HI: I am brand new to the forum and have a question. I just bought a Bachman G scale 2-4-2T locomotive at a local hobby shop and would like to know if ayone can tell me when it was produced and what the retail price was. It is painted green and lettered for the Southern rr and has lynx on it. The box says Big Hauler but the sleeve the box was in says Spectrum. Any help would be welcome Thanks
I THINK that's supposed to be "Lyn" and not "Lynx". That however, is all I know about it.
Yes, its a Bachmann "Lyn" named for its prototype one the English Lynton and Barnstable Railway -
http://www.fraserker.com/winson/oldsite/Baldwin/history.html
Nice looking loco but not known to have a strong drivetrain, so only use it to pull a few cars and very small grades
-Brian
It is a nice looking little engine, but it will most likely be relligated to scenery after the drivetrain dies in a short time. The gears are noted for splitting and Bachmann has never seen the need to fix the problem or offer replacement gears. You might be able to find or have some brass gears made if you don't mind spending more on gears than the engine is worth, that being about $100. Mine sits in my engine facility to be scrap track after only about 5 hours of very light duty. The gears will crack with time even if you don't use the Lyn.
I can't tell you anything about the model you have. But not putting too many cars behind the loco was mentioned.
This would be prototypical. The original L&B ran with only three short passenger cars and a brake van (caboose). The railway which closed in 1935 ran in a very beautiful part of my County, but in the northern part. It was in a sparsely populated area with a very hilly terrain. In fact the area around Lynton and its neighboring town at a lower level (at sea level) Lynmouth is known as Englands Alps . But it does not have regular heavy snow or glaciers.
There is a funicular there, here is the link:
Alan, Oliver & North Fork Railroad
https://www.buckfast.org.uk/
If you don't know where you are going, any road will take you there. Lewis Carroll English author & recreational mathematician (1832 - 1898)
Unfortunately, most Bachmann Big Hauler locomotives are from Christmas Train sets sold by Wal-mart and others for just over $100 including track, a power pack, and a couple of pieces of rolling stock meant to be run around the Christmas tree and then put away. Few last more than one season.
As others have written, cracked gears is a big problem with Big Haulers and Bachmann has no parts for them. Two members of our HO scale club had ones with cracked gears that were just put back into their boxes and abandoned.
Even the higher priced Spectrum 1:20.3 narrow guage 2-8-0 Consolidation that sold for several hundred dollars had this problem. I have two of them with cracked gears and can't get replacements.
If you haven't tried running yours yet, you may discover that the motor spins but the loco won't move.
If it doesn't have a cracked gear and runs okay, don't EVER push it down the track or that will cause the nylon gear to strip loose from the axle. Bachmann used a small nylon gear press-fit onto a knurled axle, and pushing the locomotive can cause the gear to split.
You can get a replacement mechanism from Barry's Big Trains if you really want to salvage this locomotive.
http://www.barrysbigtrains.com/Home/tabid/368/Default.aspx
Get the Garden Railways newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month