It has been noted on George's site and recent discussions on some of the Large Scale site that adding power pickups to the tender wheesl greatly aids the Big Hauler 4-6-0 in running smoother on track power. LGB roller bearing wheels are perfect for this task. George Schreyer's site has a great article on adding power connectors to any rail car. I like the idea of using the LGB roller bearing wheels. Yes they are expensive but there is no drag from the spring/brushes the electrical contact sets. There are many ways to get extra power contacts to the motor - this is just one. |
Bachmann Big Haulers are a fairly inexpensive way to get into Large Scale Model railroading but they do need some work and sometimes modifications. George Schreyer's site has wonderful info on Big Hauler Maintenance. |
Extra Bachmann Big Hauler Power pickups |
Bachmann Big Haulers are a fairly inexpensive way to get into Large Scale Model railroading but they do need some work and sometimes modifications. George Schreyer's site has wonderful info on Big Hauler Maintenance. |
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It has been noted on George's site and recent discussions on some of the Large Scale site that adding power pickups to the tender wheesl greatly aids the Big Hauler 4-6-0 in running smoother on track power. LGB roller bearing wheels are perfect for this task. George Schreyer's site has a great article on adding power connectors to any rail car. I like the idea of using the LGB roller bearing wheels. Yes they are expensive but there is no drag from the spring/brushes the electrical contact sets. There are many ways to get extra power contacts to the motor - this is just one. |
Here is the LGB roller bearing with the wires attached to the pickup sleeves that LGB provides with the wheels. These work well. I have found that HO track connectors work well should you ever lose one of these "clips". |
I ran the two seperate power pickups from each axle into the the tender. I kept the red to red/black to black wire to assist in making sure there were no cross circuits. I drilled a total of 4 holes in the tender bottom. On the next page you will get an idea as to the location of these holes. The red power pickup wire in the engine is attached to the RIGHT side as the engine is on the track. Therefore, you should align your LGB roller bearing wheels with the red wire on the right, black wire on the left. Note that I ran the wires back out the front bolster then frame [next to the sound cable in the tender]. LGB Rollerbearing wheel set in place. Shrink tube is over the soldered fittings and wire to keep the connection solid/ I didn't have to remove the trucks to perform this upgrade. I did remove one wheel from each truck. I would strongly suggest that you put one Roller bearing wheel on each truck versus two of the roller bearing wheels on one truck. The geater the distance between the power pick up wheels the better. Having your power pick up wheels spread over a greater length promotes smoother operation. Many have noticed short based wheel locos like 0-4-0's have trouble getting through some switches or seem to fine the "dirty" spot on the track easier. The more power contacts to the track, the better, for track powered locos. |
The tender comes apart very easily. There are four screw holes under the tender - these are very deeply recessed. Above you see the interior of the Big Hauler tender. |
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Parts needed Radio Shack Battery Pack and RC connector repair - #23-445 - $1.90 LGB Ball Bearing Wheel set - 1 pair. #67403 About $25.00 Wire Solder Solder gun Phillips Head screw driver - fairly small head. Shrink tubing or electrical tape Hair Dryer [for the shrink tubing] Wire Cutters |
