Try this again! My old computer got fried by lightning and this one has way too many bells & whisteles!
Tried the change in Public profile but couldn’t find any way to choose plain text. Did the thing with the compatibality, will it work ?
My originial question…What is the difference between the Bachman and the Bachman Spectrum series in the the older DC 4-8-4 engines. Have seen some with collector series on the box, are they different?
Thanks for the advice, will try to work this out on the posts.
The Spectrum line is a higher quality engine all around. Now the 4-8-4 if you are talking about the N&W Class J engines there is a big difference between the Spectrum and non spectrum line. The Spectrums have a funky coupler between the tender and engine. This is designed to keep the tender really nice and close to the engine but when you go around a corner the tender will pull away from the engine to prevent binding. This allows the engine to take 18" curves with no problem. The non spectrum is the typical drawbar and a pin on the tender. There also is no compairison in the details. The spectrum is a higher level of detail but not overly so where you are afraid to touch the engine. The only thing I did not like about my Spectrum was that draw bar design. It was not very forgiving on bumpy tracks (modular layouts can get very bumpy) and the engine would pick the tender up and usually not put it back on the rails. I ended up selling the Class J and purchased another Class J from Broadway Limited and that is my favorite engine in my fleet.
I also own a couple of other Spectrum steamers and they all use the normal drawbar and pin setup with no problems with minor bumps in the track. I have 2 4-8-0 Consolidations and a 2-8-2 Heavy mountain, both are great engines. I cant comment on any Spectrum diesel engines I dont have any.
Massey’s comments are generally dead on, although I’ve never experienced the “special” drawbar; all mine have the standard one with the wire harness for DCC. I have 2 steamers and an electric E33 “Virginian” (as the New Haven called them), all nicely detailed, smooth runners and good pullers (although the E33, in spite of Bachmann’s advertising, does NOT like 18" curves (it needs too much clearance and hits trackside details that other locos don’t).
However, either Massey or Bachmann has trouble with their Whyte Notation. For most of us, a Consolidation is a 2-8-0, and a 2-8-2 is a Mikado. I had to look up a 4-8-0, but I see it referred to as a “12 Wheeler” or “Mastodon” (which I don’t think Bachmann, or anyone else, ever manufactured, although they do make a 4-6-0), and a Mountain is a 4-8-2 (unless you’re modeling the New York Central, in which case a 4-8-2 is called a Mohawk). Bachmann may have made one of these in the past, but I don’t see it in their current lineup.
In answer to the question about “older” non-Spectrum DC 4-8-4 Bachmann locos, I have some facts and some recollections. But I guess the answer to your question depends on what you mean by “older”.
Before the Spectrum line came out, Bachmann steam locos looked nice but the drive train was very poor. I have one of this vintage, a NYC Niagara, that is my reminder not to buy anything that is too cheap. There is a small, cheaply made motor with the motor shaft across the loco frame rather than parallel to it, sometimes called a “pancake motor” because it was round and flat. The bearings lasted for about 2 hours of running. The motor drove spur gears connected to the rear drive wheel. Everything was plastic, including the drive wheel centers. It ran horribly which is why Bowser came out with their replacement drive (actually replaced almost everything but the boiler!) If you see a locomotive with this drive train, run away.
I think the Spectrum brand was created to overcome the bad reputation of Bachmann steam that this drivetrain created. Without a new brand no one would have bought the wonderful Spectrum 2-8-0.
This part is recollection. I recall some years after Spectrum came out, the Bachmann “Plus” line was announced which appeared to have the old boilers and tenders (such as the Niagara) with a new drive train. Not as much detail as Spectrum but no more “pancake motor”. Eventually the “Plus” designation was dropped. This still doesn’t answer what “Collector Series” means but perhaps that’s a re-branding of the “Plus” line? I hope it doesn’t mean a loco with the pancake motor!!
It is all good I have been awake for over 24 hours now and my whyte notation is really fuzzy. You have the wheel arrangement correct the consolodation is a 2-8-0 and the Heavy mountain is a 4-8-2. It has been a long night and a nap after work is really gonna help.
I think the Class J is the only 4-8-4 that’s been in both the Spectrum and Standard lines.
The Standard Class J used a “Plus” chassis, with a 5-pole can motor and worm drive. The detail was nice, and the ran well if you got a good one.
The Spectrum Class J has an upgraded shell with better detail, and Bachmann’s famous cogged belt drive chassis with a flywheel and possibly more weight. I have two steam engines with that belt drive, and they’re some of my best runners.
CTValleyRR, Mantua/Tyco made an “old time” 4-8-0 with the same body as their 4-6-0. It’s oversized for HO (closer to OO), but it looks pretty nice.
Amen to that brother! Run away as fast as you can! I have two Bachmann 0-6-0’s that are about fifteen years apart. One was made in the 70’s, the other in the 80’s. The 70’s era loco has a descent drive with an open frame motor inline with the frame. The gearing is all metal including the gear on the drive axle. I inherited this loco from a relative some years ago when he passed on. It’s still a good runner today. The 80’s version of the same loco has virtually the same body but it had a terrible drive. I say ‘had’ because I ripped it all out. It had a pancake motor that sounded like it was going to sling itself to pieces (and did). The gears were all plastic and all the driver axles were half axles joined in the middle by plastic tubes which cracked within a month. You think the early Proto locos had cracked gear problems? They had nothing on this piece of crap! I ripped the drive train and motor out of it, cut some parts off it, painted it with Rustoleum rusty metal primer and set it up as an abandoned steamer display.
Good use of an old engine! Love the way you did that. At least with the older Proto engines Life Like and now Walthers will send you free replacement gears for the ones that split. I bought 3 older proto 2K engines for $20 each because of split gears, made a phone call to Walthers and a few days later I had new gears i the engines.
To bring you up to date on the Proto gear replacements, they’re no longer free. I use Athearn gears as the replacements. They’re a bit thicker than the Proto gears and I have yet to see one I put in a Proto loco split.
Thanks Jeff I will remember that next time I find a “good” deal on some older Proto engines. The new gears that I got were made out of delrin (instead of nylon) and were thicker as well.
