Do Bachmann engine run realy slow.

[Bfagan]

Do Bachmann engines run really slow.  I just got from MB Klein a Bachmann EMD SD9 with sound and DCC.  I had to go to 99 on my Digitrax throttle to get a decent speed.

[CRL]

Depends... What SCALE speed do you consider to be “decent”?

[thomasjmdavis]

It probably does not go as fast as an old Bachmann.  But then, neither does a Lamborghini.
If it is really just way too slow (and your other similar locos run at anticipated speed), I would check the speed curve and various CV settings on the decoder.

[C855B]

... I would check the speed curve and various CV settings on the decoder.

New or old Bachmann?

I can't speak to their newer sound-equipped decoders, but their non-sound decoders do not have any facility for adjusting speed.

[thomasjmdavis]

Here's what Spookshow says in his review-
"Out of the box, my two test locos were very pokey runners (like yard switcher slow). However, things did eventually become more normalized after several hours of break-in running. Another "as delivered" issue I ran into with one of mine was excessive lubrication inside the trucks (oil all over the axles and the wheelbacks and the wipers), and with the end result being a lot of stuttering and stalling. Fortunately, disassembling the trucks and cleaning off all the lube spew solved that problem for me."

http://www.spookshow.net/loco/bachsd9.html

[Doug G.]

My pre-DCC SD40-2 runs slow but that's just the way they are. Bachmann was striving for closer-to-scale-speeds as were some other manufacturers.

You'd be surprised how fast model locos are going when they appear "slow".

Doug

[basementcalling]

"Do Bachmann engines run realy slow?[sic]"

Slow or if at all in my experience. 

[JMaurer1]

Slow or if at all in my experience. 

No, lightening fast or not at all. Sometimes both at almost the same time (super fast to a sudden stop)

[peteski]

Guys,
I'm as snarky as the next guy (and diss Bachmann from time to  time), but  come on, ease up on the Bachmann bashing.  Bfagan is new to N scale and already bought a Bachmann loco. We should try to be helpful here.

"Slow" is relative. Most N scale models are capable of running way too fast (like 300 scale miles/hr.).  Kato locos are example of extremely too-fast models. Still,  I love Kato! Some manufacturers are making models geared lower, so their maximum speed is more realistic (which can appear too slow).

I guess we would need to get more details about Bfagan's model to see if the speed is  normal or unusually too slow.  Bfagan, Using the calculator at http://www.modelbuildings.org/free-scale-speed-calculator.html let us know how slow the loco is running (at its maximum speed).  Then hopefully someone who owns that same model will chime in and tell us  whether your loco is unusually slow or not.

[Cajonpassfan]

Ahh, Peteski, the voice of reason and moderation! I like it😁
Right on!
Otto K.

PS: The slow top speed could also be a function of decoder settings...?

[Albert in N]

   The subject Bachmann SD-9 with DCC and sound is one of their newest.  No, I do not have one but I have a DC-only (use MRC Tech-4) Bachmann GP-40 in MKT "John Deere colors" on back order from Trainworld.  It will have the new coreless motor and is the latest with new road number from the first release.  Spookshow reviewed the first one (introduced 2018) and gave it good marks.  Frankly, I am interested since I bought my first Bachmann GP-40 in the early 1970s when it was about the only reliable popular-priced N locomotive.  Besides, if it has MKT colors, my ears perk up.  If I was into DCC and sound, I would probably buy the Bachmann SD-9 if it came in a road I liked, once I read Mark's review on Spookshow.

[Mark5]

No, I do not have one but I have a DC-only (use MRC Tech-4) Bachmann GP-40 in MKT "John Deere colors" on back order from Trainworld.

Assuming this is a 21st century release, it should perform well. It has a nice looking shell overall (with some some goofy detail errors that some may be able to overlook).

Mark

[Albert in N]

  Somehow the coreless motor concept interests me.  When I bought my first N scale locomotive in 1969 and others throughout the 1970s, open frame brush motors ruled.  They ran hot and were subject to overheating. Then Roco (Austria) introduced the can motor.  It will be interesting to see if coreless motors become the new norm.  If so, their small size and cool running could affect smaller locomotive models in both N and Z scales.  For example, models of smaller 4-4-0 locomotives would have motors inside the cab or boiler, not the tender.  BTW, when my GP-40 arrives, I plan on fixing the missing front cab step design not corrected from Bachmann's earlier productions.

[Maletrain]

Some tiny steam loco models will still benefit from having their motors in their tenders, no matter how small the motor becomes.  They are already so small that the weight on the drivers from a solid lead boiler model is hardly sufficient to pull a decent model train.

[peteski]

Some tiny steam loco models will still benefit from having their motors in their tenders, no matter how small the motor becomes.  They are already so small that the weight on the drivers from a solid lead boiler model is hardly sufficient to pull a decent model train.

Ah, but there are 2 types of tender motor installs.

1. Tender Drive. Most popular, and used in many Fleischmann and some older Minitrix European N scale steam locos.  Motor is in the tender and it drives the tender's small wheels. Multiple tender wheels have traction tires. Loco is a free-rolling dummy and it also picks up power from the track.  Both loco and tender are filled with ballast for traction and electrical pickup.

2. Motor in the tender with a driveshaft extending to the loco and driving the locos wheels.  Usually single pair of drivers with traction tires. Tender wheels and some loco wheels pick up power.  Most of the loco and tender are filled with ballast (for traction and pickup reliability).

Neither of the above designs is really well suited for DCC sound, because neither has a good amount of space needed for a sound decoder and a speaker with largest possible enclosure.

Mechanism best suited for DCC sound is a small coreless motor in the loco driving the loco's wheels. Electrical pickup by tender and some loco's wheels.  This conventional mechanism leaves most of the tender for a decoder and speaker installation.