Bachmann E7 -- III

I was able to figure out what the DCC-ready PC board provides for lighting options on the E7. Here is what I found: the headlight and warning light LEDs (on the locos that have warning lights) are surface mount LEDs directly attached to the nose PC board. Without really major micro PC board surgery, it isn't possible to separate these headlight LED circuits to control them separately. They are reached via the green and blue wires from the end of the PC board. The number board LEDs are on a separate circuit reached via a yellow and red wire coming from the side of the main PC board. You can control these separately via either the green or violet wire from a multi function decoder. However, you will need to connect the wire from the LEDs that you use for this via a resistor -- I used 560 ohm. Works via F2 now. Wish you could set up the warning light separately, and if someone figures this out, I'd like to hear it!

I found this YouTube video that shows a sound-equipped loco that does control the warning light separately from the headlight:

Here is the chassis for my E7 with a Digitrax DH166 installed and the violet wire from the decoder going to the numberboards. The blue shrink wrap covers a 560 ohm resistor in series with the numberboard LEDs.

I sprayed the trucks and fuel tank Scalecoat UP gray. I also weathered the air intakes on the body. Both are a big improvement:

Here are the numberboards lit, along with the headlights:

Here they are turned off separately via F2:

Bachmann E7 -- II

My last post covered the Bachmann E7 out of the box. It wound up taking me several hours to get the shell off. Like many products from China, the screws seem to be driven in with a power screwdriver, and they can be torqued so hard that they're very difficult to remove. The E7 shell is held on with four screws, all of which took some work to loosen, but one of them was in so hard I eventually had to drill it out. Whew!

Here is the chassis with PC board:

The DCC socket is a standard NMRA 8-pin with a dummy plug. The difficulty here is that the DCC ready product has four different LEDs, but by default they are all lit, and they aren't separately controllable, as they would be on the prototype. One of the fun things about controlling lighting with DCC is, at minimum, that the warning light rotates or flashes and is usually not constant like the headlight -- but it's often not lit. (I've tried to find out on various forums, without success, what railroad rules cover when a warning light is turned on and oscillating and when it's off.)

However, a standard DCC decoder that uses an 8-pin plug and socket will not control the extra lighting functions. The one I'm most familiar with that will control Mars and other lights is the Digitrax DH166. This has a 9-pin socket with additional wires that will go to the additional bulbs or LEDs that represent Mars lights, numberboards, etc. The DH166 follows NMRA color code standards for these wires.

Unfortunately, the Bachmann E7's LEDs aren't wired according to NMRA color codes. Looks like I have more work to do to find out what wires from the Bachmann PC board control which of the LEDs on the chassis.

Bachmann E7 -- I

I got my Bachmann E7 via yesterday's UPS and have given it a first once-over. I haven't had the shell off yet -- this is the DC, DCC-ready version. I will need to see what needs to be done to convert to DCC and add separate control for Mars and numberboard lights -- the sound version apparently has these controlled via separate functions. Here's an overall look:

The prototype UP 989 was built in 1948 and initially numbered 989J but almost immediately renumbered 989. Bachmann seems to have been aware of differences among UP E7s in pilot detail -- some had a slotted pilot, but 989 had a solid pilot like the model.

I'm not sure if we know everything yet about UP diesel wings -- according to Utah Rails, the F3As, E7As, FA-1s and PA-1s received after WWII all had 3-piece metal winged medallions without the word "Railroad" in the medallion. The metal medallions were brushed stainless steel.

However, there were also variations in shape: those on Alcos and turbines had straight wings, while those on the postwar EMD cab units had wings curved slightly upward. However, it appears that after later visits to the paint shop, the two versions weren't consistently applied.

The Bachmann model has straight wings. Whether prototype E7 units ever got straight wings isn't clear. Here's a closeup of the nose:

This also shows both headlights and the number boards lit. On DC, all are lit and stay lit whether the loco runs forward or reverse. I will need to investigate how they can be controlled with an aftermarket decoder and report on it in a later post. A problem for UP modelers is that the UP put train numbers in the number boards, not the loco number. EMD did put loco numbers in the number boards for builder photos. In addition, UP locos running on the Santa Fe between Riverside and Daggett, CA had loco numbers in the number boards for use with Santa Fe dispatchers and operators.

A new feature for Bachmann is separate handrails on all parts of the body. These are metal, fine, and look quite good.

