MikeOwnby
Active Member
FWIW, the Bachmanns I have are all Spectrums in N Scale. None are non-Spectrum. So yes, I do know the difference between a toy and a model. However, I still have 8 of 10 that don't run. I did get the 4-6-0 running (technically), though I don't really know how. Something in taking off the tender cover fixed some loose connection. I couldn't actually FIND the problem, so it's pretty inevitable it'll just recur. Doesn't really matter, though, because it's also developed a bind somewhere so that it won't run slow at all, and then practically shakes itself off the rails in mid-range speeds. Same problem I've had with several other steam locos that I actually sent back for replacement back before I realized how futile that could be. So yeah, I've got a 2-10-2 and a Dash 8 that run well, and maybe they'll keep doing that. The other 8 Bachmanns that won't run still look pretty, at least.
Also FWIW, my local N-scale hobby store has told me they usually have to send back about 50% of any Bachmann order they place due to such problems. They only ever order Spectrum steam, since Bachmann does make some that just don't exist elsewhere. So as far as N-scale Spectrum (their top shelf product) they're making a better LOOKING product, a QUIETER product (especially when they won't run at all, hehe), but seems like their quality control is still abysmal. That 4-6-0 is a very recent model, with DCC built in from the factory, so we're not talking old junk here. So that's what put me off the EM1, not the fact that somebody had a minor problem with one. I mean, my hobby store says they deal with a 50% failure rate, I myself have had bad enough luck to actually have an 80% failure rate, so I just feel like I'd be crazy to spend over $200 on ANYTHING they make in N-scale. Honestly, if I hadn't been buying so many locomotives in such a short time, the Bachmann craptasticness would've done less damage because I might have seen it sooner and started avoiding them. I started buying some more recent models because they were obviously better quality at least in looks and I figured that would apply to mechanics as well. By the time I realized their warranty didn't mean anything because they just keep replacing crap with other crap...well. Time came to just quit wasting postage. I've tried them again twice because of all the "they're better now!" comments, but that resulted in a 2-10-2 that I had to ship back before luckily getting an actual good one, and this dead 4-6-0. I think I'm going to ignore the "better!" comments from now on
Best of luck to tony22 on his EM1, though. It's a good looking loco, and I hope it keeps doing well for you and is one of the ones that made it through the line built like it's supposed to be.
Also FWIW, my local N-scale hobby store has told me they usually have to send back about 50% of any Bachmann order they place due to such problems. They only ever order Spectrum steam, since Bachmann does make some that just don't exist elsewhere. So as far as N-scale Spectrum (their top shelf product) they're making a better LOOKING product, a QUIETER product (especially when they won't run at all, hehe), but seems like their quality control is still abysmal. That 4-6-0 is a very recent model, with DCC built in from the factory, so we're not talking old junk here. So that's what put me off the EM1, not the fact that somebody had a minor problem with one. I mean, my hobby store says they deal with a 50% failure rate, I myself have had bad enough luck to actually have an 80% failure rate, so I just feel like I'd be crazy to spend over $200 on ANYTHING they make in N-scale. Honestly, if I hadn't been buying so many locomotives in such a short time, the Bachmann craptasticness would've done less damage because I might have seen it sooner and started avoiding them. I started buying some more recent models because they were obviously better quality at least in looks and I figured that would apply to mechanics as well. By the time I realized their warranty didn't mean anything because they just keep replacing crap with other crap...well. Time came to just quit wasting postage. I've tried them again twice because of all the "they're better now!" comments, but that resulted in a 2-10-2 that I had to ship back before luckily getting an actual good one, and this dead 4-6-0. I think I'm going to ignore the "better!" comments from now on
Best of luck to tony22 on his EM1, though. It's a good looking loco, and I hope it keeps doing well for you and is one of the ones that made it through the line built like it's supposed to be.
