Bachman diesel offerings

[kgreen]

Are these any good  I swore  I wouldnt buy any more after the h16-44 purchase.  I had nothing but problems with that engine.  Runs very now by the way.  Bit of a coffee grinder though.  are most bachman diesels noisey.  I run dc.  thanks Kirk

[Steveruger45]

Are these any good  I swore  I wouldnt buy any more after the h16-44 purchase.  I had nothing but problems with that engine.  Runs very now by the way.  Bit of a coffee grinder though.  are most bachman diesels noisey.  I run dc.  thanks Kirk

I do not want to prejudice anyone, but the one loco in n scale I’ve had, the 70 tonner diesel was the first and last one from this maker I will buy.   Anyhow, I would suggest you Check out spookshow site, here is the link, lots of good critiques to consider.  http://www.spookshow.net/locos.html

[tehachapifan]

I have their 44 tonner and their S4 and mine are both are absolute gems in all aspects, aside from the decoders being perhaps a bit too basic. That said, I do have another (earlier) diesel model of theirs that suddenly threw its truck gears after a fairly short amount of time.

[dem34]

With Bman the quality is always on a very loco to loco basis. My K4, DD40X, and Connie I could run on a convention layout without ever feeling that id have an issue with them. With my GG1 I had to spend 2 nights straight futzing with truck springs, pickups and re-soldering wires on the decoder to get it to run right and even then it would sometimes hiccup over minor bumps in the track.

[C855B]

With Bman the quality is always on a very loco to loco basis. ...

My experience as well. Some are great, some, well, not so much. Blow-by-blow, in no particular order:

44-tonner - Have two, don't run 'em a lot, but they've always run well for me.
N&W 'J' - One of the middle-generation, but pre-DCC versions; runs great after installing a TCS decoder and fixing several frayed wires between loco and tender.
2-8-0 - A royal pain in the butt, at least for me. Bench queen that keeps wanting to throw the valve gear.
DDA40X (3rd gen.) - I have at least a dozen non-sound (I model UP in 1970). Very, very strong and reliable runners at first, but they've become cranky as the truck-to-frame contacts have aged. Working on a mod for that. Decent-enough models with a handful of details that should be corrected.
Doodlebug (1st gen.) - Cracked axle gears. Shelf queen at the moment.
GG-1 (non-sound) - Impressive puller and runner... AFTER the pilot truck spring mod.

Noisy? No. The modern mechanisms are fairly reasonable there.

Several other B'mann models I have not bothered considering due to poor modeling on their part that spoils the look. SD45, for instance: the radiator is one of the strongest aesthetic features of the prototype, and Bachmann totally screwed this detail. Similar lack of attention to detail and even basic proportions seem to be their wont these days.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

I have had a lot of Bachmann over the years. Diesels on the whole are very hit and miss.

C40-8W The first generation looked poor compared to other engines from the era. You're still looking at 80's era components but with 5 pole motor and flywheels. No DCC socket. Handrails are thinner but not on par with others of the era like the Atlas GP35. Radiator grills look odd. Open pilots make it look like a toy.

The second generation is a lot better. You can wire DCC onto the board, but I just replace the board. The shell is new and has much better detail. Some of the radiator detail is still a little off. Pilots filled in with separate MY hoses and plows. Flush fitting windows. Performance can be good as long as you keep the wiper system very clean. I have made some modifications here to make them more reliable. I replaced the bluish LEDs with golden white. And most of my fleet have been repainted due to paint errors that annoyed the hell out of me. But with enough work, the second generation looks right at home next to the Atlas version.

C40-8 Same mechanism as the C40-8W. Shells of the first and second generation have even more issues than that of the C40-8W. I don't ever run mine.

B23-7 It looks OK, but the rear radiator looks too square compared to the Atlas version. Trucks only come in GE FB version, not the more common AAR-B. But the trucks from the RS3 are interchangeable to get correct trucks. No flywheels but these operate smoothly. Like the C40-8W, they have the ability to add DCC but it is easier just replacing the stock board with a wired decoder. These were once going for $30 and were a very good value for that price.

H16-44 has a very similar mechanism to the B23-7. It runs well if you pay attention to the wheel wipers.

44 Tonner this has DCC on board but very basic. I don't really like the shell a lot, it is far too wide. It runs very well.

Acela and HHP-8 are both really good locking models with a lot of DCC functions. Both can use upgrades - pilots can run a little low, MTL couplers can be a challenge and the passenger cars of the Acela really need Kato wheel-sets to run smoothly. But once these are done, the Acela is every bit as good as any Kato book set. In fact, I use modified Tomix bookcases to house my sets (I own three).

[randgust]

What has always bugged me about Bachmann is the physical evidence that the models were made by scaling an HO model into N rather than looking at the original locomotive.    Certain details are copied down from the HO models.  The unnecessary 'roof seam' and square edges on the 44-tonner is a classic, and if you really study the 44-tonner mechanism you'll see the motor is actually narrow enough to fit a scale-width hood but the frame was made wider.    Inexplicable, unless you see the similarly-wide HO one.

