Has anyone noticed this about the Spectrum Diesels?

[Darth Santa Fe]

QUOTE: Originally posted by 4884bigboy

You guys seen the brand new run of the HO Spectrum Dash 8s!? AMAZING! They really cleaned them up! I thought the one I saw run was a Kato until I noticed it didn't have ditch lights. Ran as quiet and smooth as a Kato on DCC, though.

That's good to know![:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]
I'm feeling even better about having a new 8-40CW on my Christmas list![:D][:D][:D]
Trainworld has them right now for only $30!!!!!!!!!!!!!! That's a lot better than $135!!![:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D][:D]

[jrbernier]

After 'fixing' several Bachmann 'Spectrum' series engines for a LHS, this is what have found. Several had the clip for the 'worm' pop off - simple. Some sucked up 'lint' from running on the floor - A 'cleaning' resolved the problem. Most of the ones that had not 'died', were close to it - the motor bearings lose lubrication and start to make a 'squealing' noise. For these motors(some have plastic bearing surfaces!), a drop of plastic compatible oil(like Labelle 108, IIRC) will get them running. Some folks make thing worse by dumping '3 in 1' oil into the engine from the bottom. One guy even shot a small can of WD40 into the engine. This stuff can attack plastic in the trucks and the gears. Different runs of the same engine may have different motors as well. I 'de-grease' the engines, and put Labelle plastic compatible lube on the gears, and Labelle 108 oil on the bearings(worm and motor). If the motor is not burned up, they seem to run quite well. The problem is that one has to 'lubricate' them every 5-6 hours of running time since most of them do not have 'oilite' bearings. I honestly believe that they are getting better, but I would not want to run them with a heavy load for a week-end at the local mall 'train show'.
For myself, I have several Bachmann 'Spectrum' steamers and they run very good. I have one 44T spectrum center cab(old 2 motor run). I have had no motor burnout problems with it(but I do not have very many 'miles' on it). Most of my diesels are Atlas/P2K/Kato/Genesis - solid performers.

Jim Bernier

[Roadtrp]

I have an N scale Dash 8-40 C which I've been very happy with. It does not run nearly as smooth as my Kato, but it is probably the equal of my P2K locomotive.

[:)]

[nfmisso]

QUOTE: Originally posted by jeffshultz

I've got an HO Spectrum GP30, but it has one fatal flaw... I have no idea how to stick DCC in the thing. Otherwise it seems like a nice little locomotive.

Jeff;

Follow the instructions here:

http://members.shaw.ca/sask.rail/dcc/tmaster.html

Your older GP30 is almost identical inside.

[ICRR1964]

I,ve got a couple of the GP30's too, they need a bit of dolling up, but are great runners fast and slow speed, glad to see there are bachmann fans out there.

[jeffshultz]

I've got an HO Spectrum GP30, but it has one fatal flaw... I have no idea how to stick DCC in the thing. Otherwise it seems like a nice little locomotive.

[TrainFreak409]

I have two Bachmann Spectrum N scale Dash 8-40CWs. One is a few years older than the other, and it is very obvious which one is the older one.

The older one has slightly less detail, in the way of large, unprototypical nose grab irons, and thicker handrails and grab irons. It has a slightly louder motor than the newer one, but is a good performer.

The newer one is an overall excellent model. The detail is awesome, with thinner grab irons, and great little detail. It performs very well. I have had no complaints with it.

I never really hear any comments about Bachmann anything, with the exception of Spectrum steamers. But personally, I don't have complaints with any of their products.

[fiatfan]

I have a Dash 8-40C which I have tried to run for a break in period. So far, I have about three hours on it and it has not gotten any quieter or smoother. As soon as I get some time, I intend to tear it apart and check for proper lubrication, alignment, etc.

On the other hand, all of my P1K and P2K run smooth and dead quiet right out of the box.

Tom

[Anonymous]

I must say the spectrum GP-35 was pretty detailed for its time.

[Anonymous]

You guys seen the brand new run of the HO Spectrum Dash 8s!? AMAZING! They really cleaned them up! I thought the one I saw run was a Kato until I noticed it didn't have ditch lights. Ran as quiet and smooth as a Kato on DCC, though. I'm seriously looking into them. So far I think they've done Santa Fe, BNSF Warbonnet, UP, CSX, NS and maybe Conrail.

[jsoderq]

The thing no one has pointed out is consistency or quality control. Bachmann is all over the place. If you buy a dozen, some will run very well, some will run OK and some will just be crap. That is why some people swear by them and some swear at them. Bachmann's service is pretty good, but they have to be because many people have problems. You hardly ever hear of other companies sending a replacement loco, but Bachmann does it all the time because they have to, to stay in business. And yes, I do have some and run them and have no problems. For the money, they are probably the best value after the old BB Athearn - but sooner or later you will get a dud. Quite a few have had so many they refuse to buy any at all.

