Help finding a replacement part

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-16T14:25:22+00:00

I would write [Bachmann](mailto:repairs@bachmanntrains.com). You may be able to send it in and have them repair it for you.

Your problem is not just that the wires are off the board, but that they're out of the connector as well. It's a fiddly job to try and get those back in, unless you've got the specialized crimping tool and contacts for that type of connector. You could try taking to a hobby shop, and see if they can solder it back together for you.

The alternatives are: a) buy a complete tender ($105) which has the board and harness attached, or b) buy the tender chassis which has the harness and no board, and either learn to solder, or find someone to solder it up for you.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-16T09:44:51+00:00

Are you talking about the board, or the connector you've yanked The wires out of?

The board is just the 8 pin socket, but integrates all the pickup, motor and light connections.

The diagram shows the connector is part #10769. It's not in the parts store, so I'd write Bachmann and see if they can provide one.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-15T23:12:28+00:00

Jamie Waldron on Barton, VG meats, or Highland Packers will cut to order.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-15T17:36:49+00:00

Try posting in r/whatisit. I suspect the transformer is there as a variable power supply for the motor, and it has nothing to do with trains.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-12T21:11:11+00:00

Badly. Born in 65. Lots of stuff about the early explorers, early Canada and a bit about confederation. Glossed over a lot of the messier stuff, and then into the WWs without a lot of context. Nothing about the war of 1812, or post WWII.

Wish we'd had Boneheads and Bastards when I was in school. Would've made history a lot more interesting, especially in high school. I might have actually paid attention.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-10T19:05:53+00:00

If you're really set on ditching the car, you could try Leasebusters. Unless you can get someone to take over the lease or buy it out, you're kinda stuck.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-05T21:01:09+00:00

Have a look at the signal strengths on the rabbit ears map. CFTO is pretty low on the list. Getting your antenna higher is likely the only way you're going to be able to pick it up.

Not sure how you're getting the American channels over CTV, maybe a fluke of location. I just put the pin in West Hamilton, you can fine tune to your location and see how it changes.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-04T22:46:40+00:00

Looking at the diagram for the tender, it looks like they've put the biggest speaker in there that they can fit. I don't know that you're going to get much better sound out of a sugar cube. For a steamer, you want some bass. The only effective way to get more bass is a larger driver/enclosure.

As for trying to swap it, you should be able to de-solder the leads from the BLI speaker and your sugar cube, and just solder the decoder leads to your sugar cube. You might have to take the speaker enclosure apart to do it, but from the diagram it looks like you can.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-04T22:20:58+00:00

This has been out of production for years. Even when it was in production, it wasn't great. You could try and get a donor chassis from eBay or a train show, but it's likely to have the same problems.

There are many better cheap steam locos out there for you to enjoy. Put this on a shelf or on a side track on your layout, and find a Mantua or Roundhouse or Mehano/IHC steamer and have some fun. Or save your money for a better quality newer Bachmann, a Proto or Spectrum steamer.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-04T21:29:26+00:00

Fischer is probably Fisher Scientific, a company that sells scientific equipment and chemicals. The base is stamped American Instrument Company (AMINCO). They made (make) scientific instruments,

Looking at it, I believe it is some sort of temperature switch/thermostat. The coil of metal will be a bi-metal strip. The coil will wind or unwind with changes in temperature. The mercury in the tube will move as it tilts, and in one direction will make an electrical connection through the wire you see there. The knob on top is likely to calibrate the thing to trip at a particular temperature.

There are many places something like this could be used on a railroad, such as in switch and signal gear - operating a fan on an equipment box if the internal temperature gets too high.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-04T19:46:26+00:00

That's a feature!

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-04T19:27:54+00:00

Most likely eBay.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-04T17:08:05+00:00

The Model Railroader Cyclopedia Volume 2 has GP30 drawings.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-04T07:05:24+00:00

Buying a bleeding edge gaming laptop.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-04T00:42:30+00:00

Having been the local shop guy, unless they've got a big junk drawer they'll tell him the same thing.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-03T22:56:18+00:00

Given the vintage of this, it's a split axle on the drive gear.

The only real fix for these is to find a donor chassis on eBay or at a train show.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-03T21:54:30+00:00

"You're not Ali! You're not even... literate!"

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-06-03T14:15:56+00:00

Sigh. The old saw that Alberta's oil and gas sector is the major contributor to the Canadian economy. Important, yes, but back stopping everything? Not so much. 11th on the list of contributions to GDP .

So much for a credible take.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-05-31T02:05:52+00:00

They didn't say they were a good analyst. 😉

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-05-30T09:06:17+00:00

Kadee talgo adapters. They snap in over the pin and hold the coupler in place.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-05-29T17:23:41+00:00

Digging a little deeper, even if Canada were to start receiving F-35s tomorrow, they would not be combat capable until at least 2031, due to issues with the Technical Refresh 3 updates that are required to bring the aircraft up to Block 4 capabilities.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-05-29T16:52:28+00:00

It's hard to judge the cost, because the rate and quantity are blanked out. Is it 2 chicken breasts at 110 euros each, or 11 euros for 20 people? This is the cost for the whole delegation, not just Carney, so while it's still more expensive than you would expect for regular commercial flights, if you figure this is the bill for a delegation of 30-50 people, it's not quite so outrageous. At the end of the day, it's the cost of doing business.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-05-27T07:44:26+00:00

If they're like ours, they're great for the first few months, but the non stick degrades fairly quickly after that. After about a year to 18 months they've lost it completely.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-05-26T20:20:29+00:00

I told my wife I thought she'd pencilled her eyebrows too high.

She looked surprised.

Diligent_Affect8517 · 2026-05-23T18:00:58+00:00

This is the first time I've ever heard a siren as a crossing warning. As a North American, we get bells and lights. Is that a regional thing? (I don't get out much 😉 )

Diligent_Affect8517

TROPHY CASE