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Bachmann N scale 2-8-0 Consolidation steam locomotive
My 2-8-0 never ran well and was a big disapointment. It had a very pronounced “limp” that I could never get rid of.
Hi all, I have three of these, and I think it has to be one of the best production steamers that Bachmann ever produced. They run great and pull extreemly well for there size. As far as decoders go its still a little tight in there =) but easily converted. With the new MRC steam decoders you can even have sound now. Great locomotive
The engine looks great, and is pretty reliable, but when it comes to going up hills with cars, it’s not very good. I had to keep removing more and more cars as I realized it couldn’t really pull much when it went up a hill, although maybe I did in fact put a little too many. Also, it’s kind of light. Whenever it hit a tiny rock of ballast, the front wheels would jump off the tracks. But, the engine is great when it goes downhill =)
I used to have one on my old 5x8 HO N scale layout. I had it for about one & one-third years until is was so stupid to take it apart and junked the motor!
I’ve had this engine on my layout for around 6 years, and I like it alot. In general, it runs very well, but you have to be choosy when you buy one to get the one that runs best. Once you get a good one, you’re set for 5 years or so. Interesting comment from Christian Martinez…my engine also has problems with the front wheels…very sensitive to ballast or any kind of track irregularity. But an absolutely beautifully detailed engine. What about an updated version with better front pilot wheels, Bachmann???
I have 3 of these engines and two run like fine Swiss watches and the third is very good just a little growly, found that when you replace the bottom plate its good to have the engine in a craddle upside down and running as you tighten the screws this seems to help, also sometimes the two screws underneath are over tight, so just losen them up a little.
Love the fact the gap between the tender and the engine is not huge like we often see on N gauge steam.
Great detail, blackned side rods really look extremly good.
I have 2 of these, and next to my Kato GS-4’s, these are my favorite locomotives to run. I use them to pull log consists from my woods operations to my mills, and they have yet to miss a job, or suffer a delay.
I purchased two of these. I added a DCC decoder to one and it runs very well. The hint about the screws improved its smoothness quite a bit. The second engine is still “in development” so to speak. It runs poorly over turnouts and often derails. It probably is a gauge problem which I will have to tackle.
Bachman needs to add some weight to the engine en order for it to eliminate the bounce over turnouts.
I HAVE ONE OF THESE ENGINES AND IT SEEMS T DRAW ALOT OF POWER TO MAKE IT GET UP TO SPEED , IT ALSO IS A VERY POOR PULLER ON GRADES AND NOT A VERY SMOOTH OPERATING LOCO,. iT IS VERY WELL DETAILED BUT LACKS GREATLY IN PERFORMANCE, i WOULD INVEST MY MONEY NEXT TIME IN A MODEL POWER UNIT. tHEY SEEM TO OUT PERFORM ANY BACHMAN BY A MILE. SORRY NOT IMPRESSED.
I’ve had a few of these. Put decoders in all of 'em. I love the little guys. You can get 'em cheap now too. Saw 'em on E-Bay for about $50.00
Bought one but have yet to run it. Was concerned about the minimum radius because most of my switching layout has at least 9 3/4 inch radius…mostly ATLAS. Another review put minimum radius at 11 inches, Guess I’ll keep it and run it—I have the coupler conversion ready to put in. Sure hope it likes short-distance running! Does it get through 9 3/4 inch reverse curves?
pulling power is fair, but the lack of weight after installing the DCC decoder is noticable. Also, “wedging” the DCC wire connectors to the chassis with a “plastic clip”, which looks like a piece of a match, is just not sufficient. The rattle over turnouts (due to lack of weight) sometimes loosened the connection. After soldering them carefully to the chassis (don’t burn the DCC decoder!) it ran much better and consistent. Especially low speeds are better now.