I just motored down to Sacramento train show specifically to look at the Bachmann Spectrum 55 Ton large-scale Shay. I've been eyeing this baby on line for a while and have decided I wanted to see one in action. Long story short, I saw the Bachmann booth at the show and a few rows over someone had a great price on 'em so I bought one.
Took it home, put it on the track and had a demonstration run for a number of our bed & breakfast guests who were very impressed. I hooked everything I could to this locomotive and I think I could almost pull my full-size pickup truck with it. It's a beautiful and powerful model.
But then I took out the instructional DVD and saw the extensive oiling instructions for this unit. But there's no oil included.
As beautifully made as this piece is, wouldn't it make sense for Bachmann to either oil the darned thing at the factory or at least include the lubrication necessary? I don't buy a car or an electric drill or even a pressure washer that doesn't come with the oil either in it, or with it.
So now I've got to wait until Monday to try to buy the four lubricants recommended from Bachmann or go back to the Internet and buy them and wait and wait while my new loco sits on a side track. Hey, at least the fire box and headlights and even the smoke work while the locomotive is stationary - that's cool. But having something this nice that I can't play with is like having (insert beautiful woman's name here) sitting naked across the table from me while I try to undo my seat belt. Never you mind why I'm wearing a seat belt at the dinner table.
I appreciate the schematics, Bachmann, but I'd rather have an owners manual and a quick-start guide that includes lubrication points, a few bottles of oil or, best of all, a pre-oiled machine. I think a nice description of what all the "extra" bits are in the bag would also be great. Some are obvious, others I have NO idea and I've seen a Shay like this in real life. Okay, I've actually run one.
Lastly, the typical LGB-style couplers that come with the unit don't fit so I really had to put my thinking cap on to get it to couple to everything else I own.
But, as mentioned, this is a beautiful piece that I can't wait to run. You could say that once the lubricants get here, I will say "oil's well that ends well!"
Took it home, put it on the track and had a demonstration run for a number of our bed & breakfast guests who were very impressed. I hooked everything I could to this locomotive and I think I could almost pull my full-size pickup truck with it. It's a beautiful and powerful model.
But then I took out the instructional DVD and saw the extensive oiling instructions for this unit. But there's no oil included.
As beautifully made as this piece is, wouldn't it make sense for Bachmann to either oil the darned thing at the factory or at least include the lubrication necessary? I don't buy a car or an electric drill or even a pressure washer that doesn't come with the oil either in it, or with it.
So now I've got to wait until Monday to try to buy the four lubricants recommended from Bachmann or go back to the Internet and buy them and wait and wait while my new loco sits on a side track. Hey, at least the fire box and headlights and even the smoke work while the locomotive is stationary - that's cool. But having something this nice that I can't play with is like having (insert beautiful woman's name here) sitting naked across the table from me while I try to undo my seat belt. Never you mind why I'm wearing a seat belt at the dinner table.
I appreciate the schematics, Bachmann, but I'd rather have an owners manual and a quick-start guide that includes lubrication points, a few bottles of oil or, best of all, a pre-oiled machine. I think a nice description of what all the "extra" bits are in the bag would also be great. Some are obvious, others I have NO idea and I've seen a Shay like this in real life. Okay, I've actually run one.
Lastly, the typical LGB-style couplers that come with the unit don't fit so I really had to put my thinking cap on to get it to couple to everything else I own.
But, as mentioned, this is a beautiful piece that I can't wait to run. You could say that once the lubricants get here, I will say "oil's well that ends well!"