Bachmann GP7

[unittrain]

Just received my Chessie B-man GP7 and it is a really nice locomotive the paint is good the handrails are awesome! I haven't tested it yet but looks like they are on the right path I will look forward to more of there stuff if they keep this up!

[asarge]

We tested one on the shop layout. Performance is ok. It is somehwat noisy, smooth at higher speeds but not the greates at very slow speed. Amazingly, the 44 Ton and the 70 Ton switchers out permormed the GP7 at slow speed. Still, for the price it's not all that bad.

[mathi]

Hi!
I own a few of those nice GP-7s from Bachmann and I found some of them perform different to most of the others. After a throughout cleaning job and removing of all that factory grease inside the trucks and gears it turned out to be the cause. After that they run remarkably better than before and the slow creeping increased significantly.
The next thing was an extensive break in and now they're just fine.

Regards
Mathi

[Brakie]

Hi!
I own a few of those nice GP-7s from Bachmann and I found some of them perform different to most of the others. After a throughout cleaning job and removing of all that factory grease inside the trucks and gears it turned out to be the cause. After that they run remarkably better than before and the slow creeping increased significantly.
The next thing was an extensive break in and now they're just fine.

Regards
Mathi

Sounds like the old LL HO P2K locomotives that came with a ton of grease in the gear boxes.

My biggest complaint about those new Geeps is the lack of grab irons and with the limited use of my right hand I'm up the creek without a paddle when it comes to adding the grabs.

[unittrain]

Yeah I did notice it was a little greasy there was some on the fuel tank and under the trucks. I hope it will consist well with all my Atlas and Kato locomotives. Another thing is the shade of Chessie yellow the B-man is a alot darker than the Atlas Chessie yellow. But weathering the units should take care of that. Heck I even get variation in the different Atlas units but this is probably to be expected, but with a paint scheme like Chessie's it sticks out. Good thing Chessie had some really dirty locomotives so I can weather them some what heavily.

[mathi]

Well, most of the toughly grease was inside the trucks so the trucks didn't roll free when put separate on the track. After washing out all that gunk the wheels run free and easy.
Owed to the lack of silent drive running Bachmann decoders there is a humming noise audible under DCC at low speed. If the loco makes noise at higher speed rates please check the motor fixings. The motor must not move in the body halves. You can cure it with tiny drops of glue at the plastic pads that hold the motor in the engine. Motor movement creates a noise that is enhanced through the shell.
When I fixed the slack motor the loco quieted a lot and is now almost silent as a Kato or Atlas engine.
I hope this may help to make this nice and reasonable model better.

Regards
Mathi

[Bremner]

what phase is the GP7? If it is a late one, I might pick up a pair for the SP

[unittrain]

what phase is the GP7? If it is a late one, I might pick up a pair for the SP

I'm not sure which phase it is but I'm sure someone here will be able to answer that for you. I'm thinking it is a phase 1 but don't take my word for it.

[Philip H]

Anyone send Lee the dimensions on this bad boy yet to see if his chop-nose cab etchings will fit?

[Mark5]

We tested one on the shop layout. Performance is ok. It is somehwat noisy, smooth at higher speeds but not the greates at very slow speed. Amazingly, the 44 Ton and the 70 Ton switchers out permormed the GP7 at slow speed. Still, for the price it's not all that bad.

That's very interesting about the 44 and 70 tonners. Slow speed performance is a must for me which is why I'll stay away from these (EDIT: These = the Bachmann GP7s). Search the Atlas forum for this model (EDIT: Bachmann GP7), most of this good for the money model's shortcomings were outlined there.

[NorsemanJack]

Is there more info posted somewhere regarding these?

[sirenwerks]

That's very interesting about the 44 and 70 tonners. Slow speed performance is a must for me which is why I'll stay away from these. Search the Atlas forum for this model, most of this good for the money model's shortcomings were outlined there.

Is it just me or did this statement not make any sense? You'll stay away from which models? Which model should we search the Atlas forum for and which is the 'good for the money' model you refer to that has shortcomings outlined there? Was it somehow not clear that the 44/70 tonners ARE good slow speed runners and, with minimal effort, the new GP7 IS a good slow speed runner too, which means both should be of interest to you Mark5?

Aside from the statement quoted, are the Atlas sources referred to trustworthy? With all the bad political 'fact' flying around these days, I'd be leery of anything that hasn't been three-times vetted outside of a Bachmann competitor's forum.

[Mark5]

Is it just me or did this statement not make any sense? You'll stay away from which models? Which model should we search the Atlas forum for and which is the 'good for the money' model you refer to that has shortcomings outlined there?

From the thread title and context one might conclude the Bachmann GP7 - sorry for not making this more clear.

Aside from the statement quoted, are the Atlas sources referred to trustworthy? With all the bad political 'fact' flying around these days, I'd be leery of anything that hasn't been three-times vetted outside of a Bachmann competitor's forum.

Like the posts on any forum (including this one), it is prudent to examine any and all info with a skeptical mind. Nobody is suggesting that anyone should simply accept information posted as fact anywhere. Some of the info about the tooling on the shell (the shortcomings I was referring to) are in my opinion correct on that fluff fillled thread over on the Atlas forum.

Mark

[sirenwerks]

You guys just speak a different language over the county line from me.

[Mark5]

Was it somehow not clear that the 44/70 tonners ARE good slow speed runners and, with minimal effort, the new GP7 IS a good slow speed runner too, which means both should be of interest to you Mark5?

I have learned that my perception of good slow speed performance (opinion) is not the same as most other N scalers. That said, having witnessed the 44 tonner operated under both DC and DCC I would say that the slow speed performance is "tolerable" (my opinion again).

Mark