I have been offered an N-scale Bachmann 4-8-4 Northern for around $65. Brand new, unused. As I have always run diesels I know very little about steam. I have looked at Spookshow’s site and he gives this latest incarnation a B. I am curious as to how well these hold up over time and use. I am going to continue researching this but I would like to hear what you think too. I do not currently run DCC.
This looks to be a passenger puller. With such a big tender it appears to be an oil burner and possibly a long distance type of locomotive. Am I correct? What years were these used? I do the very late 40’s to early 60’s. Finally if things look good I won’t buy it until I can run it.
Thanks for the reply. No I do not have a product number. It is the Rock Island 5113 variant.with what appears to be an oil fuel tender rather than coal. It is the most recent release in a clear plastic box.
From Spookshow’s site earlier variations of this same version were rough, but the latest got a B grade. The price seems less than most offer but the owner knows he is far from Rock Island territory.
Yes, avoid that locomotive. The Spectrum J class is at the same price, includes DCC and is an absolute gem of a locomotive…one of the best out there.
Follow that up with Bachmann’s 2-8-0, 4-6-0, 2-10-2, Athearns amazing 4-8-8-4 and 4-6-6-4, Kato’s 2-8-2, 4-8-4 GS series ETC…the trick is looking for a locomotive that has ALL WHEEL PICKUP IN THE TENDER. Anything less in N scale is going to result in a poor running steamer.
Again, just pass on the particular unit and look for something that will give you years of trouble free service.
But hold on there, Bobba Louie… The most recent iteration of the Santa Fe 4-8-4 isn’t a bad runner. I’ve got one currently under the knife to made into a presentable representation of a WM Potomac, and it runs very smoothly. The biggest down side is the 1968 tooling on the shell. It’s really quite horrible, especially when compared to Bachmann’s offerings under the Spectrum name.
What you have to beware is the older cardboard box model. That’s a true dog.
The prototype for the model is an AT&SF Northern. The Rock Island did have Northerns, but the biggest noticable difference is going to be the tender. The RI used their Northerns in both freight and passenger service.
The road number for the model, RI 5113 is correct for a RI 4-8-4. It would’ve been from the very last order of new steam engines delivered in 1946. The last order was for 20 4-8-4 engines (R67 class) numbered 5100 to 5119. The first 10 (5100-5109) were delivered in 1944 and were oil burners. The last 10 (5110-5119) were coal burners and delivered in 1946.
They lasted in service until 1952. The oil burners were kept in storage in case of seasonal rushes until sold off in 1956. Instead of firing up the remaining stored steam engines for those rushes, they were able to lease diesels short term from other railroads.
Thank you for your response. So then if I understand you, and then the picture of 5114 that I found in my researching, the Bachmann locomotive would be better suited to 5100-5109. To be prototypically correct I would need a coal filled tender or renumber it. No problem there. The loco is in the correct place in the time line of my layout.
My current layout has no steam support (water tank, stand pipes, coal towers, ash pits) and the loco and tender may not fit my Atlas turntable and roundhouse, But some of this can be fitted in to a new door layout I am planning.
So as of right now I have one negative, one positive, and Spookshow’s B+. I’m happy with the history.
I’m still looking for more experiences as to how well this newer version holds up over time to tip my decision one way or the other.
Lee, you’ve pretty well said what I was getting ready to say: these things usually experience some sort of outofthebox running problems … B’mann’s QC being what it is. They can, however, be turned into some fairly smooth running machines with a little bit of effort.
When these things first came out in the early-'70s an N-Scale acquaintance of mine turned into a slobbering fiend and ordered one; after he got it his slobbering turned into gagging!
These things run best in a totally dark room where you don’t have to look at that boiler shell.
I don’t have one of the Bachmanns, but I’ve thought on occaision about getting one. (Even knowing it may not be as good as a Spectrum. I’ve had both good and bad luck with their non-Spectrum line.) Even though the tender isn’t right, I could probably live with that. I’ve looked at possible replacement tenders and that is always an option.
Except for hard-core RI fans, no one will probably notice the discrepencies. I myself would probably not renumber it. I’ve read something recently that one or two of the coal burners may have received the tender and oil burning equipment from other engines. I don’t know the engine numbers involved and I’d have to search where I saw that to verify. If I was going to renumber it, I’ld probably renumber it into the 5000-5064 series (R-67b). Those Northerns were delivered in the early 1930s and also lasted into the early 1950s. The tender is wrong for them too, but the rest of the engine looks closer to that class. To me anyway. There were also coal and oil burning engines in that series and some also were converted between the fuels.
Thank you once again for responding. I have had good experiences with my n scale Rock Island Life Like E units & GP’s. I have had good luck so far with my older Bachmann Doodlebug and ATSF Dash 8-CW. It is out of my era but I love the look of the Dash 8 even pulling a short Kato Super Chief, normally pulled by a Life Like E-8. My only dislike is the couplers but it is still low on run time. I have tried out the Bachmann Prarie. It had some trouble operationally with my switches. Round and round it did well. That is why I have asked for people’s experience with the Bachmann 4-8-4. Bachmann always seems to bring out strong reactions.
If I get the locomotive it will probably be a freight hauler as I haven’t seen steam pulling any of the streamlined Rocket cars. An Imperial or Apache maybe? But I have no RI heavyweights. But how many 40 foot freight cars can this 4-8-4 pull on the flat? I don’t want to be indecisive I’m just looking for a few more facts to get me off the fence one way or the other.
While I have you here Jeff what is the latest on 630 & 652?
I have one of these that came in the plastic box. I was so impressed with its pulling ability that I installed a decoder and converted the tender to pickup electric current by fabricating wipers that work on the tender wheels axels and oh yes it does operate on Atlas code 55 with out any issue.