Need help identifying locomotives

[Rohonda]

I have a small collection (7-8) of Bachmann locomotives that were my husband's. He has passed away and I'm considering selling them. The problem is I can't figure out how to identify them to figure out what they might be worth. Is there some identifying number or something located on them somewhere? They're all HO. One has "Spectrum by Bachmann" on it. The only other thing I can find is where they were made:  Hong Kong, China or Macao. Of course, there are also the railroad names.

I figure you are the experts...who better to ask?

I'd really appreciate any help you can give me.

Thanks.

[jayl1]

Sorry for your loss!  It will be very difficult to answer your question without a picture or better description of the items.  Many different "Spectrum engines were made.  Is yours a diesel or a steam locomotive?  Most locomotives made  today are made in China.  I'm guessing the Hong Kong & Macao ones are the older (read not very good) Bachmann products.  You might want to go to www.walthers.com and do an "advanced search" of Bachmann items.  That MAY give you an idea of what you have.  The older items would not show up but you may find a similar item picture.  Hope this helps!  Jay

[Rohonda]

Thank you Jay. They're all steam locomotives and I don't remember for sure, but I'm guessing they were bought 15, maybe 20, years ago at most. I'm actually making some progress on this. It suddenly occurred to me that the number on the side of the locomotive might not just be there for the fun of it (duh). So far, I've used the numbers to locate 3 Bachmanns and I've discovered that 2 of the others are not Bachmann. The Bachmanns so far are:

2-6-0 Mogul & Tender - New York Central 1905
K4 4-6-2 Pacific (Pre-War with Slat Pilot) - Pennsylvania 5475
4-4-0 American & Tender - Union Pacific 119

The colors on the last one do not match the picture on the Bachmann or Walthers sites. Every other detail matches. What might that mean? (It's definitely a Bachmann - it says so on the bottom.)

Thanks again for your response. The reference to Walthers is helpful.

Now, two more to go....

[jayl1]

The Pennsylvania K4 is a Pennsy only engine.  They was mostly used on passenger trains when new.  Two survive today - one at Steamtown - in pieces - (Scranton, PA) which belongs to the Altoona Museum & one at the Pennsylvania RR Museum at Strasburg, PA.  They were built from 1914-1928.  (probably the Spectrum??)

The 4-4-0 is an oldie. I would guess it to be Civil War era. They were called "Americans" on some roads.

The 2-6-0 period probably began in the late 1800s (1895??).  They were called "Moguls" & were mostly freight engines.

Also try International Hobby Corporation on your Walthers search.  They also make many types of steam engines.

[SteamGene]

As Jay wrote, old Bachmanns are not worth much - most of the time.  Those who have been around here awhile still remember the lady with a worthless Bachmann train set she wanted to sell on eBay.  She made a ton of money on it!  You may, too.
Gene

[Paul M.]

Thank you Jay. They're all steam locomotives and I don't remember for sure, but I'm guessing they were bought 15, maybe 20, years ago at most. I'm actually making some progress on this. It suddenly occurred to me that the number on the side of the locomotive might not just be there for the fun of it (duh). So far, I've used the numbers to locate 3 Bachmanns and I've discovered that 2 of the others are not Bachmann. The Bachmanns so far are:

2-6-0 Mogul & Tender - New York Central 1905
K4 4-6-2 Pacific (Pre-War with Slat Pilot) - Pennsylvania 5475
4-4-0 American & Tender - Union Pacific 119

The colors on the last one do not match the picture on the Bachmann or Walthers sites. Every other detail matches. What might that mean? (It's definitely a Bachmann - it says so on the bottom.)

Thanks again for your response. The reference to Walthers is helpful.

Now, two more to go....

The difference in colors probably just means that it was from a different production run of 4-4-0's than the current generation.

Any word on the two others? A wheel arrangement, roadname, and roadnumber would be helpful....
It would be very useful if you had pictures of them, which you could  upload to hosting sites like www.photobucket.com or www.imageshack.com .

[Yampa Bob]

On the other hand, a friend gave me an old Lionel HO Daylight in mint condition. While running it the valve guide on one side broke.  The thing didn't fit my roster anyway so I put it on Ebay. It brought a whopping $10.

[Rohonda]

I've posted a photo of the last two trains at photobucket.com. Here's the link http://i366.photobucket.com/albums/oo106/rohonda_01/DSCF0034.jpg

These last two have proven to be more elusive. But, after doing a fair amount of searching, I've found a photograph of the AT&SF 105 locomotive in a box on ebay. Coincidentally the photograph on the box itself appears to be of the Reading 2000. So, based on that, these last two appear to be 2-8-0 Consolidation. The box says "Classic Collector's Series." I can't find anything more on them than that.

I've understood from the beginning that these locomotives might not be worth much, but I wanted to make sure. I'd hate to find out that I'd gotten rid of them for nothing and that they were valuable after all.

For the time being, I think they're going to stay right where they've always been. Personally, I've always enjoyed just looking at them. In fact, I built them their own custom display shelf where they've sat for these many years. (Yes, I've tried my hand at woodworking.)

And, Jay, thanks for telling me about the actual locomotives. Particularly the Pennsy K4. I've been to the Strasburg museum and apparently saw the real thing. Whaddyuh know?

[jayl1]

The engines in the picture are actually the same basic engine.  They are Bachmann 2-8-0s (the Santa Fe appears to have an extra set of wheels) based on the Reading Railroad I10sa class prototype .  There were at least 2 production runs of these engines - both with different motors.  Neither was a good runner.  These haven't been available (new) for years.  It was my understanding that the mold was damaged years ago.  Enjoy displaying them.  BTW would you believe these engines were the basis for the Reading Company's T-1 (4-8-4) engines of rail ramble fame.

[wjstix]

The Union Pacific 4-4-0 is based on one of the two engines that met when the golden spike was laid at Promontory Point, Utah in 1869, completing the first US Transcontinental railroad. Bachmann has offered a model of the engine for several decades.

Full-sized working reproductions of the two original steam engines are used to recreate the event each year in Utah. About 10-15 years ago a rail historian discovered that the colors on the UP engine were incorrect, and that engine was subsequently repainted. Bachmann then changed the decoration of their model to match the revised engine.