1. skipgear

    skipgear TrainBoard Member

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    I have a B&O ABBA set and absolutely love them. I never understood the complaints about noise. They geared very low and the noise is just gear whine. Real loco's make noise, we spend close to $100 to add sound to loco's, these have fairly accurate sound built in for free. They pull....well...., like a freight train. I don't think I have enough cars to stop the ABBA set.

    [​IMG]

    The decoders are long gone but easy enough to install. There isn't much too the light board to figure out a decoder install.

    I picked mine up when Bachmann was unloading the ER packaged units. Our "Favorite Spot" to buy Bachmann had them by the case loads and I waited patiently to pick up the 2 AB sets for under $50 including shipping. Can't complain at all at less than $12.50 per loco.

    [​IMG]

    That reminds me, I still need to put couplers on these.
     
  2. LOU D

    LOU D TrainBoard Member

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    Oh well,see ya in hell..LOL!! I bought 3-ABBA sets of PRR's,one's getting left alone,the A's from one set are being painted D&H as we speak,they ran less than 300 feet from my house..the B's are being used as power for CNJ Babyfaces I'm working on,and the other ABBA set is getting painted PRR single stripe..I really like these,they run great,just a little noisy.
     
  3. PGE-N°2

    PGE-N°2 TrainBoard Member

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    Wow! That's quite a swindle, does that favorite spot still have any left for that price?

    But if they can sell locomotives off at the kind of pricing, are they still making any money on the product by that point?
     
  4. skipgear

    skipgear TrainBoard Member

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    Favorite Spot is on Ebay. He had them Buy It Now at $45 per pair + $10 shipping when they were blowing them out. They also had auctions starting at 1 cent. I waited out the auctions and watched the prices drop to the point that I got mine. Shortly after I picked up mine, the penny auctions stopped and he was only selling them Buy It Now. My guess was that the auction pricing got down below what his cost was so they stopped. This was 2 years ago. They have been long gone since. When they show up it seems the tend to sell in the $50 per pair range unless it is the D&H which can get up there because they are much harder to find.
     
  5. Thieu

    Thieu TrainBoard Member

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    Some of our clubmembers already had the PRR and NYC versions. I remembered a coffee grinder sound. When a friend wanted to sell his B&O Sharks with decoder and MTL couplers installed, I bought them. And yes, they also sound like a coffee grinder.

    Now, our club has Sharks is three versions: the above mentioned PRR and NYC, and my B&O engines.

    [​IMG]

    They run great. Low speeds, but a lot of pulling power.
     
  6. LOU D

    LOU D TrainBoard Member

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    That's exactly where I got my three ABBA sets,bought 4 ABBA sets of Spectrum F's at the same time.I wanted a set of D&H,but they're going for 120 dollars or more on Ebay.I already had the decals,I bought 4 for way less money,ended up with chassis for my CNJ's Babyfaces.My paint will probably look better,anyway..
     
  7. oldrk

    oldrk TrainBoard Supporter

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    Several for sale on ebay now.
     
  8. 6axlepwr

    6axlepwr New Member

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    These are actually nice models. I purchased seven sets off Ebay last year to model the entire Monongahela roster. I test ran them on a club layout and I was VERY impressed with their operation.

    One issue I found on all of them. All wheels are out of gage. This was only found when they rolled over switches. That is it. I have yet to detail and paint them, but I look forward to it.

    Brian
     
  9. PGE-N°2

    PGE-N°2 TrainBoard Member

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    I only have one A-B set, so far, although I might have a line on a couple more sets once I can get some money to do it. I haven't had any problems with wheels being out of alignment, but I did have a problem with most of the club members in my local railroad club not having any idea what a sharknose was, or even what Baldwin Locomotive Works was. They thought the name Baldwin was a model manufacturer instead of a real historical locomotive builder.
     
