1980's N scale bachmann

[Been Nothing Since Frisco (BNSF)]

I have a teacher that when he was yunger (I don't know how yung) got N scale trains but never rely got into it. He dug some of it out and sold it but now he came across an old loco and he said it a bachmann from the 80's. I don't know what the loco is, I should get a look at it monday. What I'm getting at is there a place were I can get a list of N scale Bachmann loco's from he 80's, like what was avalible and posibly a price?

[rrinker]

 Don't bother. It was that kind of junk made me quit N scale back around 1979/1980. Had I hung in there and picked up a nice Atlas/Kato RS-3, I may never have gone back to HO. But all I had was cheap Bachmann locos (still have the bogus F9, really an FP9, in Reading green and yellow - I don't think I really was trying to model the Reading abck then, I must have picked that one subconsciously) and they were ALWAYS giving trouble. I saved up for a long time to get the Northern, and was sorely disappointed in the poor running qualities when I finally got it. I think the only loco I had that ran well was a little MDT diesel, not sure who's that was, I think Atlas. The Atlas cars were the only good ones I had too, the Bachmann cars were pretty bad too. Atlas ones had metal wheels and rolled a lot better. I finally got so frustrated with having to try and fix things constantly that I ended up completely out of the hobby for 10 years.

 See also why cheap Life-Like train sets are a BAD BAD idea to get someone started in this hobby.

 

                                                --Randy

 

[wm3798]

 I'm not sure if Bachmann produced a catalog back then, but they do now.  If old ones exist, that would be a place to start.

You could also look into old issues of MR from that era.  That was pretty much before the internet, so there would have been a lot of full page mail order ads, with lots of product listings.  You could probably find a pretty complete list of available N scale locomotives in ads from Standard Hobby Supply or Trainworld.

Here's a couple of the examples I had from the late 80's:

Note that I repainted both engines and did the best I could to correct their obvious cosmetic faults, but the mechanisms were stiff, noisy, and terribly unreliable, so these were retired to the junk box years ago.

Most all of their stuff from that era is crap, so if he didn't get into N scale at that point, I would blame Bachmann directly for that.  If the guy has a spark of interest at all, lead him directly to the Atlas website and show him the good stuff!

Lee

[tangerine-jack]

I wouldn't give ten cents for any B'mann POS from that era.  I had a N scale F7, TGV and a 4-8-4, all Bachmann, all N scale, all crap.  Not a one of them ran out of the box,  all went to warranty three or four times each, none of them ever ran even after return from warranty.  I don't think any of them got more than 30 feet of run total in the whole time I had them.  Noisy motors, noisy gears, cheap plastic gears that stripped easily, intermittant electrics, poor mold quality and the list goes on. 

If you can get one for free, then that's ok, but don't expect to have it run.  Use it instead for a loco junk yard scene, or perhaps sitting on a siding in a loco service module.  I can't think of any other use for one as they are too small for door stops, to light for a boat anchor, and too brittle for a projectile weapon.

[BRAKIE]

Back in the 80s I had 6 Bachmann GP40s and one F7 along with AHM RSD12s, and a Trix FM switcher.

While not Atlas/Kato they did give me hundreds of hours of enjoyable operation over a 3-7 year span..

Was I lucky? Maybe and maybe not seeing I didn't have folks telling me how bad Bachmann is..

I do know I was quite happy with the smooth performance of these locomotives..

I rushed out and bought 2 Atlas/Kato RS3s when they was release and was disappointed how these units would stall on the Atlas switch at slow switching speeds unlike my  other locomotives.

[Been Nothing Since Frisco (BNSF)]

 Ok it looks like I got a 3/4 that say they are crap, now that you mention it they still are, well I don't know about the standerd line but there N SACLE spectrums are crap, well the sd45 is, I got one and it never does work quite right but I also have an f7 ab set and I got them working good.

If I did get it, how hard would it be to make it a dummy unit?

[BRAKIE]

Don't even go that way..I had one F7(it was a smooth runner till I drop it-it was the mate to the other one.) I converted to a dummy and regrated it because it cut the tractive effort of the other F7.It found a happy home parked in the weeds next to the engine house.

---------------------

Ok it looks like I got a 3/4 that say they are crap.

 

Again its always a matter of opinon and brand bashing.In the 80s the Bachmann GP40 was among the first to have a split frame drive and for that era was among the nicer runners.It out perform the Atlas/Rocco GP7 and the Arnold/Rapido GP7..

[corsair7]

Been Nothing Since Frisco (BNSF)

 Ok it looks like I got a 3/4 that say they are crap, now that you mention it they still are, well I don't know about the standerd line but there N SACLE spectrums are crap, well the sd45 is, I got one and it never does work quite right but I also have an f7 ab set and I got them working good.

If I did get it, how hard would it be to make it a dummy unit?

Back in the 1980s, there was Trix and everything else in N-Scale. Everything else was junk back then. Bachman cars weren' to bad but their locomotives left alot to be desired. I still have a few but they don't run anymore and wven when they did, they had no pulling power without traction tires.

