How do you store your Spectrum steam engines when they are not on your layout.

That is how do you avoid having to unplug the somewhat fragile electrical connections between the engines and their tenders while storing the engines.

Quote from: T-Lloyd on February 24, 2008, 07:52:46 PM
since there are no special lengthed ez-track pieces to fill in gaps that a layout might have, should i stretch the track out of the proper radius to make the track connect or should i just buy an atlas assorted track pack even though it has no base. also cause the #6 crossovers are 21.25" long so it makes an odd length to fill in with just 3' and 2.25' pieces.

It is very simple to cut ez track to fit what ever gap you need to fill. A Atlas fine tooth saw to cut the roadbed and a rail cuter and file and some rail joiners.

Quote from: the Bach-man on February 26, 2008, 11:50:05 PM
Dear DR,
The originals had a five pole motor. A running change was instituted that replaced them with a highly efficient three pole motor with he same rating. thus, if your locomotive is recent production, it does have a three pole motor.
Have fun!
the Bach-man

Thanks, does "recent" refer to the DCC Onboard vs the DCC Ready lines?

You should have the information on the product page for the 2-8-0 updated s well as it indicates the use of a 5 pole motor.

Quote from: Atlantic Central on February 26, 2008, 10:43:35 PM
drhone,

Do you have any of the Heavy Mountains? They too are very good pullers and great runners - as good or better than the 2-8-0 or the 2-6-6-2.

My intie Bachmann fleet is only made of four different locos - 4-6-0's, 2-8-0's, 2-6-6-2's and 4-8-2 heavies.

Sheldon

Sheldon, yes I have and you are right there are as good, for what ever reason the 2-8-0's and the 2-6-6-2's are my favorites.

The only Spectrum engine I do not have is the Climax.  I was waiting to check the feedback on them and before I obtained any the Climax was no longer in production.

Never did get much in the way of  feedback on how they ran, another engine I am still debating/checking out is the new Standard line Berkshire.

Quote from: danmerkel on February 26, 2008, 04:44:01 PM
Isn't the "real" advantage of a flywheel the ability to "coast" through brief losses of power due to dirty track, plastic frogs, etc?

dlm

My  thought also, the momentum built up by the flywheel will take most engines through the switches, eliminating the dead frog problem.

Quote from: NevinW on February 26, 2008, 12:45:48 PM
There must be something going with the most recent series of Bachmann Spectrum 2-8-0's.  I have owned a 7-8 of these over the years and haven't had a problem with any of them.  A number of friends have whole fleets of these with no complaints.  They have been the most reliable of steam locomotives over the years.  What is going on with the current batch.  -  Nevin

When I had my multiple problems with the Bachmann Spectrums it was only with the 2-10-0's.

I have multiple sets of the other Spectrum steam and have had no problems with the others.

Best runners for pulling and slow speed control are the 2-6-6-2's followed by the 2-8-0's with the 2-10-2's a close second.

Quote from: drhone on February 22, 2008, 03:42:04 PM

Quote from: the Bach-man on February 15, 2008, 11:04:58 PM
Dear DR,
I'll see what I can find out.
Thanks!
the Bach-man

And the answer is ?

Quote from: Atlantic Central on February 25, 2008, 09:01:58 AM
A few thoughts,

It does not seem unreasonable for the consumer to check basic things and make very minor ajustments. My reason for this thinking is not in defense of Bachmann's quality control - it is about the simple fact that owning and using this device long term will and does require some simple knowledge of how it works - As a culture we have become ridiculously spoiled in this regard.

We buy a car, drive 10,000 miles, run over a nail, and Ford sends someone out to change our tire - why?, Ford did not put the nail in the road, driving a car requires certain skills and responsiblities. So does owning and operating a model train. How may Bachmann driver wipers are miss-aligned by poor handling by the customer?

But, I will agree that I should not have to disassemble, re-engineer, or outright "repair" a brand new loco. Where is the line between "ajust" and "repair"? Well it might be slighly different for each of us but tightening a screw, ajusting a coupler, straightening a stray driver wiper (often a problem on Bachmann locos) seems like an ajustment to me - not a repair. Even though I CAN disassemble a loco, that is where I draw the line with a new piece, if it requires disassembly right out of the box, its going back.

