I’m looking for a good quality mid-size (must fit on a 14" turntable) mid-price steam engine DCC/sound ready or equipped. I’ve read mixed reviews of the Spectrum equipment, the quality seems to be hit or miss. Athearn seems good but no mid-size in production at this time. Any sugestions?
Thanks
Pat
Sound equipped and mid-sized, your only options are the Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-2 or either of the BLI USRA 2-8-2s.
The Spectrum 2-8-0 is good. I believe thery come with sound now. If not, there are kits to put sound in, as long as you keep the stock tender. BLI 2-8-2s are nice as well. I have run both of these.
14" of turntable works out to about 102’ of engine.
That pretty much limits you to a BLI Mikado of the 2-8-2 arrangement. Spectrum 2-8-0’s are little champions that revolutionized HO steam back in 1998 and now I think are being equipped with sound and DCC.
I think the PCM’s upcoming PRR Heavy Decapods 2-10-0’s with the short tender will fit on that turn table. However they have not update the website to provide any information regarding the really HUGE coast-to-coast tender that definately destroys your 14" limit.
I have ordered a second BLI Mikado to go with the first one due to the lack of a front coupler on the heavy mike. (Durn it! BLI! I dont mind spending an extra 1.50 for a operating front kaydee coupler on a frigging 220 dollar engine!)
Alot of my current steam purchases now and in the future are determined by the presence of that front coupler. I no longer accept plastic stand in’s or dummies unless it is to be a pure passenger or through freight engine.
I may have a turn table in the future and already decided on the biggest I can find, the one that can fit a Big Boy on the deck. I dont have room for more than one TT and cannot fuss with the smaller ones that limit what can be turned. And using wyes are way too much space.
The BLI Mikados (both light and heavy) will fit, as will the BLI Union Pacific 4-8-2. Bachmann’s Spectrum 2-8-0 will fit and I believe that Bachmann will be releasing or has released it with sound. Both the light and heavy Spectrum 4-8-2’s will fit and the USRA light 2-10-2’s should fit as should the Life-Like Heritage USRA Heavy 2-10-2. The overall length (engine and tender )of the prototype Santa Fe 3751 class 4-8-4 was just under 109 feet. However, the overall wheel base was probably about 10-12 feet less than the combined length of the engine and tender and the BLI 3751 class model might just fit, although you’d have to be really careful about positioning it on the turntable. The overall length of the Norfolk & Western J was 109 feet. Again, the combined engine and tender wheelbase is less and the J might fit. The J is available both from Bachmann Spectrum and from BLI.
Any of the Van Sweringen influenced 2-8-4’s (i.e. NKP, W&LE, RF&P, C&O, Pere Marquette and Virginian) should fit. Walthers/Life-Like makes these.
Although the New York Central Niagaras had an overall length of slightly over 115 feet, I believe they were designed to fit on 100 foot turntables. There’s quite an overhang at the end of the pedestal tender, so you might get a Niagara on a 14" turntable. Any HO New York Central Hudson will fit a a 14 inch turntable and BLI has the J-1 in several variants.
It probably would have been easier just to say that any locomotive smaller than a very large 4-8-4 (e.g. Santa Fe 3776 or 2900 class or NP A-4/5) will probably fit on a 14" turntable, although the length should be checked out
Ummm, maybe I missed this, but what scale are we talking about?
Everyone seems real quick to give an answer, and we don’t even know what we’re talking about yet.
Think about it, Phil. A 14" TT in N scale is the equivalent of over 186 feet. I don’t think even the N&W’s “Jawn Henry” steam turbine was that long. In O scale, it’s only 56 feet. In S scale, it’s just under 75 feet. Given the population distribution in the hobby, it’s most likely the OP was referring to HO scale.
Andre
A 14 inch HO turntable should accommodate anything up to and including a Heavy Mountain, and maybe even a 4-8-4. A Broadway Limited Mikado is slightly over 11 inches long, and a Mountain or 4-8-4 would not be much longer than that, depending on the road name and type of tender that they used.
OK, sorry, brain fart!
OK, sorry, brain fart!
Hmm, I was pulling your leg and not your finger.
Aha! That’s what causes it. [(-D]
Andre
Pat,
I have nine Spectrum locomotives and all are very good to excellent runners even the small 4-6-0’s. They do not have the pulling power of older metal or brass locomotives but should do fine for most people. In addition to the locomotives mentioned by others the Spectrum Russian 2-10-0 is a great medium sized model that would fit on your TT. Mine runs as smooth as silk. I think you can get most Spectrum models with DCC and sound RTR but you can also get a very simple decoder / speaker kit from Soundtraxx that will just about pop right in. I’m new to DCC and only have a few locomotives with decoders. So far dcc has improved their preformance at low speeds so I would expect Spectrums equiped with dcc might generally do better than the allready very good running dc versions. Another thing to consider is that most people who have encountered a problem if not able to fix it themselves were able to get help from Bachmann’s usually excellent customer service. If you buy a Spectrum model new I think you can purchase it with confidence. Bruce
Right now there are two great deals on ebay. There is a crop of Broadway Limited USRA 2-8-2’s (mostly heavy) going for $150 and under- DCC and sound equipped. If you look real hard, they can be had for $120!!
There is also a recent slew of Walthers/LifeLike Heritage USRA 0-8-0 with sound and DCC for $159 buy it now.
I have several of each and they are GREAT!!!
I didn’t fare so well with the Bachmann 2-8-0. Mine came with a stripped motor gear that was a pain to glue back on, and then blew a new decoder because of poor solder control from the factory at the connector block.
I also didn’t have good luck with the Atrearn Genesis 2-8-2. Mine had drivers out of guage too narrow and shorted on turnouts if going slow. I ended up using it to kitbash an Lima built USRA 2-8-2 using a BLI mechanism (their prototypes are Alco built).
I do have a Bachmann Spectrum 4-6-2 K4. It is Fair to Good, but don’t pay more than $35 or $40 unless someone has put in a Tsunami or ESU sound decoder.
BTW I have a 15" turntable.
K
Don’t worry about the spectrums, they are cheap and run great but always cheak over any new steam, only if you are lucky will it be rtr although most only need a tweek or two to fix. Alot will run out of the box but they don’t run like they should. The only thing negative I can say about the spectrums is they need weight added a lot of times or they won’t pull very well ( like the 4-6-0 needs weight over the center driver if you want to pull more than 6 cars or so).
Welcome to the MR forum! The Spectrum 2-6-6-2 will also fit on your 14" turntable, if articulateds are your thing.[:D]
Jeff