My Trix locomotives from back then still work and they still pull a good number of cars. They're not anything like what is available today but they'll outlast any of other old things you'll possibly see.

As for making a dummy, don't waste your time.

Irv

[wm3798]

 I'll agree with Brakie that the split frame version of the early Bachmann engines was a step forward for them, but still about a mile and a half behind everyone else.  That said, consider that at that time, the only things we had were the REAL garbage from Mehano, who produced a decent variety of engine shells, although rendered pretty coarsely, and put them all on a drive that wasn't worth the effort to throw them against a wall.

Before the A/K RS-3, the state of the art was Trix, which did a U30C (and a U33C on the same drive), an F unit, a FM switcher, and a couple of steam engines.  These weren't bad, although the steamers proved to be unreliable, and the diesels were a bit stiff and noisy.

My experience with Bachmann was a Metroliner set that I got for Christmas in 1978, which was a dud out of the box.  I also had a couple of the old design F units, which sounded like blenders, but were durable as hell and lasted for years.  Aside from the noise, the main issue with these was their appearance.

I also rostered several of the BB units, I think it was a U36B and a GP40 or two.  These were okay up to a point, but between the three that I had, none of them were compatible with the others in terms of speed and reliability.  Quality was obviously not Job One.

Later I had a bunch of Spectrum and Plus F units, which were serviceable, and not bad looking.  They were doomed by the inability to convert them to DCC.  The ones that I did manage to get a decoder in ended up frying them due to the incredible amperage required to overcome the friction in the drive.  

I also tried my luck with their H-16-44 model, which is actually pretty good looking, and ran very well in DC.  But again, once I put a decoder in it, which this time was a lot easier, it started eating them.  I went through two before finally relegating the drive to the junk drawer.  I'm considering getting an Atlas H-16-44 to replace the drive, but it's not a real high priority.

Right now the only Bachmann engine on the roster is a Spectrum Consolidation.  This is a beautiful model, it runs like a champ, and was a snap to convert to DCC.  Every time I run it I can't help but wonder why Bachmann can get something so right, but can't put the same kind of effort into their other N scale products.

Lee

[DSchmitt]

Here is a an "encyplopedia" of N scale locomotives, Info provided, Year made, prototype year, description, photo, and quality rating:

http://www.spookshow.net/trainstuff.html

 

[Wdlgln005]

 There is an online site that has a collection of old catalogs. I don't have the URL.

You may find an Atlas A1G site that lists old Atlas product. Spookshow will be the best location to identify your loco. With any luck, you may get it to run with a lot of cleaning & relubing. After 20-30 years, any "oil" will have turned into black crud that will short out motors in no time.

Bachmann has almost no collector value. You may have a few models or accessories that are no longer made. You may also find some built up cheap plastic buildings still sold today as "new". 

Bachmann has changed a lot the lst few years. The Spectrum J class Northern & heavy mountain are their best locos. Some consols can be very good. The rest of the lineup is strictly a try it before you buy. For some reason, the 2 steamers are better than any of their disesels.

 

 

 

[tangerine-jack]

Oddly enough in light of B'manns N scale poor quality and general toy like crap, their G scale Big Hauler series is excellent, and every bit as competative as LGB, at a fraction of the cost.  Because of the total neglect of any type of quality control with the N scale line, I was hesitant to give them a second chance with the G, the N scale was just that bad.  I am impressed with the Big Haulers, it's as though they have a completely different group of people working on that line......

[BRAKIE]

While that is a most excellent site its base on information gain by asking others usually on the Atlas forum so,like all such sites it should not be a absolute.

[Don Gibson]

"these units would stall on the Atlas switch at slow switching speeds unlike my  other locomotives.- Brakie

WHY did they stall, Larry?  Was it the locomotive, or the switch?

[Been Nothing Since Frisco (BNSF)]

 Well, today I finaly got a look at the loco nd it's a SF 0-6-0. When he dug it out he picked it up and the draw bar fell off. He dosn't know what that is but he couldn't find it. So he put a rapido style coupler in and said that it would work. Acording to thst visi.com palce that some one brought up (I can't remember who it was) it's the fist releas from 1978. It's in the clear box w/yellow plastic. how much do you think it's worth?

[blownout cylinder]

There may be some nutty collectors out there who might pay for them but... and it is a HEAVY BUT... Iwouldn't waste my time on that one. The GP40 OTOH... that still runs really nicely.

[Geared Steam]

Been Nothing Since Frisco (BNSF)

how much do you think it's worth?

$0.00

[BRAKIE]

That is worth IMHO nothing..It was crap back then and I hate to see it now 30 years later.

It had a good track record..Run,sputter,run sputter,stall,sputter run,sputter -well you get the picture.

[Been Nothing Since Frisco (BNSF)]

Well, I had to ask. He showed it to me and asked how it would do on ebay.

[jeffrey-wimberly]

 I have only one Bachmann N Scale loco that I didn't sell off when I got out of N.  I got it in the early 80's and ran it for several years. It's a Bachmann N Scale F9-A. My only other N Scale loco I still have is a Proto 2000 SD7 and it still runs also though the handrails are ancient history.