Bachmann, you've successfully grabbed my attention!

Mark Watson Jul 13, 2011

  1. bumthum

    bumthum TrainBoard Member

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    Im pretty excited about the RS-3 as well. I model B&M and am breaking the bank try to track down diesel motive power. If the 44 tonner I bought last year is any indication of the quality of these new RS-3s then it will save me from paying through the nose for an Atlas. If only they would shrink that S4 down to N or, better yet, make an S2!
     
  2. Thieu

    Thieu TrainBoard Member

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    When I saw the S-4, I started to get excited. But it was HO. And no mention of an N scale version...
     
  3. Frank Campagna

    Frank Campagna TrainBoard Member

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    When they announced the HO RS-3, there was no mention of an N scale version. Hope they follow up in N scale with that. the FA-2's would be nice, also.

    Frank
     
  4. country joe

    country joe TrainBoard Member

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    You're right, there are no pictures of the 40' boxcars.
     
  5. Cajonpassfan

    Cajonpassfan TrainBoard Supporter

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    This keeps popping up here and on other groups over and over: the new Bachmann 2-10-2 is NOT a Santa Fe locomotive. Rather, it is a standard light United Stated Railway Administration design used by several railroads, notably the Southern, Seaboard and others, but not the Santa Fe. "Santa Fe" simply refers to the wheel arrangement, because AT&SF was the first railroad to use 2-10-2's in large numbers, starting in 1903, way before the USRA was created during WWI. Santa Fe never owned any USRA locomotives of any wheel arrangement; in fact its management was not very USRA-friendly.

    Having said that, I believe the new Bachman light 2-10-2 model could well serve as the basis for a model of the 57"-drivered Santa Fe 900/1600/3000 classes, a number of which survived into the fifties. We'll just have wait and see when the model comes out. Can't wait...:)

    Regards, Otto
     
  6. MioneRR

    MioneRR TrainBoard Member

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    Having seen them in person at Sacramento, I'm very impressed. They will truly elevate Bachmann. Those that bash Bachmann because they are Bachmann will miss out on some fine models. If they operate as well as they look. The tank car looked better in person than the picture on their site.

    FWIW
     
  7. wcfn100

    wcfn100 TrainBoard Member

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    Before everyone gets too excited, the Bachmann S4 has the wrong cab on it. S4 models had cabs with sealed windows which can be identified by the rounded corners. Hopefully there will be enough feedback from the HO model that if they do this in N, they will fix it. Or even better, use the cab they have and produce an S2 instead.


    Jason
     
  8. LOU D

    LOU D TrainBoard Member

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    Mark,they look like the exact same trucks they've always had,if they still have that stupid screw,even MTL's will be a challenge to get to look right.Those trucks were sub standard 35 years ago,they're not even a real prototype.A modern boxcar like that Railbox car should have roller bearing trucks.These days,that's simply not acceptable.If they truly want to get out of the toy market,their freight trucks and wheels need a facelift.Think about it.If they made a better truck/coupler/wheelsets,the act of installing them even on the cars they make now would lift the quality of the entire line..No brainer to me,the trucks are the worst part of every car they make.
     
  9. PGE-N°2

    PGE-N°2 TrainBoard Member

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    I am hoping the same thing: the coach actually looks quite nice. I am rather disillusioned by the MRSP for the Doodlebug and trailer together, as it does seem a bit steep for a relatively basic model, that is not even a steam locomotive.
     
  10. SteamDonkey74

    SteamDonkey74 TrainBoard Supporter

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    Yeah, I have one of the earlier runs of Doodlebugs, and while it is not DCC RTR and has no trailer, it seems like $275 is a bit steep considering that I bought my used one for about $40, and a decoder plus my labor to put it in *MAYBE* is worth about $50, and the coupler conversion is about $10, and throwing on even a really nice "trailer" like a Wheels of Time coach at list price would be another $40 or so, giving me a total of about $140.
     
  11. Frank Campagna

    Frank Campagna TrainBoard Member

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    People need to start their own manufacturing businesses so they can create all these cheap, super detailed, super accurate models they are demanding. I'll be waiting with cash in hand.
     
