I got one of the Bachmann Berks right after they came out for right at $100. I put it on the local club layout and it easily pulled 20 cars around the layout which includes a 2% grade on a wide curve. My Rivarossi Berk will pull about 25 cars. My P2K Berk purchased before Walthers bought them out has no traction tire and will only pull about 12 cars up the grade, but it is the best looking of the group with the Bachmann coming in second.
That is more or less the same result as I had testing the Bachmann and Proto Heritage units. While the Proto unit has a few extra cast on parts the two locomotives are very similar. What I do not understand is why the street price of the Proto Heritage Berkshire without DCC/Sound is about 2 1/2 times over that of the Bachmann? …
I think the P2K Berkshire is made in Europe by Roco (owners should be able to confirm if that’s true or not), and Bachmann’s manufacturing is in China. The P2K is also higher quality overall.
MR review States 45 cars on level track.
Bachmann HO scale “Van Sweringen” Berkshire 2-8-4
By Dana Kawala, associate editor
Published: Friday, August 22, 2008
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Both of the Berkshire locomotives are made in China. Could well be made at the same factory. Yes there are some differences but the PTK is in my opinion not worth 2 1/2 times the price.
Will do. Thanks!!
I own both versions of the Berk: Bachmann and P2K.
The Bachmann version pales in comparison when it comes to details. There’s lot of molded on pieces like the pipes from the sanddome. The molded on pieces also aren’t as finely detailed. When you place them side by side the P2K version just looks more real.
The Bachmann version has a little more heft, but not much.
However for the price, the Bachmann is a bargain. Even a standard DC version of the P2K would cost you around $250->$300.
My P2K stopped working after only mild use. And YES I lubed it. It bucks when it starts and stops like the motor has burned out and doesn’t move very fast. The wheel motion is smooth however, so it’s not a quartering/binding issue. And yes I did a factory reset on the decoder.
Can’t wait to see what MTH does with theirs. Although I will hate spending money supporting that bloody worthless DCS decoder
I have only the Bachmann Berk. and I love running it. I do have a couple of wishes for it to make it better, one being that the motor wouldnt hum when starting off or creeping to a stop, and that the engine would pull more cars. I can pull around 15 cars with it on a flat surface, and thats about half of a consist that i normally run since my trains tend to be 25-30 cars long. The level of detail on it is perfect for how far i want to detail my engines at this point in time. Bought it for 105 i believe. All around great deal.