Last Sunday I took out of layaway the above mentioned Bachmann locomotive from my LHS. Not that it had anything to do with anything but it was marked at $169 retail on sale for $135. Granted it probably wasn’t the best in the shop not to mention the fact that I made a pact with myself many years ago that I wouldn’t buy another Bachmann loco for any reason - and it isn’t of the Spectrum line - probably another mistake.
This won’t even pull 10 cars on a straight, level track and can’t negotiate any kind of a grade pulling anything. It it barely makes on its own on a 1% grade and I won’t try it on the 2.5%. Not what I would have expected for something in that price range.
Any suggestions before I box it up and take it back? Maybe I need to renew that pact with myself again.
I had a pair of Bachmann GS 4’s that where not Spectrum and they where pretty good. After wheel break in and adding some weight I got them up to 18 cars.
From what Bachmann’s online diagram shows, there should be room for a lot more weight in the boiler and especially the smokebox. Is the 2-8-4 very heavy already? Is the weight evenly balanced over the drive wheels? Even a heavy steam engine can pull poorly if the weight is off balance (the Genesis 2-8-2 and a lot of brass had this problem).
First off, yes they are a little on the light side, BUT only ten cars? You need to invest in some better wheels and/or trucks for your rolling stock. Mine easily pulled about 20 cars weighing 4.3 oz right out of the box.
I have added weight, which was relatively easy, bringing the locos weight up to 14 oz. It now pulls 35 of those cars. BullfrogSnot is next and should solve any grade problems.
And, you might want to become a better shopper. Those locos can be bought all over the place for between $105 and $110.
I converted mine to a super power heavy Mikado - and plan to do two or three more.
This picture is before painting, it is in the paint shop now.
Bash Bachmann all you want, I am very happy with the 30 plus Bachmann locos I have.
Yes, ten - count 'em. And I do have good trucks on a vast majority of my cars.
It is very light and I will look into adding some weight if I decide to keep it. Now I am not cheap, but what does a jar of Bull Frog Snot cost?? The last time I looked at it the retail cost was $25. So by the time I buy the material for the weights and a jar of BFS
I say go for Harold, I am guessing that is your name? My self, I enjoy engines and rolling stock that did not make the grade (there is a pun) and I made right.
I was very let down with my first GS 4, I think it could only pull around 8 cars when I got it. But it was my first steam engine and I was hooked! I think I added around 3 oz (been 4 years ago) and could have added more.
Bull Frog Snot is $25.00 a bottle?[|(] Maybe you can find a sick frog at the LPS? [:-^]
If it would make you feel any better, I have had to add weights to $300.00 BLI steamers.
I also purchased one of the Bachmann Berks fairly recently. It is a bit light on its feet, though mine has more oomph than yours seems to. But definitely try the Snot. I found a jar for under $20 with a brief online search. Don’t consider it an additional cost to that one locomotive - think of it as an investment in your entire roster because one jar will last you forever, and it will improve the pulling power of all of your engines on that 2.5% grade (which I also have on my layout - voice of experience talking here). Haven’t Snotted my Berk yet so can’t advise you on its performance improvement, but my other Spectrum steamers have more than doubled their pulling capacity.
As I and others have indicated, adding weight is very easy. As for the BullFrogSnot, one jar is a life time supply for dozens, if not hundreds of locos. It’s a one time investment in better pulling power - for all your locos.
I buy lots from my LHS, in fact I just bought a Spectrum 2-6-6-2 and ordered two more of the 2-8-4’s to convert to Mikes from one of several “local” shops. His price on the 2-6-6-2, $221, for the 2-8-4’s $103.
And another shop 20 miles from him has them at the same price.
And exactly who’s steam locomotive models cost less and give better performance? Or even give better performance in that price range? Surely not BLI, or MTH, or Proto2000. I have a $250 (retail, not what I paid) BLI Mikado torn apart on my bench right now, hoping they can send the right parts, and parts that are not defective, on the second try.
I’m sorry, but my Spectrum locos are all great. I have the following:
9 - USRA Heavy 4-8-2’s
8 - Baldwin 2-8-0’s
4 - 2-6-6-2’s
2 - 4-6-0’s
All run great and pull well. The 4-8-2’s in particular are one of the best models I have ever seen in my 40 years in this hobby. All purchased at an average cost of $120.
