I have been looking for a new steam loco, and i would like to know what the big difference is between the two?
Larry
the price
hehe!
Several manufacturers have 2 or more levels of products. Life-like has Proto 1000 and Proto 2000, with the 2000 being their premium line. You get better quality on the details and the performance with the premium lines, but you pay more.
The Bachmann Spectrum is their premium line.
Doug
Quality. The Bachmann “standard” line is old toy train gunk that runs poorly and looks worse. The Spectrum line (well, their steam engines, at least) are top rate, and combine good looks with good performance.
I agree with orsonroy about the quality… the standard line is produced cheaply and the quality usually isn’t that good… sometimes you get a good loco but it’s very rare… with the Spectrum line the quality is one of the best with an occasional mishap in wiring or wheelsets out of guage… but those aren’t that common as they appear on some of the forums.
I’ve had very contrary results from Bachman Spectrum locomotives, and I’ll NEVER buy another one at any price. 4 diesels and one steamer are testimonials to their quality in my book. Diesels all squealed like stuck pigs out of the box, and eventually ground to a halt within 1 hour. The steamer ran good for 1/2 an hour and then died completely without uttering a word indicating why. I still have the stemaer to send back for repairs, but the diesels are all long gone, and I say good riddance.
Athearn, Genesis, Kato, Atlas, and Stewart. The older Mantua steamers are very good as well. I like their heavy weight.
Mark in Utah
I can’t speak of the HO stuff, but the Bachmann Spectrum steamers in N scale are some of the best locos in N. (I have 5) Their N diesels apparently are good runners, but not that hot in the looks department.
I find it interesting that people make claims about the quality of a given manufacturer’s product on the basis of non-empirical evidence. One’s experience with even 10 locomotives is not a big enough sample to make such evaluations. A modeler would have to assess over 60 of at least two types of locomotives in order to do a comparison, and only if they were procured in a random fashion.
I believe that, contrary to brclem’s assertion in the last line of his post, there is a great deal to be learned from this forum when a significant number of subscribers express dissatisfaction with a particular brand, self-selecting biases not withstanding. If a person asks for feedback, only those interested will reply, a form of self-selection. So the info will necessarily be tainted to an extent. But, if as many as 20% reply expressing concerns over their product, I would think long and hard about discarding those impressions.
I don’t mean for this to be a rant, but we should be careful about discarding the well-intentioned replies from those who express a particular point of view. After all, if I only have one of Brand X’s locos, and it’s a loser, why would that not be relevant if I tell those who ask what I have learned? Then, if a large number of repliers say that they agree with me, the questioner would be well advised to be take that into account.
I’m not sure that is necessarily so. Many times people answer of the basis of “everyone knows that Bachmann is crud” when they have NO actual experience with the product themselves. I remember someone on these forums telling me that there was NO WAY my ‘N’ Life Like standard product locomotive could have all wheel pickup. I knew darned good and well that it did… the difference is the person had experience with Life Like standard product in HO and just assumed that N would be the same.
After a while you find out who on these forums really knows what they are talking about and who is just parroting what they’ve read here. Personally, it the post contains the words “crap” or “sucks”, I immediately discount the opinion given.
Bachmanns spectrum steam I’ve heard is very good. A few even have sound and dcc installed.
The standard line (specifically the southern pacific 4-8-2’s) look good, but for me the drivers split into two one day, and after putting the axle halves back together, it did’nt run correctly. They also come with smoke.
It would seem that one day is not acceptable for an engine to run without breaing an axle, but the standard line is not a proven quality product. I would guess your engine is an exception to the normal standard line with it breaking immediately.
I believe the three Bachmann Spectrum’s I have are good looking models, but are marginal in their operating characteristics. They run, but none of the three are really great runners. I have never used them on a layout so I do not know thow they would hold up. They are the PRR K4, the N&W J and the Consolation.
