Got to thinking...is it possible to MU a Tyco Consolidation tender to a Bachmann 2-8-0? I have the Locomotive, and it might be easier to find a cheap Motorized tender then a bachmann tender...and if these could work together, I would then have twice as much motive power without adding a second locomotive.
Yes Benny, it has been done. I have one of those tenders, but the rubber traction tires are shot. Before they crumbled from age, oil, fear, or whatever, the combo engine seemed to run alright. Even after I added more weight to the tender, there wasn't but about 5 more cars I could pull on level track. I did not run the engine over a few minutes, so I am not sure if it would burn out one of the motors or not. The only test I made was to run both the engine and tender separated an see if one caught up with the other. The engine slightly out ran the tender. A Bachmann 2-8-0 test with another tender was almost identical in holding distance under test though. I put the twin truck drive from an Athearn diesel in a tender, (an old lead Varney) and got almost double the pulling traction without any traction tires. It doesn't look right with diesel trucks under the tender, pulling 34 cars with a 2-8-0! This is where DCC would shine!
