This review is on Bachmann's HO scale Spectrum 3-Truck Shay. This review was delayed over a year due to split gears, and I've finally got new NWSL replacements put in. Performance should be the same as with good Bachmann gears.
Bachmann's Shay is pretty much a masterpiece in the detail department. The boiler, cab, oil bunker, and tender are all cast metal, and they're all as clean and sharp as the best plastic available. The only seam is one that's going across the top of the boiler, but it appears to be intentional. To match different prototypes, many of the parts, like the cab, fuel load, and smokestack, are separate so that different parts can be used for different models. Mine is an oil burner, so it has a straight smokestack, a steel cab, and an oil fuel bunker. There are also other slight detail variations from other models, but I can't name them all. Most of the details are metal, adding extra weight and giving more durability. Only a few parts are plastic, and they're all thicker parts that won't break easily. Some of the detail parts are optional (like the tool boxes) and have to be put on by the owner. The cab has a full interior with a backhead and glowing firebox, and the walls are all painted green. Bachmann uses a realistic driveline, with the power starting at the cylinders, going through shafts to the trucks, and finally driving the wheels with gears on the sides, just like the real Shays. Because of this, the underframe is fully detailed and doesn't have a driveline going through like with the MDC Shays. The 3-cylinder "engine" on the right side has brass-level detail, and is fully functional with the main rods and valve-gears (9 rods total!). The left side of the Shay, which is rarely shown in photos, is just as detailed as the right side, with more than half a dozen large pipes running all around along with a few other parts. The trucks are the only major parts that are almost entirely plastic, but I'm pretty sure this was done for the hidden electrical system. The left wheels all metal and spoked, and the right wheels have a large plastic gear on the side. The paint is all very smooth, and the separation from the graphite smokebox to the black boiler is sharp. Whatever lettering there is on mine is nice and bold, and is sharp enough that it can be read clearly. All the metal details (minus the brass bell and pop valves) are blackened, rather than painted. The stock couplers are oversized E-Z Mate Mark II, which should work fine for most. Kadee couplers using their standard centering spring are difficult to install, so their Whisker couplers would be much easier replacements for this engine.
My Shay had a lot of problems when I first got it. 5 out of 6 driveline gears were split, the crankshaft for the cylinders was tight, and the motor bearings were running dry and very noisily. After hours of adjustement and some new steel gears from NWSL, my Shay is a smooth and quiet runner.The NWSL gears are tiny and a little difficult to get on, but they do an excellent job of making the Shay run better. And there's no more risk of splitting.
The Shay runs smoothly and pretty quietly at realistic speeds, with a slight surging motion. The double-worm reduction works silently, and gives the Shay a top speed of only 18.25 scale MPH. The rather cheap 3-pole motor doesn't have good low speed performance, but the super slow gearing still allows a minimum speed of only 1.25 scale MPH. The noise coming from the total of 19 gears is very faint, and the only thing I can really hear much of is the motor, which is also decently quiet. Current draw running free was 0.08 amps. The gearing has so much torque that I couldn't stall it to check the current, but I'd guess it's far less than 1 amp. All the wheels pick up electrical current, so it can run reliably on switches or over semi-dirty track. The Shay is heavy with its metal construction, and the all wheel drive gives it good traction. It shouldn't have any trouble hauling a realistic length of coal or log cars around tight curves and steep grades (mine pulled 3 log cars around a 22" radius while I was lifting the end of the layout, and it didn't even slow down). There is a DCC plug in the tender, and there's enough room for a small decoder. Bachmann also makes a version of the Shay with Tsunami sound, so getting one of those would be much easier than trying to put your own sound system in the little open room these Shays have.
Except for a few problems, Bachmann's made a real winner with their Spectrum Shay. The high level of detail and smooth running make these a great choice for anyone with a late 19th to mid 20th century industrial layout, and the wide availability keeps prices fairly low. And now with the NWSL gears around, these Shays can provide a lifetime of enjoyment.
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That looks and sounds good. You might try posting this same message on the Bachmann forums as people there have the same issue. The photos are great.
There are at least two Bachmann forum members here that might post a link to this message. The fix might bother the “Bachmann powers to be” but this fix is a great help to the modelers. It might even help the Spectrum Shay sales. It is a win win situation.
Imagine trying to accomplish something like this without the 'Net.
