Right now I have my original postwar 2026 and a broken gear Scout I have to repair attached to tubular 027 track and a KW transformer.
I wanted to buy a newer (affordable) engine to add to it, but there seems to be a question about reliability with some of them. I probably would want a steamer, but a diesel is not out of the question.
Are the Williams made well? They seem to be reasonably priced. Example:
https://www.trainworld.com/man...locomotive-co-40602/
Thanks,
John
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Williams definitely. These days, that's not a bad price for new.
Williams for sure fit in that category. Even more affordable on the used market. In fact some of the pre Bachmann Williams are among the best.
Pete
@Norton posted:Williams for sure fit in that category. Even more affordable on the used market. In fact some of the pre Bachmann Williams are among the best.
Pete
When did Bachmann take them over? My N Gauge Bachmann's are horrible.
Bangor and Aroostook BL-2 by Williams is the best (i.e. powerful puller, smooth running, never derails) diesel engine in my collection. Works great on O-31 curves. Rick
@Craftech posted:When did Bachmann take them over? My N Gauge Bachmann's are horrible.
My experience with Williams is their Golden Memories series made from 2002. They are reproductions of Lionel Post War engines. Bachmann took over around 2007 I believe. They continued on with that series but no longer offer many of those same engines today.
Pete
@Craftech posted:Right now I have my original postwar 2026 and a broken gear Scout I have to repair attached to tubular 027 track and a KW transformer.
I wanted to buy a newer (affordable) engine to add to it, but there seems to be a question about reliability with some of them. I probably would want a steamer, but a diesel is not out of the question.
Are the Williams made well? They seem to be reasonably priced. Example:
https://www.trainworld.com/man...locomotive-co-40602/
Thanks,
John
IMHO, if you want an affordable, reliable engine to run on O31, ya can't go wrong with a good PostWar Lionel piece, with Magne-traction.
Good looking and good running 2037's can be had for around $100. Good looking and good running 2056's and 2065's can be had for less than $200.
Does anyone know what happens with Williams (Bachmann) "True Blast" sound when it is placed on tubular track with a KW or ZW transformer? Does it yell "uncle" instead of making train sounds?
I’ve got around 35 Williams diesel engines in my collection - made by the “original” Williams as well as the Williams by Bachmann era. These engines will run and run and run, then run some more. Maintenance has pretty much been occasional oiling and an even more infrequent addition of grease to the grease wells. In my opinion, if you are looking for a conventional runner on a budget, you cannot top Williams.
And to answer Craftech’s question, until buying a Z4000 when I went to DCS control about 4 years ago, I ran all my Williams TBII and Trueblast off a ZW. No issues with sound activation or quality.
Curt
FWIW I have a Williams GP38 SF that I take to our trains shows. It runs sometimes for two hours and hardly gets warm. Just goes and goes. The only problem I have found is that it takes so little power that you have to be careful or it will take off like a shot.
You won't go wrong with Williams. My oldest one is 19 years old and is going strong. Love Williams, great product and affordable.
Williams is good to run and run with just some oil and grease.
Lionel postwar steamers and diesel's are also good if one can clean the commutator and change brushes and springs and oil and grease all readily available .
Learned many years back on how to maintain all of the above its really not hard at all to do.
Anything in the LionChief Plus line works!
Jon 
Any Marx wind-up will work. The "Key" to Success! LOL
I think the same is true for the MTH Railking Imperial line. Unfortunately, it seems that it's very likely that MTH is going out of business soon.
William's. Wire the motors in series and they run nice and smooth. I have a KW and tru-blast works fine.
Any small switcher Lionel or MTH will do as well..
@Craftech posted:Does anyone know what happens with Williams (Bachmann) "True Blast" sound when it is placed on tubular track with a KW or ZW transformer? Does it yell "uncle" instead of making train sounds?
No it doesnt. In fact Williams "True Blast" is only a diesel horn or a Steam Whistle.
NOT TO BE CONFUSED with TRUE BLAST PLUS which has Steam whistle and Steam chuff/ Diesel Horn and diesel roar.
My money is on Williams. I have 16 WBB locomotives and they perform perfectly.
RailKing or Imperial from MTH Are great.
@prrhorseshoecurve posted:No it doesnt. In fact Williams "True Blast" is only a diesel horn or a Steam Whistle.
NOT TO BE CONFUSED with TRUE BLAST PLUS which has Steam whistle and Steam chuff/ Diesel Horn and diesel roar.
Thanks. That clears it up.
I have the exact engine that you linked, and love it.
There is also True Blast II which gives whistle/horn and bell. TBII started around 2002 with Golden Memories and used until Bachmann came out with True Blast plus.
@Norton posted:There is also True Blast II which gives whistle/horn and bell. TBII started around 2002 with Golden Memories and used until Bachmann came out with True Blast plus.
