I was hoping that any one out there can help me with ideas on the performance and detailing on the newer steam loco models (such as Bachmann). I am interested in running a few but no one in my area stocks them so I cant get any chance of inspecting one my self. As these loco’s will be an expensive investment for me I want to avoid any expensive mistakes!
simon s
i got this from a friend at another forum. he’s from the UK. he’s changing from HO scale to N scale and the steamers will be in N scale
It may help you to go to www.bachmanntrains.com and log on to the forum there. It may give you some idea of problems or lack of problems with theirs and others products. I owned some Bachmann N locos years ago and they performed fine for me. I model HO at the present but I’m going to build an N scale layout at home here and keep the HO for club operations. I own several Bachmann and other brand steam nondcc and am quite satisfied with them and based on that I plan on purchasing Bachmann Spectrum locos for my N scale layout. Now, haveing said this, I’m not a real stickler for prototype detail and don’t plan on crawling my trains at a scale two MPH. So what may be excellent to me may not be to others. Also, I think if you stick to any manufacturers higher end products, you can’t go too wrong. Ken
Athearn “Genesis” - Good and quiet runners, but they don’t pull very much. The 2-8-8-2 Challenger is the exception. I have the 2-8-2 Mikado and it will pull about 15 cars on flat track.
Bachmann “Spectrum” - Nice steamers and detailing. They have the most variety of all the HO manufacturers. For the most part, they are also the least expensive. A terrific choice is their 2-8-0 Consolidated. For best quality, stick with the “Spectrum” series steamers and avoid the “Standard” series locomotives at all cost. The Bachmann Plus series is okay.
Broadway Limited Inc. (BLI) - VERY nice locomotives and detailing. Smooth runners but they do need to be lubricated and broken in initially. BLI makes two primary series: Paragon and Power House. The Power House series is less expensive and has more molded on parts; whereas, with the Paragon series, the parts are already applied at the factory. Both series have the same mechanisms so they will run well. BLIs can be found at very good discounts, if you hunt around.
IHC - Generally, very good runners but not the most prototypical looking.
Proto 2000 “Heritage” - Beautiful locomotives! Of the four, Proto 2000 is the best as far as detailing is concerned and they run VERY smoothly. Their older steamers are good but not great pullers. Proto 2000 (recently acquired by Walthers) has started making improvements to their line and the detailing is even more exquisite now. Unfortunately, with the transfer of ownership, the prices have jumped dramatically. The revised 0-8-0 switcher is supposed to be fabulous.