Has anyone purchased/ operated these locos from Bachmann? I was at my LHS today and looked at a couple of them. They look decent but they lack detail to be sure. The price is right and you can always add details right? My main question is how well do these locos run and what are the addressing and consisting capabilites? Can you use 4 digit addresses and can you consist them with locos by other manufacturers? What are the limitations/ drawbacks of the decoders they use? Thanks in advance for any information.
Dan Metzger
I have 14 Bachmann DCC OnBoard locos {non-sound}. some are their "Spectrum" models {better detailing and "cream of the crop"- their "high line" locos, and have more detailing. Even the regular lines are greatly improved.
I love them all. They run great, pull decent and run quietly. Only 1 of mine has a slight "growl" at low speeds.
I use the Bachmann EZ Command DCC control system. It is 2 number addressing and does a great job for my small pike. I believe they are compatible with 4 digit addressing.
They will consist with each other {all Bachmanns} very well and I have an F series with the powered B unit and no need to even "speed match" them, They work very well with each other.. But I only have one non-Bachmann loco, and I have not tried to lash up that with the Bachmanns.
Some don't like the decoders they use, and replace them themselves. i have no problems with them.
If you get the DCC OnBoard they will only set for speed, direction and lighting. If you want sound too, get the DCC SoundOnBoard models.
All in all, they appear to be a good value for the dollar, and many are happy with them.
I also understand Bachmann has a great customer service service center to fix/repair/ replace a defective loco, though I have not yet had a need to try that out as mine run well, although I could probably send in the one that growls to see what they can do.
My locos range in age form 6 years old to about 2 years old. Still run great and they got a lot of use on my little Pike. Now they see "action" on the table top under the tree layout. Even thought they are in storage all year till TG day, They run well after all that..store at room-temp climate controlled storage.
Those who have tred them for the first time are often surprised at how good they are. There are the complainers too.
sometimes if you are looking for a particular loco configuration, Bachmann may be the only one who makes that model.
Here is a great lisitng of all Bachamnn locos - look at hte left side margin and click away:
http://www.wholesaletrains.com/HOProducts2.asp?Scale=HO&Item=160Set
So I would recommend them.
Hope this helps.
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
I have a couple of them, one with and one without sound, and a Peter Witt trolley car. All three are very nice and a real bargain for the price. Since they aren't diesels, I don't consist them, but I see no reason that wouldn't work. I believe consisting is part of the NMRA standards for DCC, so they should work.
The sound engine uses a Soundtraxx decoder, and the sound is crisp and bright. It's not quite as good as a Soundtraxx you'd buy separately, but I'm very happy with it.
It takes an iron man to play with a toy iron horse.
I have several of them and they run fine. Yes, they do 4 digit addresses and consist.
Dave
Lackawanna Route of the Phoebe Snow
I'm pretty happy with the onboard decoders in Bachmann's newest steam locomotives, but I'm not a fan of the onboard decoder in the diesels. I always end up removing the Bachmann decoder and installing a NCE decoder in the diesels. I always have better results with it.
-Stan
I didn't like the way the original decoder worked on my Berkshire, very jerky. Since I wanted to add sound anyway, we changed it out for a Soundtraxx unit and the loco runs great now. Very good with electrical pickup and slow speed.
Richard
Joe Staten Island West
I found the Bachmann decoders to be just "ok". I usually swap them out for TCS decoders right from the get-go. The difference in performance is amazing. Much smoother control, and no jerking between speed steps.
The Bachmann engines are actually really nice running engines in their own right, the decoder they use doesn't allow the engine to run as nice as its potential though.
All my Bachmann decoders usually end up in cabooses or passenger cars to control lighting.
Mark.
¡ uʍop ǝpısdn sı ǝɹnʇɐuƃıs ʎɯ 'dlǝɥ
Mark,
Good idea on reusing the Bachmann decoders.
I tend to share the same opinion. They're cheap enough locos, I consider the decoder a freebie -- and worth what you paid for it. One my 70-tonners, I just gave up on 'em. On my more recent production 44-tonner, a different decoder works fine after a little tweaking.