With an older transformer like a KW, do the True Blast Plus engine sounds automatically sound when power is applied and the engine moves?
Just placed an order for both the 4-6-0 C&O and the GP 38 UP at Mario's Trains. Second order in the past week from them. They are great. $15 off with the code on top of it as well.
Thanks for all the help,
John
I use a ZW for my Williams. Initially it wouldn’t work with the old lionel diodes. When I put in the modern solid state diodes, the horn works. The only issue is you have to reverse the common and power terminal to get the bell vs the horn.
@JJH posted:I use a ZW for my Williams. Initially it wouldn’t work with the old lionel diodes. When I put in the modern solid state diodes, the horn works. The only issue is you have to reverse the common and power terminal to get the bell vs the horn.
I made the diode switch on the KW (Zener in fact). I also have a Lionel sound activation button. Will that work?
And what about the diesel engine sounds on the True Blast Plus. Does that work simply from the roller pickups?
I have 7 Williams engines. 1 RS3 and 6 NW2s. The true blast plus engine sounds come alive with throttle. The bell on the true blast plus is also much more pleasant. On the true blast 2 it sounds like someone beating a cow bell with a sledge hammer. Also on the tbp the horn sounds as you depress the horn button. On the tb2 it plays a pre recorded crossing sequence of two long, one short and one long blast. I’ve ripped all the tb2 units out of my nw2s and 4 of the 6 have the plus now. 2 I left as silent runners. The true blast plus on the rs3 sounds fantastic.for some reason 2 of the plus units I put in the nw2s sound way more throaty than the others. Don’t have an explanation for that, but it sounds good!
@C_Murley posted:I have 7 Williams engines. 1 RS3 and 6 NW2s. The true blast plus engine sounds come alive with throttle. The bell on the true blast plus is also much more pleasant. On the true blast 2 it sounds like someone beating a cow bell with a sledge hammer. Also on the tbp the horn sounds as you depress the horn button. On the tb2 it plays a pre recorded crossing sequence of two long, one short and one long blast. I’ve ripped all the tb2 units out of my nw2s and 4 of the 6 have the plus now. 2 I left as silent runners. The true blast plus on the rs3 sounds fantastic.for some reason 2 of the plus units I put in the nw2s sound way more throaty than the others. Don’t have an explanation for that, but it sounds good!
Where did you get the TB Plus units. I may swap out the TB on the 4-6-0 steamer when I get it (or maybe after the warranty expires).
Thanks,
John
If you're into conventional, I'd suggest the WBB 4-6-0. Very smooth runner and not a jack-rabbit like so many other modern conventional. Trainz is selling the New York Central set with this engine which comes with a few freight cars for under $200. Quite a bargain.
Definitely original Williams and post war Lionel.Like Times they take a licking and keep on ticking
Like Timex
@raising4daughters posted:If you're into conventional, I'd suggest the WBB 4-6-0. Very smooth runner and not a jack-rabbit like so many other modern conventional. Trainz is selling the New York Central set with this engine which comes with a few freight cars for under $200. Quite a bargain.
That is a bargain. That same engine I bought for around $200, Trainz is selling for $364.99 (but they are sold out).
@Craftech posted:Where did you get the TB Plus units. I may swap out the TB on the 4-6-0 steamer when I get it (or maybe after the warranty expires).
Thanks,
John
I got them from ebay. i wouldnt worry too much about the warranty. these engines are bulletproof and just run and run and run.........
@C_Murley posted:I got them from ebay. i wouldnt worry too much about the warranty. these engines are bulletproof and just run and run and run.........
It appears that the TS Plus is only available for Diesel. TBII for steam. The diesel I am getting already has TB Plus and the steamer has TBII.
Any of the Atlas SW series. Atlas did an articulated, (two piece) coupler that allowed for O31.
Mike CT - 4 of the 8 Atlas SWs I own have speakers that have blow out?/ no longer work. You appear to be very familiar with with the product. Is it / was it just poor quality speakers or other? If you have an knowledge about this or an opinion, Thanks, JP
@DETROIT posted:Mike CT - 4 of the 8 Atlas SWs I own have speakers that have blow out?/ no longer work. You appear to be very familiar with with the product. Is it / was it just poor quality speakers or other? If you have an knowledge about this or an opinion, Thanks, JP
True, I've replace 2 or 3 speakers. Biggest problem is TMCC control, the speaker comes on at full volume. Atlas parts provided speakers, it's a bit of a PITA, but with a little finesse, I've managed to replace a speaker without total dis-assembly of the unit.
Good, I'm happy to know it's not something like a bad piece of internal electronics. I'm interested if there is a better small speaker option. Even brand new, I felt the sound was a little tinny. I'm wondering to the O Gauge universe on that question. The sound on the Lionel mega bass units is so rich. Wondering how much is the speaker and how much is the sound files??? Thank You for your response. Jim
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