Comments on: Are Bachmann Spectrum Locomotives Any Good? (HO Scale)

By: Paul Pietrak

Paul Pietrak — Sun, 04 Oct 2009 23:29:30 +0000

I have Bachmann 2-10-0, 4-4-0, two 4-6-0s, two Climax and the Shay. All great models BUT The Shay truck had to be replaced due to a broken gear. The two Climax have gear problems and the 4-6-0s both don’t run over a insulated frog for some reason. (not all the time)in reverse is okey sometimes.I did contact North West Short Line ( http://www.nwsl.com) they have a gear replacement for the Shay and MAY work on one for the Climax. As for the 4-6-0s what to, do what to do.any ideas?

By: Richard

Richard — Sun, 28 Dec 2008 16:58:52 +0000

I have a HO Spectrum 4-4-0 and 4-6-0. Very nice details and very good runners. A USRA medium tender I bought to connect to the 4-6-0 has different wiring and had to be modified. There are quite a few issues with the Spectrum wiring for DCC. Go look at the Bachmann forums for details.

By: Alex van Breda

Alex van Breda — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 09:44:01 +0000

I have a HO Bachmann Spectrum 2-6-6-2. One of the idler gears in the gear tower of the back drivetrain lost a tooth, rendering the loco useless, as it got stuck. It does not seem that Bachmann has spare parts though. The idler gear has 18 teeth. Can one make a resin copy of another gear that is fine?

By: Author of Interacting with Miniature Railroading

Author of Interacting with Miniature Railroading — Wed, 24 Sep 2008 04:58:05 +0000

Bob, You can replace the running gear by buying a replacement set from BOWSER.

The Lionel GS4 is hopeless. Take the gears out of it and have a kitbashed Athearn ALCo PA drive mounted in the tender. It’s a fairly involved kitbash that’ll yield an acceptable result.

The Bachmann puls locomotive probably has a nice-running can motor if it comes in the White Box with the blue stripes.It’s not DCC ready though.

If it’s in the Gray box, sell that locomotive and purchase the NEW bachmann DCC-equipped version, it has a STUNNING, ACCURATE new paintjob, and it’s worth every penny. I almost bought one today while I was at the hobby shop. They’re about $99.00.

By: Eric Peterson

Eric Peterson — Tue, 23 Sep 2008 21:05:06 +0000

I have a Bachmann Plus HO GS4 AFT engine/tender. Can you tell me what type of motor that might have in it? Also, I have a 1975 Lionel HO AFT engine/tender. Same query. Unfortunately, I have a mid-80’s Bachmann HO GS4 Daylight that I think has the dreaded pancake motor. I’m looking to switch the Lionel AFT (if it has a better motor) and Daylight shells to give the Daylight better run capability. Doable or not? Thanks,

Eric

By: Bob Kearney

Bob Kearney — Thu, 04 Sep 2008 06:52:31 +0000

Hello,
Do you have any idea when the Spectrum Pennsy K-4 Pacific 4-6-2 came out.
I have one and would like to replace the running gear but looks like I cant get on to spares for this.
Regards,
Bob

By: Building a Good Locomotive Roster. « Interacting with Miniature Railroading

Building a Good Locomotive Roster. « Interacting with Miniature Railroading — Thu, 03 Jul 2008 10:34:58 +0000

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