I say that because when my 8 year old son wants an engine for his layout at the LHS, I can turn to Bachmann Engines and know I won't be breaking the bank. I got him a GP with DCC for $45 and he's happy. There's nothing like the smile on his face when I show him an engine at that price and he's more than satisfied. I also get him Bachmann's with sound that have good quality. Don't get me wrong, I too have Bachmann engines. But when you have two layouts and your son is always wanting to go to the Hoppyshop, you can feel good that Bachmann is there with good products at a good price. It also goes a little deeper than that as well. When you have a young one who enjoys the hobby and starts recognizing the brand like Bachmann, he'll tend to stick with that brand when he gets our age.
Joe C
YES - that is great!
What seems kinda funny is that Bachmann can build engines in qunity and the LHS can keep them in stock and there is NONE of the PRE-ORDER stuff with them!
YET they just keep on selling their engines and the OTHER MFG are sititng on thie hands wondering if they will get enough PRE-ORDERS to make the run!
And each time Bachmann comes out with a new engine the detail is getting just a bit better.
Keep up the good work Bachmann - you know how to run a business!
And this crap abput detail and such.
Once both engines hit the floor - one can not tell that much difference in how much detail they both had!
BOB H - Clarion, PA
I bought a Bachmann standard line GP7. Yes it doesn't have the details like a P2K, Athearn, or Atlas, but with the cost of the loco and sound decoder, it was still a lot less expensive then the mentioned brands. I also like that Bachmann put a space for a speaker in the fuel tank. I stripped off the paint,added grab irons,and a bell and repainted it. It runs great.. Joe
My son wants an N scale Bachmann EM-1, just like daddy. He just might get one! I have been pleasantly surprised about Bachmann's quality lately. I had an HO scale 2-6-0 sound-equipped steam locomotive that I bought for him at a hobby show for $50, and it sounded amazing and ran well. I recently sold it for $70 more than that!
Not only does Bachmann make great engines at reasonable prices, they also stand behind their products. I had an N Scale 2-8-0 die on me and they replaced it at no charge.
Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in N Scale.
www.prr-nscale.blogspot.com
Guys,If I may..I've found some of the simplest locomotives brings me the most joy.
I still love my old Athearn BB GP7s,GP35 and U33B and I simply love my DCC/Sound equipped S4 from Bachmann.
I await eagerly with money in hand for Bachmann to release a DCC/Sound equipped GP9..
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
I'm sure it's only a matter of time. I'm also positive it will undercut Walthers by about 50-60%.
I'd have to say the new Bachman offerings the GP-7/9, FA's ,Sharks, F's and Alco switchers are the 2013 equivalent of the old Athearn Blue Box models. No grab irons , scale width hoods, nice sound and so far on my rr great long term running qualities. Price is affordable enough to allow modelers to add details as we did back in the past. One nice thing is no need to replace motors and wheels as was required on the older Athearns. Great to see the improvements over their older production models. Hope they continue to produce additional items. I'd love to see a PRR E-44 using the E-33 mechanism. ----- Ken
As I am mainly into steam the last Bachmann steam engine I bought was their low driver 4-6-0, this is one of their Spectrum with sound on board. I have three of these engines, one high driver and two low driver models.
Every month or so I am asked by one or more of the members of the local model Railroad club if I would sell one or two of these. I have promised them that if I ever run across any on E-Bay I would notify them so they could bid on any of these engines.
I just finished checking E-Bay and like most weeks there are no Specctrum HO 4-6-0's available. In fact there are relatively few Spectrum Steam engines listed.
I have also checked with the Bach man at the Bachmann site who assures me that at some point the 4-6-0's will indeed be available again.
I have never run across an engine that has interested so many people and am at a loss as to when Bachmann is going to realize it is time to produce another run of that engine.
I admitt Bachmann is great for the price. However I like my Athearn RTR GP38-2, it has great detail, and runs perfectly. It is about $100, and would be a bit hard to convert to DCC.
I want to know were do they put the weight if the fuel tank is hollow. In my locomotive the frame and fuel tank are metal, leaving only the motor and lightbulb taking up space in the shell. There would be plenty of space to put a speaker in under the shell.
Bachmann fan here!... I own several. In fact I have two brand new Alaskan GP-40s laying here on my desk that arrived in the mail today. My favorites of course are their Spectrum line of steam locos. However, I really don't care for most of their rolling stock because in my opinion it's a bit cheesy except for the fact that they use metal wheels.
Tracklayer
I am in in N scale and have the Bachmann 44 ton and a 70 ton for my steel mill as well as 2 of their new DDA40X;s. All are DCC equipped and run like a dream. Quiet, smooth with a creep equal o any other manufacturers locomotives. And as stated in an earlier post, they are undercutting Atlas, Athearn and Kato in price. Keep it up Bachmann.
Although I go for the most detail as possible, I wanted an engine to bring back and forth to the club without fear of damaging it. The GP38 w/ DCC has made many trips with no damage what so ever. Way better than the Bachmann I started out with!
I bought 4 of their GP9's and upgraded them by adding grabirons and swapping out the factory orange headlight LEDs with Miniatronics YeloGlo's. They do the "heavy lifting" on my longer trains since they have all that weight in them; I usually consist two of them with one of my sound-equipped Genesis geeps.
I'm quite pleased with them, excellent running locos for the price. This makes it possible for new people to enter the hobby without sticker shock.
-Ken in Maryland (B&O modeler, former CSX modeler)
don7As I am mainly into steam the last Bachmann steam engine I bought was their low driver 4-6-0, this is one of their Spectrum with sound on board. I have three of these engines, one high driver and two low driver models......
