge line! The train received a new paintscheme, 
and my Dad began lettering the locomotive and cars after the "ladies of the line" 
His wife (my Mom), his daughter, daughter in law, sister in law, and a favorite cousin.

Photos from 2004:























































Lets call everything above "Phase 1" of the locomotive's evolution, its "as-built" configuration.

The train was gorgeous! the pride of the railroad..
but..there was a problem..The Stone Hedge Railroad was built completely under large pine tress. 
(all railroads have to contend with nature! The large pine needles were a constant hazard. 
The front truck of the 4-6-0 would constantly derail. I took the locomotive home a few times, 
and tried some front-truck modifications I had read about on the internet 
(the front truck of the 4-6-0 Big Hauler has been a known "problem area" for the whole history of the model..
many people have written over the years about their re-working of the truck to try to improve and fix it..)..
The mods might have helped, a little..but the truck still derailed a lot..

Finally, after a few years of fiddling with it, we decided to try a new tactic..out of pure frustration,
the front truck was simply removed all together!  This SOLVED the derailing problem completely!
the truck stopped derailing, because it ceased to exist!  While operationally the new 0-6-0 configuration worked great, 
aesthetically it was a problem..With the front truck completely gone, the locomotive is extremely "front heavy"..
a whole bunch of locomotive sticking way out in front with nothing to support it! Here is a photoshopped rendering of a Big Hauler, 
unmodified, then with it's front truck photoshopped out:










Operationally, it runs great! but it looks really weird..I tried to make up for it by shortening the front end somewhat..
I shortened the smokebox, and shortened the pilot..This helped, but the loco still had quite a heavy overhang in the front. 
But for now, it was "good enough" and the locomotive finished out its remaining years on my Dad's railroad in this manner. 
From a front angle, it doesnt look too bad! here is a photo of the "Phase 2" configuration, from 2005.










There is no pilot truck in the photo above! From the right angle, you cant really tell there is no front truck!  
but it still looked weird from a side view..The locomotive ran this way from 2005 to 2009.

Then...in the summer of 2009, my Dad unexpectedly passed away.  
He went in the hospital in August with Pneumonia, and 2 weeks later he was gone..

I inherited all my Dad's trains, and the original Stone Hedge railroad was dismantled.


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

For the past 5 years, 2009 to 2014, the trains have been sitting on a shelf in the basement, under a plastic tarp. 
They are waiting for me to get my own railroad up and running! so they can operate again.

Last Spring I took the "Carol" out to take some photos, for a thread here on MLS about the front truck issues 
of Big Haulers..Here are some photos of the "phase 2" configuration from 2005. From the side, 
you can really see how the front end still needs some work! even though I had shortened the locomotive
as much as I could, without altering the cylinders and valve gear.



















I have two locomotives, and two trains, that belonged to my Dad, and he did much modification and building to both trains! 
The "Highlander" passenger train has the Big Hauler, the topic of the thread, and the Freight train, with the Spectrum mogul, is the "work train"










The work train will remain forever unmodified by me..im not going to touch it. Im going to leave it exactly as my Dad built it!  
Its a beauty..The passenger locomotive however I always felt was still "unfinished"..My Dad and I talked about finishing up 
the modifications..And if my Dad was still around, this modification would probably have been done eventually anyway..
So I felt it was "right" to finish it up, to make it "complete"..
So in Jaunary 2014, I began "Phase 3"..the final finishing of the locomotive. Fixing that overhanging front end! 
And turning the locomotive into the sleek Passenger locomotive she was meant to be.
To fix that long overhang, I need to move the cylinders back, to remove the gap between the cylinders and the front driver,
then add a 2-wheel pilot truck, to turn the former Ten-wheeler into a 2-6-0 Mogul. On January 2, 2014, "Phase 3" began..


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

First I measured how far the cylinders needed to be moved back. 1.25 inches. Fortunately, 
the bit of boiler behind the steam dome can be removed in a nice and neat 1.25" piece!



















I made two cuts at the rear of the boiler..One just inside the cab wall, removing the "black" part, the firebox, that is inside the cab. 
Then I cut out the 1.25" chunk of boiler right behind the steam dome.
The cab, with its firebox section of boiler, mounts back to the locomotive chassis in it's original position, using all the original screws:










The front end required the most work..In the photo below you can see the "Phase 2" shortened pilot, with the red cowcatcher, 
still attached to the frame. I have some spare Big Hauler parts lying about, so I put a "normal" Big Hauler pilot back on, 
which can be seen attached to the boiler:











The front of the chassis also had to be shortened by 1.25"..
I cut away the black part of the boiler, the "front underside" of the boiler,
that is attached to the frame, then re-attached it to the main boiler..











The cylinders are attached to the smokebox of the boiler in the normal position, using the normal screws. 
It was the removal of the 1.25" at the *rear* of the boiler that allows the whole boiler and cylinder assembly to sit further back, 
which brings the cylinders closer to the drivers..First "test fit" of the new boiler assembly on the chassis:










The cab attached to the frame in the traditional way, and the cylinders attach to the boiler in the traditional way..
but moving the whole boiler backwards 1.25" destroyed the original boiler to chassis connection points!
So new connections had to be made..To attach the rear of the boiler to the cab, I made a styrene tab, glued to the boiler:










That simply slides into the firebox portion of the boiler, inside the cab. The conenction to the cab is *not* glued, 
so that the boiler can still be removed in the future, if necessary. (in case I ever need to access the motor)

I made two custom stands out of old used gift cards, to stand the locomotive upside down:



















The rear of the boiler attached to the cab with the tab, shown above..the front end of the boiler required an all-new connection..
a styrene plate, holding the cylinders (which are attached to the front of the boiler) to the chassis. 
Held together with four screws..which again can be easily removed in the future if needed, 
so the boiler can be removed from the chassis.










