N scale engines

[JDA9]

I just bought 2 new bachman engines, the EMD GP-7 (decoder factory equipped) and the Spectrum Baldwin 2-8-0 Steam Locomotive (decoder factory equipped). I have a small oval on a countertop. WHen i run the two engines at full speed, my diesel is much faster than the steam. It goes from right in front of it to right behine it in like 30 seconds. I was just wondering if this is normal? Thanks... i am new to all of this

[mhampton]

This doesn't surprise me at all.  The only thing these two locos really have in common is that they are from Bachmann.  They obviously have different driver sizes.  They will also have different motors and gear combinations.  Even "identical" locomotives from the same manufacturer can have a slight difference in their top speeds just due to electrical and mechanical tolerances.

[Albert in N]

Locomotive speeds are seldom uniform regardless of manufacturer.  I operate on DC since I do not see the need for DCC for my small layout.  Bachmann steam engines (at least my Mountain, Prairie, and Northern) all seem to run slower than most diesels.  Bachmann lower end standard line GP40s, F-9s, U36Bs all seem to take a lot more voltage to start moving than the Bachmann medium price FM H-16-44s and B23-7s.  My Spectrum F-7 AB set also takes a lot of voltage to move.  I note that my Atlas Classic diesels run faster tham my Atlas Master diesels.  Even my Kato diesels are not uniform in speed at same voltage on my MRC Tech II power supply (or my Spectrum Magnum power pack).  However from what I understand about DCC, you can independently regulate locomotive speed for different locos on the same track.  I do note that the Atlas and Kato DCC ready locomotives seem to be easier to plug and play DCC decoders without the hard wiring that Bachmann locomotives require.

[Albert in N]

Adding to my comment, I enjoy running all of my N Locomotives.  They all have different personalities.  If I want to multi-unit locomotives, I simply couple ones with similar speeds.  Of course, that is a time that DCC would be handy since I could separately set the speeds of each DCC equipped locomotive.  (Remember that I am DC only at present.)  When purchasing a locomotive at a hobby shop or train show, I test run them on the hobby vendor's test track.  If a mail order purchase, I immediately test it upon receipt to be sure that it works.  N scale is a wonderful hobby and is a great stress reliever.  If you have a problem locomotive or track glitch, you forget about other things while attempting to fix it.  When everything goes great on the layout, it is really fun!

[JDA9]

Thanks Everyone