I've got a DCC equipped Spectrum 2-8-0 that has a few issues I was hoping I could get some feedback on: #1: It needs a LOT of power. I'm using an NCE Power Cab DCC, and the thing won't even crawl until about notch 10, and even at full throttle it only runs about maybe half the speed, at most, that my other locomotives would run at full blast. I've run it quite a while, hoping that the motor just needed to be broken in, but it's still very sluggish. #2: The headlight doesn't work unless the locomotive is moving. Also, if the engine is running with the headlight off, and then I turn the headlight on, it slows the engine down quite noticeably, as if it's drawing more power than it should. Any ideas?
They are geared pretty low, so the top-end speed is quite a bit lower than most locomotives (which is probably prototypical). Mine starts moving at about step 7 under DCC, and at step 28 (full speed) it takes about 8 seconds to go 3 feet. It runs considerably faster in analog mode, but only because my MRC throttle cranks out 20 volts at the top end (as opposed to the 15 volts of my DCC system). My headlight doesn't affect speed. Sounds like that could be a decoder problem, a wiring problem, or a problem with the headlight PC board. If it were mine, I'd just send it back to Bachmann and get another one. Cheers, -Mark
