I know that the general consensus is Spectrum Steam good, Spectrum Diesel not so good.
I’m wondering if anyone here has personal experience with the N scale Spectrum Dash 8-40C? I’ve read a couple of pretty favorable reviews, and it looks like a very nice model. I’m considering purchasing it and would appreciate your thoughts.
Thanks.
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Well, apparently no one here had experience with an N scale Spectrum Dash 8-40C. I went ahead and ordered it anyway and I am very pleased with it. The detail is excellent, and the running characteristics are very good. Not equal to my Kato, but certainly equal to my Proto 2K.
All of the handrails came unattached in a separate package. With my old guy eyes and the small size, it was a real challenge attaching them. It went pretty well though… all the holes were drilled just as they should have been, and the fit was excellent. I was able to attach the side rails without using CA at all. For the front, rear and step rails I had to anchor a couple of points with CA, but again things fell into place pretty well.
Although I wasn’t looking forward to installing the handrails myself, I’m not sure it was a bad thing. I’ve never been real happy with how the handrails were installed at the factory on my P2K C424/435, but at the same time never really wanted to mess with them to get it just right. On my Spectrum I HAD to mess with them, and I ended up doing a pretty nice job.
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IT’S TOO EXPENSIVE! This is what made me start the old thread “Is Bachmann Out of Touch?” Come on now. You’ve got this deisel that retails for about $135 and it comes with rapido couplers! Its more expensive than a similar Atlas or Kato unit! That is ridiculous. I’ve read some reviews and according to them it is a great locomotive but is less forgivimg of dirty track than an Atlas or Kato. Just my opinion, but I’ll take an Atlas or Kato deisel over a Bachmann any day, even if the Bachmann is a Spectrum.
Yes, at $135.00 it would have been too expensive. I only paid $48.99 plus shipping for it though. At that price it is the most locomotive for the money of any I have purchased.
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I’d say it depends on the age - I hear the latest ones are a lot better than earlier models. I bought one a few years back - the detail is good and it runs well, but it doesn’t pull - not heavy enough. I also noticed a problem with the truck baseplate rubbing on the rails, which I fixed by removing the baseplate and bending the plastic “arms” which hold the sideframe upwards. Since then it’s been a fine runner but a little underwhelming in the haulage stakes.
Roadtrp are you sure you got one of the latest ones at $48.89? If you did then you got a good deal. I have seen them for around $100 but not any cheaper than a Kato or an Atlas.
I probably have no way of knowing whether it is one of the latest ones or not; it was brand new but that is all I know for sure. It was priced considerably less than any other place I had seen it. I purchased it from midwestrailjunction.com, and they seem to have very good prices on many products. Latest or not, it looks great and runs well so I am very satisfied.
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As long as you are happy with your purchase, that’s what counts!
I have the HO version (older) and it’s alright. It’s not on the level of my Proto 2000 stuff but fairly nice. It rubs in the turns a little and not a real stron puller. So far it has been dependable. I have been wondering what the big difference is between the old and the new. The old ones were selling for $25 so there had be a big bunch of difference besides the DCC harness.
RMax1
RMax,
I too have an HO Spectrum C40-8, bought it last December off eBay (NIB) when I thought there were no other CSX-painted versions of this loco to be found. True enough about the detail level, not top-of-the-line but still OK. I hope to be able to MU it with some of my other locos that have more pulling power. Currently I am ‘between layouts’ with one under construction, so it is still sitting in its box like all the others.