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Product Close-Up: Bachmann 10-Wheeler Version 6
Feb 17, 2012
By Jon Miller |
Author
Bio
Bachmann has introduced yet another upgrade to its venerable Big Hauler line of 10-Wheeler locomotives. This latest up grade has been applied to the Anniversary locomotive. Thought it may look unchanged from the outside, it has from the inside and we will give you the in-depth look.
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INTRODUCTION:  Bachmann has introduced yet another upgrade to its venerable Big Hauler line of 10-Wheeler locomotives. This latest up grade has been applied to the Anniversary locomotive. The upgrade is a mechanical upgrade along with a new Pony truck. The outward appearance of the locomotive has remained unchanged with all the detail found on the Anniversary 4-6-0 first introduced in 2000. Bachmann's 10-Wheeler is a close representation of the locomotives operated by the East Tennessee & Western North Carolina Railroad. The Bachmann model follows the detail and size, in 1:22.5, of the fleet of Baldwin built locomotive operated by ET&WNC until the railroad ceased operations during 1950. The ET&WNC was a narrow gauge line that operated from Johnson City, TN and at its peak of operations extended into North Carolina as far a Boone. The Tweetsie Railroad, a theme park operation located at Blowing Rock, North Carolina operates former ET&WNC locomotive no. 12. You can learn more about the Tweetsie Railroad by reading this LSOL "In The News" article. There is also a link to the Tweetsie Railroad website in the article. Starting with the first 10-Wheeler produced by Bachmann in 1989 there have been five distinct drive systems used. The first two years of production the Bachmann locomotive was a radio controlled, battery powered unit. After that first introduction Bachmann converted the locomotive to track power. Over the years the 10-Wheeler has had five distinct gear systems. Each change was an attempt to improve the operational and reliability characteristics of the locomotive. The version 5 drive system was by far the most reliable and has proven itself in operation since 1999.
THE NEW MECHANICALLY IMPROVED ANNIVERSARY 10-WHEELER NOTE: The purpose of this article is to call attention to the mechanical upgrade to an all metal gear box along with a much improved Pony truck. Outward appearance of the Version 6 Anniversary locomotive is identical to the Version 5 locomotive with the exception of the new Pony truck. For the purpose of review we'll take a look at the external details of the Anniversary 10-Wheeler. TABULATED DATA: Length: 30 inches (tip of cow catcher to tender coupler face)
Width: 4 3/4 inches (measured at steam chests)
Height: 7 1/4 inches (at top of turbo exhaustv Weight: 8 lbs 8 oz (engine and tender)
Wheels Back to Back: All wheels on both the locomotive and tender did not vary more than .020 inches. All wheels sets were slightly under gauge. Under gauge by .020 inches or less should not effect operations over any track. Interesting to note that this new Version 6 has the same dimensions as the Version 5 Anniversary locomotive. PACKAGING:  The locomotive and tender came packed in a clam shell container. Engine and tender were each in a clear plastic bag. When unpacked no damage or loose parts were noted.  There are three pages of documentation. These are exploded diagrams of the various components of the locomotive. Bachmann did not provide an Owner's Manual or DVD with this locomotive. Extra items include an engineer, fireman, hook & loop couplers and a vial of smoke fluid. Not providing an Owner's manual or DVD may be alright for those familiar with Bachmann's Big Haulers. However, for someone who has never owned one of these units it will be trial and error trying to figure out there are switches behind the smoke box front. Plus nothing to indicate the location of the battery for the chuff, chuff volume switch on bottom of tender, or the function of the wires going from the locomotive to tender.
 Front view of smoke box with the smoke box door open. The upper switch sets the electrical system for either NMRA or Large Scale polarity. Bottom switch is the smoke unit on/off switch. Note that front pilot detail is exactly like that of Version 5 Anniversary locomotives.   In these pictures note the new Pony truck. The new Pony truck is the only outward cue that this is a Version 6 locomotive.  Cab left side. Through the window you can see some of the interior backhead detail. Detail is identical to the earlier Anniversary locomotive. There is also a three window cab on some models of this locomotive.
 Rear of cab. This is an all weather cab with doors on both sides of the cab rear. The doors do not open. Note just below the cab floor, at back of engine, there are two receptacles for the cuff plug and back-up light. Plugs that fit these receptacles are on the wires running from the tender.  View of left tender side. Bachmann has not changed the 10-Wheeler tender since the locomotive was first introduced.  Tender rear view. Cut lever is metal along with the cut lever supports. Grab irons and hand rails are metal. The coupler is plastic along with the ladder.
 Shown here is the tender water hatch in the open position. The 9 volt battery for the chuff system is inserted in the water hatch.  This view is provided to show the two wires that extend from the tender. As mentioned one wire is for the chuff and the other is to power the back-up light. Both plugs are marked and match up to the sockets on the back of the locomotive.  Overhead view of locomotive. Note can headlight, ring top smoke stack, brass bell, metal pop valve and whistle, and metal turbo generator. The cab roof vent does not open.  Right side operating Walschaerts valve gear along with metal side and connecting rod.  Picture included to show the detailed smoke box. Note fine rivet detail on smoke box. Anniversary locomotives have this higher level of detail along with metal hand rails and metal conduit running to the headlight.
