Bachmann 4-2-0

[toptrain1]

* Bachmann made three I think. Prussian, Lafayette, and I maybe one called Pegasus which is one I have never seen. I am building a diorama of  the first terminal built on the Hudson River in Jersey City. Once started I have to totally stop any work on my Ho trains. Concentrating just on the project. The Railroad was the New Jersey Rail Road and Transportation Company. Lots of Railroad History in this Company, but very little information. I do think I can build it anyway.
* Now what this is about is I will be trying to get a few of these locomotives for the diorama. They don't have to run. Just sit and look nice.
* If forum members have these locos and wish to part with then please contact me. [email protected]   .
frank

[Warflight]

You are correct, and I have all three (I ended up finding the "Prussia" on eBay, from 1986, and when I went to run it, I discovered the welds on the wires underneath were bad... I will eventually fix it, as it's a decently built, and beautiful engine for 1986!)

I also managed to find the John Bull, and DeWitt Clinton, both of the ones I found are from 2003, and 2013, respectively... seems even though they are in the 2017 catalogue, they are still a bit hard to find.

I was told by a lot of folks that are into the "high end" trains that these older engines were a waste of money, but, to be honest, they are remembering when the Prussia and John Bull first came out in the 80s, but to be honest, they are MUCH better made now, and even that Prussia from 1986 (the first year of production... maybe the only year?) is really well built, with a well built motor, and repair (if needed... the Prussia comes to mind, and I had a slight issue with the leads on the DeWitt Clinton, that was my own damned fault) are easy to repair, and maintain. If you run them at their proper speeds (about 30MPH on a standard Bachmann DC controller) they will never fail you.

Oh, and a while back, I saw a Youtube video where someone had actually converted a "Pegasus" to DCC! Who would have thought that even possible? Though, the 4-2-0 tenders are hollow inside.

Here's some photos of my babies (and yes, they are some of my favorites to run, and thought I plan to model Old West, rather than their proper period, I do know that the "Andrews' Raid", when Union Soldiers stole a Confederate 4-4-0, the Yonah (though, it's possible it was an older version of a 4-4-0, the Disney movie "The Great Train Chase" portrays it as a Norris) one of the engines they gave chase with, before the Confederate got hold of the Texas to go after The General, was a Norris 4-4-0, so it's PLAUSIBLE to have them on my layout as switchers, and maintenance engines)

Here's the DeWitt Clinton:



The John Bull:



This one is the Prussia:



The Pegasus:



The Lafayette:



The Lafayette is pulling the cars from the Prussia... the major difference on the cars, is wheels vs trucks... the Lafayette's cars had trucks, which I have, but was just showing off some trains when I took the photos... I need to take some more photos, as I now have all of the small trains, including the John Bull, with engineers (pilots) and the DeWitt Clinton now has passengers on the coaches. Fun fact (or just a story?) When the B&O first got the DeWitt Clinton, they weren't sure what to do about cars, so they just took some stage coaches, and slapped some metal wheels on them, and called it a day.

It made for a rather uncomfortable ride, that would oft times throw passengers from the tops, and it didn't matter if you were inside, or outside of the carriages, you were still going to be covered in soot.

[Warflight]

These engines, BTW, are the reason why I am so addicted to Bachmann. These were the engines that got me started in model railroading the first time (though I was never able to find them) and got me BACK into model railroading the second time (just got back into it about two months ago) Bachmann is the only company that makes them, and they only made them in HO, and since then, I keep finding more and more Bachmann engines, and sets that I keep falling in love with.

I actually set out this month to get some non-Bachmann engines, and wound up finding two more Bachmann engines that I simply must have! (The George Washington Spectrum set, and a Spectrum Baldwin 2-8-0 Consolidation #722 (another green "Southern Crescent" engine... I like the green colour! It goes with the green 1880s coaches)

Even the old 80s stuff I found on eBay last month (the Jupiter, and the UP #119, so I can recreate the "Golden Spike" scene on my desk) wound up being Bachmann!

Speaking of... does it bother anyone else that the Bachmann "Golden Spike" train set is a diesel, and not a recreation of the finishing of the "Transcontinental" rail road at Promontory Summit in Utah?

Maybe I'm just a bit nit-picky, or maybe there's an historical significance to that set being diesel that I'm unaware of...

[ebtnut]

On being nit-picky,  the DeWitt Clinton ran on a predecessor of the New York Central.  The Lafaytte was/is a B&O engine.  Of course, the B&O's first steamer was the"Tom Thumb".  The 1927 reproduction of the Tom Thumb at the B&O museum has almost no resemblance to the actual engine.  The Lafayette came a few years later. 

[Warflight]

On being nit-picky,  the DeWitt Clinton ran on a predecessor of the New York Central.  The Lafaytte was/is a B&O engine.  Of course, the B&O's first steamer was the"Tom Thumb".  The 1927 reproduction of the Tom Thumb at the B&O museum has almost no resemblance to the actual engine.  The Lafayette came a few years later. 

Ah... right you are, and no worries... I was having a brain fart there for a moment.

[Terry Toenges]

I can't say for certain but I think the Golden Spike is probably just used because of name recognition. A lot of kids have heard about the golden spike and the ceremony in school.

[Warflight]

I can't say for certain but I think the Golden Spike is probably just used because of name recognition. A lot of kids have heard about the golden spike and the ceremony in school.

You're probably right... though, when I was a kid, I still would have expected steam of some kind, even if at that time I may not have known which steam...

(Oh, who are we kidding? I knew about the Jupiter, and the UP #119 due to a Lone Ranger cartoon when I was a kid)