Stay far away from Bachmann N Scale

[MikeOwnby]

Just had ANOTHER Bachmann loco go tits up, which puts them at an 80% failure rate as far as my collection goes. The other manufacturers combined in my collection have a 3% failure rate. HOW is Bachmann still in business????

I know, they have this wonderful return policy, but the last time I tried to return a locomotive they sent me one that was even worse. And when I sent THAT one back, they sent me one that was a complete WRECK. To top it all off, the handsome loco I originally sent in was forever lost to an ugly loco they couldn't manage to sell elsewhere and unloaded on me instead. So again...how the hell are they still in business? They don't even offer decent rolling stock, so...are they just surviving on clueless dads buying their train sets at Hobby Lobby? I mean, I'm really confused.

In the meantime, I have a 4-6-0 that's now good for absolutely nothing other than looking pretty. Thanks a LOT, Bachmann, you worthless waste of space.

 

[tony22]

Mike, what happened exactly? I just got my 4-6-0 last week and gave it a thorough test run and break in and it runs okay.

 

[MikeOwnby]

Mine did too, twice. Bought it about six months ago, ran it twice, been sitting in very protected storage since. Then it just comes up dead. Won't run on the mainline, isn't recognized on the programming track, even though it'd worked just fine before. I can't even get the slightest twitch out of it anywhere.

 

[Night Train]

Sorry for your problem.

I've had success with the loco I bought from Bachmann. It came with an installed decoder and has operated flawlessly so far. Loco is strong as an ox, too.

 

[wombat457]

While I am not an N Scale modeler, I think it is pretty well known that Bachmann stuff is bottom end, basically cheap and nasty by comparison and is unreliable.

With that being said, I still have my Bachmann layout and haven't had any issues with it or the loco's; however, it doesn't get too much use either.

...how the hell are they still in business?...

Think you hit the nail on the head already. They are cheap and readily available at stores like Walmart (there's a red flag to begin with) and Hobby Lobby etc. "Clueless dads" and mums and grandparents can walk in a buy a complete set off of the shelf. I'm sure Bachmann would tell you they have "great sales" and that is why they remain.

The interesting thing about "sales figures" is in the name - they only depict sales. I have to wonder how many of those "sales" are still in use and have not been discarded for something better. Sales figures are great, but the figures showing the number being discarded would show a much more accurate indication of the product.

Simple answer to the problem though is this ... don't buy Bachmann

Cheers,

wombat457

 

[model-a]

I myself a while back had bought two of there engines because they where cheap and I got what I paid for now most of all my locos are Kato or atlas.

 

[NScaler]

Everyone keeps saying Bachman has gotten a lot better over the years. I had a Bachman train years ago. I also had Kato years ago. The Bachman stuff I had was garbage. The Kato stuff was very nicely made. It was quality you could feel, and the lack there of, just by picking the locos up. So, Kato has been making quality products all of these years. Bachman has just been getting better, but from what I have seen they still haven't reached Kato quality. So I have no plans to buy any Bachman stuff. Even the Spectrum line doesn't sway me much, but it does look nice.

 

[psychobeagle12]

There's no doubt you get what you pay for. That being said, my dad bought me a Bachmann plus F7 B unit when I was about 8. I am now 25. The B unit is still my best running locomotive. No doubt not THE best running locomotive, and I'm sure I could get other ones that look better as well, but after 15 years in the box the bachmann unit worked the first time I placed it on the track, no lube or cleaning. I liked that unit so much that I searched train shows until I found an A-A pair to go with it (bought the second A at Timonium yesterday!) Yeah, Bachmann makes some bottom of the barrel stuff, but the fact is they can make a decent product as well. That being said, I do not like Bachmann's steam locos. I bought a DCC 0-6-0 and it runs like crap. The drive rods seem messed up, it shorts out over turnouts (the frame seems to make contact with the track somewhere?) and it only pulls maybe five cars if I'm lucky. All that for a $75 locomotive! So yeah, some stuff is bad, some stuff is good, but the brand as a whole HAS been trying to make better, more serious equipment in the last several years.

