bachmann products made during 1980's & 1990's

[simkon]

As soon as you say they are no longer around, bingo they are back.  ihc-hobby.com.  They never die, they just go away for a while.

They are back, but not in full force, they don't have as many products as they used to if you go to the website and look around.

[tracy1947]

what year and month did the bachmann produced the new bachmann line of products?.

[tracy1947]

i noticed that the bachmann products.  even old or the new models.  can not match with other brand names.  because just by looking at the prices.  bachmann is very much cheaper.  like atlas, kato, and others.  i wonder why?.  anyway.  i am still like bachmann.  cause all of my model trains were made by bachmann.  in the future.  if i want to continue buy some.  bachmann again is my choice no matter what.

[jward]

i have dabbled in n scale off and on since early childhood.

for many years n scale locomotives were vastly inferior to HO ones. this was especially true of model power locomotives which used a very cheap motor. i never had one of those that the motor didn't burn up in. bachmann was about middle of the road in quality, and their n scale locomotives were probably better than their HO ones.

freight cars were a different story. pretty much all of the freight cars have been  decent runners. the rapido design of coupler was, in my opinion, far superior to the horn hooks in HO. when backing up, horn hooks tend to channel forces to the outside of the track, and having them mounted on the trucks rather than the bodies of the cars only meant that they were trying to derail your train every time you backed up. rapidos, on the other hand, tend to place those forces more toward the centerline ot the car, and you could back reasonable numbers of cars equipped with rapidos without problems.

in the mid to late 1990s, the quality of most n scale locomotives increased exponentially, to the point that many runs as well as or in some cases better than their HO brothers. life like and atlas were my favourite locomotives. the bachmann plus locomotives were a bit farther down the list but still not bad. these observations are from around 2002 when i packed up my n scale stuff.

bottom line, i'd use the n scale cars with newer locomotives. you don't really need to convert all your cars to knuckle couplers to get them to run right. unlike HO, you can pretty much leave them as is, but if you want a simple upgrade toi knuckle couplers micro trains sells trucks with knuckle couplers already on them. all you have to do with most makes of cars is to pull the old trucks off and replace them with micro trains. i'd start out by making a coupler of conversion cars, with the original truck/coupler on one end, and a micro trains on the other, just so that any locomotives with knuckle couplers can pull the trains.

last, some locomotives were being produced with rapido couplers at least until 2000, so you could probably find them if you looked.

[tracy1947]

if i want to buy some E-Z mate couplers.  i noticed that they have long, medium and short coupler.  what's that mean?.  what is the different?.

also center shank, over shank and under shank?.  which one should i use for my older freight cars?.

[tracy1947]

the older version of steel and silver tracks without roadbed.  and now the new one with roadbed.  are they compatible?.

[Joe323]

the older version of steel and silver tracks without roadbed.  and now the new one with roadbed.  are they compatible?.

If we are talking HO (and I think N as well) they should be compatible however if you are referring to joining EZ track to older snap track you will have to cut the plastic tab off the end of the EZ track and use roadbed such as cork to raise the snap track to the same level as the EZ track.

[tracy1947]

wow.  that is another business tactic to change it and in order us to buy again and again.  just like the can food or juice.  keep increasing the price or reduces the weight and size.

[jward]

i don't think it was so much to get us to buy new track. most of the serious modellers seem to either use flexible track or lay their own. the ez track seems to be more for entry level people. it can be easily set up and torn down, and the connectors will hold the track together without it being nailed down. once you build a permanent layout, those issues become moot points as the track is permanently fastened down.

steel track was tried by several manufacturers of train sets, and in each case its drawbacks became apparent. it can rust and isn't as easy to keep clean, solder, etc. nickle silver has been the track of choice for many years. put another way, in n scale where electrical contact can be a major issue, brass and steel rail seems to have never been widely marketed. nickle silver has been the standard there since the advent of that scale, years before it became the standard in HO.

looking back, model railroading has been a hobby undergoing constant refinements and improvements. we've come a long way from the wooden cars with cardboard sides common in the 1940s.

[tracy1947]

yes.  i like old fashion way.  i don't like E-Z mate tracks.  in this way.  i can buy some new bachmann and use my old tracks.

[jward]

that's the beauty of it. you can use any track you want, as long as it's in your scale. me, i lay my own by hand. my trains run just as they would on any other track. the nmra has set the standards, and all manufacturers conform to them.

[Joe323]

I used to use a mix of track on my layout which is currently all EZ track.  However I will be using some flex track for an extention I am building so I can make some custom curves.

[tracy1947]

now i am ready to visit and observe at train world again.  not buying immediately but  look around their big store and display.  it's been 17 year. 

[Joe323]

now i am ready to visit and observe at train world again.  not buying immediately but  look around their big store and display.  it's been 17 year. 

You mean trainworld on McDonald Ave in Brooklyn?  Thats a fun place to shop I go there a lot.

[tracy1947]

yes.  that is the place i went before.  17 years ago.  never visit them again after that.