Not to go off on this tangent too far, but X car company makes junk stories are like opinions. Everyone's got one and they're all different. We could spend all day arguing which company has the worst reputation, ford, GM, Crysler, BMW (well, maybe not BMW, but you get the point) It really doesn't get you anywhere, so I don't like to bother with it. As for Bachman, I understand where you're coming from, but not everyone is coming from the same place or has the same requirements.
Bachmann vs Lifelike I must agree that the Bachmann Plus line is not all that great. As stated up the page the F-7 was a mish-mash of odd parts. As for the GP-30 the shell of the Bachmann is very good and I agree that wire handrails are far better than the "rubber" ones that come on the unit. As for the Ford debate I'm a loyal Ford customer and have a 1985 Ford Crown Victoria with 214643 miles on it. In the 18 years I've owned the car I have only been stuck once. If I knew how to paste up a photo of the Ford I would do it. The car is in excellent condition inside and out. FORD means First On Race Day
My Dad's 86 Country Squire started to burn oil at about 7 years of age, but it kept on trucking until 11 when some idiot colloge girl in a subcompact darted out in traffic and got hit by him. The subcompact was totaled, the Ford only had minor damage, but insurance totaled the car. The burning oil was my dad's fault for being lax on oil changes. Can't blame the car for that. Oh, the aftermarket Transmission cooler blew in a really really hard freeze once. Like a line blew out, but that was aftermarket, not ford.
My three Bachmann's 44 ton, doodlebug and an SD40 are noisy and fall short in quality of the P2K, Athearn Genesis and BLI stuff I have, however, I paid a lot less for the Bachmanns. I'll replace them as other alternatives become available. My 2-8-0 spectrum is a honey of a locomotive though. Joe
The only alternative to Bachmann 44-tonners in HO would either be Keystone or brass. Given that plus the detail and slow speeds in the Bachmann offerings (I bought from the first run, which has 2 motors), I'm keeping mine. I've used 'em in switching work, but never in mainline service, due to their size (just like the real ones). Add Kadee couplers, and off you go. I have a friend of mine who has the doodlebug, and he seems quite happy with it. Hasn't convinced me to get one, but I'm not that big into passenger service myself.
I bought both the 44 tonner and the Doodlebug used on ebay, so I wonder if it is possible I just have noisy ones. I do like the detail on the 44 toner. I seem to recall that I bought it based upon your recommendation too! Thanks, I love the looks of it. Got to get a decoder in it one of these days, I really like what Wolfgang did to his. Did you see the article he got published in the NMRA magazine? The name of the mag escapes me. Long day just flew in home from Louisville, KY. Joe
Yep, I definitely have my opinions on Fords and Bachmans. Fords from personal experience and from talking to other owners of them. Ford quality is hit or miss and not worth the risk in my humble opinion. Some get lucky and have few serious problems, but I had to depend on luck. Someone posted a new article that Ford has bested Toyota for quality recently. I found that very interesting that I am supposed to now trust Ford quality over night, and ignore years of past history? Not going to happen. They need to build a track record based on years of quality and statistics before I lay big money down on a Ford again. (not when my head gasket went bad at only 60k miles!) As for Bachman, I've read too many reviews that were unfavorable. I realize that for some loco's, like the 44 tonner, its Bachman or brass. So I don't blame someone for buying those when they aren't available in plastic from anyone else. I would advise making sure you get the more recent run as the original run (old) was not so hot. Anyway, If someone asks my opinion (as happened here in this thread) about Bachman, I'm not shy about giving it. I hate to see someone spend hard earned money on a loco and have buyers remorse. I bought 2 of the F40PH's (Spectrum) when they first came out and was disappointed. It got rid of them while they were still new in the box. I was "forever" before a good quality and more accurate model finally came out from KATO. True, but I like to make "informed" decisions. I expect others want to buy with their eyes open so I'm offering information. People can then buy knowing the good and the bad. IMHO, Bachman Plus are in the "better quality toy train sets" category and they may run a little better than what comes in a boxed toy train set and the fidelity to the prototype is going to be somewhat lacking. The Spectrum line is a little better but if anyone cars about fidelity, again, its going to be a judgement call. The SD45 Spectrum was improved substantially over the Plus and worth a second look to the more serious modeler. But the Proto 2000 and KATO SD45 are really nice and worth it. I hope Athearn offers and SD45 based on the Rail Power shell as it will give people a less expensive but good quality version of that model. Take the GP35 (its a Bachman Plus and got very medocre review in MR magazine). You can get an Athearn RTR GP35 for not much more and they are nice. I'd advise anyone to check to see if there is an alternative before buying any Bachman engine.
Any? Jim, I have a Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0 factory equipped with Tsunami sound and it is top drawer. Others on TB & elsewhere have very positive comments on their Spectrum steam. Can the Diesels be far behind?
Funny, but the two first-run 44-tonners I have run just fine. Maybe I got lucky, who knows? Ditto with the 70-tonner. As for diesels, I have several P2K SD45s, and I agee they're nicer than the Spectrums. I also have two RPP SD45 shells on reworked Athearn chassis, also good runners. And ditto on the GP35s- two Athearn RT GP35s in Frisco, and on one of the numbers they even got the right trucks (AAR type B roadtrucks, like the Alco trade-ins). My Spectrum Russian Decapod is a very sweet-running engine- the only thing I did to it was install Kadee number 58s and move the doghoue on the tender over to center. I bought the 44-tonners and Decapod based on what I was told, and also how well the detail was- fortunately for me the two match. MY expreiences, FWIW
Yes, The steam engines are in a different class from everything I've read. If I didn't specify it above, and I think I did, it is the Bachman diesel line that leaves something to be desired. I think there must have been a different person in charge of the Bachman steam production. I never owned any, but I've read a number comments over the years that there was a big difference between the early and late run 44 tonner mechanisms. If you got good running engines, count your blessings. Most of the dings I've been aware of regarding Bachman diesels have concerned the larger road units, like the F40PH, GP35, SD45, GE units (I'm not a GE man), and others. The dings haven't been so much on running characteristics but the model's fidelity to the prototype, errors in the dimensions of the wind shields, crudeness of truck sideframes, overall crude molding, etc. Again, the steam division is in a different class.
Ok I couldn't take the stress of the Thread and I just had to go and buy a Bachmann. Bachmann GP35 on the left and an Atlas GP38-2 on the right. The Atlas is a little nicer in detal and the finish is not as glossy as the Bachmann. They are different models so there would noticeable differences in the shells. As to on the track. The Atlas is quieter and slightly smoother on my crap power pack. Now here is the But, The Atlas RTR cost me 92.99 CND and the Bachmann 49.99 CND and the Bachmann is factory DCC equipped. So that's almost 2 locos for the price of one. Also the DCC is installed and not an extra. So on my little part of the CP world where I am not totally concerned with all out detail. I will most likely use a mix of both.
Cool, The only GP35's I have are 4 KATO units (2 D&RGW and 2 CB&Q which pooled over the Rio Grande with GP30's in 1965 and 1966). They run like swiss watches and are so silky smooth. It looks like the red CP paint job is very forgiving of the Bachman shell. By the way, is that a recent production run? I've heard Bachman has been offering some stuff lately that may have been impoved.
I had a couple of UP Bachmann locos. They wo not that bad to look at but this one is an improvement. It was in the display case at George's Trains along with the Atlas, Atheran and others. I had to look real close to see any differences. In fact the sales guy first told me it was an Atlas. I didn't compare it to another GP35 to see if there were any issues. I ran it on their test track with a power cab DCC system and it worked like a charm. AT home I am just running DC at the moment and it works good on DC also.
If your really worried about wether the windshield on your loco is 6 scale inches shorter than the prototype (like some folks here appear to be - and if thats your thing there is nothing wrong with that) dont buy Bachman. If you want to have fun in the hobby while not spending big bucks, go for it. For the price your not going to find better value than Bachman with DCC on board. Don't get me wrong, while they are not going to match the Kato's or the Proto 2000's, they are a decent enough loco withh DCC at a great price. I have two groups of loco's on my layout. I have a stable of Proto 2000 units that I run and a group of Bachman/Athearn for when my kids are railroading since they are a little harder on them. Just remember. It doesnt matter what brand of loco you run as long as you enjoy running it.
I have a Spectrum SD45 undec that runs really well, and plan on "Cannonizing" in the near future. I know I could go and get a P2K or Kato, but I enjoy bashing locos anyway... And I recently purchased one of the new Bachmann GP38-2s. For the money spent on it it looks pretty good and is a good runner. I plan on trying to retrofit a better looking fuel tank, but other than that I'm happy. Sure, there are flaws that can be pointed out, but I try to be positive and am glad to see a mfr striving to improve their products.
I agree Steve and we can be sure that as they add sound to their Diesel fleet, there will be additional pressure on their competitors to keep their prices down. BTW, I use my Bachmanns as test mules for testing track and computer programming. Better to wear out the inexpensive than the expensive. Joe
ok my informal test results after one day of running the Atlas and Bachmann. the Atlas is stronger on the up hill grade on the back straight. I don't have to alter throttle settings to maintain a decent speed without picking up to much on the down grade. the Atlas is smoother at very low speeds on DC. The Bachmann has better lighting. It comes on at lower DC voltage and is brighter at low power. overall the Atlas is a better performer but the Bachmann is not that far behind.
Bob mentioned the Athearn GP35. I HATE the Athearn blue box 35. It's a terrible model with in appropriate hood width and that terrible cab. The Bachmann almost can't help but be better. The blue box SD45 has the same issues. The cab on the Bachman looks a little off, but a few minutes with some Cannon parts and you'd have an excellent model and it would still be cheaper. Plus, you can have the pride of doing it yourself.
Yoho, I agree with you on the Athearn blue-box GP35, but I was referring to the new RTR line, which uses the RailPower Plus GP35 shell. The new model is a vast improvement over the older "wide-shell" model, hands-down. Kinda wish Athearn would come out with an RTR SD45........but with LifeLike and Kato models out, I wonder if it will happen
It's the side windows. They're too tall. Other than that feature (which is glaringly obvious to me), the Bachmann doesn't look bad.