As I have pointed out before, many more expensive products are no better. My two PCM Reading T-1's required grinding the tender frame to clear the drawbar when close coupled, additional weight in the smokebox to balance them for best tracking through turnouts and one arrived missing parts which took two requests to have replaced. So its not just about price.

I have 18 or 19 Spectrum steamers at last count, I have had to return a few - but none recently. I have never had the unfortunate experiance of have a replacement loco be bad as well. I hope this is not really the case. From my experiance, and what I seem to see reported by others, the quality control is much better now than it was a few years back.

I am always amazed by comments that infer that someone "only" buys this brand or that brand. The whole point of interchangeablity of these products it so that you don't have to buy just one brand - this is not Marklin.

I buy ANY brand of loco if all the conditions are right -

Is it a model I want for my layout?

Does that model run well and/or have good reputation? - regardless of other products that company may have produced that had problems - I would not buy a 1971 Pinto, but all the Fords I have owned in the last 20 years have been great.

Does it represent a reasonable value based on its features and available price?

So, my loco fleet consists of locos from Bachmann (Spectrum and Standard), Athearn (Genesis, RTR, and old blue box), Proto 2000/Heritage, Intermountain, Broadway Limited/PCM, Mantua, IHC, and Rivarossi.

And, there are other brands I find acceptable, they just don't have something I need/want or I just haven't bought them yet.

Mr. B, get this guy a loco that runs, I have 5 Spectrum Consolidations, they all run great - I know you can do it.

drhone - stop whinning - none of those other brands are perfect either - split Proto gears, noisy drivelines in many BLI/PCM models, the T-1 problems I noted - its not the problems, its what the company does about it. one friend of mine has tons of BLI/PCM stuff, he has sent back just as many of those as I have Bachmann.

We have a saying in the construction business - Show me someone who has never @#$%^up anything, and I'll show you someone who has never done anything.

Sheldon

Sorry if it seemed like I was whining,

My point is simply you get for what you pay for. I do not think the price of Spectrum engines are unreasonable and given their warranty that is why I buy them. I have 25 at last count. With the exception of one Doodlebug they are all steam.  That is why I am a fan of the Spectrum engines, however I certainly have the right to voice my displeasure over incidents of quality control.

When I received by replacement engine and realized it was also defective I  thought at that moment I would never buy another Spectrum engine again. However, after contacting the Bachmann service Dept and receiving an e-mail from the Service Manager addressing the problem I remain a  Bachmann customer.  I certainly would think the replacement of a replacement unit would be a rarity.

I purchase other brands as well. Yes I have BLI, Genesis, Mantua, Proto Heritage, Stewart, Intermountain and other brands as well and have had the problems with the split gears so prevalent with the earlier Proto and of course the Genesis 2-8-2's.

Quote from: Beatle (TrainBrain) on February 18, 2008, 05:49:25 PM

Quote from: Guilford Guy on February 14, 2008, 10:02:29 PM

Quote from: CHUG on February 14, 2008, 09:52:53 PM
Mr bachman i hope your post dont scare him away from here and so forth. He knows more then mr knowitall about everything...and has no patients for nobody that dont...and that dont know how to read between the lines...and keeps everybody on there toes you see and other stories. Thanks.

Guess what, I am your daughter...

>FOOM< Right over my head.

Quote from: Woody Elmore on February 17, 2008, 08:54:25 AM
Don - a computer is a tool - like an automobile or table saw. It cannot think, express ideas or compose sentences with grammatically correct syntax.

In other words: computers make quick, accurate mistakes.

Computers do not make mistakes, the users do................

Quote from: Virginian on February 24, 2008, 01:31:14 PM
At the risk of sounding like an old curmudgeon, is it reasonable to expect manufacturers to stay in business, with decent prices, when consumers buy very complicated little mechanical devices, and do not seem to be able to address any problems on their own?

I think it is unreasonable for those new in the hobby to be expected to trouble shoot and fix items marketed as ready to run, especially the Spectrum steam engines, too many things to go wrong should one attempt to take the units apart.

As I mentioned earlier I do think the spectrum units are essentially great little engines, they are not in the same league as the early BLI or are they as good as the current Proto Heritage units, then again they are not priced to be direct competitors either.............