 

[tony22]

Mine did too, twice. Bought it about six months ago, ran it twice, been sitting in very protected storage since. Then it just comes up dead. Won't run on the mainline, isn't recognized on the programming track, even though it'd worked just fine before. I can't even get the slightest twitch out of it anywhere.

Mike, IIRC this model has that "two piece" circuit board assembly in the tender. Have you taken the tender shell off to see if there could be some disconnect between the two? I say that only because a similar thing happened to my EM-1. Appeared to be dead as a doornail. Turned out the connector at the end of the harness coming from the boiler had come loose from the board in the tender. I know the 4-6-0 isn't built exactly the same way but it may be worth looking at.

 

[MikeOwnby]

Mike, IIRC this model has that "two piece" circuit board assembly in the tender. Have you taken the tender shell off to see if there could be some disconnect between the two? I say that only because a similar thing happened to my EM-1. Appeared to be dead as a doornail. Turned out the connector at the end of the harness coming from the boiler had come loose from the board in the tender. I know the 4-6-0 isn't built exactly the same way but it may be worth looking at.

Now that my anger and frustration has calmed, I'll do that. It would be odd for it to just completely stop working in any fashion without something having come loose. As to the other comments, I VERY quickly gave up on Bachmann diesels, really just because they were so loud and not very detailed. I even tried custom painting some for static display, but they just look clunky no matter what, not to mention that their GP40s are actually a different size than anybody else's GPs. Since then, I have admittedly been pleasantly surprised by one of their Dash 8-40Cs that I have repainted to BC Rail colors. It's still noisy, but nicely detailed & runs well. OTOH, I finally just sold the two Dash 8-40CWs I had because they constantly derailed. Never could figure that out.

The place where I really keep getting sucked in is their steam locos, just because they do produce some stuff that nobody else does. I guess really in the future I just need to make any Bachmann purchase with the clear idea that they'll be for display only, and then if they do run it'll be a nice bonus. It's just absolutely insane that out of 10 locomotives I've purchased from them, only two are running properly now, and both of those actually had to be sent back and replaced initially because they didn't run correctly out of the box. It's another bit of crazy that I actually could have purchased an entire other Bachmann locomotive for what I've spent just on postage trying to get their stuff fixed.

I've been eyeing that EM1, but this little incident has cured me of that. $200 is way too much to pay for something that has better than a 50/50 chance of just turning into a static display piece.

 

[tony22]

I've been eyeing that EM1, but this little incident has cured me of that. $200 is way too much to pay for something that has better than a 50/50 chance of just turning into a static display piece.

Well, I'm not a huge Bachmann fan myself but don't be put off by that, Mike. I don't know how that connector pulled loose in the EM-1 (rough shipment maybe?) but once it was plugged back in (very easy to do) the engine ran (and runs) like a Swiss watch. Quiet, smooth, no bounce or jerk as the drivetrain and valve gear moves through the full range of motion. On my test track it runs without a hint of problem at less than 1 scale MPH. Certainly no cause for it to be a shelf queen just for the sake of plugging a connector back in. However, if it turns out to have long term reliability issues I can say I'll be mighty ticked off for that kind of money. Keeping my fingers crossed.

 

[oldtank]

I found Bachmann N Scale equipment to be unreliable when I was into N Scale, now I am building and HO layout I will stay right away from Bachmann, there is an old saying "Once Bitten Twice Shy".

For anyone intereted in this great hobby it is false economy to buy cheap rubbish as it costs a whole lot more in the long run, what bugs me is Bachmann does more damage to the hobby than good, for anyone starting out and finds a loco only lasts a short while IMO puts people off the hobby.

I do think there has been a slight improvement in Bachmann locos but its to late because the horse has bolted and the gate has been shut, my advice is spend a few more $$ and enjoy trouble free running.

