What makes an HO Mogul not Spectrum statis ?

[MarkInLA]

Sorry if this has been delt with before...I saw an Ad for an HO Bachmann 2-6-0 which states : brand new, DCC with Tsunami sound..Why then is this NOT of Spectrum statis ? Is motor not 5 pole/skewed ? Or maybe no fly wheel ? Is it that detail is low ? Or to put it another way, what DOES constitute a loco as Spectrum more than what I just described in first sentence ?  Thank you...Mark

[Jerrys HO]

And the answer is..............

BACHMANN!!!!!

More on this

http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php/topic,18375.0.html

Jerry

[richg]

Sorry if this has been delt with before...I saw an Ad for an HO Bachmann 2-6-0 which states : brand new, DCC with Tsunami sound..Why then is this NOT of Spectrum statis ? Is motor not 5 pole/skewed ? Or maybe no fly wheel ? Is it that detail is low ? Or to put it another way, what DOES constitute a loco as Spectrum more than what I just described in first sentence ?  Thank you...Mark

Search the General and HO forums here. The CV data is here also.
The 2-6-0 is also called the Sound Value Line. Tsunami sound. Most seem to be happy with it.
Quite a loco for the price. Around a $120 the last time I looked.
There is one here who rants about the sound value though. Cannot please them all.

Rich

[rogertra]

It is not Spectrum "status" ("Brand" and there is a spell checker at the bottom of the window) because it is way less detailed than a Spectrum model hence, Bachmann are able to offer a sound and DCC equipped engine at a VERY affordable price.

Yes, it needs more detail added.  I have two and as I kitbash my steam anyway adding the required extra details to bring it up to my modelling detail standards is not a challenge.

The two models I have are excellent runners and are well worth the price and I highly recommend them.

[CNE Runner]

Mark - Thanks for asking a question about which I have been wondering also. The Bachmann GE 45 Ton locomotive is Spectrum 'qualified' whilst the GE 44 Ton isn't...'go figure.

Ray

[railtwister]

Mark - Thanks for asking a question about which I have been wondering also. The Bachmann GE 45 Ton locomotive is Spectrum 'qualified' whilst the GE 44 Ton isn't...'go figure.

Ray

It's especially funny when you consider that the first releases of the 44 Tonner, according to the packaging anyway, were clearly Spectrum issues (dual-motored non DCC, a single motored DCC-ready version, then one with decoder on-board), yet you say the current DCC-on-Board version is no longer Spectrum? Though it's rather confusing it looks like the 44 Tonner  joins the 2-8-0 Consolidation as a loco that has lost it's former Spectrum status...

Bill in FL

[Bucksco]

Buy a Tsunami and install it in the DCC Ready version - it's really quite simple. The assertion that the Sound Value items are inferior is a misnomer since there is an option available to have all the "bells and whistles" if that is what you prefer. Some folks out there do not necessarily want more features and are quite satisfied with the idea of a simplified soundset. It should also be pointed out that the sound quality of these locos are 16 bit digital sound just like all the other SoundTraxx products - THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO DIFFERENCE IN THE SOUND QUALITY. There is no need to try to convince people that these products are inferior in any way since you can put any DCC decoder into the DCC ready version and have all the sound features that make YOU happy.

[Bucksco]

I beg to differ with your opinions. The cost of the Sound Value locos plus a full Tsunami is about one third less than the cost of a Spectrum DCC Sound on Board steam locomotive.

Speaker installation is a simple affair that only requires basic modelling skills - nothing to be afraid of.

These are standard line models. Bachmann standard line models have never been available with sound so it is a moot point to compare them to models in the higher end Spectrum line.

Perhaps these models should have been issued without sound leaving it up to the modeler to add the decoder and speaker? Most modelers are very happy that even if they don't want the Sound Value version the speaker cavity has been provided so that the decoder and speaker installation is very simple. Guess you can't please all the people all of the time. These locos are selling very well so obviously most people are happy with them.

[Pacific Northern]

Well, Rich, that's probably me you are talking about that rants about "Sound Value".  

If I'm sorry to be hard to please, but I've been around steam engines too much to truly be happy with half of a sound system.  I can afford the way it was before and just would rather pay for a full system then buy a silent cheapy, then to get sound have to spend essentially twice as much as I did before to get sound into the engine.  PF

Then follow up on your suggestions. Buy the DCC ready versions and have someone intall a full featured sound decoder and speakers and stop posting your cojmplaints.

[rogertra]

Florynow keeps going on about coupler "crash".

I don't understand why.

When I operate, not play trains, on a model railroad and couple up to cars, the last thing I want to do is press yet another button on the DCC throttle to hear the sound of couplers.  If you are switching even a small yard like Granville Junction on my old GER, as yardmaster you'll be switch 90 to over 100 cars in an operating session.  Why on earth would anyone want to push a sound FX button 90 to over 100 times in a few hours?  If the coupler FX was automatic, that's fine but to manually push a button?  Come on, that's more of a gimmick than a required effect.

If you are switching a yard, all you really need are the bell and whistle/horns, chuff and prime mover FXs.  Even the brake squeal, turbo-generator and most of the other FXs. like air relief valves, fireman shoveling, etc., etc., just become noise after several hours of concentrating on the tasks at hand.  This is especially true of you turn down the volume so that the whistle and bell can't be heard from more than four feet away, those sounds almost disappear anyway.

BTW, I have spent many hours switching cars and if, from the cab, you can hear the couplers come together, then you are coupling up way too fast and or the man on the ground giving you signals isn't doing a very good job. 

As for sound and DCC equipment models, the only Bachmann locomotives I've purchase in the past two years have been two Alco 4-6-0s and the sound provided with them is more than adequate for someone like me who is a serious "operator".  I don't miss any of what I consider the gimmick sound FXs.  The other 30 odd Spectrum engines I've purchased in the past are all dated from the pre-DCC and pre-sound days.

If I understand Florynow correctly, he is saying that engines like the 2-10-0, that were once Spectrum engines available with DCC and sound, have now been moved from the Spectrum to the Standard line and in moving from Spectrum to Standard have lost DCC and or sound then I do think that is a retrogressive move on the part of Bachmann.

[richg]

Dudes, we are boys playing with toys, I don't care how prototypical looking.
How many run a excellent and expensive loco on code 100 rail?
Run a train on a layout while gabbing and have an accident?
How many run a loco with no crew?
Model railroading is an analogy of the real thing and all analogies break down somewhere.
Deal with it.
How many here have run a model railroad company or any kind of business?

I really hope the Powers That Be delete this thread. It has no useful value.

Rich

[beampaul7]

Amen!

[Geared Steam]

It seems to me that instead of relying on the manufacturer to build a loco to suit ones needs, you should take a day or two to learn some simple and basic skills, like soldering and installing a speaker. Not really a big deal. If your refuse to to learn these simple skills, then your are at the mercy of somebody else to do it for you. If you take that road, you should be ready to accept the consequences.

I like the 2-6-0, and for the price it is an awesome value in my opinion, if I want coupler crash and brake squeal, I would spend an enjoyable afternoon installing a Tsunami, then I have a $230.00 loco, with all the sounds, and runs great. It the mindset you choose to take.

The effort you have spent complaining about this loco could have been put to better use by learning to be a modeler and not a runner. Or just take the loco to your "installer" and have him do it for you.

Bachmann hit a home run with this one, it's plain to see. Its is an excellent platform to begin with if your going to bash it and super detail it, or it is a great loco "as is" if your not. Coupler clash and brake squeal be dammed!

I refuse to pay anyone for anything I can do or learn to do myself. 

[beampaul7]

HEAR HEAR!!

[Pacific Northern]

Not everyone is like you, geared steam.  Despite not liking to solder and do electrical and mechanical work on engines, I do not think I am less of a "modeler" than you.  I prefer building structures and scenery.  And running a railroad realistically.  And besides, this pastime is called "model railroading" (which should emphasize "operating trains realistically"), it is not "soldering model electronics". I'm always amused by those who get so deep into that kind of stuff they forget that running a train is the objective of doing the work in the first place. 

I'd say people that really prefer to do that kind of work ought to be building radio or computer kits, and quit thinking less of those who share their belief that electronic work has to be a primary component of this pastime and is a necessary measuring stick of competence.

I know I'm on the losing end of Bachmann's new direction that caters toward the low end and leaves guys in the middle like me out.  So be it.  Nothing stays the same, and things don't always go for the best for everyone.

Most of you folks appear to like things the way they are now, I don't.  The end.

PF

Promise?