Progress for 2nd Annual International Winter Layout Party

The once scrap Bachmann 4-4-0 for once runs reliably! Before: there was only 1 tender truck of very poor Bachmann design, no power contacts, 3 pole motor. After: Complete re-designed and scratch built tender trucks with point axle power pickups. Added 5 pole motor. A plastic front end cap was replaced with a brass tube packed with lead. The tender now rolls freely instead of being literally dragged as is most often the case with the Bachmann designed tender trucks. This simple improvement along with the added weight to the nose of the loco and the fact that both drivers are traction tire equipped enables this little locomotive to out-pull it's prototype!