 

[Espeefan]

I found Bachmann N Scale equipment to be unreliable when I was into N Scale, now I am building and HO layout I will stay right away from Bachmann, there is an old saying "Once Bitten Twice Shy".

Some of you folks need to learn how to separate your toy trains from your models. The train sets Bachmann sells in Hobby Lobby or Wal-Mart are intended to be children's toys or something to go around the Christmas tree. They are not meant for model railroaders. If you buy their mid tier stuff or the Spectrum series you get a much better model, intended to handle the type of service we would expect from it. I have several Bachmann trolleys and a couple of their diesels in HO, and have owned a couple of their steamers. They run fine and the drives are very high quality. The HO Spectrum steamers are also very well made. I would not buy the Bachmann department store train sets though. The best thing you can do is put together your own set at the hobby shop and stay out of Wal Mart and Hobby Lobby. They have no idea what real hobbyists want.

Remember...there is a difference between toy trains and railroad models

 

[Iron Horseman]

If you buy their mid tier stuff or the Spectrum series you get a much better model, intended to handle the type of service we would expect from it.

This is what I was going to say/ask. Does Bachmann have multiple lines in the N-scale also? I believe they do. Straight Bachmann has always been and will probably always be toy-train grade stuff. It is the Spectrum line that is of interest to model railroaders.

I discovered the Spectrum line in HO-scale in 1987 or so. I have not been disappointed with anything I have purchased with the Spectrum branding in either HO or G scales.

This mudhen is a Bachmann....runs better than the LGB. The C-19s are on sale right now I just can't afford one.

 

[oldtank]

There is no doubt that Bachmann Spectrum locos look a whole lot better but that is not the full story, I have two friends that paid $400au for HO Spectrum Shay locos that virtually fell apart, the cost of the spares make repair far to expensive.

As for N scale Spectrum, I had several models including their F7a and B unit, from new and after a light service it sounded like a coffee grinder, tried another one same story, regarding N Scale I had more success with Model Power than Spectrum, cheap and cheerful.

I guess we speak as we find but for me in HO I will stick to Athearn, Lifelike, Kato and Atlas plus others, Bachmann will not get a lookin on my layout.

To those that have had good experiences with Bachmann I am pleased for you, I just wish my experience had been a little better.

 

[MRLdave]

As said, we all have to go by our own experience...........My Bachmanns haven't been perfect little angels, and I've had to do a little tuning on them, but they all run and work fine ( I'm talking stuff made since 2000). They might not be my first choice, but I wouldn't avoid them........The only thing I avoid at this point is Kato (or as I refer to them, Krapo). Out of 198 locos I have 8 Katos , of which only one runs and operates properly. 4 are sitting on a display shelf out of service, 1 works, but derails and falls over for no apparent reason (often on straight level track), a pair of RSC2s run, but only for about an hour at a time, at which point they begin to run slower and slower till they come to a stop. After a complete teardown and cleaning every contact point from wheels to motor, they again run fine for another hour.....repeat. An hour of maintenance for an hour of running isn't too good in my opinion. The only "good" Kato I have is my Mikado. I realize that's the opposite of what most people experience, but as I said, we have to go by our own experiences.

 

[wombat457]

Some of you folks need to learn how to separate your toy trains from your models. The train sets Bachmann sells in Hobby Lobby or Wal-Mart are intended to be children's toys or something to go around the Christmas tree. They are not meant for model railroaders.
Remember...there is a difference between toy trains and railroad models

I would venture to say that most (if not all) people here know the difference between a child's toy train set and what we engage ourselves in, which is why, it seems, most people here have little regard for Bachmann trains.

The problem is that Bachmann is an "entry level" product, one that is relatively cheap to begin with and, in most cases, people do buy from places like Walmart and Hobby Lobby etc. It is from these sets that they gain or loose their inspiration for model railwaying. If a mum and dad by their child a set for (say) $150 - $200, which is a pittance for our hobby, and that set fails their first impression is a poor one. That impression sets the benchmark for them and can determine whether or not they continue with the hobby. That, in my opinion, is detrimental to the hobby in terms of it growth.

