Nottingham Sub: Steam Time

Hi folks - its been a bit since I posted, but I have been staying active and have been working on the layout and some other projects, but not at a fast pace. Last year (early 2021), a friend of mine needed sound added to a couple of HO scale Bachmann 80 ton shay models. Sound was added with a Soundtraxx TSU 1100 steam -2 decoder and ESU sugar cube speakers. They both turned out nicely and I must admit they sure did look and sound great! I went for a visit back in Dec and he ran the locos. When I got home, I went on the internet to see what was available in these models (I told myself just was going to look) - perhaps I shouldn't have LOL! Anyway to make a long story short, I am now the owner of an HO scale Bachmann 80 Ton Shay which I added the same decoder as I did for my friends. I did do a bit more to mine, as I replaced all the light bulbs with Surface mount LEDS ( golden white) including the firebox light which I can now control with a flicker effect! Doing this was by far the biggest part of the project, as the model had to be take apart extensively. Luckily I was able to find a couple of articles on the internet explaining how to do this. I worked slowly and labeled and bagged every part and screw that I had to take off the model. I was also fortunate to have a fellow NMRA member in my region who gave me advice and answered some of my questions, as he did this same project recently (Thank_you Greg!) Anyway the model is now equipped with the Soundtrax TSU 1100 Steam -2 decoder (located in the water tender) and a Soundtraxx Sugar Cube speaker located in the coal bunker. I had to scratch build a new coal load as the original one took up all the interior of the coal bunker and would not have allowed a speaker to be installed there - this was a relatively easy thing to do - I cut out a piece of .060 styrene, spray painted it flat black and glue woodland scenics coal onto the top - in place it looks just as good as the original coal load and the model sounds nice. On a final note, these Bachmann models are notorious for the cracked gear issue and so I did take a chance ordering this one - it was listed as never used, but one never knows! When I inspected the model, I did see 1 - possibly 2 gears that were cracked, but the model still ran nicely (even better after the decoder was installed and some run time ). I emailed Bachmann and the response was that replacement parts are no longer available for these models. That being said, North West Short lines do make replacement gears for these and so I took the liberty and ordered a set (they come in 6 to a set), as they were currently available( sometimes they aren't). So my plan is to keep these gears but not change them out unless the model starts to run badly in the future. This model will not be a regular locomotive on my layout, but I like it and will take it out to run once in awhile and enjoy watching all the moving parts that these models are famous for. Till next time