Bachman Spectrum SD45's...

[Screwjack]

I was wondering if anyone could answer this question for me?

I have a couple of Bachman Spectrum SD45's and they are brand new, they are a few years old. Not sure how old they are but they have not been run, they look brand new.

My question is this, they both run fairly slow, not nearly as fast as othe locomotives I have, is there a reason for this? Can anyone tell if this is normal or is there possibly something wrong witht he engines, or do they just need to be broken in?

Thanks,
Tony

 

[bnsf971]

I was wondering if anyone could answer this question for me?

I have a couple of Bachman Spectrum SD45's and they are brand new, they are a few years old. Not sure how old they are but they have not been run, they look brand new.

My question is this, they both run fairly slow, not nearly as fast as othe locomotives I have, is there a reason for this? Can anyone tell if this is normal or is there possibly something wrong witht he engines, or do they just need to be broken in?

Thanks,
Tony

Are these HO or N scale? The N scale engines run much slower than comparable locomotives from other manufacturers.

 

[Screwjack]

Are these HO or N scale? The N scale engines run much slower than comparable locomotives from other manufacturers.

Hmmm, these are N scale. They just seem to be slower then they should, but I guess maybe that's just the way it is

 

[bnsf971]

Hmmm, these are N scale. They just seem to be slower then they should, but I guess maybe that's just the way it is

My Atlas and Kato (even Life Like) locomotives would run screaming away from the Bachmanns. To use them, you'd have to run them only with other Bachmann engines.

 

[TMLW]

Make sure the engines are broke in. This will help a bit. Also, if you are running DCC, just program in a speed curve so they match your other engines. Speed tables take time to program, but I did it with all my N scale and now they all can run together, no matter what brand they are.

 

[bobwrgt]

Hi
You will find all Bachmann SD45's and 8-40c and cw will run slower than other engines. They take about 3/4 throttle to realy move. I think Bachmann did this on purpose to have better slow speed control and eliminate jack rabbit starts.
Bob

 

[mikeb2008]

My Spectrum SD45 is slower than all my other locos too. But to their credit, it is VERY smooth. The Bachmann "non-Spectrum" locos I have, bought at the same time, are much faster but are noisy at any speed.

 

[Screwjack]

Hi
You will find all Bachmann SD45's and 8-40c and cw will run slower than other engines. They take about 3/4 throttle to realy move. I think Bachmann did this on purpose to have better slow speed control and eliminate jack rabbit starts.
Bob

My Spectrum SD45 is slower than all my other locos too. But to their credit, it is VERY smooth. The Bachmann "non-Spectrum" locos I have, bought at the same time, are much faster but are noisy at any speed.

I just ran mine around the layout a few times to double check how they ran. Both of mine are extremly slow, one is very noisy and the other is pretty quiet even at full throttle, both are definitly very smooth compared to a regular Bachman just like you guys said.

I really like the two Spectrum SD45's that I have, they are Reading railroad and look really nice. Maybe I will just use them someday for real long freight trains...