WBB Class J 4-8-4 40306

The WBB die-cast steamers are prone to high gearing (the new 4-6-0 is just the opposite); they are too zoomy for me, though an ERR Cruise Commander will eliminate most of this. I did this to a project WBB scale Hudson that I had detailed, as it just wasn't useable otherwise.

If you run your trains fast (I don't get it, but there you go) the loco will probably be OK; if you expect slower operation, I'm not so sure. 

They are handsome locos (especially in that PRR scheme), but just be aware of the gearing.

Wanting an N&W J, I just purchased a Williams/Bachmann version from one of my local dealers...a few short days later I sent it back. I was having issues with it binding up and overheating. It was overheating enough that you would burn your hand really bad if you touched the cab area - you'd really burn your self if you touched the motor sticking out of the cab. 

It looks good. Hope I will get it back running just as good as it looks. 

D500 posted:

The WBB die-cast steamers are prone to high gearing (the new 4-6-0 is just the opposite); they are too zoomy for me, though an ERR Cruise Commander will eliminate most of this. I did this to a project WBB scale Hudson that I had detailed, as it just wasn't useable otherwise.

If you run your trains fast (I don't get it, but there you go) the loco will probably be OK; if you expect slower operation, I'm not so sure. 

They are handsome locos (especially in that PRR scheme), but just be aware of the gearing.

Thanks for the reply D500 that is some nice insight.

We tend to run them pretty fast, mainly because we have a lot of PW and they have two speeds, on and off. ;-) The high gearing doesn't bother me so much for speed so that isn't an issue. I'm actually thinking of having a long straight so that we can have kind of a highball section. The PRR looks really nice, so having it at a low price is a nice little bonus.

If we wanted to go slower, what is the ERR Cruise Commander? Is it easy to install?

SJC posted:

Wanting an N&W J, I just purchased a Williams/Bachmann version from one of my local dealers...a few short days later I sent it back. I was having issues with it binding up and overheating. It was overheating enough that you would burn your hand really bad if you touched the cab area - you'd really burn your self if you touched the motor sticking out of the cab. 

It looks good. Hope I will get it back running just as good as it looks. 

I'm sorry to hear about that, were they easy to work with?

Aldovar posted:

SJC posted:

Wanting an N&W J, I just purchased a Williams/Bachmann version from one of my local dealers...a few short days later I sent it back. I was having issues with it binding up and overheating. It was overheating enough that you would burn your hand really bad if you touched the cab area - you'd really burn your self if you touched the motor sticking out of the cab. 

It looks good. Hope I will get it back running just as good as it looks. 

I'm sorry to hear about that, were they easy to work with?

Absolutely! We know each other quite well. I'm sure it will be worked out. He sent it to a friend who worked for Jerry Williams in the pre-Bachmann years doing repairs. 

I have had similar issues with several Williams and WBB engines in the last few months.  The grease they are using turns to a solid waxy goo after some time leaving the engine unusable.  After opening them up and cleaning out the original grease and replacing with a good quality grease all is better again.  I am in the process of servicing all of my Williams and WBB engines in this manner as a precaution.  Even the WBB scale Alco FA I just bought was developing the issue and it is brand new. 

That aside. the J is a fantastic runner and it looks great too!  It can easily pull 10+ aluminum passenger cars on my layout.  Although there was no on/off switch for the smoke unit, there is a slot in the chassis for one so I put one in to run in the house with the smoke off.

Rolland