Spectrum are quite acceptable for the price, but be forewarned there are quality issues, and note that Bachmann stands behind their products with their no questions asked warranties............

Quote from: PatMatDec on February 23, 2008, 09:31:01 PM
I have a brand new Spectrum DCC 2-8-0 that squeals like a pig, just like the one I returned. Is it unreasonable of me to expect the engine to operate out of the box? Both of them ran great for 5 minutes.

Is it expected that I should know how to fix this problem? I don't mind working on an old piece, but a new one?

I have been out of the hobby for a while and recently returned to it with my son. Should I spend my money on another brand?

Thanks

I also had to go through replacing a replacement engine as well. The engine was a Spectrum 2-10-0, a great running engine.

If it had not been for the quick response and apology I received from the service department I would likely have purchased my last Spectrum at that point in time.

Unfortunately it seems Quality Control is something that Bachmann needs to work on. Quite frankly if not for the price of the Spectrum engines I would have switched to another manufacturer by now.

I have since purchased another 6 or 7 Spectrum engines since.

If you follow this forum closely you will see that it appears there may be a problem with the current run of Spectrum 2-8-0's with bearing problems.

Quote from: BaltoOhioRRfan on February 23, 2008, 11:10:24 PM
i have an 08 Cataloge at my desk in work. The passenger cars ARE NOT in the book. I hear a rumor the molds broke or something like that.

All of the molds?
Strange,

A question for the
Bachmann

Quote from: Margaritaman on February 24, 2008, 12:33:09 PM
What about the Spectrum 4-8-2 Heavy?

The Spectrum 4-8-2 Heavy will not, however the Spectrum 4-8-2- Light will take the 18" curves.  I have a pair of these and they are great engines both in running characteristics and their appearence.

I am unsure if the Bachmann newly released 2-8-4 Berkshire will take the 18" curves as well. Perhaps one of the readers will advise on that aspect.

Quote from: richG on February 23, 2008, 04:52:50 PM

I assume the to be released are the factory equiped sound and that Tony's Trains were selling the 4-4-0 and 4-6-0 with their own brand of dcc sound installed. Would not compare these to factory equiped units.
[/quote]

Tony's sellls therm with the Tsunami the last time I looked at their site. They have then with DCC only, LC decoder and Premium decoder. Tony's does not have their "own" decoders.

http://www.tonystrains.com/locomotive/bachmann.htm

Some Spectrum engines with "factory Tsunami" are showing up with decoder issues. Generaly, "factory decoders" have less features because of cost issues. I have read some of these issues in a Soundtraxx forum and a couple other mrr forums.
The Tsunami and Micro-Tsunami are hard to beat when it comes to steam control and sound.

http://www.soundtraxx.com/

Roundhouse does the same and puts MRC decoders in their steamers and people have issues with them. I have put Micro-Tsunami decoders in all my Roundhouse steamers also.
Look at their features at the above link.
I have just installed a Micro and 3/4" speaker in a fine tuned MDC Climax.

Rich
[/quote]

The Spectrum engines Tony's is selling are still not the Bachmann Factory sound equiped 4-4-0 or 4-6-0 engines. They may well be better than the Factory sound equiped, then again they may not.  My reference to Tony's putting in their own was simply Tony's can put what every sound unit they would want to. Still not the same as the Bachmann Factory unit equivalent.

Quote from: richG on February 23, 2008, 12:41:12 PM

Quote from: Frisco on February 23, 2008, 11:06:53 AM
Well I thought every one would but maby  you just have not seen . Micro Mark announced Bachmann is comming out with the 4-4-0 4-6-0 and shay with DCC and sound .  I was going to get a 4-4-0 but im glad I waited because know I can get it sound . Shure they will be nice . 

I installed sound in my 4-4-0 Richmond a year ago. It has a Micro-Tsunami and one inch speaker.
Tony's Trains has had the 4-4-0 and 4-6-0 with DCC/sound for some time.

Rich

I assume the to be released are the factory equiped sound and that Tony's Trains were selling the 4-4-0 and 4-6-0 with their own brand of dcc sound installed. Would not compare these to factory equiped units.