A coworker approached me about some g-scale trains he had and didn’t want. They apparently came from his father’s estate.He brought them in so I could look at them and decide if I want them. There are two Big Hauler sets, minus track and some miscellaneous odds and ends. In short, two 4-6-0 locos and tenders two passenger cars, a tank car, and caboose, and flat car that doesn’t belong to either set. The sets have no track, and no boxes, just the foam inserts, but they each have the power pack. The guy is a decent coworker, and I am interested. I don’t want to overpay, but I don’t want to rip him off, either. He says he has no idea what it’s worth and doesn’t want to bother with it.

So, what would you offer him for them. There is going to be some cleaning to do and, as of now, I haven’t been able to dig into them to see if there are any real problems with them. Assuming it is all in operable condition, what would be a fair price?

The sets…

I would say $100. They are basic sets.

Daniel Collins said:

A coworker approached me about some g-scale trains he had and didn’t want. They apparently came from his father’s estate.He brought them in so I could look at them and decide if I want them. There are two Big Hauler sets, minus track and some miscellaneous odds and ends. In short, two 4-6-0 locos and tenders two passenger cars, a tank car, and caboose, and flat car that doesn’t belong to either set. The sets have no track, and no boxes, just the foam inserts, but they each have the power pack. The guy is a decent coworker, and I am interested. I don’t want to overpay, but I don’t want to rip him off, either. He says he has no idea what it’s worth and doesn’t want to bother with it.

So, what would you offer him for them. There is going to be some cleaning to do and, as of now, I haven’t been able to dig into them to see if there are any real problems with them. Assuming it is all in operable condition, what would be a fair price?

The sets…

The Chattanooga set was sold by OSH Hardware for around $100 NEW about 15 years ago…maybe more. It was always debated if the Big Haulers in these sets had the upgraded gears or not. If he is a friend, then offer him $100-125 for BOTH sets. Its a “crap-shoot” really. My estimate is probably on the high side, but what is “friendship” worth to you AND he is a coworker.

Daniel,

I paid about the same for an equivalent Bachmann haul of about the same vintage. I basically took the price of the starter set, quartered it, and added a few buck for the extra rolling stock and track he threw in. I may have overpaid a bit, but he is a friend, the stuff is rare out here, and we have gotten our money out of it. We did have to repower the loco, though, as the gears ate themselves.

I had no previous experience with Bachmann, but my research had informed me of the gear issue prior to purchase. Knowing that, if the stuff was a.) more available locally, and b.) not the soon-to-be-former possession of a friend, I would’ve paid $75-$100.

Aloha,

Eric

Being the older Bachmann big haulers, the engines are not worth anything to me so $100 for the 2 sets is the most I would pay.

The engines are great for sitting in a siding or yard, but all the add on plastic details will sun rot in time. I had this happen on one I have outside.

I cannot tell, are these the battery powered ones? I thought the road number last digit tells you channel number?

Can you tell from the cab numbers or other clues from these pictures?

Greg

Since they came 3with dc packs, I doubt their battery powered, but I won’t be able to dig into them until Monday at the earliest.

Unless the items on offer are of real genuine “must have” interest to you I would politely decline but pass on the information on pricing and selling given here to help them pitching the stuff for disposal. There is too much risk if the “unexpected” turns up, on either side, especially given the age and spec’ of the locos that can result in discontent.

I remember in my days as a Xerox rep’ any number of friends who were asking me for a “cheap” copier for their business. I just wouldn’t do it, and risk a friendship, as most people’s expectations in these situations in my experience are unrealistic. Same as I won’t have jobs done at “mates rates” (as we say in the UK) either way, it’s either gratis (my gift) or fair scale rates or nothing, then there can be no quibbles and doubts. That’s probably why I have so few friends (http://www.largescalecentral.com/externals/tinymce/plugins/emoticons/img/smiley-wink.gif)

Most of my locomotives and rolling stock came from starter sets not too different from these.

