I've been in N-scale for quite awhile but might do a small shelf layout in HO. My experience years ago with Bachman HO was that it was poor quality. Any opinions on the latest generation of diesels?
the newer DCC on Board locos are all new tooling and run well, on par with Athearn, I really like the new SD 40-2s
I have an F7 A&B set and 2 SD-45's in the Bachmann Plus line. I would set that they run as well as any of my Athearn Blue-box units, so I am satisfied with their performance. The SD-45s run quiet, the F7 units I believe are older and a bit noisy when running at top speed. Since I paid $20 a piece for them on clearance, they are a good value for the money. Stay away from the old Bachmann diesels that do not have the flywheel driven mechanism and all wheel pickup.
I have quite a few of the newer Bachmann DCC OnBoard units. I remove the DCC boards from them and rewire them for DC. They run quite well. I reuse the DCC boards in my P2K E and PA units.
I have some older Spectrum engines that run pretty darn well. I also have an ABA set of the FT "regular" engines - they need a little breaking in and need to be properly lubricated (as does any engine) - they run OK...
When buying HO locos you get what you pay for, so I would steer clear of the cheep and go for quality. Bachmann locos have improved but I would still prefer other manufactures, Atlas or Kato for example. I am really impresed with the latest Atlas locos, excellent detail, crisp paintwork and flawless runners.
I only have a couple of Bachmann diesels, both dash8-40-C's. Look good, run well and didn't cost a packet. Jon
I haven't seen the new issue stuff, but I personally would stear clear of any thing Bachman makes based on past history. All of the stuff reviewed in Model Railroader magazine got dinged as having errors in dimensions and fidelity to the real thing. The reviewer of several Bachmann diesels called them "4-foot" models. If you don't view them closer than 4 feet away, you may not notice the errors and problems. The Bachman Plus SD45 was a model with a number of shortcomings in detail. The side frames were very crude, the windshield was incorrect in dimensions and the fans of the roof were crude too. The Spectrum version of the SD45 was greatly improved and I wouldn't recommend anything less than the Spectrum SD45 (I prefer the KATO or perhaps the Proto 2000 SD45 - but I only own KATO). The Spectrum F40PH was badly done the first runs - wheel base was too far apart, the pilot was flat on the front and badly rendered and the roof sat almost a scale foot too low. Mounting couplers at the correct distance was next to impossible too as there was no room with the trucks too far otu. The GP35 was like wise dinged in the normally fluffy and positive MR review section. For a diesel to get a poor review in MR magazine, it has to have some problems as MR isn't usually very critical. People may think I'm being overly critical and I guess it depends on your wants and needs. There are so many choices on the market that you can do better for many of the diesels Bachmann offers. Athearn offers the RTR GP35 for example based on the RPP tooling. KATO GP35's are nice and run like a dream. Athearn offers a nice SD40-2. KATO and P2K offer a much better SD45. You can get a very decent F40PH from Walthers which is much better than the Spectrum F40PH, and KATO offers them too.
Bachmann & Life Like The Bachmann Spectrum line is a great leap forward from the cheap toy line being marketed by them as model trains. The same can be said for Life Like Proto 1000 and Proto 2000 (now Walthers). The Life Like line was similar to Bachmann. Just toys and not models. I have three Bachmann Spectrum GP-30's and a GP-35 and they are close to Athearn in performance but quieter. In the Proto 2000 line I have some CB&Q E-9 units and they are wonderful and great performers as are the SP Alco PA-PB-PA set I have. The Proto 2000 line now produced by Walthers is on a par with Atlas and Kato. Stay away from the older cheap line of both Bachmann and Life Like unless using them as a teaching tool for a youngster getting their first train.
I own only 3 Spectrum diesels- two 44-tonners and a 70-tonner. All are exquisitely detailed, and run nice. They don't pull too many cars, but niether did the prototype, so there you go. They also have a low top speed, which is also prototypical. If you're into "critter" diesels, I would recommend these with no reservation. I did own a Spectrum GP30, but it sounded like a coffee grinder. Shame, because the detailing and paint were nice (it was a UP model). Since I don't own any Plus models, I have no opinion. By all means, run, don't walk, from older Bachmann engines, unless you want the shells for a junkyard scene. And if you can, test-run the locomotive you want to buy.
For a locomotive with sound and character without having to buy a sound decoder, Bachmann is a great bargin. And you can get DCC in there too for less then $50, which is a hella good deal although some people do not like MRC at all.
The Spectrum engines run OK but a little noisey. For the money they are a pretty good deal. They are about on apar with the Athearn BBs as far as noise goes. Tom
Given that I'm stuck in 1985 and think that Loco's over $50 in price are for snooty fancy pants rich people, I've been eyeing the Bachman DCC onboard line with some interest. Unfortunatly, I haven't installed DCC yet, so it's been just looking. Personally, I prefer kitbashing and detailing locos myself, so from that perspective, Kato and Atlas and Proto2K while pretty, are an aweful lot of money to take an xacto to. $50 for a Bachman though may be worth some experimentation.
Think of new Bachmanns this way........If you had a ferrarri and a ford, which one would you rather drive? The ford isn't "cheap junk", but it's not a ferrarri either.