There is a non-operating diaphragm on the rear:

The truck sideframes are the weakest feature, especially when viewed up close:

UP didn't paint trucks silver until 1956. A coat of UP gray on these will probably help matters. Here is the loco coupled to a Stewart Kato FB:

And a Proto Erie built B:

The E7's overall height seems slightly shorter than either of the B units. The photos of the coupled units are taken on a 30-inch radius. The yellows don't exactly match, but this isn't unusual on the prototype:

Union Pacific Passenger Project

A few weeks ago I noted that Bachmann has the new E7s in. My budget has recovered sufficiently from the holidays that I now have one of the Union Pacific versions on order. This brought me to research what else they ran with, because a single passenger unit of any type was pretty unusual on UP.

Bachmann's UP E7 is numbered 989. This unit got that number in 1948 and was traded in to EMD on an E9 in 1963, so this is the period I'm interested in. Photos show UP's E7s on secondary trains MUed with other E's, but also with Erie builts and passenger F3s. As it happens, I have a set of Proto Erie builts lettered for UP, as well as a bunch of old Stewart Kato F3s in UP that I intended to use as passenger units. However, UP's passenger F3s were regeared for freight service and renumbered in 1953, so we're looking at putting my UP E7 in service on my layout as thought it were in the period 1948-1953.

All my Proto UP Erie built B unit needed was a decoder, so this was a pretty easy job. The F3 needed a little more paint and decal work as well as a decoder -- the Stewart locos came without road numbers. I added these from a Microscale diesel set as well as Microscale step plates on the doors. The chicken wire areas also needed dirt and crud. Here's the result:

As long as I had an F3B in work, I pulled out its companion F3A. This got the passenger pilot from Details West and paint and decal work similar to the B unit. UP did not paint locomotive trucks silver until 1956, so this was also something I needed to change on the Stewart units. Judging from photos on the web, the Bachmann E7 will also need to lose its silver trucks to fit in with 1948-53.

The shades of UP yellow don't match between the Stewart and Proto units -- no doubt the Bachmann E7 will be different from either. This doesn't bother me -- decades spent trackside railfanning UP reassure me that this is fully prototypical. I do note the Scalecoat gray on the F3 trucks is darker than what's on the bodies, so I will probably have to finesse this with weathering.

CP Zenith X-Overs And Switch Heaters

The rewiring project has reached CP Zenith X-Overs. This is at the heart of the tear-it-all-out-and-do-it-over segment, and in addition to installing new DCC bus wiring and stationary decoders, I've been sprucing up the ballast and trackside details in this area. The ballast is close to 30 years old in this part of the layout. It was Woodland Scenics, which is made from ground walnut shells. Over the years, it's discolored, shrunk, and cracked.

I now prefer Arizona Rock and Mineral ballast, which is real stone and is much easier to apply. I added a layer of the new ballast over the old. I also upgraded the trackside details, including CTC type switch machines (cosmetic, the Tortoises are under the roadbed) and switch heaters. Switch heaters are among my favorite details. Below is a shot of CP Zenith X-Overs with the work in progress:

And with new ballast, switch machines, and switch heaters installed:

These switch heaters are from Details West. I think the product is at least 20 years old and not quite up to what might be done these days -- I found an installation manual for the prototype on the web while I was working on this and discovered the documentation with the kit isn't very helpful. In fact, I think this kit actually mixes two separate kinds of prototype together. I note a guy on Shapeways has a better version model, but it's N scale.

Over the years I've photographed switch heaters whenever I have the chance, but they aren't used in my part of the country. Below is one that's close to the Details West model, at Fairlane, MN on the former Missabe Road now CN:

Here's one of a different type on the CP/METRA at Bensenville, IL. Both the heater and the switch machine are newer prototypes than available HO models -- the N modelers have things better on Shapeways.

My order is in for the next phase of rewiring/DCC stationary decoder conversion.

Bachmann PC GP40

About the best thing I could find that fit my budget in the runup to the holidays was a sale-priced Bachmann PC-lettered GP40 listed as a "warehouse find no restock expected". Over 40 years, Bachmann has improved to the point that it's reasonably priced with acceptable detail and operation, but it's not top of the line.

But the features tend to change from year to year. I was hoping that this PC unit, listed as some sort of old stock, would have an 8-pin DCC plug, which older GP40s have. No such luck -- for whatever reason, it had the newer motherboard with an integrated decoder. To switch decoders, I would need to toss the motherboard and install a new one via hardwire.

The biggest problem with the Bachmann decoders is that they allow only limited CV programming, and they include a compulsory speed curve that can't be worked around. I most prefer "DCC ready" Bachmann diesels, which are very inexpensive on the web and have 8-pin sockets. My second preference is the older DCC on board versions with the 8-pin decoder that can be swapped out easily.

I wound up taking a full day to hardwire a new decoder in this GP40:

Here's the unit with the shell back on:

I'm not pleased with the light effect. It's probably good as a mid-consist unit. It will get an ACI label and a train control box, and it looks like it will need some speed programming to match my other units, but with the new decoder, this is do-able.