I have a small consist of Spectrum PRR heavy weights passenger cars and I’m considering getting more of them and selling off some of my AHM/Rivarossi/IHC heavy weights. They seem pretty nicely detailed come with interiors and lights over all a pretty nice car but my only hesitation come with the articulated coupler design. I probably only have a total of maybe 20 hours running time on my present set of cars but am wondering how those couplers will hold up over time. Anyone have any and what are your thoughts pro and con
Running them on the clubs DCC system has burned out the lights in some of mine. Running on the modules with the unevenness of the joining tracks made the #5 couplers over ride each other. I swapped the #5 for #118 shelf couplers and now it takes an act of congress to uncouple them. Other than that they have been great. My Spectrum K4 could only pull 3 up the big grade at the club until I added a few ounces of lead to it. Now it will climb the hill with 9 of the heavies in tow.
They have been great and I will buy more when they change the numbers. My goal is to double head the 2 Spectrum K4s with a Broadway length consist of 16 cars in tow. That would be a cool sight.
Yes they are great PRR prototype coaches. Yes the swing brackets help on curves and work as designed, however the couplers tend to “droop” down for some reason. I have swapped out some for KD #5s, but this doesn’t really help. Some are so bad that the trip pin must be bent halfway to the knuckle to avoid catching rails on switches. Sometimes they are too low to couple. I have not tried a #58, though. About the only other thing I can think of is that the coupler box is too tall, and needs to be filed until it is a more snug fit. IMO, they are one of the best products Bachmann has ever made.
As for their awful coupler pads, unless you have 18" radius curves, get rid of them ASAP. They are just terrible because they are so sloppy. It’s not the couplers that droop, it’s the whole swiveling box that droops.
Run, don’t walk, to the nearest place that buys from Walthers and order part #369-118, which are Jay-Bee coupler mounting pad conversions. Follow the directions, and you will get a nice, solid coupling system for your Spectrum cars.
I have a dozen of these cars myself, and I’ve converted them all with no trouble. I also dumped the lighting effects because they look anemic at best and are a power drain on DCC that I do not need.
CTValleyRR, FWIW, the Bachmann Spectrum cars are nothing like the ones at the Valley RR…other than they are green passenger cars. [:D] The cars on the Valley are either Parlors (“Great Republic”) or ex-Parlors (now diners), or are “shorty” commuter coaches from the DL&W & CNJ. The Spectrum cars are Pullman sleepers, PRR P70 coaches, PRR Combines, Observations or Diners (no Parlors). Both the Valley RR and the Spectrum cars make a good looking train…but they are not quite the same (just in case you or anyone else didn’t know).
Went to Walthers but the link to the part number you provided doesn’t open to an illustration of the part. Doe sit do away with the swiveling coupler all together? It’s a feature that I do like but am wondering about it’s reliability etc. I am foreseeing as time goes on and more wear sets in there potentially could be a lot of problems there. On the branch line of the new layout I do have some smaller radius curves but it’s not a deal breaker for me to run them on the main line rather then the branch line