  10. eric220

    eric220 TrainBoard Member

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    I've got two ABBA sets of these ER beauties, and my experiences seem to mirror those that have already been expressed. The only difference is that if you leave these sitting for any length of time (like someone trying to sell a 6-year-old still-in-original-package) the "prototypical speed" is more like prototypical yard speed. Something in the 6-10 SMPH range. After some cleaning, lubing, and running time, between the two sets, I got an ABA set up to 35 SMPH. With some running, that can go up to 40 SMPH. Still, they look awesome.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
     
  11. attictrains

    attictrains New Member

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    On the fence with them

    If I remember they are a low budget Bachmann they can pull but they were noisy so I traded mine
     
  12. PGE-N°2

    PGE-N°2 TrainBoard Member

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    I don't mind the slow speeds (scale or not). I really really prefer running at slower speeds, anyway. It just seems more visually correct to me. I do admit that they are a little noisy, though, but that seems also to be related to the speed. If you crank the throttle up, it makes them scream quite loudly and they might not go that much faster. That just eliminates the need for a sound system then. Locomotives are supposed to be noisy machines.
     
  13. PGE-N°2

    PGE-N°2 TrainBoard Member

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    I just have another question, since they are considered to be cheap Bachmanns by some: has anyone here had any issues with the gears slipping out of place like one of mine did
    [FONT=Arial,Helvetica]?[/FONT]

    I`m just curious to know, because when i tore down the truck assembly, I noticed that they have the white plastic gears, and I have heard potentially disturbing things about those particular gears on other Bachmann models.

    Also, if anyone has had gear issues, what`s the best prescription for fixing them permanently, because I am really hoping this is not a recurring issue. Maybe it`s the trauma incurred from transporting them back and forth to the club layout and in and out of their little boxes, but somehow that doesn`t really add up to me, since most reviews I have heard of them have been favorable, aside from the gear noise itself.
     
  14. Gordon Werner

    Gordon Werner TrainBoard Member

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    ER Models was only the importer of those talgo sets.

    they were produced by Electrotren (from Spain) ...

    http://www.electrotren.es/index.asp


    I do know someone who has the 6-car set plus two extra first class cars and a bar car that they are willing to sell ... but they want a lot of $$ for them.
     
  15. David Leonard

    David Leonard TrainBoard Member

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    IIRC the problem with the plastic gears in Bachmann locos (from Plus Series days) was the type of plastic used, not indicated by color. The earlier type shrunk with age and then cracked because the metal axles didn't shrink. Bachmann remedied this within a couple of years, and I haven't heard many complaints in the last 10-12 years.
     
  16. bremner

    bremner Staff Member

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    I wish that I got an ABBA set at $50....I just wonder how they would look in Black Widow
     
  17. PGE-N°2

    PGE-N°2 TrainBoard Member

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    Keep your eyes out for one. They come up every so often on Ebay. I imagine they might look pretty smart in the Black Widow, especially if the silver paint on the nose closely followed the shape of the famous sharknose curve.

    My new question, right now, is whether it is still possible to get replacement spare motors for the sharks, as I think I have one that is bad order. I know E-R models no longer exists, and the sharks are marketed by Bachmann. Do I call Bachmann?
     
  18. Inkaneer

    Inkaneer TrainBoard Member

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    I too was very disappointed with hte noise when I got mine and ran them at home. But when I took them to the club and ran them on the layout there they ran noiselessly. The difference was that at home I ran them on a MRC DC pack but at the club I ran them on an Aristo Craft radio throttle which used a pure filtered DC supply. That made all the difference in the world. There was still a gear whine at the top end of the speed dial but these engines were no speed queens the models were thus geared so low that high speed gear whine was probably to be expected. Still the models mirrored their prototypes in sheer lugging ability.
     
  19. PGE-N°2

    PGE-N°2 TrainBoard Member

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    In regards to my ongoing issues with a Bachmann-ER Models Baldwin sharknose, does anyone think it might still be possible to get a replacement motor for this model from Bachmann? I have the loco diagram with the part numbers listed, but they are E-R models part numbers, and not Bachmann part numbers.
     

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