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/board/index.php
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.
i'm glad you like your shay but i have to wonder what is so great about buying a locomotive and then not being able to use it for a year? you said you spent hours adjusting it and that you had to buy parts to make it run from another source. did bachman pay for them? sounds more like it was "just a little bit pregnant" i would never buy one based on what i have learned from your post.
reminds me of a buddy years ago who bought a jaguar automobile. it was a beautiful car but when i asked him about body integrity such as wind noise and water leaks he said, "water leaks?" "if it's damp enough to rain this thing won't even start!!"
remember back when there were a lot of local shops with a test track right up front on the sales counter? i guess if they did that today, they would miss a lot of potential sales when the prospective buyer tried to make it run.
grizlump
grizlump9 i'm glad you like your shay but i have to wonder what is so great about buying a locomotive and then not being able to use it for a year? you said you spent hours adjusting it and that you had to buy parts to make it run from another source. did bachman pay for them? sounds more like it was "just a little bit pregnant" i would never buy one based on what i have learned from your post. reminds me of a buddy years ago who bought a jaguar automobile. it was a beautiful car but when i asked him about body integrity such as wind noise and water leaks he said, "water leaks?" "if it's damp enough to rain this thing won't even start!!" remember back when there were a lot of local shops with a test track right up front on the sales counter? i guess if they did that today, they would miss a lot of potential sales when the prospective buyer tried to make it run. grizlump
Wow, talk about a grump. Go back to your rocking chair. This is a hobby. He had no idea that the Shay had a cracked gear issue. He and others have had this issue. This 2009. The hobby is evolving probably not what you like. Bachmann has tried to make good but the stuff is produced in China. It can take time to correct an issue like this. Some of the replacements had cracked gears or cracked shortly after people received them. You have not followed this issue. Dave at NWSL, a USA owned model railroad comapny bit the bullet and solved the situation much to the surprise of many people. Dave bought out the comapny and moved the comapny to the state he lives in. No small feat.
Darth SantaFe made the most of a bad situation. Good modelers do that. They do not post useless Rants. Good modelers also try to help others that get caught in similar situations.
Good report Darth Santa Fe. Do not let anyone like this discourage you.
True, the cracked gear issue has probably hurt sales a bit. But there are only 3 options for 3-truck Shays in HO right now.
1. Buy a brass model. May run beautifully, may run like a coffee grinder.2. Buy an out of production MDC/Roundhouse kit, and spend far more time building what won't be nearly as good of a model (although you'll get massive satisfaction in the end because you made it).3. Buy a Spectrum that may or may not have cracked gears. If it does, buy some NWSL gears.
or
4. Forget the Shay and buy a perfect Rivarossi Heisler.
Cracked gears or not, the Spectrum is still a good choice. And besides, a like fixing things!
Thnaks for the efforts! I thought this Shay was out of production, got mine several years ago. If it is indeed not currently available then the review could be more or less wasted.
The part about replacing the gears is good to know, in case I need to do mine. Mine doesn't get operated much as I only have portable modules that I run with our club a few times a year.
A suggestion: When writing a long essay like your review, break it up into smaller paragraphs when you change subjects. Makes reading a lot easier!
Bob Boudreau
CANADA
Visit my model railroad photography website: http://sites.google.com/site/railphotog/
RailphotogI thought this Shay was out of production, got mine several years ago. If it is indeed not currently available then the review could be more or less wasted.
A quick Google search would reveal that this model is far from being out of production, but the Rivarossi Heisler is.
To grizlump,
Darths review is one persons experience, I have two that are 3 years old, no gears problems at all. Still, for less than $150.00, it beats the pants off the MDC version. I would rather spend $25.00 on upgrading a Bachmann than $100.00 on an MDC who's detail is still not in the ballpark compared to Bachmann. The brass shays that are available, to my understanding, need some "tweaking" to get them to operate properly.
The Shay is a difficult engine to produce simply because it has all of the animation that goes with it. Bachmann did a superior job and if the only problem was a split gear, good for them. It's much easier to produce powered boxcars than a shay, you might want to give Bachmann and leave the critiquing to those of use who actually purchase and use geared locos.
Lastly, I don't see the need for a review on something thats been out for years. Reviews in my experience are on new products, and nothing that was said in the review was "breaking" news. What issue exists with the model, has already been solved by NWSL.
Have fun !
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
Geared SteamLastly, I don't see the need for a review on something thats been out for years. Reviews in my experience are on new products, and nothing that was said in the review was "breaking" news. What issue exists with the model, has already been solved by NWSL.
It has been out for a few years now and been reviewed by all the major magazines. I don't base the ones I do here off how long something's been out, though. I like doing it so everyone can get another person's opinion on the old and the new.
Darth Santa Fe 4. Forget the Shay and buy a perfect Rivarossi Heisler.
7j43kI'd kinda like Bachmann to do a Heisler, actually.
Yes!, and a 2 truck Shay.
Darth, I understand, good point.
I've had my Bachmann Shay 3 or 4 years, and have had no isuues what-so-ever. Smooth, quiet, and slow.
One of these days I'm going to put a sound decoder in it.
Rotor
Jake: How often does the train go by? Elwood: So often you won't even notice ...
Raised on the Erie Lackawanna Mainline- Supt. of the Black River Transfer & Terminal R.R.