I'm sitting here not listening to my Fleiscmann 0-4-0, which now allows me to run trains in the TV room without annoying anyone. It's awesome!!!! I'm looking at an early 90's Prussian livery 2-6-0 tenderless loco. I'd love to buy this, because it ties into a place my family vacationed this summer. Assuming it isn't damaged, should I expect this model to be whisper quiet? I'm just a bit nervous as it isn't cheap....
Is this what you are looking at? I've seen this guy in various liveries, but it is very cool looking and runs like a Swiss watch. Pet peeve: deep flanges on otherwise exceptional locomotives. I have been playing around with my Dremel grinding down flanges. I will let you know if I get it to run on code 40 rail.
This model is one of the first Fleischmann N-scale models, so it is a real old design. That's why I did not buy it (yet...?), it would be great if they would do a redesign like they did with the 2-10-0 class 50. I have just now bought a BR78 (4-6-4T), which is an old design, too, and it runs very well and quiet. So there is hope for you, but it is just guessing. Sorry for not being more helpful...
I think that's the one. I'm sticking with Unitrak for the forseeable future, so I'm OK with the flanges. It's the look and the quietness that get me.
It's a Fleischmann 7030 2-6-0T (actually it is my wife's when I finish with it). Not rare, but hard to find sometimes. And yes, it runs very nice. Just curious ... Did K.Bay.Sts.B. own any 2-6-0T engines like this? Would I be committing an offence if I decorated it in K.Bay.Sts.B. colors? And where can I get the decals? Thanks Shawn Harrison El Lago, Texas
The engine is a Prussian type (K.P.E.V.). Bavarian engines were different also in their design. Offence or not, first, it is your railroad, and second, you are in Texas and there are probably not so many Bavarian or Prussian railroad enthusiasts in the Clear Lake area. I only know one Bavarian there, and he is married to a real Texan girl. And he is into sailing, not railroads.
Many Germans settled in Texas....many towns have German names. Anyway, I would paint a BigBoy in Bavarian colors...just because! Gross Gott Dave
Now this is taking an interesting twist. I hope to find this topic and post pics when the loco and cars arrive. I bought a Prussain Livery Fleischmann Sonderzug zum Wannsee (train to the Wannsee) Era I set and an Arnold Munchen Oktoberfest Beer car set from "near the Rhine". I expect them to ship tomorrow. Don't know how long it will take them to be delivered. Some history. My Dad is from Germany. He has 4 Siblings (all still in Germany) We went to a family reunion in Bad Karlshaven this Summer. We stayed in Munich and in Berlin, on the Wannsee (hence my interest in the sets) While in Bavaria we visited Neuschwanstein (the castle that Disney is modeled after) and learned that not all Bavarians were keen on joining Prussia after King Ludwig basically bankrupted the area building castles, during a war. We've learned there are Texans of Prussian and Bavarian Descent in Texas. I bet I'm safer here in NJ, posting pics of a Prussian Loco, pulling Bavarian Beer cars, than you are painting a Prussian Loco a Bavarian Livery, in a state that allows unconcealed weapons and open beer in the car... Good luck, but should things go badly, I'd be happy to hide the loco on my witness protection track. If you're wondering, yes, I have entirely too much free time, being stuck in a hotel on business. I do have a pair of Minitrix DB steamers, I'm trying to quiet a bit, but as they run, I have time to type.
Well, doing some work on the model railroad might be one of the best things to do in a hotel room I remember long evenings in a hotel room in suburban France, having nothing to do but watching TV or sleep. Those Minitrix steamers, are these the 01/03 or 41 with tender drive? This drive is just noisy but actually running quite well. Some people put Faulhaber motors in them and claimed that they were silent afterwards, but I have not (yet) tried. I think that no offense would be taken by people in Northern Germany about mixing Prussian and Bavarian models, but in Bavaria people often make a point of being Bavarians. About the Germans in Texas, this point was just raised by me because I saw one of the contributors gave an address in Texas, and some years ago I spent seven months in that area exactly, doing some work for a customer of our company. There are several Germans in the Houston era who work for German companies at the Texas Chemical Coast. Sorry for drifting off the topic.... :tb-smile:
Christoph. It's not even a little off topic. We both threatened to run an aprototypical train..... The Trix locos are a Glaskasten and a BR 50. I can't tell the vintage. Codes on the paperwork might indicate a 1999 revision. Clear plastic boxes, white plastic insert. I think the Glaskasten will always be a bit rough as it is the smallest loco I've ever seen, the BR 50 runs great. A little grease, oil and break in and it runs quiet enough for TV room duty.
