Bachmann SD40-2

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Diesel-Electric

Diesel-Electric

Member
Hello there!


People, I'm interested in getting a Bachmann SD40-2 with all-wheel-drive.

1. I need to know how the locomotive is (equipped with dual mode DCC chip) running on a DC layout?

2. How is the pulling power of this locomotive? That is, would it pull around 12-14 50' freight cars with no problems on level track?

3. Also, in the description of the locomotive it says it 'performs best on 18" radius and greater' , that said how does it negotiate the 18" radius? I ask this as it's good to know from people who actually run them on their layouts?

4. What else should I need to know about the pros and cons of this locomotive?


Your feed back will be very much appreciated.


Regards,


DE
 
You may have indicated which scale you're interested in somewhere......if so, my aging faculties failed to detect it. Probably HO.....though one never knows.....until such time one finds out. I have admired those bachmann SD40-2's.....especially the union pacific's........just looking at photos. I've never seen one in person. I hope you get the info requested.
 


I have a couple of Bachman SD 40-2's and I surely am not happy with there performance. If it wasn't for the road name they would be gone. terrible motors, sound and quality. I doubt you will be successful operating on 18" radius without problems. I would recomend, Athearn, Kato and my best runners are Broadway Limited. Save your money and buy something better.
Wayne
 
Bachmann are decent 'starter engines' but they're not high quality. I have three; a 2-8-0, a GP38, and Spectrum Acela. You do get what you pay for with them. Their off-the-shelf DCC is NOT dual mode, but they do come with a pair of small metal clips that you install in place of the DCC chip they come with. I've got three of their locos, and their DCC has come a long way. The first one I got was integrated to the board; the newer ones come with an NMRA 8-pin decoder port and their own decoder, which is allegedly made by Tsunami. They pull well on flat track, but not so much on a hill.
 
Having owned one, I can say that the newer Bachmann SD40-2s are actually not that horrible. While the level of detail is nowhere near Kato's, for instance, it does run well on level track, and will pull a dozen cars without problems, even around 18" curves. No noisier than a typical Athearn RTR. The "DCC On Board" version is actually dual mode and runs just fine on DC power. In fact, with the factory DCC decoder mine ran better on DC than DCC. Considering you can get a DCC-equipped version for ~$50 or less, it's a decent beginner loco if you are not after a high level of detail.
 
Diesel-Electric:

Regarding Bachmann's HO SD40-2s, here's my 3 years of experience with them. They are my all-time favorite diesel locomotives, and I have many of these. Here's why.

A. To me they look great (some of the missing minor details don't bother me).

B. Price (generally under $50 for a new one) is attractive.

C. SD40-2s are my favorite real railroad diesel locomotives (I used to ride in them on MoPac RR in the 1970's as head end brakeman).

D. I remove any DCC or light boards (I'm strictly DC only) and use the space (plus elsewhere) to add 4 ounces of weight, and doing it while balancing the total weight over both trucks. The locos as-is weigh in at 18 ounces each and with my additions total 22 ounces.

E. After lubing and running them in just one of these will walk off with a 60+ car train - forward or backwards - with no slipping from a dead start.

F. These engines with NO modifications will run around my 22", 19" and 16" radius loops. I use them only on the 22" and 19" loops - my visual barf-meter kicked in when I ran one on my 16" radius curves the first (and last) time.

G. The "negatives" are (1) sometimes they slightly surge while running, and (2) sometimes they have some minor (fairly quiet) gear chatter.

H. Their overall noise level is - well, if an Atlas engine is the standard for "quiet running" and we give it an A grade, then 9 out of 10 of my Bachmann SD40-2 engines would rate about a B to and A-. I can easily live with that.

I. I change out the orange headlight and install a 3-to-18 volt with resistor warm white 3mm LED. Since I run the three big trains with at least two locos I don't put any backup light in (I'm lazy.)

J. Most (85%) of my engines are Bachmann (SD40-2, GP30, GP35, GP38-2; GP40, Berkshires and Heavy Mountains), and I've found that about every 40 to 50 hours of run time I need to lube the motor and two gear tower bearings (and I also VERY lightly lube the commutator plates in the motor with LaBelle 107). These engines will "tell" you when to lube by beginning to jump-start sometimes and/or making some small unusual sounds.

Lastly, I'll admit that I really enjoy running 2 SD40-2s together (which I do most of the time), and sometimes 3 SD40s MU'd. And I change road names in these power consists when I feel like. Right now on the outside loop I have a CSX on the head end with a BNSF (facing aft) coupled to it.

Hope this is helpful.

DougC
 
Diesel-Electric and Sirfoldalot:

You're very welcome.

And as most of you know, with Bachmann products if you get a new engine that's a dud you can return it (at your cost usually, even though I believe ModelTrainStuff (and others?) emails you a free UPS shipping label) and they (Bachmann or ModelTrainStuff or ?) will replace it with a another new one at no cost.

DougC
 


Bachmann changed their warranty terms in 2003; no longer is it lifetime limited; now it's one year, and they want proof of purchase. They also increased all their repair prices. I just went through this with them; sent them the loco, copy of the paperwork, and a check for $15; they did the work and invoiced me for $10. I believe their warranty terms are not legal, since their current warranty says the new warranty is retroactive.
 
I don't know how they run but I looked up a photo of it since I didn't know Bachmann made an SD40-2 and from first glance it has some serious dimensional errors. Most obvious in the cab/nose and dynamic brake section.
 
My NS SD40 has been serving Christmas Tree duty for 3 or 4 years. It seems to run better as the hours accumulate and handles kid usage with no problem (its durable)
 
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