Bachmann is constantly improving their stuff, so worth checking out to see if suitable, even in spite of some negative comments IMO. The mechanisms are generally pretty good now.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
I have three on my layout right now. There run quite well right out of the box, even better if you change out the decoder
Dr. Frankendiesel aka Scott Running BearSpace Mouse for president!15 year veteran fire fighterCollector of Apple //e'sRunning Bear EnterprisesHistory Channel Club life member.beatus homo qui invenit sapientiam
I bought a GP9 a few month ago. It was noisy and I couldn't program a decent starting speed. I then followed Randy's (rrinker) advise and replaced the decoder with a NCE Bach-DSL HO decoder. Now I have a nice addition to my roster, running as well as any P2K I have. It is not as much detailed but it is worth every dollar I invested.
Guy
Modeling CNR in the 50's
I have a GP40 that is ok runs fairly well but the detail is not there. I also have a GP38 and it look good and runs good. The 40 with a little paint and detail is fine. They are not of the Proto 2000 quality but the price is far less. Even still they are a lot of bang for the buck.
RMax
I have two Bachmann N scale DDA40X, one 44 Ton and one 70 ton locomotives. They are very smooth, quiet and crrep so slow you have to count the ties to see them move. I would rate these new engines on the same quality level as Atlas Fox Valley and Kato. Their pulling power is on par with the other manufactureres. and will consist with all other manufacteres and can use 4 digit addressing.
I know a lot of the fellows are having great fortune with the BMan's products; great for them!
My experience has been less than stellar in N scale. I find their products mediocre compared to Kato, and I had 2 service incidents with new products that I have to give them a FAIL on. I have switched my loyalty to Kato and won't consider their products...sorry Bman Fans.
TA462 Dannyboy6 I know a lot of the fellows are having great fortune with the BMan's products; great for them! My experience has been less than stellar in N scale. I find their products mediocre compared to Kato, and I had 2 service incidents with new products that I have to give them a FAIL on. I have switched my loyalty to Kato and won't consider their products...sorry Bman Fans. Comparing Bachmann to Kato is like comparing a Hyundai Accent to a new Cadillac. Mediocre is a polite word for MOST of their products. I do like some of their stuff though.
Dannyboy6 I know a lot of the fellows are having great fortune with the BMan's products; great for them! My experience has been less than stellar in N scale. I find their products mediocre compared to Kato, and I had 2 service incidents with new products that I have to give them a FAIL on. I have switched my loyalty to Kato and won't consider their products...sorry Bman Fans.
Comparing Bachmann to Kato is like comparing a Hyundai Accent to a new Cadillac. Mediocre is a polite word for MOST of their products. I do like some of their stuff though.
A few thoughts:
Kato is primarily an N scale company, and as such is truly the top of line in N scale.
I personally have no experience with Bachmann N scale products so I will leave that to those who do.
Personally I would drive anything made by FORD before I would drive a Cadillac - those things are ugly.
And I would drive a Hyundai before I would drive a long list of other imported/foreign makes - but none of those foreign companies has yet to build a car or truck that suits my needs.
Now back to Bachmann. In HO, I have over 30 Bachmann steam locos, mostly Spectrum but a few of the NEW models in the regular line. All are great runners and reasonable to excellent in detail. There have been just a few duds, but Bachmann replaced them with perfect runners.
I also have a few Bachmann diesels of newer production, and have some friends who have a bunch of the new GP7's with DCC. They all run great, even if the detail is a little sparse. I have GE 70 tonners, doodlebugs, and GE 44 tonners - all good runners.
I do know that all the Bachmann decoders are "basic" - if I was using DCC, I would replace them.
But being a DC user, I remove them and sell them to the highest bidder on Ebay - they always sell.
Sheldon
I set the start volt and several CVs using my trusty MRC Tech 6 and now my 70 tonner will crawl from tie to tie.I also set the momentum and now one must be about his witts when running this engine.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Train Modeler I didn't like the way the original decoder worked on my Berkshire, very jerky. Since I wanted to add sound anyway, we changed it out for a Soundtraxx unit and the loco runs great now. Very good with electrical pickup and slow speed. Richard
Doug from MichiganAre Bachmann's decoders hard wired, or do they use NMRA plugs for easy swapping?
I would also like to know that as well Doug. I was just looking at there Doddle Bug and while it comes with a decoder, it all stated it had a 8 pin plug as well.
I was all so wondering what is the differences between there Spectrum line and there Stranded line engines? I it just the detail, or does it have more to do with the drive?
