More Power

Earlier in the year I had sent my Bachmann J class 611 in to have a drive rod/valve gear issue repaired, and they didn't have parts so they sent it back to me. Bachmann has just re-released the J class and I had one, road number 608, on pre-order. I got the call last month saying they were in, so I went ahead and ordered another one, road number 602, while I was at it.

When they arrived I disassembled one of them and compared them to the previous run 611. I found the locomotive itself is little changed. There is a hole in the previous run above the trailing truck that had no apparent purpose that is not present on the current run, the grille in front of the cab on the previous run is an actual hole in the body of the locomotive covered by a screen and on the current run it is a solid casting, and the red color on the side stripe of the new run is a brighter red, not maroon like the previous run. Other than that, the only real difference is the wiring. The wiring in the loco itself is the same, but instead of terminating in a plug it terminates on another PC board which is then wired to the new style plug for the sound equipped tender. The tender is quite a bit different because of the sound board installed, but visually identical save the red stripe color.

 A comparison of the parts sheet between the previous and current run shows that most of the locomotive parts are the same, with the exception of the wiring. The boiler shells are interchangeable with the only differences being cosmetic, as listed above. With that information in hand I went to the website and saw they had some parts for the J class again. Since the part numbers looked to be the same as the previous run I ordered a cylinder assembly to repair 611. When it arrived I unpackaged it to install it, but unfortunately, for some unknown reason, it didn't have the drive rods installed (which was really the part I needed).

So instead I sent 611 back to Bachmann to be repaired. I got the call today telling me that, once again, they didn't have the parts but since they had a current run, and since I had added a sound decoder to my loco, they were glad to replace it for a $60 fee. I mentioned the different colors in the stripe but gladly paid the upcharge, so I will once again have J class 611 on my roster. That will make 4 J class locos, and I have enough passenger equipment for two trains. We'll see where it goes from there.

I also ordered cylinders for my 0-6-0 locos to replace broken ones. I was unable to get a green set for my Southern loco, so I got black sets for both. I also got the lead and trailing trucks to convert the Southern 0-6-0 to a 2-6-2. During the repair process I found cracked gears on my Pennsy 0-6-0. Not to worry, on a previous order I had gotten a set of drive wheels for it, so they were quickly replaced. I also modified the mounting of the trailing truck a bit since the spacing between the rear driver and trailing truck just didn't look right to me. Now I once again have a good running 0-6-0 Pennsy switcher and as a bonus I have a good running 2-6-2 Southern Prairie as well.

I've also adjusted the volumes on all my sound equipped locos, they were too loud for my train room. The J class locos will all have their own whistles as well, with the N&W 3 chime flat top staying on 611.

In other news, I have been applying scenery to my T-TRAK end cap so that it can go to a show in Selma NC during the first weekend of October. I won't be able to attend the show since it's my anniversary weekend, but hopefully the end cap will be well received. My task for the upcoming month is to build a case for it so that it won't be damaged during transport.

This upcoming weekend will be another "show" at the same member's house as last time. I won't have the narrow gauge there since I haven't finished the scenery or fixed the issues I found with it at the last show, but it will be good to see everyone again.

One of these days I will begin construction on my new work room, and then perhaps I'll have layout news to share.