# bachmann climax



## pete (Jan 2, 2008)

I,am thinking of buying a bach climax. But i need to know if the engine will run ok on r1 curves. All of our track is lgb and our curves are r1 4ft curves. I made the mistake of buying a bach connie that will not run on ri curves it,s a great looking engine with phoenix sound but i cannot run it on our layout and i do not want to make the same mistake again. Thanks for any help.


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

My Bachmann Climax never had any problem running on R1 curves - even R1 reverse curves with no straight section between them (something my Bachmann Shay didn't like). I don't think you'll have any problem. Do make sure you get the rear driveline fix if the loco doesn't have it already.


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## pete (Jan 2, 2008)

Dwight thank you for your response it helps alot. Like i said in my question i have made one costly mistake and did not want to repeat it again. Thanks again.


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## pete (Jan 2, 2008)

Dwight what do you mean by get the rear drive fixed.


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## paintjockey (Jan 3, 2008)

Is this NOGRS Pete? 
If so, Pete this is Terry. You are welcome to run my Climax first if you want to see if it can make it through your layout. The drive line fix Dwight is referring to is a slipjoint they put on the rear drive shaft in case the front and rear truck are not running equally it won't allow the drive shaft to bind up. 

Terry


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## pete (Jan 2, 2008)

Hi Terry yep it,s me and thanks for the offer


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

Dwight what do you mean by get the rear drive fixed.The Climax as first delivered had a solid rear drive shaft. This could cause the drive mechanism to bind up and lock up the trucks, which in turn caused things to heat up. Often the result was melting of the plastic around the truck power connections at the bolster. Bachmann's fix was a new rear drive shaft that incorporated a slip joint, allowing enough slip in the drive line to avoid locking things up.


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

To add a little more info, the Climax has two power blocks that are _supposed_ to be interconnected according to Bachmann advertising of the time......but they're not! Each one gets it's power from the eight wheels with plunger style spring w/ball bearing power pick-ups. A problem (small one) that developed was when the engine had a sound system and was hauling a heavy load it also was drawing some heavy amperage and this was causing the springs in the power pick-ups to over-heat and thus cause the springs to lose some of their tension. This loss of tensile strength allowed for weak or no conductivity which led to intermittent power. It was not unusual to see your Climax trying to go up a hill with only one power truck actually moving! Replacing the springs with more robust ones was the recommended solution if you wanted to remain track powered. Otherwise, battery r/c was recommended as a viable alternative (which is what I did.) The Climax is a cute but small logging "lokie" which has NO problem navigating R1 curves!


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## George Schreyer (Jan 16, 2009)

see link for details of the problems that a new Climax may have and what to do about them 

http://www.girr.org/girr/tips/tips5/climax_tips.html


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## Dwight Ennis (Jan 2, 2008)

And a little more... Dave Goodson had great results by bypassing the bolster power pickups altogether and hard-wiring the trucks directly using small gauge flexible stranded lead.


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## pete (Jan 2, 2008)

Once again thanks for all the information.I found acouple of climax engines on ebay but they have no sound also no return policy.Nichlos Smith has them at $499 with phoenix sound. What to do???


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## blueregal (Jan 3, 2008)

Wait and Watch, do not jump or get in a hurry. There is always another sale around the bend you just have to be patient and not jump at first site!! Regal 

http://www.livestream.com/crazytrainguyschannel


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## Steve Stockham (Jan 2, 2008)

Phoenix digital sound runs around $275 if it was one of the earlier ones (I understand that the P5 and newer units aren't as expensive) and installation in such a small locomotive is difficult at best and is already done running an average of $75 to $150, so an asking price of $499 would make the Climax a $74 to $149 value which is pretty darn good! Looking at it that way, it's probably the best value you will find! Just my $.02 worth!


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## pete (Jan 2, 2008)

The last phoenix sound that i bought i bought from a club member that has a small gscale train business so it cost me $250 and another member did the install for $25. I think i will wait and see what shows up on ebay that way i can save up some money and buy on from a dealer that way i have some recoarse if i have a problem.


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## Big65Dude (Jan 2, 2008)

If anyone's interested in how I bashed my B'mann Climax and how I installed a rechargeable battery-powered control and sound system in it (fully self-contained, no need for a separate battery car,) click on my name below and go to the "Engines" drop-down menu. The sound, control and power systems are depicted in the last item under the "How-To" menu.


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