I find the older big haulers to be…annoying. Underpowered, and the front trucks will derail for pretty much any reason. I had mine done over by Barry (of Barry’s Big Trains) which helped a great deal.

To me, the cars are probably worth more than the locomotives, especially since the one set seems to have metal wheels.

The first set is a generation 2 or 3 and prone to gear issues but The second set has an upgraded Plus drive, not an Annie but certainly better than the red engine, honestly set 1: $50-60, set 2: $75-100. $100-125 is fair for both. I’d grab them in a heartbeat.

The second set has an upgraded Plus drive

I had one of the Chattanooga sets - I think it came from Costco one Xmas - I got it on sale at 50% off, so it cost me $75-ish. It never gave me any trouble, but I don’t recall where it went!

and the front trucks will derail for pretty much any reason

Yes, but a quick search will find you a multitude of fixes. Either add weight or make it floppy/equalized (I prefer the latter as all you do is take out the “arrow” block and add insulation.)

I agree with Vic on the values. I’ve bought similar sets for $30-70.

I know that the green Chattanooga set is a better quality set. It has some metal parts, including the bell, and the rails, etc. The tender takes a battery, apparently, and there is a knob on the underside of the tender, and it appears to have a smoke unit.

Daniel Collins said:

I know that the green Chattanooga set is a better quality set. It has some metal parts, including the bell, and the rails, etc. The tender takes a battery, apparently, and there is a knob on the underside of the tender, and it appears to have a smoke unit.

Apologies, Don, but I don’t recall my Chattanooga having any more metal parts than a standard big-hauler 4-6-0. All the tenders take a 9V battery for the sound system, which is controlled by the knob underneath. And I think they all have a smoke unit controlled by a switch behind the smokebox door, except the original plastic-wheel battery version.

Some of the earliest ones do not have the chuff board. I have 2 track powered Big Haulers that have no chuff board in the tender. They also do not have worm gears, they have a kind of bevel gear that is really noisy. They sound like a vacuum cleaner when they are running down the track. I would guess that is the first generation of track powered Big Haulers, so that is going back a few years.

George Schreyer has a great web page- http://trainweb.org/girr/tips/tips1/big_hauler_tips.html

It explains all the different drives and great tips for Big Haulers.

Myself, I have four Big Haulers and replaced the chassis on all with the new Annie chassis. Converted to battery, Revolution and Mylocosound.

The chassis’ are still on sale for $55.00 http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=69_623&products_id=4085

They all run and look great for inexpensive locos.

Adam

Thanks for the web page. I see all sorts of possibilities.

Daniel,

I should have mentioned I took advantage of the same sale Adam mentioned to repower my Big Hauler. At $55, I still think I came out ahead on the deal.

Eric

Eric Mueller said:

Daniel,

I should have mentioned I took advantage of the same sale Adam mentioned to repower my Big Hauler. At $55, I still think I came out ahead on the deal.

Eric

Looks like they are on sale for $40.00, today.

http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=69_671

Steve Featherkile said:

Eric Mueller said:

Daniel,

I should have mentioned I took advantage of the same sale Adam mentioned to repower my Big Hauler. At $55, I still think I came out ahead on the deal.

Eric

Looks like they are on sale for $40.00, today.

http://estore.bachmanntrains.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=69_671

The ones that Steve have linked to will also work. They are the Big Hauler Standard chassis with plastic side rods and valve train. The Standard and Anniversary chassis both share the same, excellent, motor and gearing.

I think for $15.00 more the added details and metal side rods and valve train are worth it, at least for me.

Daniel,

I don’t think you have to hurry as these have been at this price for quite a while.

Adam

The Chattanooga loco runs pretty well, and chuffs. It should be better once I clean it and lube it. The Santa Fe loco sort of runs in fits and starts, much of which I attribute to the amount of corrosion on the wheels and contacts. I may just use it as scenery, or put a new chassis under it. The passenger cars are in good shape, and have metal wheels and lighting. The freight cars are in decent shape with plastic wheels, which I will have to change out.