  12. Mike C

    Mike C TrainBoard Member

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    OK went to LHS today and put in order for the 2-10-2 and the Gas Electric. delivered price on 2-10-2 should be "arround'" 225.00 dollars. A bit expensive, but it does come with a decoder that I won't have to install myself !
    The Gas electric " should " deliver at arround 175.00 dollars. Again a bit expensive, but....
    Now if they just run as good as they look..... (btw I AM a Bachman supporter ) .......Mike
     
  13. PGE-N°2

    PGE-N°2 TrainBoard Member

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    Well they could also manufacture a bunch more high paying jobs to give away so people might have the money to at least consider spending on these new super detailed models that aren't priced within a range that people can reasonably afford. Maybe the price will determine the sales, though and they will end up with a lot of stock remaining unsold as a result.
     
  14. LOU D

    LOU D TrainBoard Member

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    I gotta say,I'm with you guys.I can't immagine paying close to $200 bucks for a gas electric[175 plus tax] no matter who makes it,let alone Bachmann,unless maybe it was brass.With all the technology to make products these days,CNC,matrix printing,laser engraving,ETC,all these technologies that make it so easy to produce stuff these days,seems to me the only reason why model train manufacturers get so much for this stuff is because they drive up the prices artificially by limiting production.I'm glad I have almost every loco I've ever wanted to model.If I was just getting interested in trains,I'm not sure my interest would last long at these prices.That 2-10-2 costs as much as I paid for my Big Boy 10 years ago...
     
  15. Thieu

    Thieu TrainBoard Member

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    Terrible, that conspiracy of model railroad manufaturers who want to grab all our money by charging us too high prices on their bad products, and then go with all those many millions of profit to the Bahamas and buy luxureous villas and cars!
     
  16. SteamDonkey74

    SteamDonkey74 TrainBoard Supporter

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    Well, the price of the new run of motorcars has inspired me to convert mine to DCC, which I started doing just tonight.
     
  17. oldrk

    oldrk TrainBoard Supporter

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    I just bought one of the new Bachmann DD40ax for $59. You can find the older doodlebugs for around $50 on the auction site. New MT passenger cars go for around $20. Throw in a decoder and you are looking at something around $100 for a decoder equiped doodlebug and coach. Lets see what the street price is when they are finally released.
     
  18. LOU D

    LOU D TrainBoard Member

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    I'd really love to know the actual profit margin on model trains.A good friend of mine worked for a major slotcar company years ago,last I head from him,he was the vice president of a HUGE toy company you've all heard of.At the time,one particular new slotcar we were selling at the track I ran on the weekends had a list price of $13.99..Joe told me it cost 18c to make!!!
     
  19. Westfalen

    Westfalen TrainBoard Member

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    You can't really compare the Rivarossi Big Boy, good as they were, that was made 30+ years ago with a state of the art loco today.
     
  20. temp

    temp TrainBoard Member

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    A number to throw around would be $15, but the cost price is really dependent on the company. Some of the European manufacturers don't just use their fathers outdated production methods, they use their grandfathers. Bachmann is at the opposite end of the spectrum - they don't carry around the defensive attidude that trains are "SCALE MODELS not TOYS", so they have the full benefit of the advances pioneered by that multi-billion dollar toy industry (Seriously, look at kids toys today. They've got dolls that can recognize facial expressions). American companies could do it better and cheaper then Bachmann, but it would mean thinking outside the box and leaving that 50s mindset behind. Look at where rapid prototyping/CNC machining/3D printing is today and how fast it's moving. How far off are we from the point that small production runs like model trains can be made less expensively with these machines then shelling out for tooling costs for every prototype. If a programmable machine could do all the cutting and assembling, would the material cost of brass or other premium material really be more then plastic and its associated tooling requirements for small runs? How big an advantage would it be if [Company X] could spit out 100 units economically without any setup? How many more sales could they make it they could build to order on a weekly basis?
     

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