 With the locomotive upside down on an engine stand this is the bottom of the locomotive. The cover is held in place by four screws. There are also two screws that attach the front pilot to the bottom cover. These two screws must also be removed to free the cover for removal.   The front Pony truck looking at it from the bottom. The frame is metal and has more weight than the plastic truck that has been used for years.   These are two views of the Pony truck once the cover has been removed. The truck is attached to the motor block cover. It pivots at its attachment point and also pivots where the arm attaches to the truck. With its weight along with being able to drop down further there should be no tracking problem. It took a lot of years but now Bachmann has a Pony truck that should be trouble free. All wheels pick up track power. This new Pony truck is one of the two major changes that Bachmann has made to the Version 6 locomotive. This new Pony truck is the only outward cue that a locomotive is the newest Version 6.
 The new metal gear case with metal gears. This is the reason this article was written. The gears are either some type of brass or phosphor-bronze. I don't know enough about metal to tell what type metal they may be. As can be seen the gears were well lubricated. Running the locomotive for around 2 hours on track power demonstrated that the locomotive is a smooth runner. There is no gear noise as might be expected with metal gears. The locomotive starts to move at 3/4 amps of current on clean track. Electrical pickup through the drivers and Pony truck gives it good electrical feed with no hesitation or surging. Power from the track is picked up by the wheels and feed to the motor and lights by the brass strips on both sides of the motor case. This system has been used by Bachmann for a number years and has proven to be positive and dependable.  The front driver has the sound drum. The sound drum makes contact with the two brass strips that can be seen just below the drum. Also note that the driver axles run in brass bushings.  This picture shows one of the drivers with the plastic spoke cap removed. If a driver mounting screw should work loose this cap must be removed to get to the screw that attaches the driver to the axle. The cap is removed by pushing against the counter weight from the back. The cap can be pushed from the wheel. It is an interference fit. CONCLUSION: The change to all metal gears in the gear case is a big step forward for the 10-Wheeler. That along with the new Pony truck should enhance the reliability and operational capabilities of this locomotive. The mechanical change to the drive system without changing any of the Anniversary's outward detail was a good move on Bachmann's part. These Version 6 locomotives should provide years of dependable service. My biggest complaint is that Bachmann did not see fit to include an Owner's manual and/or a DVD to guide new owner's in putting this locomotive into operation.
| Significant upgrade! |
| This definitely looks likea more robust machine than earlier versions. The improvement to the pony truck is also very welcome. But, when will they ever retool the tender to match the level of fine detail on the locomotive? |
| Ed Frey - 02/17/2012 - 13:44 |
| improvement |
| JD, thanks for sharing. I have heard many folks have had issues with the plastic gears in the older Ten Wheelers, so moving to metal gears is a major improvement. Looks like Bachmann is trying to make their products more reliable and durable, and those of us who purchase their products do appreciate that. Again, thanks for taking the time to share this information with us. |
| David A. Maynard - 02/17/2012 - 15:47 |
| Past Due,Great Job Bachmann. |
| Well I think it's about time this upgrade was done, Thank You Bachmann. I hope you dont stop here and continue to upgrade the Non-Anniversary 10-Wheelers along with the Street car and Hand car Motor Blocks. |
| Bruce C. Benardo Sr. - 02/17/2012 - 16:21 |
| BMann 10 Wheeler version 6 |
| JD: Thanks for another great write up. I agree with you that the lack of a manual and/or video is definately a problem, especially for new folks in the hobby. The new pony truck looks interesting. The older models always had to be tweeked a little. My old version 5 still keeps going strong as long as I keep the consists down to about 5 cars or less. |
| Jim O'Connor - 02/17/2012 - 17:39 |
| Version 6 Anniversary Big Hauler |
| Jim. I have two of the Version 5 Anniversary enginew. They've been in service since early 2001. Their gear trains have never had a problem. Both will pull 6-10 cars with no apparant damage. The metal pony truck is a major improement. Ed. Not sure what Bachmann could do to increase the level of detail on a non Spectrum Big Hauler. If you look at the ET&WNC tender it is real close to the Bachmann model. Maybe finer rivet detail and hand some more detail like re-railers, poling pockets, etc. The overall size and detail are just about what you see on the prototype. Note: Looks like metal gears are something that Bachmann will be offering in more of its models. Caes in point, the 2-4-2T most recent version has metal gears. |
| JD Miller - 02/17/2012 - 21:10 |
| upgrade |
| Could be good upgrade for a Walter E. Disney |
| Ronald Hoadley - 02/18/2012 - 07:20 |
| Upgrade |
| I have an origional anniversary locomotive. Will there be an up-grade kit offered commercially availiable? I have never ran this engine but it doesn't hurt to be prepaired. |
| Larry Bangle - 02/24/2012 - 13:44 |
| Big Hauler not running |
| I have 3 big haulers and none of them run properly. One will not stay on the track. another one has chewed up up gears and the 3rd one is just plain crap. |
| John Wiarda - 10/03/2012 - 18:22 |
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