I'm a Bachmann fan, too, with a bunch of Consolidations and a USRA Light Mountain. I also have a couple of the high-drivered Ten Wheelers, but they still need to be painted.
Wayne
Oh, I am firmly a Bachmann fan!
I have 15 DCC OnBoard HO locomotives. 14 of them are Bachmanns!
I also have several N scale Bachmanns for the 70s. They just got "out away". No special treatment or anything. HWne I opulled them out 7 years ago, They WORKED FINE!
I always wanted HO and so I go t into it. Bachmann Locos were nicely in my price range, AVAILABLE {on the shelves} and all 14 but 1 runs flawlessly. The one only "growls" at slow speeds.
I think if Bachmann can make locos, keep on the shelves, have good quality and I heard they have a FANTASTIC service dept., WHY can't other manufacturers do the same????
LIKE ATLAS TRACK!
-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 agree Bachmann is keeping the hobby alive and well for younger and older modelers.
I own over 20 Bachmann loco's
Jerry
17 posts about Bachmann andnot even one hint of a bash.Well lets add one more to the list.I am quite happy with my Bachmann locos even the ones I bought 20 years ago.
I too am a Bachmann fan. I have over 60 HO engines and almost half are Bachmann, many with sound/DCC. Their new sound equipped steam and diesel engines are great, inexpensive and reliable. Their customer service is probably the best in the industry and I say that from experience. I had a K-4 replaced with a brand new DCC one for $25 and they sent a replacement cab for my Berkshire because one window glass was missing (no charge, no questions!). Neither of these engines were new, both Ebay purchases. All manufacturers should follow Bachmann's lead on this.
PS: I am waiting for their new GG-1 with sound.
-Bob
Life is what happens while you are making other plans!
I am not a big fan of Bachmann locomotives, albeit I will admit that I have not purchased one in over two years. I got the 44 T switcher and it was herky jerky at low speeds, and sometimes would have to really give it a juice boost to get it started. I admit that the Bachmanns are priced very reasonably but unless the quality has improved over the last two years, I wont be buying any more.
Bear "It's all about having fun."
bearman I am not a big fan of Bachmann locomotives, albeit I will admit that I have not purchased one in over two years. I got the 44 T switcher and it was herky jerky at low speeds, and sometimes would have to really give it a juice boost to get it started. I admit that the Bachmanns are priced very reasonably but unless the quality has improved over the last two years, I wont be buying any more.
My grandson's HO 4x6 HO layout has two DC engines: the 4-8-4 Overland set (about $150+ on sale I recall) plus a diesel (U23?) that I recall was about $40 and both run well except the 4-8-4 ability to negotiate EZ track turnouts diverging route.
On my layout I've added a DCC w/sound Mogul which is a cute little guy that runs well and is one of my granddaughter's favorites. I would buy several more Bachmann steamers if available in UP, DCC with sound. Hoping most for such in consolidations and other small to medium steamers. I'm hoping that they will find enough demand to pay extra (beyond DCC only) for the sound. I'd buy Spectrum if available but "plainer" ones if with sound. Patience is a virtue (that I'm working on).
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
[quote user="farrellaa"]I had one of the earlier 44 T switchers and it did the same thing. I since replaced it with a newer DCC equipped one and it runs great, but being as short a wheelbase as it is, there are times when it balks going through turnouts. All of the other Bachmann loco's I have run great. -Bob[/quote
Bob
If you mean the engine stutters when passing through an insul frog when you say the engine balks going through the turnouts, then try wiring the frog. That will take care of it I'm sure
I need to get in contact with them about repairing a 2-6-0 Parie I got awhile back.. I tried programming it, and the DCC chip blew out.
(My Model Railroad, My Rules)
These are the opinions of an under 35 , from the east end of, and modeling, the same section of the Wheeling and Lake Erie railway. As well as a freelanced road (Austinville and Dynamite City railroad).
Bachmann has come a long way from the 70's and early 80's when it rivaled Life Like as being one the worst HO buys on the market. Back then, it was famous for making terrible runners and poor detail, fit and finish. They were cheap in every possible sense of the word back then. They have pulled themselves out of the mud to become one of the finest MR companies of the new millenium.
They have, still, managed to hold the prices down a bit, even in their premium spectrum line. They virtually created On30 and own that market! Some savy and caring folks there now. I don't ever remember an MR company going from the lowest end to being among the highest and most respected end of the biz for as long as I have been in this hobby. A real Cinderella story.
Even though I am out of HO standard gauge, I have bought two or three of their HO Spectrum Line items, just because they were too pretty not to own.
Richard
If I can't fix it, I can fix it so it can't be fixed
I'd agree to a point. I've been satisfied with their diesels and have gotten good performance out of their Spectrum line of steamers, but I've had three of their standard line steamers and none would stay on the track.
A big to Bachmann, the only two locomotives I have on my layout are a 2-8-0 Consolidation and an RS-3. If it wasn't for Bachmann, younger and newer folks to the hobby( like me) probably wouldn't been able to start. Round of applause to Bachmann.
My Layout Photos- http://s1293.photobucket.com/user/ajwarshal/library/
Bachmann quality has come a long way from the old days when many model railroaders called the company Botchman.
I tried to sell my two cents worth, but no one would give me a plug nickel for it.
I don't have a leg to stand on.
got me a 2 6 0....runs perfect....detail to me is really good. forget the old bachmann, new ballgame now