I purchased a NOS Bachmann SP Daylight 4-8-4 DCC non sound locomotive a year or so ago and the top speed is much lower than I expected. Roughly 60 scale mph with no cars and 55 mph with 6 Athearn BB shorties.
The Loco appears to be in great shape and it runs smooth and quiet. An inspection revealed nothing concerning. I greased and oiled with no change in top speed.
Is the Bachmann motor only decoder restricting peak voltage to the motor or is this Loco geared to run slow? I plan on installing a sound decoder and I wonder if this will help achieve a higher top speed.
I typically run my passenger trains around 45 scale mph which requires 80% speed setting.
Chris
Bachmann's non-sound decoders are notoriusly bad and at this point well outdated. Very jerky and not smooth at all.
Their sound decoders were better as they used Soundtraxx Econami and now TCS. You should have better performance with a new decoder from TCS, Soundtraxx, or ESU, the big three when it comes to good decoders.
It is a stripped decoder that may have cost Bachman $12, maybe less. If lights come one first, that's a little juice that doesn't get to the motor. However, what is left, maybe 13 volts, should get to the motor. All I can suggest, since you say it is re-lubed, is that there is a snubber/resistor in line for some reason, that might account for the lag. I can't believe Bachmann put a "Russian" decapod's drivetrain into this 4-8-4, but.....who knows...?
My Bachmann EM-1 2-8-8-4 is also slow when run on DC with the non-sound DCC dual mode decoder.
I would lover to remove the decoder, but I accidentally glued the tender shut.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
My Bachmann 2-6-6-2 with a Tsunami sound decoder runs really slow also, slower than my 4-8-4 mentioned above.
However I expect that since it's a low speed drag freight engine.