which Bachmann

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dburdick

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Hello all! Im brand new to g scale. I have been doing Ho dcc for a couple of years now, and I want to branch out into G. I have plenty of room, over an acre, to build on. I have been seeing good things about bachmann big haulers, and I think I'd like a used 4-6-0. How do I tell a new, all metal gear one from eariler plastic gear ones. Also, does this website have classifieds? Who is the best source for track? Thanks all! Doug
 
dburdick said:
Hello all! Im brand new to g scale. I have been doing Ho dcc for a couple of years now, and I want to branch out into G. I have plenty of room, over an acre, to build on. I have been seeing good things about bachmann big haulers, and I think I'd like a used 4-6-0. How do I tell a new, all metal gear one from eariler plastic gear ones. Also, does this website have classifieds? Who is the best source for track? Thanks all! Doug
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Welcome to the forum Doug. I'm sure you'll get all the help you need. Just beware of the awful jokes. Are you close to any other garden railway folks?
 
Not to rain on anyones parade, but while Bachmann makes beautiful models, their engineering department lags behind.
 
Madman said:
Not to rain on anyones parade, but while Bachmann makes beautiful models, their engineering department lags behind.
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Well, it could be argued that now that their engineering department has caught up with the likes of LGB, so have their prices o_Oo_Oo_O
 
So, should I avoid starter kits? I'm thinking of a 4-4-0, or 4-6-0. Any suggestions? I'd like something with metal rods. Bachmann doesn't sound too bad, but which ones are good quality verses toy quality?
 
What Bachmann calls their Anniversary Edition 4-6-0, "Annie", and is usuall sold by itself without cars, comes with metal rods and a different chassis than the Big Hauler 4-6-0, which often come in sets but are sometimes available individually.
The 4 Big Hauler 4-6-0 I have all came in sets & I bought them because they were sets; 3 with a pair of passenger cars each; one with a reefer and caboose.
The 1 Annie 4-6-0 I got was sold in a very long box by itself.

Mine of each of the above which were bought with disability settlement lump sum back pay in 2009 and 2010 are a different generation than the current new release Anniversary 4-6-0, which also advertised as having a different tender than the generation I bought.
Metal gears are standard in the new "Annie" from what I've read.

About valve gear, the Bachmann 4-6-0 which show no outside valve gear are correct in being that way as they represent locomotives with Stephenson style valve gear which worked off eccentrics mounted on the axles.

Probably for price point reasons, since molding parts and applying parts costs money, Bachmann omits the external arm and rod to the steam valves in the square chests on top of the cylinders; those parts can be seen in various arrangements on various real 4-6-0 of the era.
The large scale Spectrum series 4-4-0 and 2-6-0 which I have seen do have those details included.

I don't consider either the Big Hauler 4-6-0 or the Annie 4-6-0 to be 'toys', as they are not at all designed to be pushed around the family room carpet. They will do fine on track laid on that carpet, but they truly do belong on rails.

Their body castings did in fact originate years ago as what I would class as a toy, a battery operated remote control version with non-conductive plastic wheels.
The boilers are bulky because of the need to accommodate a number of flashlight batteries.

Used with the same deliberate care applied to O and HO trains, and also not overloaded with dozens of cars to pull, they will do fine.

And their design has served my purposes in that the Big Haulers are basic models which those of us who enjoy adding details can have a lot of fun with.
 
dburdick said:
but which ones are good quality verses toy quality?
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In relation to that, it could be useful to have the skill of looking past surface appearances.
For instance ...
In the set box and fresh out of the set box, the Big Hauler in Pennsy colors looked very much 'toy'.
But look again after I started having fun with it.

True, it is still the same motor and gearbox which are Not going to haul mile long drag freights up Swiss mountain grades, but give it 4 passenger cars, or 6 freight cars and a caboose, and it has happily run for a couple hours at a time on many occasions on a fiend's garden railway.

And yes, it has the plastic rods; which I will say are lightweight, durable, and forgiving.
Though with the model having gear driven drivers those plastic rods don't have to be anything else, they are merely tagging along for the ride.
The Annie 4-6-0 with its heavier metal rods needs to have a little bit more attention paid to those parts, not much more, but a little bit more.

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Making locomotives robust enough for the environment they're used in whilst giving them enough detailing to make them realistic, must be quite a job. Any fine detail is often too flimsy to last long. That's why there is so many generic live steam engines. A highly detailed model is lovely, but also a pain trying to keep intact
 
I have also the 2 versions of this Bachmann locos (one in the ETWNC livery same as yours, one with SPC livery)

When you state :
" metal rods needs to have a little bit more attention paid to those parts "
Can you tell us something more ?
What are you doing ? (lubrification ?)
 
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