I did not mention this before,for I had no reason to..I have two,Baldwin DS4's,1000's,made by Stewart Hobbies,with Led's,,,,,They are DC,,but very quiet runners,,they are zebra stripes,,heavily satisfied with their performance,,,not made in China,,but South Korea..
Cheers,
Frank
Hi,
I also have two Stewart ATSF Zebra scheme switchers - a VO-1000 and a DS 4-4-1000. Both were DCC ready and I applied NCE decoders. Putting the details on was not easy, but the end result was well worth it. These locos are outstanding runners - due to the Kato mechanisms of course.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
mobilman44 Hi, I also have two Stewart ATSF Zebra scheme switchers - a VO-1000 and a DS 4-4-1000. Both were DCC ready and I applied NCE decoders. Putting the details on was not easy, but the end result was well worth it. These locos are outstanding runners - due to the Kato mechanisms of course.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Hello all!I have an PRR Alco S4 with sound (it is marketed as S2, but the number #8432 and long hood are from PRR S4 engine). But, sadly, the truck is Alco "Blunt", as the S2 did have. I have two questions:1. How to remove the darn plastick truck covers from the truck bottom?? I can see the one wire on front truck is disconnected, so the sound is sporradic whenever decoder loses power.
I need to remove the plastic cover to get to the wire and solder it back to the truck.2. Can I order ARR type truck covers from Bachmann, to switch them on my S4 an make it little more correct? If somebody have link or email, I'd be very greatfull.
Thanks!
This is the truck I need to dissasemble, its the photo from web, mine trucks are still connected to the engine.
Looks like the solder point is that little tab sticking out right above the brake cylinders.
As for the sideframes, looks like they clip together in the front and back. Dunno if Bachmann has proper sideframes for that model - sounds more like they took the the path that, hey, the S2 and S4 are the same..
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
They have the AAR sideframes, those are Bachmann S4:
Thommo Hello all!I have two questions:1. How to remove the darn plastick truck covers from the truck bottom?? I can see the one wire on front truck is disconnected, so the sound is sporradic whenever decoder loses power. I need to remove the plastic cover to get to the wire and solder it back to the truck.2. Can I order ARR type truck covers from Bachmann, to switch them on my S4 an make it little more correct? If somebody have link or email, I'd be very greatfull.
Hello all!I have two questions:1. How to remove the darn plastick truck covers from the truck bottom?? I can see the one wire on front truck is disconnected, so the sound is sporradic whenever decoder loses power.
I had the same problem with a poorly soldered wire coming loose and causing running problems.
I seemed easier for me to solder the wire with the truck still on the locomotive, removing the side frames to get to the wire. I think there were too many wires needing to be restrung under the shell if you remoive the trucks.
Most trucks have a cover plate that snaps on the bottom of the truck. I think the Bachmann s2/s4 cover is attached to the sideframes and is one piece, and if I recall, it pops off like a cover plate typically does, from latches underneath. You'll just have to look for yourself to find the best place to slide a small screwdriver blade.
Since you'll be handling the locomotive upside down, I would remove the shell first to keep it from getting damaged. It slides off the frame after you remove the coupler boxes.
As far as replacement sideframes, check Bachmann's website or google search. I'm sure that you can buy a whole replacement truck but maybe not just the sideframes.
- Douglas
I did manage to remove the cover, it goes off together, in one piece, not only sideframes. Similar as on Proto 2000 trucks, plastic cover snaps on front and end of metal truck housing.
I really hate this snap-on truck covers, older Roco with screws is pleasure to work on compared to this.
Now I need to solder the wire and off she goes.
Yup, one piece sideframe/truck cover. Don't know if Bachmann sells that part separately or not.
Glad to see the progress.
BRAKIE mobilman44 Well, I didn't want to bring it up, but ................ The Bachmann "DCC Sound Value" moniker may mean that it is not of the same sound quality as an equivalent BLI (or Genesis, etc.) ATSF switcher. I realize there is a good $60 - $80 difference in price, and wonder what those extra dollars gives us in the BLI - as compared to the Bachmann. Of course, beauty, sound, & performance are in the eyes of the beholder......................... We talking about a $99.00 engine that sounds and runs good and that makes a good value for those that has a limited hobby budget that can't really afford the extra money and the DCC/Sound equipped Genesis and BLI is roughly twice the amount of the Bachmann engine.
mobilman44 Well, I didn't want to bring it up, but ................ The Bachmann "DCC Sound Value" moniker may mean that it is not of the same sound quality as an equivalent BLI (or Genesis, etc.) ATSF switcher. I realize there is a good $60 - $80 difference in price, and wonder what those extra dollars gives us in the BLI - as compared to the Bachmann. Of course, beauty, sound, & performance are in the eyes of the beholder.........................
Well, I didn't want to bring it up, but ................