The GP7 is the same deal, the cab 'steps' are gone and molded solid, just like the train set HO ones.  Mind you, it runs rather well.    I'm sure there's more of these if people study the Bachmann HO vs. N models.

I was really impressed with the 44-tonner mechanism and repowered my own kit 70-tonner with it.   Ran even better as a straight DC model by taking out the DCC board.   Not impressed with the doodlebug, repowered it with a Tomix chassis.

[peteski]

Acela and HHP-8 are both really good locking models with a lot of DCC functions. Both can use upgrades - pilots can run a little low, MTL couplers can be a challenge and the passenger cars of the Acela really need Kato wheel-sets to run smoothly. But once these are done, the Acela is every bit as good as any Kato book set. In fact, I use modified Tomix bookcases to house my sets (I own three).

Daniel, why would you want to convert Acela to MTL couplers?  The "kinematic" coulers it comes with are pretty good, couple solidly, and allow for very close coupling.  Or you meant just on the HHP-8?

I do agree that the molding quality, level of details, and decoration on Acela are very good (not quite Kato-like, but darn close), but mechanically they are disasters without (like you said) doing a lot of tinkering.  I'm still hoping to find a Shinkansen power car from Tomix or Kato with trucks that have the same axle spacing that Acela has, so I can replace the terribly designed Bachman powered trucks.

[brokemoto]

The B-mann diesels that I have or have had:

44 tonner-run very well.  Slow speed is excellent.  Their small footprint does make them prone to stalling, which I have been able to correct by running them in pairs. I fried a decoder on one, wired around it and it runs even better.  I fried decoders on two others, as well.

70 tonner-ran acceptably for a pair with "smart" decoders.  I did not run them much, so I sold them.

MDT-The latest versions, in the plastic boxes are good.  I had better luck with them hardwired in pairs, but, as I rarely ran them, I sold them.

FM road switcher-I like mine. I still run it.  It is noisy, yes, but it is an acceptable puller and the slow speed is good.  My main complaint is the couplers at incorrect height.  Mine never had a decoder.

GP-7-This one has a decoder, but, still runs very well on DC.  I did fry the decoder on one, but simply changed out the chassis and sold the old shell and chassis.

F-7-The PLUS were awful.  The gears cracked.  The SPECTRUM were allright, but still not the best.  The latest versions with decoders are very good.  I fried the decoders on two of them, wired around them and they run even better.

E-R Sharks-Manufactured in the same factory in China as B-manns of the era.  These are excellent, although I did have a B unit lock up and another B make much racket.  Some have mentioned that the white gears are prone to cracking.

Overall, my experience with them has been acceptable.

[bbunge]

We have a collection of 44 tonners.  They run well after being degreased as everyone I've gotten has been over lubricated at the factory.  In my experience, even small amounts of lubrication finds it's way into the electrical pickups, so I run them dry.  A number of threads on this board about upgrading them.

We have have amassed 5 of the so-so looking most recent F-7s.  At least for a while, they were hard to pass up off ebay for $50-60 for a DCC locomotive.  These things pull like crazy and run very well on "bad" (branch line for me) track.  We have one that's run 4-8 hours at a time at shows without ever over heating or jumping off the track.  I did have to lower the front coupler with a shim on the A units.  I keep thinking about changing out the rear couplers to get rid of the nasty gap between the units.  They are noisy, but if you lash up 4 or so them together, they sort of sound pretty good!

Bob

[arbomambo]

I own three Bachmanns, and purchased those after careful review :
2-8-0 looks and runs fantastic. Has never failed me
S2 another fantastic runner with good detail
Latest J1 ehhh... not very smooth in the slow speed range, and seems pretty overscale, especially in the height region.

[EL3632]

I have had good luck with most of my recent Bachmann diesels, the 44 Tonner and the RS3 work great, as does the 70 Tonner. I have had two decoders fail in two separate GP7s. I do not know why, but some friends also had GP7 decoder failures as well. The sound equipped units seem to work well, I have an SD45 and it runs well. Can't vouch for steam, other than the K4, which runs well.

[Baldy82]

I have 4 of the 70 Tonners and 2 of the 44 tonners and have had zero problems with any of them.

Mark

[MichaelWinicki]

Have the SD45... Looks hideous. Hard-wired the trucks to the decoder and it's still a "staller".

Have the 44-tonner.  Need to do what someone posted earlier about de-lubricating the thing because it's also a "staller".

Have a pair of the GP7's and the RS3's.  Love'em.  A little noisy but run well... Even with the factory installed decoders.

Have a couple of the NW2's and an S1.  The 2nd best switchers I have, just behind the Atlas VO1000's.  Ever so slightly better than my Kato NW2– Due to the Kato's high start-up speed.  But far better than my Lifelike/Walthers SW's and Arnold SW's.  Even better than my Atlas sound-equipped SW2.

[MK]

Two S4 with factory decoder.  Runs really well, smooth and slow.  Of course I bought them after seeing an "A" rating on Spookshow's website.