Unwillingness of Bachmann to communicate with non-trade queries

Hi guys,
Does anyone know how to establish a dialogue with Bachmann regards spare parts?

I build 00 tramway and as a consequence  I need ultra slim motors to allow for internal detailing in the lower saloon. So when I saw the Bachmann "Hong Kong" trams and their offshoots "re-liveried Hong Kong trams a la Corgi die-cast" I thought I was on to a winner.
Now I can justify a single foreign tram on my Glasgow layout and a Hong Kong tram will make a great conversion to the Glasgow cable laying tram at Critch,  but I need  some everyday trams as well as the specials or the whole thing will look unbalanced. Think of it as having a regional layout with only the permanent way fleet. In fact I need more of the normal cars than anything else. So I bought one of the Hong Kong cars and converted it to two rail return and overhead collection. Excellent result and I also got a diagram with all the part numbers so I now have a list of parts and numbers.
EXCEPT
Bachmann will not let me have replacement parts. So, if I want to use these motors I need to buy the complete tram and chuck away large bits of it to enable me to fit Glasgow bodies to the truck/floor combination.
Not in fact as bad as it sounds as I can get the models almost at the price of a Tenshodo bogie with the truck already fitted at the correct wheelbase.
But why oh why can I not simply buy the bits I need without having to cannibalize a perfectly good model. It goes against the grain.

Oh Well. Moan over now let's get back to trying to master the Silhouette cutter for the bodies.

Regards
The Bankie

I have a tram motor it,s from BEC-KITS  47 woodlands road, Lancaster ,LA 2EH i have it ready for a Blackpool rocket tram kit. but not got round to building it.   hope the address helps .

Hi Sparky
I have two "original" BEC bogie motors from the 1970's but the pic below illustrates the problem.
However I'll make contact with BEC and see if there are any of their chassis and trucks available as I know they originally did them for a London tram.



Regards
Jim

Hi Jim,

You may have to go further afield. Try Bachmann Industries in the US for Brill trolley drive units (powered and dummy), North West Short Lines (NWSL) for Stanton drives, or BullAnt/Low Boy (Hollywood Foundry) and Black Beetle drives from Australia. La Belle who do wood trolley cars here use BullAnts. Pricey, but you can select the wheelbase and wheel diameter. Bowser do a complete drive train kit, motor in the middle, drive shafts to the 2 trucks/bogies, range of wheel diameters.

Bachmann Industries have a comprehensive parts catalogue for everything that they sell. If they don't have it it's sold out. Mind you, a complete Brill trolley can be had for around $30 new, $20 new old stock or used in working condition on eebygum. Cheaper than buying the motorized and dummy truck from Bachmann. The power truck from a Bachmann Gas Electric is also trolley sized but a bit fragile (Stanton drives are a direct replacement).

Nigel

Hi Nigel
Thanks for the info. I already know about Hollywood Foundry But the other two are worth a look. Major problems are postage and import duties and also the lead time. All told the difference between buying a Hong Kong car to cannibalize becomes negligible and delivery time is reduced to just a trip to the shop.
Looks like I'll have to develop a waist height "floor" for the lower saloons and see what that looks like.

Thanks again
Jim

Hi Jim,

Toy trains and spares are duty exempt. You might get hit with sales tax if it's over £15 or so. Postage is not that bad for something as small as a motor bogie.

Nigel

Bachmann prefer to sell spares through retailers.  If you have the part number you can always search for retailers who may have it in stock.  Or ask if you have someone local to yourself if they can order it.

I've had success sourcing steam loco brake rigging and detail packs that way.

Hollywood Foundry is just up the road from me (well a 45 minute drive but that's close by our standards) and has a good reputation.  His website also shows the current order number being worked on so you have some idea where you are in his queue.  

Black Beetle units are also generally well thought of and for trams should be a good bet; they're not quite ideal for higher speeds where heavy haulage is involved.

Hi Rick

Thanks for the write up regards "Black Beetle" kit. I have looked and wondered and they sound OK since street tramway is not notoriously heavy haulage or high speed.
As far as Bachmann are concerned I don't care if I have to order via the dealer but my local guys seemed to think that they would not deal with tram spares as it's a niche market.
Part numbers are a piece of cake as there is a fully annotated exploded diagram with the model. It's really good but useless if I can't get the bits.

I'll just have to have another look at Hollywood Foundry. As I recall they very helpfully give full measurement details.

Once more thanks for the usefull info.

Jim

Hi Jim,

I'll second Rick. I've also used Black Beetles - highly recommended. I powered a LIMA GWR diesel railcar with one, good low speed control, especially when driven with DCC. The only issue is the wheel diameter limit. I've also used the traction trucks from Stanton - excellent slow running and very low power draw, and already wired for DCC . Stanton drives have a minimum wheel diameter of 33" (in HO, 29" in 4mm) and come with standard, fine-or fine-scale treads. Ideal for traction trucks, I use 2 in a gas-electric "Doodlebug", which has trucks identical to those found in interurban trolleys. Runs OK with one (the other is destined for a Bachmann gas electric). Again, highly recommended.

Both have dummy trucks available, which keeps the cost down. I've used cheap power trucks at various times over the years, paying a bit more for a quality item has proved to be the best option in the long run.

Nigel

Hi Nigel
There are the usual problems of wheel size (9mm) and wheelbase (truck 32mm & bogies 18mm)  so if any of the recommended sites can cope that is a starting point.
Also my archive has some superb work by Ted Scannell using Nigel Lawton micro motors so that may be the way forward



That is a 00 gauge axle and almost a prototype solution.
 So you can see that I have a lot to go at if I take this route but I was hoping for a quick fix. At least it will be interesting.

Regards

Jim