Had a chance to run of these jewels at our train club tonight. WOW -- Bachmann has raised the bar............ Bachmann has hit a "home run" with this new locomotive. On a scale of 1 to 10 I would rate it a 9.9 To me the only drawback is the Rapido coupler on the tender, which can easily be replaced with a knuckle coupler. If you haven't had a chance to see this new loco, run, don't walk to your local hobby dealer. You will be pleasantly surprised. eNjoy Don B
Best thing to come out in N Scale in 2001 as far as I am concerned, it runs very well too. I think the rapido coupler is a draw back, but very easy to remove I would believe. I give it a 9.5, I still think, regardless of that fact that it is a steamer that there is room for improvement in terms of how it runs. Not sure how much it can pull, but I would run one of these around just to see it on my layout! MERRY CHRISTMAS! Dane
I sure hope you are right on the engine's performance. I have 3 of them on order. Rapido coupler, no problem, I am sure that Micro-Trains will put out a conversion kit for it. Just hope that MTL does the kit the same way they did the KATO Mikado kit, and make the front coupler usable. I need double heading capabilities on the INDIANA RAILWAY coal drags. Maybe the Consol will even be able to double head with a Mikado! Another Consol on the rear pushing! Will the engine be DCC ready? A plug maybe? I can hope can't I?
It is good to see another manufacturer making a quality steam locomotive. All the reports I have seen have been favourable, so even my modern era railroad will find an excuse to have one of these
I have converted over two of these puppies for DCC. It is straightforward conversion. Due to the space constraints only two decoder will fit in the engine, Lenz LE077XF or LE010XF, the digitrax DZ121 or DZ120's will require frame modification (the latter not recommended). Posted on the NDCC list file section you will find two files I created for the DCC conversion one is a Power Point presentation and the other is an adobe PDF file both are the same in content. Sorry for the large file sizes but a picture is worth a thousand words. Bachmann 2 8 0 decoder install instructions As far as MT's go there is no front pilot conversion out there yet. I have toyed with the idea of installing an 1123/25 coupler but too much of the front pilot detail would be carved out to make it fit. Bawaaaaaa The tender requires an 1129 coupler per Micro Trains recommendation. You will have to do some fiddling to get it to work. The draft gearbox opening will have to be filed to remove the draft angle from the molding process. The small metal MT part will need to be thinned to fit inside the draft gear box (top, bottom and sides). Its a pain but it can be done. Enjoy Kestutis Sonta mailto:sonta@home.com
On MTs web page the 2-8-0 they have listed in the online Conversion chart is the old 2-8-0. They haven't listed any info on the new Bachman 2-8-0 yet. It would be listed here: http://www.micro-trains.com/corner.htm
Found a quick order source for the Bachmann 2-8-0 Consolidation. Ordered mine last week on the 19th and got confirmation tonight (26th) that it's in the mail. Got the unlettered version....plan to do a PRR makeover on it. Another winter project coming up. Ordered via Brooklyn Locomotive Works.. Brookyn Locomotive Works ......Eddie
Hopefully this is a sign of things to come. Could Bachmann be joining Kato, Atlas, and to some extent Life Like in producing top notch N scale Locos both steam and diesal I hope so. My Bachmann SD40-2's sound like a old coffee grinder.
Has anyone else noticed prices creeping up on the 2-8-0? ex: BLW had them listed for $83.50 prior to the rave reviews on the forums and now they are $87.50? I have also seen them listed as high as $102+
Bachmann also released the F7 this month. Supposedly an all new model. Unfortunately from the reviews I have seen it appears to be the same old 'coffee grinder' that the Plus model was. The only model that Bachmann announced for 2002 was the Acela. I wonder how many people who were attracted to N scale were turned off after they purchased a Bachmann starter set.
I need to add that my SD40-2's run but loudly. They are no where near the quality that Kato and Atlas produce. Considering that the SD40's are a split frame type model what is Bachmann doing wrong? Of course it sounds like Bachmann has got this steam thing right. Now Bachmann let's work on those diesals, please. There is no doubt that Bachmann hits the right price point in its models. These steamers at around $90 are quite reasonable.
Well I got my Bachmann 2-8-0 Consolidation in the mail today. Only one week from order with BLW. Looks great, runs great. Gave it a 10 minute breakin run with 15 cars(all with MT wheel sets) and it pulled slow and steady , even up a 2% climb. Motor runs fast but gears maintain a nice slow proto speed. Small motor or gear buzz, but may lessen with usage. Rubber wheels on third set of drivers aids the forward pull but noticed some slippage in reverse due to weight shift onto to forward drivers. Put 25 cars behind her and she pulled as well as with the 15. Looks like it can pull 10-15 more with no big problem. Put a Kato static knuckle coupler on tender to run tests, a easy replacement. I'm happy with it. Now to get up the nerve to begin headlight, steam pipe changes and decals to make it PRR! ...Eddie
