Just ordered 4-8-2 Heavy Mountain with DCC & sund

[kyguy01]

Does anyone have experience with this loco?

[jonathan]

I have two of the Heavy Mountains w/o sound.  I love them.  They run smoothly and pull well.  Heavy is right on target.  The cast metal boiler really gives this loco it's pulling ability.

They run fine on my 22" radius loop.  I tend to keep them on the 24" radius loop, for appearance's sake.

Be sure to check the pick up brushes that touch the driver wheels.  They are delicate and sometimes can be slightly bent out of shape right out of the box.  One of mine needed a little tweaking, the other didn't.

I found the headlight a little dim.  Probably because I run DC.  I moved the led directly into the headlight can, which helped a great deal.

If I could afford it, I'd snap up every heavy mountain I could find.

Mine ran pretty darn well right out of the box.  They were even smoother after a break in period.

The Consolidations are probably still the best loco made by Bachmann, but these run a close second... only my opinion of course.

If you plan to replace the couplers, use the Kadee whisker type.  The #5's are too thick for the coupler box with the separate centering spring.

Regards,

Jonathan

[bobwrgt]

I have 4 of the heavy mountains w/o sound. I love the 2-8-0 but for me the Heavy Mountain is the best HO engine Bachmann has made. All mine run fine on 18in radius and pull very well. I have run them on 22in radius double headed and even triple headed. What a sight. I wish Bachmann would make some with sound for DC like Proto and Broadway then i would buy more instead of the others with QSI, Blueline and Paragon sound.

Bob

[rogertra]

I have a couple as well and also find them to be just excellent.

Here's a photo of one undergoing a simple kitbash, just to make it different from everyone else. 

[Pacific Northern]

I have a couple of these, with and without sound and they really are "pullers". I am surprised that Bachmann does not currently offer these engines with or without sound as they are not currently in production.

What is available is old stock. I would think that these engines would be very popular and that Bachmann would continue to produce them. 

[ACY]

They have to rotate products as they do not have the factories to make everything they want to make in a given year. As an aside though 2 of my 3 heavy mountains will not run on 18" radius, but my newer one will...

[uncbob]

Great engines
My favorite
I like the lines of USRA 2-8-2 and 4-8-2
2-8-0 is a great runner but it is boxy looking

[Atlantic Central]

I have a couple of these, with and without sound and they really are "pullers". I am surprised that Bachmann does not currently offer these engines with or without sound as they are not currently in production.

What is available is old stock. I would think that these engines would be very popular and that Bachmann would continue to produce them. 

Pacific Northern,

Just to give you some idea, in one production run, which only takes a few months, they can make more Heavy Mountains than are likely to be sold in 2-3 years. Now that many people have them, there is less of a market.

After some time pases there may well be a renewed demand as new people enter the hobby or their interests change. Bachmann can always make more then.

There is plenty of "old stock" out there right now, and thre is nothing wrong with it. Not everything you buy in this world was "made last week", or even last year.

I have nine of them, without DCC or sound since I don't use either, and yes they are great locos.

Sheldon