Anyone have the Spectrum Baldwin 4-6-0? I’m curious how well it runs and would you get another one? Any pros or cons are welcome. Thanks.
Tom
Tom,
I have one of the ‘High Boiler’ versions and it is a great running engine. It is small, and will pull about 7 weighted cars up my 2.7% grades.
Jim
Does this come DCC equipped?
It has the NMRA plug in it (in the tender). I have the low boiler model, I would also rate it as a solid performer (it takes my 3% inclines), my only advise is if you think you might want to add “sound”, then buy the high boiler model… otherwise hardwiring in the sound decoder in the low boiler model is a “BEAR” !!!
I have sound in mine, and the little ten wheeler is a show-stopper… but as wiser men than I have said, “that is not a job for the faint of heart…” !
Bob
i like mine enough that i bought another . i’d buy more but a) many other things to buy before i buy more locos , b) my layout will be smallish and i don’t want too many more than i need (yeah right !)
the ones i have are DCC ready (has a connector for a decoder , but no decoder included) . bachmann is re-releasing some of their spectrum steam locos with decoders installed . i don’t think they have sound
here is a link to my installation of a Tsunami sound decoder in a spectrum 4-6-0
http://www.trains.com/community/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=59242
High boiler version here, too.
MR has a review of the locomotive, so all the particulars could be found there; ie starting voltage, top speed, etc. I will instead concentrate on personal experience with it.
Out of the box on DC with a Tech4 MRC220, it buzzes quite a bit, more so in reverse than forward. Most of my locomotives buzz with this power pack anyway, so it’s probably just a matter of pulse power or something. It has decent slow speed performance and is quite fun performing switching duties with. That is, as long as you don’t bite off more than it can chew.
I’m not sure if it wobbled before I disassembled it or after, but I think mine probably needs the drivers quartered. The only problem I have with it is the electrical wipers on the main drivers. It does not take much to bend them away from the drivers, and I am constantly re-bending them. This is probably a product of the wobble, where the drivers are pushing back and forth against the wipers.
As for buying another one, I would, but would insist on running the locomotive before the purchase. If it wobbles, stutters, or spits fire, insist on trying a different one if possible. And whatever you do, don’t be like me and take it apart when you get it home. You might not get it back together for a while! [;)]
I have the low boiler and liked it so much I got the undecorated high boiler as well. Upon opening the box on the high boiler I noticed a problem with the valve gear on the engineer side and had to send it back to Bachmann. To get it to pull more cars I would recommend removing the spring that pushes down on the pilot truck. My low boiler ran much better after it was removed.
Sooooo…are the high and low boilers roadname specific? For instance, NYC might have had a low boiler but UP might be a high boiler. (This is an arbitrary example and NOT meant to be an accurate statement.)
Tom
Test it out before you buy it. The good ones run like silk and look very sharp doing it. In my experience, about one in three have problems.
The boilers are road specific. Bachman’s website shows which road uses which boiler.
why would it be harder to add a sound decoder to the low boiler version ? (the low boiler version has 52" drivers , the high boiler has 63")
if you’re thinking tender size , i think only the C&NW has the medium tender , all the rest have the small tender
EDIT: the sound install i linked in my previous post is in a high boiler , small tender version . and yes the install was a bit of work
I have 2 of these pups, an NYC high-boiler and a Ma & Pa low-boiler. The Ma & Pa is my favorite engine in the fleet. Runs well at low speeds, pretty quiet, and for the price it has gorgeous detailing[8D]
All in all, for the price, well worth it for me. I’d like to buy another if I could justify it. I hope they do as good of a job on the upcoming 4-4-0s!
Mike
Has anyone tried replacing the high boiler’s drivers with the low boiler’s smaller diameter drivers?
I have one and it doesn’t like to run at low speeds at all. It takes off like a bat out of… when it starts to move.
Than again, I haven’t lubed it at all yet, yet alone run it in or tweaked the mechanism. I’ve just run it up and down hill on my helix a few times. I expect it to run much better after I get a chance to tinker with it awhile.
I hane a MA & PA low boiler…which also means LOW tender. Replaced plug on decoder with one that exited from the side instead of the top to be able to have enough clearance to reassemble tender. Also added weight to tender. The weight of the tender wasn’t enough to overcome stiffness of the wires running to the tender,front trucks kept comming off of the track. Would like to add weight to engine. It’s a good looking engine & would look good double headed. I would depend on feedback from owners than MR reviews for accurate views,they are good for elec. specs .
Can any of you owners give us a minimum radius for either hi or low boiler?
Many Thanks,
smyers