Bachmann 2-10-0

[Anonymous]

I'm looking into getting a few of the Bachmann Spectrum steam locos. I'm interested in the 2-10-0 and the 2-6-6-2. Does anyone have any experience with these locos. How do they run? Pulling power?

[twcenterprises]

I have 3 of the Decapods. Run OK, pull about like the prototypes.

Brad

[AggroJones]

I have a Russian Dec. Second highest detailed of the Spectrum steamers. Which makes it a pain to dissasemble. Ran with a bit of an untracable wobble, but quietly. Can pull about 15 average cars on the flat before slipping. The motor on mine burnt out after a few hours of running. And those douchers at Bachmann had the gall to charge me $25 for the new motor and $5 for shipping! That probably won't happen to you. I likely got a fluke. Just go ahead and get the 2-6-6-2.

[Anonymous]

Douchers??? Don't you mean crooks?? If it was under warrantee, they ripped you off. They owe you.

QUOTE: Originally posted by AggroJones

I have a Russian Dec. Second highest detailed of the Spectrum steamers. Which makes it a pain to dissasemble. Ran with a bit of an untracable wobble, but quietly. Can pull about 15 average cars on the flat before slipping. The motor on mine burnt out after a few hours of running. And those douchers at Bachmann had the gall to charge me $25 for the new motor and $5 for shipping! That probably won't happen to you. I likely got a fluke. Just go ahead and get the 2-6-6-2.

[Berk-fan284]

The 2-6-6-2 is a good puller, smooth, quiet, well detailed - outpulls my ROCO/Proto 2000 Lifelike with ease.The Decapod is a nice performer also. Sorry to hear about yours AggroJones, must have been the "lemon" of the production run.

[rlandry6]

Bachmanns charge to repair/replace a Spectrum loco is $20 plus shipping, if it is over a year old. It should be free within the firts year. That's the 1 year warranty they advertise.

[howmus]

I have a Bachmann 2-6-6-2. One of the best loco in my fleet if you average all catagories. Smooth runner, very strong puller. The only loco I have that I would say is better is also a Bachmann Sepctrum, a 4-8-2 Mountain. I would buy with confidence any of the Spectrum series.

[cacole]

Aggro, did you inform Bachmann that the engine was new and still under warranty? If you had returned it to them for warranty repair, there would have been only a minimal charge of something like $10 to cover their shipping cost. Requesting a part so you can perform your own repair work voids the warranty, and Bachmann's standard charge for do-it-yourself repair parts is $25 plus shipping. I think this is clearly stated in their warranty document that comes with every model, if you have a powerful enough magnifier to read the fine print.

I have a Spectrum G-scale 2-8-0 Consolidation that needed a replacement part, but it was definitely cheaper to pay them the $25 fee than sending the locomotive back to them because of its weight. UPS shipping would have cost more than the part.

Back to the original question -- I have 4 of the Bachmann Spectrum HO-scale 2-10-0 Russian Decapod models with SoundTraxx systems in them, and they all run very smoothly. The wobble is caused by the short wheelbase, and is a problem with nearly every steam model if you watch them carefully as they go down the track. I have videos of full-sized steam engines and they wobble as they go down the track, especially if they are pulling a heavy load. The quartering of the drivers causes the cylinders to exert uneven pressure to the drive wheels. On our models, the wobble is caused by the quartering of the drive rods, but is more evident on some models because of the complexity of the valve gear.

[twhite]

I've got the Spectrum 2-6-6-2 and I'm very pleased with it. It's quiet and powerful. And as Berk-Fan said, it will outpull the Proto2000 2-8-8-2 by a country mile. Nice loco.
Tom

[elauterbach]

I have both the 2-6-6-2 and 2-10-0. Great engines and I would highly recommend them.
Eric

[happy jose]

Engineers! What happens if you let a Bachman belt drive loco sit for a month.?? Does the belt assume a short radius turn as it does going around the motor shaft and stay as such .? I was wondering how flexible or dense the belts are. Will they retain the proper shape over time? I have 2 2-8-0s and 2 2-10-0s plus a mountain and they all run great! What do you think? Smiley.

[Isambard]

I have three Spectrum Russian 2-10-0 Decapods, plus three 2-8-0 Consolidations and like them. As I've previously posted, I experienced a burnt out motor with one of the Decapods, apparently due to sitting on a DCC powered track too long without a decoder installed. The rubber drive belt showed signs of fraying although the loco had only around 10 hours of running over fifteen months.

I've since bought a replacement motor from Bachmann and had it installed by my LHS. He commented that the new motor (German made) was a better quality one than the original Chinese unit, and was dynamically balanced.
I'm still looking for spare rubber drive belts since Bachmann are out of stock and advised me to call back in several months.

