Just finished road testing my modification of one of my Bachmann 4-6-0 tenders. I removed the trucks and installed the power trucks from my USAT 44-tonner whose body was quite beyond repair. I also installed an LED rear light, and an MU cable to the engine. Runs like a dream on my indoor loop, the real test will come when Mother Nature decides to melt the two feet of snow outside. Maybe sometime in May ?
Pat
Huh. Powering the tender. Now that is something I hadn’t thought of. Maybe that would get old number 8 (a Bachmann 2-4-2) to be able to pull a revenue earning train.
I forgot to mention I removed the factory sound system. It was a pretty easy conversion, it had to be due to my low skill level. Would have been done sooner but it took USA Trains nine weeks to find a control board. Just a quirk, they’re usually very prompt when it comes to parts availability.
pat
Hey Pat. When you did the trucks on the tender, did you use the original USA sideframes, or did you make something more tender-like?
J.D.,
I stuck with the USA sideframes with all the wiring intact.
pat
Pat… Many years ago (back in 2002), I spend a couple of hours as Gold Coast Station Train store in Ventura, CA. During the visit, Hans shared that he had just did a power bash with some 44 Tonner trucks a under a Bachmann 10 Wheeler tender. He said he pulled more than 50 cars with the combination of the 10 Wheeler and the powered tender…
He then shared that he had an extra 44 tonner for $125.00. Needless to say, I was interested and walked out with the 44 Tonner, took it home and mounted the trucks under the tender. It ran great as the speed match between the USA trucks and the Bachmann 10 Wheeler were most compatible and they fit perfectly…
Even funnier is that just yesterday, I was putting together a photo book on the history of our RR and came across the image for consideration in the book. It’s not super resolution but here’s the image of the USA truck powered Bachmann tender…
You really have a great runner there and it will pull stumps…
Thanks so much for bringing up those memories…
Pat and Stan that is a clever idea.