The 2-8-4 is a regular line loco, and, as admitted a little light, but considering its low price and high detail adding a little weight is a bargin.
If that video don’t sell you on how good a puller that Berk can be with a little work then you have no alternative then to just return it and stay on your I hate Bachmann kick… Your obviously prejudiced against Bachmann so no matter what you do you’ll always find fault with that locomotive.
A little hint that $25 bottle of Bullfrog Snot goes pretty far. Your not just using it all on one locomotive. I consider that stuff pretty much a given on all of my steam locomotives. If it’s a poor puller it sure helps if it’s a great puller it only makes it better. I had a friend bring e a set of drive wheels off of one of his challengers so I could hit them with my air eraser to rough up the wheels so they would get better traction (his idea not mine) so I tried to talk him out of it but he insisted. When he got the whole thing put back together and we had open running night at the club he wanted to smash his on the floor after all the work he did to improve the pulling power to have my challenger out pull his by a country mile. All I did to mine was add BFS.
Yes adding weight does help in most cases but it’s more of where you put the weight then how much weight you put that makes the difference. I witnessed this one day at a friends who had weights taped to the outside of an E8 shell. I thought he lost what little sanity he had left until he explained and I watched what he was doing. He guesstimated how much weight he need and kept moving it for and aft until he found the sweet spot where the weight did the most good. This is especially important with Steam locomotives more so then diesels.
Hmmm… sounds like the typical Bachmann variability at play here; my BachBerk pulled 32 Kadee boxcars on straight, level track when I compared it head-to-head with the Proto Heritage Berkshire (which pulled 35).
Assuming these were 40’ box cars, this is basicly the same result I had. Kadee 40’ box cars weigh about 3 oz. The 20 cars I used are 50’ Athearn piggyback flats with metal trucks, each weighs 4.3 oz.
32 x 3 = 96 oz
20 x 4.3 = 86 oz
I did not press the loco to its max until after adding weight. I added weight in a balanced manner to center the weigh over the drivers. It now pulls 35 of my 4.3 oz piggyback flats.
35 x 4.3 = 150 oz
I still think the OP may have issues with trucks not being very free rolling, and maybe for him its not a big issue, but for me using the most free rolling trucks has provided big increases in train length per loco.
Some people just refuse to really give Bachmann a chance. They keep judging todays product with a bias from 25-30 years ago. I worked in hobby shops then, it was junk then.
Ford Pintos were junk than, Ford has some of the highest quailty ratings in the industry now - things change.
In any case, that Bachmann Berk is a dang good looking loco and it sure deserves a little tweaking to beef up its performance. At a little over $ 100 it is really a good deal - heck, I have to pay $ 300 to get something like it here in Germany!
Thanks to everyone for your advice. I always appreciate the helpful comments and reactions from many people on the forum. I have found Bull Frog for about $19 a jar and I do have some weights left over from my long since completed project with the cars. My point in the post wasn’t that I was overly prejudiced against any manufacturer because I do remember the days when this particular one was junk and my present attitude is based on those experiences. It’s true that when we purchase virtually any piece of equipment we all make tweeks to get more performance out of it. But we also have certain ‘out of the box expectations’ and this one didn’t fulfill mine. I looked up the MR review of this loco from October 2008 and they were pretty complimentary toward it and the review stated that it has ‘enough power to pull the equivalent of 45 average HO scale freight cars on a straight and level track.’ I agree it is a darn fine looking piece of equipment but it didn’t come close to that standard. I will probably keep and tweek it because it does fit in with my RR and thanks again for your comments.
Just as an aside to your comment about the MR review, bear in mind that MR reviews products from its own advertisers. A negative review would essentially amount to biting the hand that feeds you, a very bad business practice especially in this era where people aren’t exactly standing in line for a chance to advertise in a paper magazine. So while the MR product reviews are certainly useful, one must sometimes be judicious and try to read between the lines to find a product’s warts.
I’ve got 4 Bachmann Spectrum steam locos and they are all fine - but only after I worked on them. The regular line - as I understand - is even more so a crapshoot on performance. Its really a shame, for their steam locos are pretty nice - for the money - and they fill a niche that no one else does.
My advice is “take it back”. While you may get it up to snuff by “messing” with it, you may not - and then you are stuck with it. At the very least, exchange it for a Spectrum.
