Has anyone ever gotten one of those oldtime Jupiter type engines (4-4-0) with the driveshaft from the tender to run for more than 5 minutes? What's the trick to keep these things going? (or was I the only guy dumb enough to buy one?)
Dang Bachmann Chinese #@%&^#$!!
- Thread starter choffman41
- Start date
I got one as part of the Civil War set I received as a Christmas present one year.
One trick I learned is that we you pick it up you have to keep it level. If the tender falls below the level of the locomotive the drive shaft pops out. Of course it comes out a lot easier than it goes back in.
One trick I learned is that we you pick it up you have to keep it level. If the tender falls below the level of the locomotive the drive shaft pops out. Of course it comes out a lot easier than it goes back in.
Chuck, the trick is to run it on it's own loop of track with no switches!
If you really love the style of those locos ans feel you must run it over switches, I suggest you get a AHM 4-4-0 as mine runs quiet and perfectly over Atlas switches (and the loco looks great).
Errol
If you really love the style of those locos ans feel you must run it over switches, I suggest you get a AHM 4-4-0 as mine runs quiet and perfectly over Atlas switches (and the loco looks great).
Errol
Thanks, Errol. I was going to ask if anyone had better luck with the higher end locos of the same design. I have a IHC Mogul I like a lot and thought of trying one of their 4-4-0's.
I had a bachman jupiter for a while , it ran OK at full speed and with no points in the run, but thats not how i want to run trains.
I now have a IHC Old time amercian , these are a great improvement over the Jupiter , with pickup off the loco wheels as well as the tender , they still stall at the occasional turnout but if you like these locos i think these are the best available on the market at this time , save maybe brass.
I always wanted to see if i could get the pony wheels to be pickups as well but havn't got arround it , also there is no head light on the model.
It look great with a rake of three overton coaches behind it
Cheers
Ian
I now have a IHC Old time amercian , these are a great improvement over the Jupiter , with pickup off the loco wheels as well as the tender , they still stall at the occasional turnout but if you like these locos i think these are the best available on the market at this time , save maybe brass.
I always wanted to see if i could get the pony wheels to be pickups as well but havn't got arround it , also there is no head light on the model.
It look great with a rake of three overton coaches behind it
Cheers
Ian
And The Problem Is.......
That weird universal arrangement between the tender and loco. It doesn't allow enough swing and binds because its too short.
I don't know which part # will work but Northwest Short Line has various sizes of true universals... one of them will solve the problem.
If yer feeling industrious...you could probably "cobble up" a decent universal set from some Athearn drive parts and a piece of piano wire.
That weird universal arrangement between the tender and loco. It doesn't allow enough swing and binds because its too short.
I don't know which part # will work but Northwest Short Line has various sizes of true universals... one of them will solve the problem.
If yer feeling industrious...you could probably "cobble up" a decent universal set from some Athearn drive parts and a piece of piano wire.
IMHO the Bachmann 4-4-0 is just about worthless, and it would be a MAJOR rebuild to upgrade the drive linkage.
From an aesthetic standpoint, the cab and boiler can be useful for kitbashing projects, but that's about it. The cylinders, crossheads and guides are awful. The drivers must have been conceived by some (Chinese?) designer who had never seen a photo of a US 4-4-0. The pony and tender truck wheels are too small --- as they also are on the AHM-IHC-Pocher-Riverossi (sp?) versions.
Before buying a new 4-4-0, I'd wait a while and look around: MDC has just introduced a 4-4-0 (that looks like about 1900-1910 era). An upgraded version of the old mantua General is about to hit the market. And there are rumors that Bachmann will introduce a new 4-4-0 sometime soon. Judging by their other recent loco introductions, it might just be a beaut.
By the way, unless one wants to do his train running in a night scene all the time, a period loco should NOT have a lighted headlight. Loco headlights were never on during daylight hours until relatively recent times.
BillS
From an aesthetic standpoint, the cab and boiler can be useful for kitbashing projects, but that's about it. The cylinders, crossheads and guides are awful. The drivers must have been conceived by some (Chinese?) designer who had never seen a photo of a US 4-4-0. The pony and tender truck wheels are too small --- as they also are on the AHM-IHC-Pocher-Riverossi (sp?) versions.
Before buying a new 4-4-0, I'd wait a while and look around: MDC has just introduced a 4-4-0 (that looks like about 1900-1910 era). An upgraded version of the old mantua General is about to hit the market. And there are rumors that Bachmann will introduce a new 4-4-0 sometime soon. Judging by their other recent loco introductions, it might just be a beaut.
By the way, unless one wants to do his train running in a night scene all the time, a period loco should NOT have a lighted headlight. Loco headlights were never on during daylight hours until relatively recent times.
BillS
Period locos ran acetyline lights. They wouldn't be on during daylight hours because there was no need to burn the acetyline during the daytime. Locomotives didn't start running lights in the daytime until they started using electric lights, probably either late steam or early diesel era.