Bachmann SD 45 With Sound a Partial Review

[Nato]

                     I was able to purchase two Bachmann Rio Grande SD 45 locomotives from Model Train Stuff (Klein's) I had heard from other sources that this paint scheme had been delayed, but not so. The overall look of the model is quite decent, however the details are really fantastic, very close to scale size hand rails, very fine loops on the front and rear uncoupling levers, cab sun shades . The fairly complex Rio Grande striping pattern is very well done, the builders plate on the frame (sill) is readable with a magnifier. My layout is DC wireless, so I will have to test full DCC on the Wasatch N Scale Layout at a train show. Like most sound equipped DCC locomotives starting in DC means almost cranking the throttle up fill speed. You get diesel sound when running in DC if you carefully slow to a crawl without stalling the bell rings, if you can execute a slow start (hard to do in DC) you get two horn blasts then a ringing bell as you start up. For their cost and with the Bachmann named "Sound Value" DCC as standard I would certainly recommend them. My two custom painted Rio Grande Kato SD 45's are going to sacrifice (exchange) their shells for two Shapeways KM Hydraulic shells available from Roy Stevens at one of the Shapeways stores which uses the Kato Mech.                    Nate Goodman (Nato).   

[R L Smith]

To add on to Nate's review, my first impressions of the Bachmann SD45 with sound, decorated as EL #3619:



Right out of the box, I really liked this locomotive.  My layout is DCC; the engine idle sounds come on immediately at power up. The engine sound revs up from speed step 1 through 7, the loco starts to creep at speed step 8. The horn and bell sounds are very good; the headlights dim when the direction is changed. There are some nice details such as windshield wipers and cab sunshades.  When the sound is muted, it is a very quiet running engine at low speed – comparable to my Kato diesels.

The biggest issue I found initially is that this loco runs much slower than most of my fleet.  I had an open house coming up, and I eventually found that I could mu this loco with a pair of Life-Like C424’s without too much aggravation. I had initially attempted to mu it with a Kato SD45, but that wasn’t going to happen without time on the programming track, so I went with the C424’s for the afternoon. It ran for the better part of two hours trouble-free.

Now that I’ve had some time to play with it, I’ve made some comparisons to other locos in my fleet. NOTE: The comparison Kato SD45 is an older, original run shell riding on a new, DCC-friendly chassis with a factory-installed TCS decoder.

Speed: As noted above and by other folks on the Railwire, this is a slow mover.  I measured it a few times over 8.25’ of track (a scale ¼ mile) and averaged it to be about 64 smph (14 seconds to travel 8.25’).   EL management would have been somewhat annoyed at running their hotshot piggybacks at that max speed. The Kato SD45 out of the box clocked in at 150 smph.  I guess I’m so used to fast engines; it didn’t register with me that the Bachmann might be closer to the prototype!  As another data point, I have a Life-Like / P2K RS-2 that maxes out at 90 smph.

Pulling ability: I coupled the Bachmann to a string of sixteen 85’ cars of mixed brands and wheel sets (flats, autoracks and boxcars), some of which were strung out on a 15” radius super-elevated curve. The Bachmann couldn’t start the train, but the Kato unit could, although it never went faster than a crawl.

Weight: The Kato SD45 I ran was factory-equipped with a TCS decoder. It weighs less than ¼ ounce more than the Bachmann SD45.  For comparison, an old Kato SD45 (standard two light boards, non-DCC-friendly) weighs ¼ ounce more than the DCC-equipped Kato.

Details: The Bachmann unit has details that the old Kato does not (obviously, as there are many years' difference in tooling), and fares very well against the modern Kato SD70Ace, with separately-applied cab sunshades. The handrails are about the same thickness, perhaps a bit less, than the Kato SD70Ace; however the brakewheel is not as fine as the 15-year old Kato one. The air horn location does not match EL practice, but neither does the Kato model.  The numberboards are black numerals on a white background, which is correct for a post-1970 scene.  (As delivered in 1967, the prototype had white numerals on a black background.) The old Kato does not have numerals in the numberboards, although more modern Kato offerings do. The Bachmann model has very fine uncoupling levers on the pilot, and the representation of air hoses and mu cables is nicer than the Kato SD70Ace (and it’s almost non-existent on the modern-chassis Kato SD45).

Paint: The colors look good; although the maroon stripe is a slightly different shade than the Kato version – a bit more weathered looking. What is a more glaring is the nose logo is incorrect.  The Bachmann model has a solid “E” in the nose diamond, and it should be a split “E-L”. The Kato model is correct.

Comparison photos below.

Overall I’m quite happy with the engine.  I programmed my Kato unit’s CV6 and CV5 to slow it down so it now runs well with the Bachmann unit (more tweaking required though). The pair handles my test train with 4 more cars and a caboose added with ease. I do wish Bachmann would offer this loco in a non-sound version with a different road number; if they did I would probably buy one. Since I’m not good at re-numbering, this will most likely be the one and only Bachmann EL unit I will buy.

(Note to self: please ignore all those photos of NP (BN-merger) SD45’s running in pool service across the EL and pay no attention to the Bachmann offering…)

Oh yes, after awhile I had to mute the sound.




