# Bachmann 55 Ton 3 Truck Shay - Questions



## Tom Bray (Jan 20, 2009)

There seems to be a common problem with the Bachmann Spectrum Shays, they come with a DVD but no real owners manual. Anyway, I have some questions about it:
- routing the wires to the water tender - should the wires go over or under the coupling that connects the engine to the tender?
- there are two people included with the Shay, both seem to be set up to lean out the "port" side window, one standing, the other sitting. What is usually done with these?
- Related to the people, it appears that to place them in the cab I need to take the roof off. It appears from the parts drawing that there are 4 screws holding the roof on, is that all I need to do to remove the roof?
- All the little parts that came with it. Are there recommended locations for these or is it really up to the individual to figure out where they should go? 

Lubrication: 
- the DVD makes a big deal about lubricating the mechanism. The DVD also says don't take the trucks apart. But when they show lubricating the bearings in the trucks the oiler ends up going into places not accessible from the lubrication port. Any suggestions?
- The DVD also talks about oiling the axle bearing by going between the truck frame and the wheels - is there an oiler that thin enough to do this?
- Finally related to oiling, what is this "conductive" oil to help with the electrical contacts? Oil sounds good but not on the tires as they showed in the video , maybe a little oil to help with the contacts with the wheels but I'll bet any oil on the axles will find its way onto the wheels.
- Do most people use the Bachmann recommended lubrication or are the Woodland Scenics or LGB stuff just as good? 
- I also noticed the the DVD seems to lubricate some components with an oil and then come back with grease, is this really necessary?

DCC:
The schematic (I really wish they would put a real schematic diagram, not some picture) shows that it is DCC ready. Who's DCC controllers are suited to being used without major modifications? I would like to use a Zimo one since I have all the tools to customize the sounds and they seem to be a pretty good controller. What would be required to use one of these?
The other thing is that I have a single connector with the two cables going between the tender and the engine. This connector is a royal pain to disconnect at the end of the day. Any suggestions on this? 

Tom


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Tom, I have a Bachmann 2-truck shay and I had the same problem. I couldn't get the gear lub into the gears from the plugs. I was having the Connie rebuilt by Barry ( Barry's Big Trains) and commented about my lub problem. He suggested taking off the bottom plate to get the grease into the gears. I did and didn't have any problems.

In my case I put the shovel in the hand of the standing man and glued him to the deck.

Chuck


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## TonyWalsham (Jan 2, 2008)

Continually inserting and removing the loco to tender plug will eventually break the wires in the plug. 
Put a generous smear of non metallic silicone cement around the wires where they go in the plug. When set, the silicone will remain flexible and provide strain relief for the wires and make them last longer.


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## Tom Bray (Jan 20, 2009)

Good idea for the silicone but I will need to find some that is rated for electrical contacts. In case there is any question, if the silicone smells sour (vinegarish) it is corrosive to electrical contacts.


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## TonyWalsham (Jan 2, 2008)

Good tip on the silicone. 
The idea is to anchor the wires together and to the plug housing to prevent the wires breaking at the point where they are crimped to the metal contacts inside the plug. The silicone allows the metal strands to flex within the plastic covering without breaking.


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## Tails (Nov 9, 2010)

as far as the plug itself goes, mine has two wires coming from the locomotive that converge into a single plug that goes into the tender. I split the wires around the draw bar to the tender. So basically I end up going under the tender, I find on tight curves, that keeps things from binding and causing issues.


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## Tenwheeler (Mar 5, 2010)

Re Lubrication:

The new 3 truck Shay I received a couple months ago had an adquate amount of lubrication on the trucks straight out of the box. I pulled the bottom cover off the trucks to be able to access all of the lubrication points mentioned in the DVD instructions. What I found was all on the gears and axles had been lubed. So, I followed Rule #1 - if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

For years, I have used clock oilers for the purpose of oiling model railroad equipment in general. There are various size clock oilers available, where the size is based on the diameter of the oiler tube. The 2 main advantages to using clock oilers: 1) They allow the user to place the lubrication only on the desired location. 2) The quantity of oil/lubrication can be controlled by the user. Clock oiler operate on the principals of capillary action. The best tool I have found for applying greases is a general purpose syringe.

I had encountered the same issue with the figures. They could not be placed without removing the roof. Decided to defer that to a later date. Based on past experiences with Bachmann figures, they typically run on the too large side.

Re connectors: Tony's suggestion is a good idea and as Tom pointed out, make sure to use the non-corrosive type.


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## Greg Elmassian (Jan 3, 2008)

On DCC, the Zimo will be fine. I have not looked at their schematic, but they normally make a way to disconnect the track from the motor... is there a problem with it? 

Greg


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