Running a nine car train and the Bachmann Niagra performance is remarkable given it's humble slot car motor .plus it is the only steam loco I have ever had that will run without the tender.
LOL!! Ya gotta improvise if you encounter impediments to happiness in this hobby. And, as the old saying goes, what ain't broke don't need fixin'.
I'm happy to see that you're still happily running it. Besides, a Niagara is a Niagara. 'Nuff said.
Plus it has unmatched reliability of operation,does not care if the track is dirty or slightly rough...approaches the reliability of my Blue box Atheran diesels with flywheels.plus it was only 39 bucks!
Don't let it go to your head now~!
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
Yes I do have to appreciate it .
I don't know how old your Bachmann Niagra is but mine is 20 years old and is the worst piece of junk I ever put on may layout. It had nothing to do with the motor. The front truck wouldn't stay on the rails no matter how I adjusted it. It now is a static scenic feature on a garden track around my turntable. It does manage to stay on the track there.
We are discussing levels of performance here. OP is happy with his train and that is fine. Many would consider that engine junk or a bit above. Now with me everything I own has to run real slow, wether it is a switcher or road engine. I have some that fit that catagory in Bachmann and some that don't.
John-NYBW I don't know how old your Bachmann Niagra is but mine is 20 years old and is the worst piece of junk I ever put on may layout. It had nothing to do with the motor. The front truck wouldn't stay on the rails no matter how I adjusted it. It now is a static scenic feature on a garden track around my turntable. It does manage to stay on the track there.
I have one of the Bachmann Niagaras with the odd grey smoke deflectors and the grey stripes on the tender. Mine would be forty years old, but it hasn't been run much.
Mine has a transverse motor with spur reduction gears to the driven axle. I have a Lionel GS-4 with a similar chassis. I've never seen that type of motor in a slot car, The gears are relatively delicate but work well when lubricated.
I have another Bachmann Niagara that is about twenty years old which has the later Bachmann split frame, but I obtained that from a friend more recently and I haven't run that one.
Peter
Yes my point is to appreciate the good performance of what many would consider an inferior locomotive.Perhaps I got lucky and obtained a really good example!
If I recall correctly, the gears on these engines are highly fragile. If your engine is old, you might want to make sure they are properly lubricated. Unless you want to follow the "not broken don't fix" approach. In any case, I would not push it in terms of length of cars. I have a Bachmann Shay that is also fragile and I only pull two cars with it. And I oil the thing regularly. And only run it on Sundays . So far so good.
Simon
Well she is lubed properly and does not appear to labor under the free wheeling Atheran freight cars.
YouTube vid. https://youtu.be/CYf0kkZ6_Wc
The main problem with the Bachmann transverse motor and reduction gear drive was that if the train stopped on dirty track, the act of pushing the locomotive to get it going could cause teeth on the plastic gears to break off.
If you run them on good quality track which is kept clean there will be no problems.
A friend who used the cheapest and nastiest sectional track had many problems with these locomotives. Eventually I persuaded him to buy Bachmann Ezy-track with nickel silver rails and most of the problems went away.
If you run them on clean track and keep them lubricated, they may last longer than the models that replaced them, which suffered from problems with the plastic axles.
I use EZ track that has steel rails that I keep clean...one of the best "rail polishers"is my Atheran switcher with a heavy diecast Carey locomotive works Alco S-2 switcher body.