The Bachmann "DCC Sound Value" moniker may mean that it is not of the same sound quality as an equivalent BLI (or Genesis, etc.) ATSF switcher. I realize there is a good $60 - $80 difference in price, and wonder what those extra dollars gives us in the BLI - as compared to the Bachmann.
Of course, beauty, sound, & performance are in the eyes of the beholder.........................
We talking about a $99.00 engine that sounds and runs good and that makes a good value for those that has a limited hobby budget that can't really afford the extra money and the DCC/Sound equipped Genesis and BLI is roughly twice the amount of the Bachmann engine.
Yep, sound value is a smart business decision by Bachmann, I'm pretty happy with my "sound value" 2-6-0's.
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
Bachmann as you know made a few variations of these .They have really good molds and railings,But that is the end of the quality. They do not top coat the paint so the lettering and stripes ect will rub off and distort.The motors fail easily if they come equiped with the larger flywheels since the motor bearings cannot carry the load weght of the flywheel and fail so badly the motorsarmature hits the glued in magnets with no brackets otherwise to keep them in place. The small flywheel version is ok ,but hit or miss if it sounds like a coffie grinder and drowns out the sound value decoder with a 13 mm speaker that will blow easily at higher volumes to compensate for the loud motor. The metal wheels are pressed on a metal axle using a plastic isolater that falls out of the wheel from poor factory qc not pressing them in the wheel strieght. This causes the wheels to fall off the axle.Then the wiring they use is thin and brittle andconstantly brakes at the wheel pickup solder joint. If it is resoldered it breaks again. Wiring needs replacement with a soft flexable wire to cure this issue. Besides these issues it is a nice lco once all these issues are fixed. Had 2 of themand had both completely rebuilt in this way with the aid of Bachmann warranty for the parts. Now after not giving up on Bachmann and fixing them myself they are great. Bachmanns warranty is great ,but their factory QC is pathetic.
Harpo1meThey do not top coat the paint so the lettering and stripes ect will rub off and distort.
Indeed..I removed the Santa Fe and relettered it for SSRY as their #7 spot.
Six years later my S4 is still going strong...No complaints here since its been a great engine and has given me hundreds hours of switching service over those six years.
Interesting thread but a little old.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
BRAKIE Motley For $99 I say thats a hell of a deal and go for it Rich. Worst case scenario? Replace it with a Tsunami. Replace a Tsunami with a Tsunami? The S4 comes with a Tsunami sound decoder.. Now if the regular Tsunami decoder is different from the one Bachmann uses I know not.
Motley For $99 I say thats a hell of a deal and go for it Rich. Worst case scenario? Replace it with a Tsunami.
Replace a Tsunami with a Tsunami?
The S4 comes with a Tsunami sound decoder..
Now if the regular Tsunami decoder is different from the one Bachmann uses I know not.
Bachmann DCC/Sound Value on Board locos are not Tsunami decoders, despite being made by SoundTraxx. The Sound Value only has a bell, a few horns, and one or two more sounds (aside from the prime mover).
Modeler of the Lehigh Valley Railroad in Bethlehem PA, 1971 and railfan of Norfolk Southern's Lehigh and Reading Lines of the modern day.
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Geared Steam Yep, sound value is a smart business decision by Bachmann, I'm pretty happy with my "sound value" 2-6-0's.
Same here! I have a 2-6-0 and am quite happy with her. Great little runner.
I'm thrilled to have found this thread, and the information about disassembling the truck sideframes etc.
Have been looking for it online and this is the only discussion I've found.
Who cares how old the thread is - I appreciate that there's a searchable record, that captured good info that stands the test of time.
I am the OP of that thread. As it turned out, I took a pass on the Bachman S4 and bought an Atlas RS1 without sound instead. The RS1 that I bought matched the prototype Santa Fe switcher that I was looking for. The S4 didn't cut it for me.
Alton Junction
What I see in this thread revival........ How many of our RIP forum friends are in it........where is the time going???
My Bachmann S-1's/4's will outlast Me!
Take Care!
zstripe What I see in this thread rivival........ How many of our RIP forum friends are in it........where is the time going???
What I see in this thread rivival........ How many of our RIP forum friends are in it........where is the time going???
Thanks for the update. I was asked to upgrade a friends S4 to DCC, which was easy, but I've found the loco hesitates in tight turns. I'm new to HO locos, but have been 20 years in N-scale and have done over 300 decoder installations into dozens of types/manufacturers/production runs.
It looks to me that the S4 is losing contact from the trucks, but I have not yet determined if it's the wipers, or the wire lead.
An important step, of course, is opening the truck and checking the tension/pressure of the wipers, the cleanliness of the axle's gears and cups, etc.
So I totally appreciate your initial inquiry, and fully understand your switch to the Atlas RS1.
I'm open to further guidance or suggestions anyone might have on improving the S4 performance!
Thanks,
-John