I drive a Ford and I have though of it a cheap junk more then once. I have two Bachmann locos. They run not to bad. Are kinda noisy at 2/3 throttle or so. At slow speed the seam fairly quite.
It is true the both Bachman and Lifelike took leaps forward from their toy train product lines. However, I'd say Proto2000 made a bigger leap than Bachman. In terms of shells, and details, the Proto2000 loco's were substantially better than anything in the Spectrum line. For example, the Spectrum F40PH from Bachman had many dimensional errors in the shell and the chassis. The shell sat nearly a scale foot too low, the pilot was badly rendered and had a unprototypical flat spot, the wheel base was two scale feet too far apart and forget trying to mount couplers any thing close to a scale distance. They weren't all that great of runners either. I've read other critical review regarding many other Spectrum diesels (the steam situation is much better and a completely different story). The Bachman Plus line is horrible. The F7A was an odd mish mash of phase details and the pilot sat way too high off the rails and the height of the A unit was higher than the height of the B unit. They were somewhat crude in the molding too. Bachman Plus GP35 and SD45 had some serious fidelity issues regarding wind shields and truch side frames etc - and were called 4 foot models in Model Railroaders normally forgiving and fluffy reviews (ie if you get closer than 4 feet you will notice the flaws) In contrast the Proto1000 F3A and B are more crisply molded and look almost like Stewart (KATO) shells except with molded on grab irons etc. They run nice and smooth too and no mish mash of phase details or diminsional problems. Proto2000 is a much better situation too. The GP30 is offered in both phase I and II and is a work of art with many details applied. (Bachmans Spectrum GP30 holds up better in BTW in contrast to most of the other Spectrum offerings but not up to P2K standards). GP7's GP9's SD45 SD50 E7 E8 GP60 PA/PB, these are all very well rendered and hold up under scrutiny very well. I agree with your assessments of Proto2000 but if you are spoiled by todays nice quality stuff from Atlas, Genesis, Athearn RTR, Proto 2000 etc, then you will be disappointed with most of Bachmans "non toy set" quality loco's including many from the Spectrum line. Bachman fell short and didn't do their homework etc. A few of the Spectrum line are ok but many are not. Bachman Plus is really only appopriate if you want some trains for a child that are better than toy set trains but you won't mind if they meet the abuse they may be given.
You get what you pay for, but you can still get snooty fancy pants engines for beer budget prices if you look around. You can find Proto2000 on Ebay for around $50 and I've seen KATO SD45's go for about $60 if you bargain hunt. Atlas engines are worth the $60-70 you pay in quality, fidelity and smooth running. But with some shrude bargain hunting you can find some "better loco's" for around $50 each give or take. The newer Athearn RTR stuff is pretty nice too and can be had for around that price - some of them at discounters. Less risk on a cheap shell true... but some of them require alot of hacking and slashing to make up for the errors in fidelity. You start with something better, you end with something better. But Athearn BB diesels were that we in many cases, good accurate basic starting points that dress up nicely with details etc. GP40-2, GP38-2, GP50, GP60, and others. As for Ford - I owned a Ford Taurus new (94' model) and the head gasket went at 60k miles. Theres your Ford for you. I buy Toyota now and so far, no expensive head gasket or other major expensive repairs. You do get what you pay for. Get a Bachman or a Ford, then deal with the consequences. But with Bachman they don't look so good in many cases if you start comparing with the real thing too much. For some people that don't look at details and want a generic ok looking diesel, then Bachman may work for you.
And yet http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/19073071/ Inevitably these things devolve into arguments, but the point I'm trying to make is that not everybody wants the same out of a locomotive. I for one don't want to have to go bargin hunting on EBay. And it seems there's very little knowledge of the locos in question and a whole lot of hemming and hawing about Bachman in general. That's not particularly helpful. The price of entry in this hobby has gone up and I'd say faster then inflation. If the Bachman stuff works well and is reasonably accurate, then I support it 100%. There are other vendors for those that demand more and are willing to spend more. For me personally, Athaern Blue box and the equivelent are what I grew up on and that's the level of detail and quality (correct hoodwidth units only) that I need. I don't think it's right to discourage people looking for the same.
I am shocked at the Ford vs Toyota story. And frankly its going to take alot more than one story to convince me that 10-15 years of reputation of both car companies is now turned on its ear. I've seen way too many examples of poor quality in Ford to suddenly think they are golden. That includes person experience as well as knowing other owners first hand. Anyway, as models have gotten better in fidelity, so has the expectation of the buyer, including me. Even before the last 5-10 years, I've been reading reviews and Bachman has gotten the moniker Botchman for a very good reason. Just reading review after review has convinced me that Bachman isn't for me and nor can I recommend them to any modeler who cares about fidelity to the prototype. No model is perfect, but there is better and worse.
I own a few bachmann diesels and in my opinion they vary considerably. The gp30 looks too chunky,especially the handrails. The FT is an ok looker and runs superbly, the newer spectrum SD45 im very pleased with and as for the GE 44 and 70 ton switchers, well its a shed load cheaper than brass! paul
