BAchmann Railtruck

jcoop1

New Member
Hi, anyone got one yet?

I have my eye on one. with micro-mart's free shipping and great price it sounds real tempting..

ha ha
 

ukon30fan

0n30 Rail Baron of Leeds
I got mine from my local hobby shop in the UK last week - not the one I wanted, but at his price too good an opprtunity to pass by.
Qick lick of paint and it's just what I wanted.
Really nice model and a good runner, although I've only run mine on DCC.
Regards
David(UK)
 

Dragon

Member
Just picked up one of these railtrucks and figured I'd offer a quick evaluation.

Out of the box, it is a beautifully detailed model. They even have molded engine details on the electric motor under the hood to help disguise what it really is.
There is a small exhaust pipe running from the motor to just behind the left rear wheel, and the drive shaft is the real thing.
Paint and finish, while slightly "toy-like", is very well done. A little weathering, and it would be top-notch. Add some aftermarket castings like a bell, toolbox, rope, junk, and it will look at home on any end-of-the-line shortline railroad.

Downsides?
only one I noticed is that the power from the track is picked up by the rear wheels, and the front truck. It may seem like a lot, but the front truck connects to the rest of the electrical system by means of small, delicate, wipers. On my model, these do not appear to be making contact with the underside of the frame. The truck spits-n-sputters and doesn't run at all well. If I tilt the body about 30 degrees starboard, it runs better, but not perfect.

Hopefully after work today I will have time to sit down and tinker with it. I'm sure just bending the wipers up so they contact the body more firmly is all it needs. As I just got it last night, I didn't have too much time to play.

I will also have pictures then, for those interested.

And, for the price, I don't mind a little tinkering to get the power pickup correct. A local store has it for close to what Micro-Mark is selling them for, and I don't pay for shipping.
 

Dragon

Member
Ok...as promised, i got a chacne to tinker with the Railtruck.

I was right. one of the wipers from the front truck was bent down too far for proper contact. Pulled it up, put the truck back on (it is a press-fit) and voila! It runs great now.

And, the promised pics: (warning, large files)
http://www.frontiernet.net/~blkbear/Trains/DCP_1269.JPG
http://www.frontiernet.net/~blkbear/Trains/DCP_1270.JPG
http://www.frontiernet.net/~blkbear/Trains/DCP_1273.JPG


It came with a driver and a plow.
I'm not sure I'll use the plow...the missus likes it the way it is.
The driver is going to get a make-over, a-la the Skipper from the Toonerville Trolley, before being installed.


Thanks to all for paying attention. :)
 

Canopus

Member
I'll never get what it is with American railroaders and their facination with these things. They look weird to me. :p

That is indeed a nice model though. I think the "toy like" appearance is probably due to the really inaccurate colour of the wood. I'm sure given a repaint of the wood and some light weathering to the rest, followed by a spray of matt varnish, you'd eliminate the toy like appearance entirely.
 

ukon30fan

0n30 Rail Baron of Leeds
Canopus said:
I'll never get what it is with American railroaders and their facination with these things. They look weird to me. :p

Well, we had similar contraptions in the UK!
Expediancy rules, OK!
 

Canopus

Member
ukon30fan said:
Canopus said:
I'll never get what it is with American railroaders and their facination with these things. They look weird to me. :p

Well, we had similar contraptions in the UK!
Expediancy rules, OK!

This is true, we certainly did. And they seem to be popular modelling subjects among some British narrow gauge modellers (who in general seem to think that narrow gauge railways only exist in Wales!). But nowhere near as much so as in the US.

I just don't get why, they always looked really silly to me. Maybe that's just me, only building and running things that I'm attracted to the appearance of, but man they sure seem strange things for people to find so desireable! A bus/lorry on a feeble wagon chassis. Seems vastly impractical compared to how much better standard locomotives with freight/passenger rolling stock does the job.
 

Dragon

Member
But they were so much more economical than the standard loco with freight/passenger cars. Why fire up a full boiler for a less-than-carload of goods/people when you can spend so much less running it on a self-propelled car?
That's why these started. someone got the bright idea that running their delivery truck on the rails was a LOT cheaper than running their Shay+boxcar for three or four small packages.
 
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