I have 4 Bachmann Spectrum engines.A PRR K4,Santa Fe doodlebug and 2 diesels.The doodlebug is a bit noisy,but they are all good runners.I would stay away from the standard Bachmann line though.I have two of thier FTs and they are poor performers.
Sorry, I did’nt make myself clear enough. The driver axle halves broke after a few years of owning the engine. [xx(]
If you purchase a Bachmann locomotive, regardless of the type, read the instructions and OIL IT before running. The same applies to Broadway Limited, Lionel, and many others that are being made in China. They don’t oil them at the factory in China, and provide instructions on how and where to apply oil.
I have approximately 30 Bachmann Spectrum steam engines and have never had a problem with any of them. Fellow club members have had just the opposite luck with Bachmann, both regular and Spectrum. Two Spectrum and one regular line have had to be sent back for replacement. The older Bachmann GS-4 Daylight and War Baby were very problematic with wheels coming out of the axle. The axle on these locomotives is nylon, and there is no readily availalbe glue that will stick to it to reattach the wheel.
I received my first N scale Spectrum diesel locomotive in the mail today – a Dash 8-40C. It is an EXCELLENT model. The detailing is at least equal to my P2K locomotive, and comes close to the quality of my Kato. My Kato runs more smoothly than the Spectrum, but the Kato runs more smoothly than my P2K also.
Overall, I think the Spectrum is the most locomotive for the money I’ve ever purchased. I got it from Midwest Rail Junction for just under $50 + shipping.
[tup]
I would like to start off by saying i really enjoy this forum & i will continue to visit & read to get idea’s that is what is great about. I do not respond to many topic’s because i do not know alot about the hobby as for as the differance between a GP SP SD GEEP etc, i like steam & all i really know about them is 0-6-0 2-6-2 etc. So i thought i would ask about the differance between the two lines to help me make a decssion. I assumed i would get some of replies i did as " the price he he" & " they are toy train gunk". I do realize that opions are like people all differant. No one really answered the question other than better quality or better detail’s. Selector made some good point’s and i believe he is correct. Since i have heard good & bad about both the cheep line & the premium line i made a decission. So i looked at the replies threw out the bad looked at the good & made my joice. By the way if you can not tell i am not a rivet counter i am just trying to have fun. Now for the results. Note some of my finding’s are fact & some are my opion. I purchased a Bachmann Standard 2-6-0 Mogul. Opion ( since i do not count rivet’s) it probably is not the best detailed but good enough for me. Fact since one of the replies stated they do not come oiled from the factory, all tho the instruction’s made no mention of oiling before running, i decided to do so. After removing the bottom to expose the axle’s & drive gear i did not oil them since they were oiled & lubed. It has very good low speed & pulls well. I have some grade’s that it pulls my short train’s ( that’s the tpye of railroad i am running) up with a little slipage (it does not have traction tires). This engine will probably be used mostly for my switching needs. In time i will be buying another engine of some type for my main line use, brand & type undetermined. So what i have determined is you can get all the opion’s you want, but you have to be your own judge & jury. Buy a product, if it work’s for you fine, if not chaulk it up to expereince, this
I have the Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0.
It is one of the best steamers for the money you can buy.
I also have the Spectrum doodlebug. It runs poorly, and can not pull anything. It is more of a toy loco, like Tyco and Model Power (but IS better than those two - but what isn’t ???).
My recommendation, based on actual experiance with the models, is to buy Bachmann Spectrum steamers, but avoid Bachmann diesels - the diesels are not up to today’s standards. Even the Athearn blue boxes are much better, and the Athearns are down quite a way from Atlas, P2K, Kato and Stewart diesels !!!
I have a spectrum Dash8-40CW Santa Fe engine and it runs really good compared to my bachmann standard line engine that broke and ran noisily. But my 8-40CW is a great runner am i the only person with a good spectrum diesel[?]
–John–
I also have been very happy with my Spectrum Dash8-40CW locomotive. As I said in a prior post on this thread: