Product quality

[GG1onFordsDTandI]

Take Dons advice on remaining calm cool and collected, voice your disappointment respectfully. I too initially had some contact issues but overall the customer service is far better than most companies Ive delt with recently(non-train too). Normal repair time is months for almost every manufacturer, so be prepared for that wait too. Any serious modeler will end up with more than one engine and often don't miss one while out for repairs, but as your new this, it hits home for you harder than most. I feel for you. Time for another , a jewel  .  Also find a good local train oriented hobby shop, help keep its doors open, and they will likely help you make better choices too (sometimes, better double check here  )  
0-6-0, 2-6-4, etc. Its the Wheels, called the Whyte Notation here's a Wikipedia page on it  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Whyte_notation

Then check out AAR and UIC wheel araingments too.

[rogertra]

thanks!

Now for the rookie question of the year!

4-0-40-... --8-0-8   stuff like this in reference to model engines.

What does these mean?

and Mr Bachman Overlords... rookie questions.. mean new to the hobby.. impressionable... money to spend...also looking for support after the sale...   open to considering other manufacturers..

Google "railroad wheel arrangements" or "whyte wheel arrangements"  Much easier than explaining here.

[jbrock27]

cm458k, be cognizant of the fact that if you go about changing out the Horn Hook couplers on your set, you will also be changing the trucks to the non talgo type (at least to do it right).  If you consider doing that, time to do some cost/benefit analysis.  I don't make it a practice to replace things that are working fine on the basis of "just because". 
I am not sold you need to get the more expensive Kadee couplers over EZ Mate Mark II's unless you plan on pulling trains that are 30 plus cars long.  But include that in any cost/benefit analysis.
I am a big fan of the Bachmann Silver Series freight cars.  They are nicely detailed, have knuckle couplers installed and come with metal wheels (one must throw a bone to the Overlords from time to time).  If you are a decent shopper, you can find them for a good price.

[Doneldon]

cm-

In regards to couplers: Few if anyone on this board would dispute that Kadee couplers are the best on the market. BUT (that's a BIG but) that doesn't mean you must use them. Bachmann couplers, like several other brands, are just about a half a bubble behind the Kadees so you won't be giving up much if you stick with them. A piece which a lot of modelers miss is that all couplers of a given brand work better with others of their own brand than with any "foreign" brand. So ... I would suggest that you stick with your Bmann couplers for now unless you are positive that you will continue in the hobby. Then it would be best to begin converting to Kadees now because you will undoubtedly find items from other manufacturers who use yet more brands of couplers and suddenly you'll have a Heinz 57 coupler array and you can't tell what the coupler problems are all about because you have a mongrel set-up.

In short, stick with the Bmann couplers for now unless you know you'll be purchasing equipment from other manufacturers in the near future. You don't need to set yourself up for all kinds of upgrade work before you've even had a chance to run a few trains.

Beyond that, good luck with your call to Bachmann this morning. I hope you are as pleasantly surprised by their response as I expect them to be.
                                                      -- D

[jbrock27]

Doc, thanks for the endorsement (I think )
BTW, I have never had a problem with knuckle couplers of different manufacturers working well together as long as their heights were the same.
Which leads me to say to you cm458k, if you go down the road of making all these modifications, it will be best to invest in a Kadee #206 coupler height gauge.  I like the #206 bc it is insulated.

[CNE Runner]

As usual Don, well said. I have found Bachmann EZmate II couplers to work very well on my Monks Island Railway. The longest train my [Bachmann] GE 45-Ton locomotive has to pull is usually not more than 5 cars. If I had a larger layout, I probably would consider going the Kadee route. I should mention that EZmate I is a very poor copy of the excellent EZmate II couplers...be sure to research what you are buying.

While I haven't had to return any Bachmann product to Service, I can say that today's Bachmann products are a far cry from those of yesteryear (less expensive train sets excepted). I currently own four Bachmann locomotives (2, 4-4-0s/a GE 45-Ton/a GE 44-Ton being kitbashed into an On30 'critter') - all of them perform flawlessly after a good run in. As a point of comparison, I also have a 1960s Athearn Little Hustler (with Hi-F drive) which runs like a guided missile and is basically useless. We have come a long way in the hobby since the days of Hi-F drive and X2F (hook-horn) couplers.

Keep 'em rolling,
Ray

[jbrock27]

When at the bottom, there is only one direction to go...

Thanks as well for the endorsement (I think ) Ray.

[Doneldon]

Re: couplers

Yes, all knuckle couplers work together pretty well if they are installed correctly and, especially, at the correct height with NO SAG. But there is a small advantage to using all the same: Coupling on a curve. MR did a careful study a couple of years ago and they found that to be the most serious incompatibility. Now MR isn't the last word on much but I thought the article was scientifically sound. There is a related issue, too. Using just one brand of couplers will quickly make us experts on how the little critters operate while keeping our coupler inventory smaller and simpler. I like that, especially as I watch my aging mind run out of me every time (it seems) anything else runs out of me.

D

[jbrock27]

Fair point Doc.
I would suggest that installing a knuckle is the same concept across brands with differences arising between whisker types (which I prefer) and ones like Kadee #5s, that take that annoying (to me) clip to install.  Otherwise, it all goes back to height (primarily) draft box installation and style and length of the shank, offset, long, short, etc.

And you can't fool me, you are sharp, like a tack