awwalker Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Afternoon all Im toying with doing a 00 / EM layout based on the final years of Eyemouth station in the Borders. ( say around 1961/2) As far as i can see there is no published realisation of this station model so i may have a bash myself. The Loco operating would be a singular Bachmann j39 ( RTR as im not a confdent modeller yet!) Im just concerned about the Bachmann J39 as i know its quite old and performance wise ive not seen it run first hand. videos on the net show it running quite fast. It could be just poor controllers the operators are using but i want to make sure the loco is ok before i buy. The loco would be the only one running so it has to be a good one. Its would be shunting primarily so smooth and responsive slow running ability is a must. Does anyone have any input to the performance of this loco? Cheers Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
'CHARD Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Some of the Waverley Route contributors will be along later to expound the relative merits of your signature loco. What you don't mention is (and it may be academic, maybe not) whether you intend on running DC or DCC? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
49395 Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 The couple I have both run quite well, one from the late 90's and a more recent one. They both have a fair turn of speed, but can run quite well going slowly. The split chassis may over time get a build up of grime in the slots the axles run in and may need a clean out occasionally, like the j72, 4mt etc. I see you mention EM, if you go down that route I'd suggest a replacement chassis anyway, such as a comet or dave bradwell one. The more recent (I think within the last couple of years) model has a better tender. Hope this helps Mike Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
awwalker Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 Cheers so far guys i think 00 may be the limits of my talents rather than EM! It will be good old traditional DC too. controller i have is a reliable gaugemaster model E and ive just purchased a UDS panel mounted. The other bachmanns i own runs sweet on the model E Andrew Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
RMweb Gold Metr0Land Posted November 1, 2011 RMweb Gold Share Posted November 1, 2011 I have a J39 which gets the occasional outing and it runs fine, I also bought a J39 chassis 2nd hand off ebay recently for another project and that seems fine as well. Not quite the very slow crawl you can get with some latest models but pretty good (for me anyway, on Peco Code 100 - mostly with electrofrogs but some insulfrog). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwealleans Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 We had an out of the box Bachmann one on Thurston. We used it for shunting for a few years until the running deteriorated and at that point rebuilt it with a Comet loco and tender chassis. Adding tender pickup makes a huge difference (hence the Comet chassis). It did work very well initially on the Bachy chassis but they do wear out or stop picking up effectively. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
awwalker Posted November 1, 2011 Author Share Posted November 1, 2011 Cheers for the suggestions guys. all appreciated. I may take the plunge and buy a late BR crest weathered model. Anyone selling one of these.......... Also.. is the thompson non-corridor brake composite to accompany this a scratch build job or kit available? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Theakerr Posted November 1, 2011 Share Posted November 1, 2011 Like many Bachmann split chassis locos there are good ones and bad ones. I have two and neither of them are particularly good slow runners and I have spent a lot of time on them. Bachmann actually sent me a replacement chassis for one of them. Both run better backwards. There is a thread on this forum about the Bachmann B1's (www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/39645-Bachmann-b1-poor-running-from-new/page__fromsearch__1). Most of what is said there can be applied to the J39 although of course there is no valve gear. Tender pick-ups are a must. Eventually i will replace the chassis Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
awwalker Posted November 2, 2011 Author Share Posted November 2, 2011 After careful deliberation i bought one today. I am now starting the eyemouth layout set around 1961/2 with gravity shunting and all! A log of the build is to follow.....though i suspect its going to take some time. And it is my first layout Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
taddies2 Posted November 13, 2011 Share Posted November 13, 2011 Like many Bachmann split chassis locos there are good ones and bad ones. I have two and neither of them are particularly good slow runners and I have spent a lot of time on them. Bachmann actually sent me a replacement chassis for one of them. Both run better backwards. There is a thread on this forum about the Bachmann B1's (www.rmweb.co.uk/community/index.php?/topic/39645-Bachmann-b1-poor-running-from-new/page__fromsearch__1). Most of what is said there can be applied to the J39 although of course there is no valve gear. Tender pick-ups are a must. Eventually i will replace the chassis I have had the same results the first J39 was returned as absolutly useless .The replacement was "O.K" then started being rough.But better in reverse.Did all the usual things as to contacts.nothing worked. I finaly traced the fault to the idler sprocked.it was free floating and when it drifted to one side and the wheels the other ,it cocked slightly jamming,and caused the loco to judder the loco juddering caused the sprocket to free itself, giving the same simptoms as bad contacts.I packed the sprocket with a thin washer on each side to stop it floating sideways the bore is still a bit large.THE LOCO NOW RUNS BETTER THAN AT ANY TIME IN ITS LIFE. Hope this helps someone. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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