I am half way thinking about a GP9, GP-40 and a GP7.
Cuda Ken
I hate Rust
I have DCC On Board with 2 diesels from my Digital Commander set. The diesels overall operate well. However when I try to consist them I have a problem. They run at slightly different speeds on the same address.
Since I only have the EZ Command DCC controller I have not programmed any of the CVs.
Has any one run DCC OnBoard locos at the same speed while consisting them out of the box?
thanks
It won't hurt them to run them together with a slight speed difference. If they're pulling a light load, say less than ten cars you could put the faster one out in front. If pulling a heavier load, ten or more take your pick but I always ran the faster one second in line as the load would slow it slightly.
mclean rr I have DCC On Board with 2 diesels from my Digital Commander set. The diesels overall operate well. However when I try to consist them I have a problem. They run at slightly different speeds on the same address. Since I only have the EZ Command DCC controller I have not programmed any of the CVs. Has any one run DCC OnBoard locos at the same speed while consisting them out of the box? thanks
How different is slightly different? Do the run smoothly with each other when coupled together? Do they start and stop at nearly the same throttle setting when coupled together?
If so, don't worry about it, you will not hurt them by running them together.
DCC speed matching is a wonderful thing for those who need it - but it has been used to propagate the idea that locos need to run EXACTLY the same speed to be double headed/MU'ed - not true and way over blown - in DC we were running locos in groups of three or four with no "speed matching" long before DCC.
I have long list of different steam locos that have no problem double heading - different brands, wheel arrangements, etc.
mclean rrHas any one run DCC OnBoard locos at the same speed while consisting them out of the box?
Simple answer, yes. 2 Bachmann Baldwin RF-16 Sharks addressed, mu'd , then quietly circulated the layout, with a ten car train, including two "John Allen" Masonite track cleaning cars, for approximately 12 hours over two and a half days at an exhibition with one change in running direction.
I"d agree with the comments made by Jeffery and Sheldon.
Cheers, the Bear.
"One difference between pessimists and optimists is that while pessimists are more often right, optimists have far more fun."
Mark R. I found the Bachmann decoders to be just "ok". I usually swap them out for TCS decoders right from the get-go. The difference in performance is amazing. Much smoother control, and no jerking between speed steps. The Bachmann engines are actually really nice running engines in their own right, the decoder they use doesn't allow the engine to run as nice as its potential though. All my Bachmann decoders usually end up in cabooses or passenger cars to control lighting. Mark.
BerkshireSteamThat's my experience. The engine itself (44 ton) looks great, and since I changed decoders it runs great too. TCS Z2 decoder used
I didn't have any problems programing the Bachmann decoder with my Tech 6 like I mention above but,then the Bachmann decoder is a simple DCC decoder that is meant for simple DCC use and at that it does the job.
If you run Digitrax just stay away from the On Board decoders in Bachmann locos. They don't work and neither Digitrax nor Bachmann are particularly good at helping you solve the problem. Also, be aware that if you intend to change out the decoders you have to remove capaciters and such in the locomotive before installing another brand decoder as, according to Bachmann, those things are incompatible with other brands. Curious to know if NCE users who have changed out the decoders have handled this.
The capacitors in question cause problems no matter what the DCC system, and even on some NON-DCC systems (just ask Sheldon - the interfere with anything that uses PWM, like his Aristo system). Even the Bachmann decoders work better if the capacitors are removed.
There's no reason these locos wouldn;t run on a Digitrax or any other system. They aren't the best decoders, but they are compliant with standards. The LAST thing anyone should do is by an aftermarket one at the price bachmann charges - you're MUCH better off with any number of other decoders that sell for a fraction of the price.
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
1090 if you intend to change out the decoders you have to remove capaciters and such in the locomotive before installing another brand decoder
Are these capacitors not on the Bachmann decoder board itself?
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
I have a B&O GP 7, B&O GP 9 and a Western Maryland RS-3. I love them, they may lack some detail but run great. I am very happy with them. I should mention that I run dc. I also have a B&O F7, Western Maryland F7 and Western Maryland Also S-2. I love those as well.
The factory Bachmann decoders (not Soundtraxx sounvalue) buzz loudly at slow speeds, so, like any decoder that does that, its pointless for me to own one.
- Douglas