[nbrodar]

I have a small fleet of those Bachmann Plus F7s. Detailing is a little thin, but man do they pull. They are great if you can still find any, and a good deal, I picked my last set up for $30 a unit.

Nick

[cwclark]

I'm glad to hear this...most of my fleet of locomotives are athearn with a couple of proto 2000's ...i'm about to own my first Atlas locomotives as soon as they come in at my LHS...my next locomotives may be spectrum's if they run that good..i have very heavy limestone hoppers that need to make a 1.5% grade..the athearn locomotives pull them up the grade ok but i usually have to pull them in a three locomotive consist...chuck

[Darth Santa Fe]

I have an older DASH 8, and I like it. It's actually pretty detailed for an older Spectrum. All I did was add a couple windshield wipers, a new windshield, some MU hoses and some paint and it's now about as detailed as an Atlas. It's also quiet at lower speeds.[:D][:D][:D]

[Anonymous]

I have one of their Dash 8s - it's an excellent heavy hauler and will cruise around near-silently with heavy trains. To my mind the Bachmann Plus HO F-unit is very under-rated - I have one example, bought used and with more than a few miles behind it judging by the crud I cleaned out of the pickups. After that cleaning and a little oil it's now a near-silent, smooth, and powerful loco. If I see the matching B units and another A I'd happily buy a whole set.

[nfmisso]

QUOTE: Originally posted by rolleiman

I'm no expert on the spectrum Diesels, I've only owned two. That was well over 10 years ago (HO GP30) when they were first released.. So take this with a grain of salt as things may have improved since then.. BOTH of them, after an hour or so of relatively quiet and smooth running, let loose of something in the drive-train. All they would do is spin the motor (no wheel movement at all)..

The retaining clip holding the worm to the truck was not seated properly, and popped loose. All that is required to fix this is to remove the shell, and pu***he clip back on, making sure that it is properly seated on both sides. After fixing, it will not happen again.

[rolleiman]

I'm no expert on the spectrum Diesels, I've only owned two. That was well over 10 years ago (HO GP30) when they were first released.. So take this with a grain of salt as things may have improved since then.. BOTH of them, after an hour or so of relatively quiet and smooth running, let loose of something in the drive-train. All they would do is spin the motor (no wheel movement at all).. I sold them for parts shortly after that at a show and haven't paid much attention to spectrum diesels since.. But like I said, that was a long time ago, early in the production of spectrum diesels, and they have probably improved.

Jeff

[Anonymous]

I have just bought my first spectrum diesel, it's a SD 45 in NP livery. I ran it around my layout on Sunday. It ran well and pulled 19 fully loaded coal hoppers, (each car is about the same weight as the loco itself) plus a few other boxcars and a caboose.
I think it's a good buy.
William

[trainfan1221]

In nscale, Im had a few of them which didn't last. The HO models look better. I remember MR describing one of them as a model that as long as you look at it from a little distance, it looks fine, but closer the details are a little off. I thought they looked good enough and if I were still in HO would have probably bought a few, particularly the -840c which I thought was a pretty nice model. I understand their n scale steamers are pretty reliable.

[loathar]

I'm really glad to here that! I'm putting my first real grade on my new layout and planned to have 2 Spec Dash 8's hauling freight and maybe a coal drag on it. I was wondering about the slow down and speed up factor.

[Texas Zepher]

I had a friend who was just getting into trains and was asking all the normal questions about brands. So I just sent him home some to test drive. They included an Atlas RS-2 (chinese drive), a Bachmann Spectrum F7, a Proto 2000 GPxx, a regular Life-like Uboat, and a regular Athearn F7. I neglected to include anything with a Kato drive. But anyway they were all what I consider good runners for the company they represented.

To my surprise after he had run them for a month or so he decided he liked the Bachmann best. Coming from an unprejudice source, I consider that a fairly good endorsement for the drive mechanism.

[nbrodar]

All my steamers are Spectrum. but I have some Spectrum diesels too. I like them. With the expection of the my 44 tonner, they all run and pull well. The detailing is average, but there's enough of it for me.

Nick

[ICRR1964]

I don't own allot of the spectrum Diesels that are produced, bought 6 of them about 6 months ago and they have been on the shelf since I bought them. I have four GP30's and 4 GP35's. Last night I took 2 of them out of the boxes and hooked them up back to back and they were pulling about 18 freight cars.

I have a long run on my mainline run with a 2% grade up and down, these 2 loco's were moving along at about 30 mph scale, and never hardly dropped below that going up the grade and gained just a bit of speed going down. I am using DC control on Tech 2 MRC power pack with no frills built into pack. Man the Spectrum Diesels have a really low torque for pulling power and seem to preform very well as far as pulling power. I own a few steam Spectums and they preform good to. I noticed there is not allot of talk about the Spectrum diesels, but allot of complaints about the details of them. These engines seem to be really good running and quiet running loco's. Whats your thoughts on them, they seem priced at a lower level to on ebay to.