The original Big Hauler has "stepped" running boards, in two parts, one part above the large air tanks on the front of the boiler, 
My new design meant I could get rid of those "ugly" tanks! to make a much more streamlined locomotive..

(Note on the Big Hauler..Its a model of a real locomotive! "Tweetsie #12", a 3-foot gauge locomotive still operating with the Tweetsie 
railroad today. The Bachmann Big Hauler is a great model of it's prototype! very accurate! and its a fine looking locmotive..
but..I personally never much cared for its looks..I dont like the extended smokebox, and those large air tanks..
they are perfectly prototypically accurate!  but I think the "looks" of the Big Hauler can be improved..) 
And this area, making new running boards and getting rid of those clunky air tanks, is one area where, IMO, the looks of the locomotive can improved.

So, I extended out the existing running boards with stryene, filled the gap with squadron green putty, 
used a saw blade to scrape in some "wood grain" , and re-installed them:




















The rear of the running boards are attached to the cab in the "traditional" way, and the front of the walkways 
are attached to the underneath of the boiler with new "L" brackets.


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

At this point, I had a dilemma! those slots in the side of the boiler were originally for screws, 
and they were originally hidden by the big air tanks..Im no longer using the big air tanks, 
and the slots really stand out! what to do? I put a post on MLS looking for suggestions:

http://forums.mylargescale.com/15-model-making/28413-need-something-locomotive-running-board.html


I ended up taking the piping from the air tanks, and installing them in that spot:










The pipes might not exactly prototypically accurate!  they arent attached to any real hardware on the locomotive..
but that doesnt bother me in the least..they "look good" there, and they look plausable, and they hide a "problem area"..
so it works for me! 

I installed the rest of the piping, and the project is done!  "Phase 3", the final step in the evolution of the Big Hauler is complete! 
The "Carol", named after my Mom, is now a sleek and trim passenger 2-6-0. I think it turned out great!  
If not for the pine needles, im sure this never would have happened..but I like the locomotive more now than I did when it was new..
Here is a look at the locomotive in it's current, and final, form:






















































































































and that's it! a very fun project..
thanks for watching!
Scot


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

After all the years Scotty, it must be gratifying to complete Your Father's loco!!

Kudos to you both!! Looks very natural now!

Ah...wondering about a F scale version..all black freighter ..raise the cab..etc!!

A nice addition to any roster!!

Thanks for the memories Scotty....

...Dirk


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## denray (Jan 5, 2008)

That is an awesome modification, great design
Dennis


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Dirk, something like this?



















New cab (about 1/2" wider and taller overall), running boards widened (actually just mounted so they fit outside instead of inside the mounting lug), taller stack (off of a Bachmann "Connie"), and taller coal boards installed on the tender. Also replaced the front pilot wheels with a larger diameter. 

Scot, looks good!

Later,

K


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## SD90WLMT (Feb 16, 2010)

Kevin, ya..I guess it amounts to "building a Annie/Connie" in a 2-6-0 foot print...

Might be good ..or lots of work!
Aren't Connies hard to come by now?

Thx. ...Dirk


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## Stan Cedarleaf (Jan 2, 2008)

Great article, Scot.....  

I remember those images from those many years ago.... 

The conversion and update looks great..


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## Great Western (Jan 2, 2008)

An interesting thread Scot.

I have two 'Annies' The first I purchased was the 'blue' D&RGW version numbered 12. It was my fist loco purchased in 2005 in the UK. The pilot truck does not seem to be an issue here but of course I do check gauge before running.
The other one was lettered RGS and numbered 25. This was also a UK purchase but I am pretty sure it came from AL Kramer. It does not have the same 'feel' as the other one so I presume it is an earlier production. This can develop the pilot truck derailment. I often run it tender first - my shortline has no turntable.- no issues there.

I am not sure whether I would attempt your modifications, but I will remember this thread and maybe in the summer I might pluck up courage to have a go.


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks everyone! 

Scot


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## dieseldude (Apr 21, 2009)

Scot- Great looking loco and a great story behind it. I'm sure your dad would be proud!


-Kevin.


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## CliffyJ (Apr 29, 2009)

Great work Scott! It was very helpful seeing the step-by-step on your mod's.


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## Blk69 (Dec 6, 2009)

How did you get the paintwork for the plaid accents. Is that wall paper or a sticker?


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Blk69 said:


> How did you get the paintwork for the plaid accents. Is that wall paper or a sticker?


you know, I have never looked at it closely to see what it might be made of! but I just did..It's some sort of fabric material..I dont know exactly what it is, or where my Dad found it, but I would guess its a "ribbon" product of some kind..I googled for ideas..I suspect it's something like this:










It probably came from Michaels or Jo-Anne fabrics..
Scot


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## Scottychaos (Jan 2, 2008)

Blk69 said:


> How did you get the paintwork for the plaid accents. Is that wall paper or a sticker?


you know, I have never looked at it closely to see what it might be made of! but I just did..It's some sort of fabric material..I dont know exactly what it is, or where my Dad found it, but I would guess its a "ribbon" product of some kind..I googled for ideas..I suspect it's something like this:










It probably came from Michaels or Jo-Anne fabrics..
Scot


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