Kato on the left and right, Bachmann in the center.





Ron

[Chris333]

In Bachmann's latest MR ads showing these the close up photo by Ken Patterson shows the frame sticking out about 1/16" along the whole sill. I was surprised they let the photo get published.

[Mark5]

Isnt the Bachmann SD45 about a foot too high? Or did they fix that in this run?

[central.vermont]

A couple of things I noted when I looked at proto photo's. The nose logo is incorrect, there should be a break in the upper and middle line of the E. Secondly the horn on the roof is rather UGLY looking not to mention it's in the wrong locale. Depending on the time frame you model it could have been over the fireman's side for as delivered or latter on somewhere around '70 it would be on the engineer's side. Also from what I have found when the horn location changed so did the background of the number boards change from black with white numbers too white with black numbers.
One other slight difference is how the black is painted on the roof. It should wrap down over the top onto the side about 6 inches or so and go straight across the roof at the front above the number boards.
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/el/loco/el3619age.jpg
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/el/loco/el3619alb.jpg
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/el/loco/el3619lba.jpg

Jon

[R L Smith]

Isnt the Bachmann SD45 about a foot too high? Or did they fix that in this run?

Not fixed.  Back to back against the Kato, it is a foot taller.

The shells seem to be the same height, but the Bachmann shell is sitting a foot higher on the frame.

RLS

[Ed Kapuscinski]

I've also heard that a lot of people have had trouble with these after some operation. I don't remember the details, but it sounded electrical.

[basementcalling]

To add on to Nate's review, my first impressions of the Bachmann SD45 with sound, decorated as EL #3619:


Oh yes, after awhile I had to mute the sound.

Ron

All that needs saying right there. Why pay the extra money for a feature that doesn't get used?

How do the two models compare in the grill area, the main SD45 spotting feature? Seemed to me the Bachmann looked off here, but I have yet to see a photo with them fully in focus.

I'm glad to hear though that Bachmann is making progress on improving quality in the area of detail parts and handrails, and the painting looks good, which didn't always used to be the case.

[R L Smith]

Just getting back to the layout after a few days, so I wanted to address a couple of comments:

I've also heard that a lot of people have had trouble with these after some operation. I don't remember the details, but it sounded electrical.

I admittedly don't get out much, but I've not heard of any SD45  operating issues. Any more details?

All that needs saying right there. Why pay the extra money for a feature that doesn't get used?

How do the two models compare in the grill area, the main SD45 spotting feature? Seemed to me the Bachmann looked off here, but I have yet to see a photo with them fully in focus.

Yep, I did mute the sound. But the back story is, I was running in open-house mode, and after 25-30 minutes I needed a break from it.  Although I have a 40-ft mainline run, it is horseshoe-shaped so I was never far from the engine. Sound on a layout is something that probably needs to be seasoned to taste.  If that 40-ft run were linear, say along two sides of a basement, then having the engine ring the bell while departing the ready tracks, coupling up to the train, notching up to leave town, and blowing the horn for road crossings would probably be fun for me.  With the reality of my layout room though, I'd be better off with a sound-equipped switcher... 


And here are a couple of close-ups of the grill area.  Still not the best quailty photos, but I'd say Bachmann still has a way to go to match the Kato in this area.


Bachmann on the left, Kato on the right.  The height difference is clearly shown here. Difference in the truck detail too, where I think Bachmann wins. Different fan height too.



Bachmann


Kato


Ron

[Cajonpassfan]

And here are a couple of close-ups of the grill area.  Still not the best quailty photos, but I'd say Bachmann still has a way to go to match the Kato in this area.


..... The height difference is clearly shown here. Difference in the truck detail too, where I think Bachmann wins. Different fan height too.



Bachmann


Kato


Ron

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I can forgive a lot of sins, but the Bachman ride height kills it for me. As to the truck details, they both have a lot of room for improvement, but the Kato definitely sucks. Forgive the SP examples, I don't dabble in EL much...
Otto K.

[basementcalling]

Otto, what gets me is the huge gap between the top of the hood and the edge of the grill work on the Bachmann unit.

Trucks painted black usually disappear on the model, but yea, neither offering really looks close to the prototype trucks, though Bachmann has more stand alone details.

[R L Smith]

Agree with both of you about the grills and the ride height.  I suspect this engine will get mu'd to the Life-Like ALCo's for awhile, where the height discrepancy won't be as apparent. 

If I learned anything from this little exercise, it's that I need to carve out some time to start upgrading my locomotives with detail parts and some <gasp> weathering.  It was fun reviewing prototype photos, but even month-old units show road grime...

[mmagliaro]

.....

Just getting back to the layout after a few days, so I wanted to address a couple of comments:

I admittedly don't get out much, but I've not heard of any SD45  operating issues. Any more details?

.....

Ron

Here's Spookshow's write-up on these, and he discusses the pickup/contact problems in his review.

http://www.spookshow.net/loco/spectrumsd45.html

[R L Smith]

Thanks for the link Max.  After reading that, perhaps I'm fortunate to get one that runs great right out of the box.  Next time I'm at my LHS I'll ask if they've had any complaints.