With that being said, if a person just wants a train set to run under the xmas tree once a year then Bachmann stuff is fine and serves that purpose. If people are serious about the hobby, or intend to be serious about it, then they should take your advice ... stay away from Bachmann and buy good quality items from an "experienced" Model Railway Hobby Shop. Spend the extra money and gain an enjoyable and confident experience.

I don't recall in which post I read this but, cheap is not necessarily cheap in the long run. I would prefer to spend $400 on a loco than $400, or even $300, on a Bachmann layout. It is all about value for money and that is not a description I would afford Bachmann.

Cheers,

wombat457

 

[elsner203]

I have two matching Bachmann locos that were supposedly brand new when I bought them. They run at different speeds and even though they are both model 63551, they look different.

I operate on a tight budget, so I don't plan on taking any chances on Bachmann anytime soon, even though it means I'll be paying more for better locos.

 

[TheClergyMan]

I've had mostly good experiences with bachmann, even the EZ track. I had one loco that fell apart really easily, other than that though, the engine worked fine! I've heard a lot that bachmann is no where near top of the line, and with the quality I it is, I dearly hope it's not considered top of the line.

 

[Espeefan]

I would venture to say that most (if not all) people here know the difference between a child's toy train set and what we engage ourselves in, which is why, it seems, most people here have little regard for Bachmann trains.

The problem is that Bachmann is an "entry level" product, one that is relatively cheap to begin with and, in most cases, people do buy from places like Walmart and Hobby Lobby etc. It is from these sets that they gain or loose their inspiration for model railwaying. If a mum and dad by their child a set for (say) $150 - $200, which is a pittance for our hobby, and that set fails their first impression is a poor one. That impression sets the benchmark for them and can determine whether or not they continue with the hobby. That, in my opinion, is detrimental to the hobby in terms of it growth.

With that being said, if a person just wants a train set to run under the xmas tree once a year then Bachmann stuff is fine and serves that purpose. If people are serious about the hobby, or intend to be serious about it, then they should take your advice ... stay away from Bachmann and buy good quality items from an "experienced" Model Railway Hobby Shop. Spend the extra money and gain an enjoyable and confident experience.

I don't recall in which post I read this but, cheap is not necessarily cheap in the long run. I would prefer to spend $400 on a loco than $400, or even $300, on a Bachmann layout. It is all about value for money and that is not a description I would afford Bachmann.

Cheers,

wombat457

I would not say "most people". Looks to me that we have a pretty good variety of opinions, from unfavorable to satisfied. As I stated in my original post, They do offer a segment of product, in these cheap trainsets, that is not in the same quality bracket as their other offerings. I've seen their booth at several national train shows, as well as at the Amherst and Trainfest shows, and they offer some good models. I have one of their HO GP-7/9's. It's a little sparse on detail, as was Athearn BB, but the drive is well made and quiet. It runs very well. Some of you may be familiar with Blackstone models narrow gauge steamers. Guess what? Bachmann mechanisms!

Now "If a mum and dad by their child a set for (say) $150 - $200, which is a pittance for our hobby, and that set fails their first impression is a poor one. That impression sets the benchmark for them and can determine whether or not they continue with the hobby." That may be true, however it does not cover us. The average modeler is in his late fifties or early sixties, and should know how to shop. They should also know that you get what you pay for. You might also consider this: Mum & dad may want that cheap train set just in case junior, like most kids, has a short attention span and forgets all about trains in a month. Mum & dad may be happy they didn't spend that $400.00 on something that will end up on Craigs List for ten cents on the dollar, or in the junk box in the garage!

They are certainly not immune from "stinkers". Nobody is. Look at the latest MTH Big Boy, or even the poor quality runs several of the major manufacturers have had over the past couple of years. Bachmann is not at the top of the heap on quality. OTOH they have raised the bar on a significant portion of their line, and are at present set to take over the "Blue Box" category that Athearn no longer fills. As with anything, shop carefully and do your research.