Bachmann’s been running ads about their updated 4-8-4’s with DCC on board. Anyone have any info on them? Anyone know if any of the mags have run a test/review on 'em? I’ve stayed away from anything Bachmann that wasn’t Spectrum-this still good policy?
Jon [8D]
I have a NYC 4-8-4, no DCC or sound though. It runs fairly smoothly, although I haven’t been able to find it’s max pulling capacity (I ran out of cars, lol!).
I’d say on a scale of 1-10 that it’s about a 7.5 - it could do with a little weight in the tender (there’s none), and some pickups in the tender as well, although all the drivers pick up power, as well as the trailing truck.
The tender isn’t happy on anything less than 22" curves, and even then it just gets through. I would say that 22" is the realistic minimum, though it will definitely look better on larger curves.
Somewhere or another I recently picked up a rumor that Bachmann was redoing their N Scale Northern to Spectrum standards. Again, that is just a rumor but would be nice!!!
And by the way there, jondrd, Pogo’s “We have met the enemy and he is us” was a paraphrase of John Adams who was once ask what he felt was the greatest threat to our - the United States of America’s - liberty. “I fear,” he is alleged to have responded, “we shall find that the greatest threat to our liberty is ourselves.” Sure seems to be coming true, doesn’t it?
I also have the NYC Niagra and I have not been very happy with it. The main problem is the pilot wheels do not want to stay on the track. They seem to be very loose and bounce around a lot. This seems to be an old problem with Bachmann. I had a 2-8-0 before the Spectrum line came out and it had the same problem. No matter how I tried to adjust it, the pilot wheels kept jumping the track. I finally gave up, removed the pilot wheels and ran it as an 0-8-0. Several years ago, I got a Spectrum 2-8-0 and had no problems with its pilot wheels so I bought a second one. I’ve recently added the Niagra and a 2-10-2. Both have troubles with the pilot wheels although the problem is much worse on the Niagra, possibly because it runs at higher speeds. I’ve made several attempts to adjust the pilot wheels without success. Removing them on a 4-8-4 is not an option.
Why can’t you remove the pilot truck from a 4-8-4; it would certainly create a wheel arrangement to be remembered and we could pester the manufacturers to introduce an 0-8-4 Corbett.
The mechanism has already been done and is for sale now. They didn’t redo the shell, so that looks the same, but the mechanism is just beautiful! I have 3 of them and they’re great runners. You’ll know you’ve got the new ones because they’ve got the blackened drivers that have RP25 compliant flanges and they’re in a jewel case. Really nice stuff, even if the shells could use some freshening.
I don’t have any of the new DCC 4-8-4s, but I do have a fairly new Niagara. It’s a very quiet runner and can pull a realistic load, but it does have a little wobble to it. The new ones have improved wheels, so they should run smoother. They also improved the electrical pickup, so both the engine and tender now have electrical pickup.
My first Niagara didn’t have a problem with the front truck derailing, and also ran very smooth, but the frame was cracked and the valve gear was loose, and half of the axles had split in two, so I had to send it back for replacement. My new one had a problem with the truck derailing, which I found out was because of a weak spring, so I put a stronger spring in and it hasn’t derailed since.
I bought a Bachmann HO Daylight GS4 recently - #4446. It came with a basic DCC chip installed in the tender, which also has the 8 pin plug facility. Out of the box, it was a very rough runner - worse than any steam loco I’ve ever purchased. I replaced the chip with a Lenz one with back emf to give a smoother ride, and have been running it at different speeds with a load behind it for many, many hours. This has smoothed it out a good bit, although it’s still not as good as my other steamers. It’s acceptable, however, and I will eventually install a heavy steam Soundtraxx Tsunami, which has the correct whistle/horn for the GS4. I’ve removed the white rims from all the tyres (prototypical for my post-war layout), painted the far-too-bright-and-shiny handrails on the loco and tender a dark gunmetal, and also painted the moulded ladders on the back of the tender black. It looks much better as a result. I will also decal the loco number onto the back of the tender.
Brian
Darth Santa Fe
“My new one had a problem with the truck derailing, which I found out was because of a weak spring, so I put a stronger spring in and it hasn’t derailed since.”
That just shows to go you how the same solution won’t necessarily work for the same problem. I have a Bachmann Ten Wheeler; the truck wouldn’t make it through any of my turnouts. I tried adding weight then bending the spring to make it stronger. Nothing worked, in fact the problem got worse. In frustration I finally removed the spring and guess what; I have not had a problem since.
One of the biggest problems with the older Bachmann SP Daylight 4-8-4 and others was the drive wheels coming loose from their axles, which were nylon. No glue will stick to nylon, so they were not repairable when this happened. Have they corrected this problem on the new version’s mechanism?
Thanks for the heads-up there Philip; as I stated what I had was only a rumor. Unfortunately two weeks ago I joined the ranks of the gainfully unemployed; I have been tied up for the past two weeks and I have some medical issues which I need to work on resolving this coming week; it looks suspiciously like it is going to be the 6th of May before I can go back to work. I can’t buy anything at the present moment until I can push a couple of deep holes in my credit card balances.
Brian,
Thanks, this seems like a “hands on” review to me.
Jon [8D]
Here’s what they look like with the blackened drivers.
http://i83.photobucket.com/albums/j319/pcarrell/N%20Scale%20Trains/WGH%20Show%202007/Picture018.jpg
Jon
I forgot to mention that I also added two crew to the cab, and glazed a window on either side - to do this, you have to cut out the cab floor to facilitate access. Additionally, I drilled a third hole in the connector to the tender to facilitate closer coupling to the loco.
Brian
Brian,
See in the news there was some house shaking going on in the Uk(yesterday?) and it wasn’t from passing trains. Realize Midlands(epicenter) bit of a distance from your locale. Any tremors felt locally? Media here said some power outages were experienced.
Weird feeling, I only experienced it once in of all places the Caribbean. I was photographing at a protected inlet and recalled how just prior to the “shake” some fish had jumped out of the water without apparent cause.
Again thanks for share of your new Bachmann GS4 experience.
Jon [8D]
I bought 2 of the Santa Fe 4-8-4’s. They run good, nice and smooth, but they neglected to put tracion tires on them. Even after I weighted one down, it can’t pull didley squat on a hill. Big Dissapointment.
Dick
Texas Chief
Dick,IF your cars are weigh to RP20.1 and you have unrealistic steep 3-5% grades then its not the engines fault it can’t pull didley squat.
On the other hand,if you have realistic grades and cars that don’t weigh a ton then Bachmann needs to improve the motor and weight of the engine.
Traction tires is becoming unacceptable to many modelers.
Jon
The minor earthquake was actually over in Kent, and 4.2 Richter, so we didn’t get anything in Devon. It was near enough to the Channel Tunnel to cause concern, but apparently it didn’t do any damage to the train tunnels.
Brian
Brian,
Oops, helps to click on right earthquake article. Midlands quake was 2002!
Always get a kick out of movie scenes where someone goes to a database and gets exactly what they were looking for on first go! Does appear as though some of the residents of Folkestone have some home repairs to do before authorities will let them back into their homes.
Obviously good thing Chunnel not affected. If so would have been one of those technological realizations: how did we get along without it?
Jon [8D]
I’m really glad to hear that there are no traction tires on the new models. Traction tires are the last thing you want a locomotive to have when you live in a dry desert climate because they crack and fall off within a couple of years.