whats the opinion on those bachmann locos? i am modeling in N scale, and i found a UP GP-50 for 30 bucks. are they really crappy or something? im on a budget or i would have already bought an atlas or athearn loco for $70 or more.
I’ve found with Bachmann locos, the quality can be really spotty. Of two engines from the same lot, one will run like a Swiss watch for a long time; the other will jerk and sputter, and never run well. And the Spectrum line is generally better than the regular line.
My advice is to test each engine before purchasing, if possible. Most decent hobby shops will do this for you. If you’re buying mail order, check out and understand the vendor’s return policy before buying
Do not be satisifed with a bad runner. Send it back to bachmann. they have an excellent warrenty program
I had a Bachmann ~ 8 years ago and couldn’t get rid of it fast enough. Poor running and even worse detailing from the factory. I had heard that their new Spectrum line was better so I got one. I’ll admit it works much better and is quieter but couldn’t pull what an Athearn of the same loco size (in this example a C44-9) could. Plus I think that the shell didn’t look as nice from the factory as the Athearn did. I sold it! I think Bachmann is crap.
I hate bachmann locomotives. Some say thay are fine but I believe they are junk.
I have a Bachmann Dash 8 40-CW from the first run and two from the most recent run. All three run as well as anything I own, including Kato.
John Timm
sounds like hit or miss…
hows the pulling power, assuming the loco is a good example. how big of a consist can it pull, approximatly? im building a small layout, maybe 2ft by 8ft along one wall, so theres not going to be alot of train around, probably one main line loco and a switcher.
Flying solo on a small layout as yours would be it’d maybe do ok. I tried mine on the club’s layout against an Athearn -9. The Athearn could pull 8 more cars (20) than the Bachmann (12). All were 50’ Athearn boxcars with only standard chassis weights in them and not on a grade.
My layout is medium-sized: 9X18. I generally don’t run more than 18-20 cars at a time but have no trouble operaing at what I consider realistic speeds. You should have no problems at all.
John Timm
archie2 how many locos u run?
OK. now i have a new question: since im modeling Union Pacific in the modern day (90’s to present,) monterey-san fransisco bay area, what locos would be realistic to have on my layout? remember i said i wanted maybe 1 main line loco and one switcher, and also what kind of rolling stock would be seen? Reefers? tankers and boxcars?
Depends. Sometimes one, sometimes two. One will handle a train but two look more prototypical.
John Timm
karl also youd see flatcars well cars covered hoppers, some specialty flats like depressed center flats heavy duty flats and some private owner flats used for moving wrecked cars to a rebuild shop. check www.rr-fallenflags.org for some other ideas.
tom
and what kind of locos? i heard that UP had alot of AC4400s. and whats a good switcher that UP used?
Agreed on the prototypical point. I run 3-4 Dash 9’s when together usually. Other loco types except for switchers get 2 units per train.
What is the difference between a DCC ready and a non-DCC ready HO locomotive? I have a newer Bachmann loco with a circuit board on top and an older Atheann AD40-2 loco which does not have a circuit board. I would like to install Bachmann decoders in these two locos. I have purchased Bachmann decoders with wire harness. I am new to DCC. Any guidence?
I believe that DCC ready means it needs only to be connected and installed on the loco. Non-DCC means the circuit board and harness need to be installed first. I’m assuming that the older Athearn Loco is an SD40-2. That may give you some trouble. Two of mine did when I converted to DCC. I don’t know why. The other bunch of -2’s didn’t.
I own a Bachmann Decapod which ran okay using standard DC. When I converted it to use a SoundTrax DCC sound controller I have to crank the throttle to the amx and give the locomotive a nuge then it takes off. As I slow it down it movement gets jerky and it stalls out. I have tried out DCC controllers with the same results. When I returned it to Bachmann they claimed they had no problems. Any idaes?
well i went down to the LHS, (which i have just recently discovered, its got more train stuff than ive found anywhere else around here 
)and i found an N Spectrum RTR train set, for something like 120 bucks, comes with a spectrum Dash 8 loco, 6 cars, that funky snaptrak, and a powerpack. nou, the same loco i see on the shelf next to it is a bachmman spectrum Dash 8 locomotive, for 100 bucks? how can bachman afford to stick a 100 dollar loco in a train kit and sell it for 120? is that loco different? whats the deal
CNW6000, What did you have to do or add to an non-DCC ready loco to make it DCC ready? You mentioned adding a circuit board. Where do you find these? A technition at Bachmann said something about resistors. Does a circuit board have resistors made into it? Can I convert a non-DCC ready loco into a DCC ready loco, and how do I do this?
Help!