[cjcrescent]

Cacole, Aggro;

That "wobble" as you describe is not a "wobble" at all. Its something that all steamers do to some extent and its called "hunting". Smaller drivered locos seem to do it more than larger drivered locos. A mechanical engineer explained as being caused by the weight shift of the water in the boiler, and the concurrent change in weight on each driver, and the change in the forces on the pulling faces of the couplers as the train goes around curves, up and down small elevation changes etc...

[Isambard]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cjcrescent

Cacole, Aggro;

That "wobble" as you describe is not a "wobble" at all. Its something that all steamers do to some extent and its called "hunting". Smaller drivered locos seem to do it more than larger drivered locos. A mechanical engineer explained as being caused by the weight shift of the water in the boiler, and the concurrent change in weight on each driver, and the change in the forces on the pulling faces of the couplers as the train goes around curves, up and down small elevation changes etc...

There is another force at work, which has to do with the thrust of the "leading" piston, which was normally the right one on the right hand side, although on some railroads it was the left one by design. That same leading piston thrust also lead to heavier wear on the rail on that side. Perhaps an expert can expand on this explanation, also on the above boiler water weight shift. Regarding the last explanation on forces on the couplers, would these not apply equally to a diesel pulled train?
[:)][?]

[Train 284]

I know the people who I have talked to like them which is why I plan on getting one myself!

[Anonymous]

I have one and have been very pleased with it.

I have quite a few spectrum locos - at this point, at least one of each steamer, except the 2-6-6-2. I'll either get the 2-6-6-2 for Christmas, or go buy it myself if not. I've been uniformly happy with the Spectrum steamers and have had no problems.

I would single out the Heavy Mountain and Shay as particularly well done. (Which reminds me, I also don't yet have the Climax - must do something about that!). I'd also suggest that the K-4, at a street price of $79 right now, is a heckuva good deal.

If I had to rank them, the one bringing up the rear (but still a good loco at a good price), is the 0-6-0 switcher. It runs nicely, esp at very slow speed, but insufficient pulling power in my experience - it can handle maybe 2 reefers before starting to slip. I added some weights, which brought it up to 'reasonable' on pulling power. So for a current street price of about $39 + maybe a buck or two to add weights, it's still a bargain.

The one true disappointment I've had has been the Doodlebug. It's very noisy and runs poorly in general. The one time I feel like I caught Bachmann putting "regular" quality in a spectrum box.

[Anonymous]

My Decapod has two drivers that are out of quarter and cause binding. I need to send it back for repairs, but have put it off too long so that it is now over one year old. The putting off is my problem and I'll just pay the fee and go on. Oh, well! But, the drivers being out of quarter is such a basic thing that I think that they should have caught that if they did any quality control. Anyway, I'll send it off one of these days. Since I still don't have a layout up, that has to be my first priority.

[Anonymous]

thanks for all of your responses. i went out and brought both the 2-10-0 and the 2-6-6-2.

[Anonymous]

So how do you like them? i was thinking about getting a 2-10-0 myself to pull a passenger train and sometimes my 30 car freight train.

What are your new ones pulling?

[Isambard]

QUOTE: Originally posted by Isambard

I have three Spectrum Russian 2-10-0 Decapods, plus three 2-8-0 Consolidations and like them. As I've previously posted, I experienced a burnt out motor with one of the Decapods, apparently due to sitting on a DCC powered track too long without a decoder installed. The rubber drive belt showed signs of fraying although the loco had only around 10 hours of running over fifteen months.

I've since bought a replacement motor from Bachmann and had it installed by my LHS. He commented that the new motor (German made) was a better quality one than the original Chinese unit, and was dynamically balanced.
I'm still looking for spare rubber drive belts since Bachmann are out of stock and advised me to call back in several months.

Woe is me! After ten minutes of running with the new motor installed, while clipping along nicely with a light freight behind, there was a loud crack! and the train abruptly stopped. The loco is dead, the drive belt has snapped! [xx(]

What to do now? Surely with the thousands of Bachmann 2-10-0's out there, mine is not the first to have a failed belt and surely there must be spares out there somewhere. I'm not keen on this loco becoming a engine house queen until Bachmann restocks.

Any suggestions? I had no responses on Mr. Bachmann.

[?]

[nfmisso]

QUOTE: Originally posted by chewie8han

So how do you like them? i was thinking about getting a 2-10-0 myself to pull a passenger train and sometimes my 30 car freight train.

What are your new ones pulling?

A Spectrum 2-10-0 might pull a 10 car frieght, about what the real thing does. The Spectrum 2-8-0 is a larger and heavier locomotive, and will pull more.