Im thinking of getting one in Santa Fe and was wondering if their good pullers and smooth runners. I don’t really care that much about detail but are they good units for the price?
Could you be a little more precise about which one you wantb to know about?
Spectrum, standard line, DCC Onboard?
Its the standard line im thinking about i dont have the money for DCC but it may be in my future so if you have any info on the DCC unit that would be helpful too.
I have the GP40 and the GP35, both Came as DCC Onboard. The only difference between them and the standard line is that they come with DCC decoders. The GP40 and GP35 are fair pullers. They can each pull a 12 - 15 car train on my layout. I have no grades so I don’t know what they’ll do on them. The slow speed performance is not the best and they do have quality control issues. You may get a good one or you may get a bad one. I’ve stripped the decoders out of mine and put them into better units. As I said, the standard line and DCC Onboard aren’t the best by far but for the small amount of money you’ll be paying, they’re a fair deal. You’d be much better off though if you spent that money on an Athearn Blue box loco.
I have both a GP40 and GP35 the 40 is an old trainset santa fe unit and the 35 is also a trainset unit but it was a silver series unit its alright but its so noisy it sounds worse than an old athearn BB unit. The 40 is always giving me problems too if it slips with a heavy load the drive shaft comes off and i have to put it back on so as you could probably geuss i hardly run it. Im just hoping the GP38 has been updated to spectrum quality but i dought it oh well i’ll get it and see how it goes!
Here is a question for you. Why are you bothering with the Bachman piles-o-crap when you can get other products for the same coin that will last you for many many years (aka Athearn BB).???
They say you get what you pay for…unfortunately, you dont with the Bachman regular line of locos…in fact, if it aint a Bachman Spectrum STEAMER, then I would avoid it like the plague. They will be just a rehash of the toy set crap they have been peddling all these years.
I just dont understand this mentality.
David
Are you saying the new “standard” line are split frames now? I’ve got 2 B-23’s and an F9 standard that are less than 2 years old and they are the one peice frames. I know the DCC line and the Spectrum line are split. Didn’t know they changed the standard line?
Now i wouldnt say all bachmann locos are crap i have a spectrum SD45 i’ve had for 5 years and its never given me any problems in fact it can out pull my genises SD70MAC so their not all bad.
The frames in the DCC Onboard Geeps are split. The GP40 frame is split top and bottom and the GP35 frame is split left and right. The FT frame isn’t split at all. I’m looking at two of them right now. One is over 3 years old and the other is a DCC Onboard model that was bought just two months ago. The older one is a DC model. It uses a pair of wipers on the left side of the trucks for power pickup and a pair of wires on the right side. On the newer one both sides of the trucks are wired. Nowhere is the frame split.
LOL…the Bachman Spectrum SD45. Are you serious? Is loco pull all that matters to you? Look at the detail on the SD45. Compare it to some more recent offerings. You will see how it lack in terms of detail and prototype fidelity.
Go buy a Kato, a Stewart Hobbies, an Athearn RTR, an Atlas, a BLI…etc…and you will see what is worth buying.
I will stand by what I have said. All Bachman items, except for the spectrum steamers, are not worth the money you are going to get them for (unless it is free).
David
That’s why I only buy them when they’re on sale, and then only the DCC models. All I want are the decoders that are in them. They work great in my better units. I just rewire the Bachmann’s for standard DC and use them on switch jobs once in a while or give them away.
I have the standard line GP30 (DCC) and FTA. Both are quiet, smooth, reliable runners, along with my Spectrum diesels.[:D] A lot of the people here seem to have problems with Bachmann, but all of my non-pancake drive Bachmanns have actually been more reliable than any Athearn Blue-Box diesel I own. The Bachmann’s need little maintenance (occasional oiling) while the Athearns always seem to need motor and gear maintanance to run quietly.
So I’d say yes, they’re great units for the price.[:D]
DCC GP30 review
http://www.trains.com/TRC/CS/forums/1025675/ShowPost.aspx
I have a friend who owns one. The shell looks good, and it comes DCC equipped. It’s part of the Easy Command line of locos, with a basic decoder and dual drive with a flat can motor. It’s a smooth runner, but no flywheels. If you want a 38 that’s good looking, affordable, and DCC equipped, the Bachmann unit is a good choice.
What about $20 each? I have a cream puff bachman plus (remeber those) and I think it’s the only one ever produced that doesn’t squeek. The bachman spectrum I bought at a show (got both at shows for $20) squeeked and I sent it back. I got a brand new one in the mail and they both run great.
About the detail. Yeah, just to get them to look good they need weathering and a few Details West parts for the fun of it. But I have to agree. I don’t know why at this point (especially with the price point) Bachman hasn’t gotten to a better product.
I dont really care about detail that much i look for good r
Then enjoy your Bachman SD45s…I just gave you my opinion on them. If you dont want opinions on products, then dont start threads directed at opinions…
David
Aww man i didnt try to be mean i was trying to say why i like them with just a little bit of seriousness because thats my oldest engine gotta try to protect it from getting bashed by other people ya know.[:D]
I am NOT trying to be mean, you asked about the Bachman product, I gave you my opinion of the said Bachmann product, you were upset with my opinion of the Bachmann product and you are going to go out and buy that Bachmann product anyways.
What do you want to hear? How about.“…Yea man…dat der Bachman stuff is good, man…it is the best runner ever…and for the price it cant be beat. In fact Im going to get 3 ROTFLMHO LOL [:D]. Best train product ever…yah Bachman rocks…”
My opinion wasnt meant to be “mean”, just to be informative. If I were to be “mean” I would point out that the post I quoted above sounds like it was written by a 5th grader [:D]…notice the smiley face at the end…that makes it un-mean.
Again…enjoy your Bachmann, I will enjoy my Kato (with sound, ditchlights, detail and a proper paint scheme).[:D]…notice the smiley face…thats to make it un-mean.
David
Its all good i actually have a kato SD40-2 snoot nose it runs really good and i got it for 50 bucks because it was missing a bell and im actually thinking about getting a proto 2000 SD45 there cheap where i get its 49.99 at trainworld and kato didnt make a BN SD45 so they were out on that part so like you said ill have fun with my bachmann and you’ll have fun with your kato everybody wins!![swg]
Its all good i actually have a kato SD40-2 snoot nose it runs really good and i got it for 50 bucks because it was missing a bell and im actually thinking about getting a proto 2000 SD45 there cheap where i get its 49.99 at trainworld and kato didnt make a BN SD45 so they were out on that part so like you said ill have fun with my bachmann and you’ll have fun with your kato everybody wins!!
Wow…one sentence.[banghead]