You have a witness protection track? Very cool! I will let you know if I need hide a locomotive on it. Texas also has a large Czechoslovakian community. I grew up in a small town in the middle of it. Ten miles from a German brewery. The main reason I was considering repainting my little Fleischmann is because I have had a hard time finding Bavarian locomotives in N scale. When I do they are very expensive. I have seen the Wannsee train from "near the Rhine" and was tempted to buy it. But I decided to wait for a K.Bay.Sts.B. locomotive. Every Fleischmann I own is a little jewel. Very smooth and quiet. Pet peeve: deep flanges on otherwise exceptional locomotives. Just curious about the noise: Do you mean physical gear noise or electromagnetic interference? European steamers have a capacitor and inductor across the motor; American steamers do not. But neither interferes with TV, phone, or radio. Shawn and Sally -modeling 1850s B&O
Shhhh, it won't be safe, if everyone knows about it, but I will defend any loco in danger. Yeah, It wasn't cheap (he did give me a good discount on multiple purchases), I will PM you, I think I saw a similar Bavarian for 115. As to noise, I mean audible. It's usually mechanical. Forget older Arnold that sounds like a coffee grinder 10 minutes post relube, but many others, make enough of a whine that they are distracting to TV watchers.
Another Fleischmann question. I have an op to but some older DCC Fleischmann locos. Was DCC always dual mode? Will I be able to run these DC? Will the boards come out easily?
Hello Gentlemen! Hope I can drop in to this conversation! I've actually got one Fleischmann steam engine and it will probably be my last! I got a BR64 2-6-2T in one of their "Digital Start Sets of the Year" a couple of years ago and I have had nothing but problems with it. I even had it sent back for warranty repair and it still won't run or work right (it drove for about 90 seconds after returned from Fleischmann in DE, who had it for about 9 months!). I read (through Google Translate) on 1zu160 that Fleischmann is having some real quality control problems with their drive rod/gearing, which is the problem I am having. Its a bummer as its a real sweet little locomotive when it runs! More details on my blog if your interested: http://quinntopia.blogspot.com/2010/01/locomotive-roster-db-class-64.html I also picked up from the conversations on 1zu160 that a lot of people are disappointed as Fleischmann used to be able to claim the best quality when it came to steam engines (particularly these small ones), which seems reflected in your experiences with some of these older models. Hope they get that fixed!
Yikes!!!! That would be a bummer. When our company moved production overseas, we may have experiences ummm... challenges. My understanding is that Fleischmann moved production to Romania. Hopefully they resolve these issues.
Went to quinntopia's most amazing blog and stayed up late reading it. Fell asleep. My wife and son are laughing because my forehead has the imprint of my keyboard. Guess my Fleischmann locomotives are older, because they are high quality and quiet. Pet peeve: deep flanges on otherwise exceptional locomotives.
As far as I can tell not all new Fleischmann engines are bad or broken. Actually none of those I bought were, they were all smooth-running and quiet. But I buy them at my LHS and test drive them before I buy. So I can do my own QC here. I have ordered a BR92 0-8-0T engine but my LHS returned all engines because they were not running properly, which might have been due to rod problems. Now I wait what will happen. I think that you might take those negative comments in the German forum with some caution. People in Germany are often more negative than in the U.S., so they tend to exaggerate problems. Or they make a big fuzz about problems that others would quietly solve by themselves. At least this is my impression :tb-rolleyes: I have a brand-new VT12.5 set which was just released. It is quiet and runs well, which it should not do according to the statements in the German forum... :tb-tongue: The pet peeve about the high flanges is agreed, but it migh even be some standard around here. Normal track here is code 80 or even higher.
The other pet peeve, as far as I'm concerned, is the persistence of the Rapido coupler. And I might add another problem with Fleischmann steamers: if they have a tender, it will likely not be close-coupled. The exception being the fine BR 23. Someone must have had kind of a magic moment when that one was constructed. And it looks like the newly announced BR 52 will have a close-coupled tender as well. But Fleischmann has never updated the older models. Just look at the equally announced re-issue of the BR 01.10. There is still that ugly gap between cab and tender. I should add that the original has no gap at all. It's such a shame for this otherwise very nice model. One can see the rounded contours at the top of the front of the tender. That's where the cab roof should be overlapping.
