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Hello All
While in an LHS yesterday a few of the regulars were touting a couple of loco's that were recently stocked. They are red box Bachmann units equipped with sound.
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?act=viewCat&catId=460
They had an FA2 on the LHS layout and it looked and ran great. They're equipped with Tsunami Light decoders and it appears that they run right up there with the more expensive manufacturers.
I don't run F units but I'll be picking up one of the S4's when the came in. The others sold out quickly.
Jim
It is a secret no longer!
I picked up, several months ago, a red box Spectrum 4-4-0. It was painted for the Southern. I checked the details on it using Richard Prince's book on Southern steamers and the detail was dead on for the loco it was numbered for. It ran extremely well and for it's size it has outstanding pulling ability.
No sound, but I did replace the Bachmann decoder with a higher quality one and it's performance is even better.
I saw them last weekend at a train shop. The do look nice. I would have gotten and A+B unit if they had them in UP colors but that's not available at this time. I think they were about $90 each. Seems like a good deal with Tsunami inside plus the B units are powered and have sound as well. String a bunch of them together and you could pull just about anything you wanted without breaking the bank.
-Art
For the amount of money, they are dirt cheap with sound!! Gonna have to get a Western Maryland S4 for sure!!!
Bachmann has come a long way and it shows. Overall quality and reasonable prices. When anyone offers a straight DC engine with constant directional lighting and added on details for a msrp of well under $100 I'm interested. I've bought 6 Bachmann diesels in the past 2 1/2 years some with dual mode DCC on board and some only DCC ready and have no complaints with operation or detail. Even though I only use Kadee couplers I feel their plastic Kadee whisker clones are superior to the 2 piece ones on other brands. Thanks Bachmann
How's the weight on these locos?
Not that it couldn't be added if required...
Bachmann has come a long way and it shows. Overall quality and reasonable prices. When anyone offers a straight DC engine with constant directional lighting and added on details for a msrp of well under $100 I'm interested. I've bought 6 Bachmann diesels in the past 2 1/2 years some with dual mode DCC on board and some only DCC ready and have no complaints with operation or detail. Even though I only use Kadee couplers I feel their plastic Kadee whisker clones are superior to the 2 piece ones on other brands. Thanks Bachmann
I can remember when you stayed far away from Bachmann if you were serious with model railroading.
How's the weight on these locos?
Not that it couldn't be added if required...
I don't know the actual weight but holding it seems pretty well balanced and should pull well.
I can remember when you stayed far away from Bachmann if you were serious with model railroading.
That's because back in the day, Bachmann was only concerned about making toy sets that people would replace every year.
The Plus and Spectrum lines weren't much of an improvement either up until recently.
These days, Bachmann still wants to be the in-between between toy train junk and actual scale models. That business model has worked for them as their price point welcomes newcomers to the hobby while offering products that are durable (unlike the toy train set junk) and upgradable (sound, dcc) at a reasonable price.
Other companies have caught on to the trend. For example, Walthers' Trainline and Proto 1000 trainsets, and Atlas's Trainman line and trainsets.
I don't run F units but I'll be picking up one of the S4's when the came in. The others sold out quickly.
Jim
I did my weekly haunt at one of the LHS today on my way home from work. He had one of the new S4's in Erie paint. Although still boxed it looked very very nice. Being an ALCO fan I may have to grab one even though I only run DC. As diburning pointed out, they have found a market void and are filling it with units that hobbyists actually want.
And yes Tim, there was a time when Bachmann and Tyco weren't worth a second glance.
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