I was very reluctant to purchase the new Bachmann 4-6-0 ten wheeler
based on the comments made by individuals on two forums that I
occasionally overview. The chief complaints made in several threads
concerning the Bachmann 4-6-0 ten wheeler was that front pilot truck
constantly derailed, the crank pins came loose after minimum usage and
the locomotive wobbled as it ran on the track. Also noted was the
over-sized tender used by Bachmann behind this locomotive.
Another issue is the large knuckle couplers that Bachmann installed on the front pilot and rear of the tender. On the early versions of Bachmann Spectrum steam locomotives, the coupler on the front pilot was a dummy coupler and the coupler on the rear of the tender was a Rapido coupler. This philosophy of couplers was changed on the re-release of the Spectrum 2-6-6-2 Mallet and the Spectrum 2-8-0 Consolidation. The Spectrum "Heavy Mountain" also was released with the larger knuckle couplers on the front pilot and the rear of the tender.
The decoder Bachmann uses in the 4-6-0 is a very basic two function decoder that is wired to a board in the tender. This decoder doesn't have BEMF. This type of decoder Bachmann has used in the release of the "Heavy Mountain" and re-release in the 2-6-6-2 Mallet and 2-8-0 "Consolidation". A more serviceable decoder can be installed in this steamer with some creative wiring.
To fix the front pilot derailment problem it was suggested by several users to turn the front pilot truck upside down as the factory installed the front pilot truck in the wrong position. The loose crank pins were fixed by using some "Loctite". The wobble in the locomotive could be fixed by changing the value of CV 2 to 0. This worked in some cases but not all. Some users found that by running the locomotive for an extended period of time solved the "wobbling" The over-sized tender could be fixed by changing the tender out to a smaller Bachmann tender.
The large knuckle coupler on the front pilot and the rear of the tender can easily be solved by using a MT Z scale #905 coupler on the front pilot and by body mounting a MT Z scale #905 coupler on the rear frame of the tender.
So after much thought and deliberation, I decided to purchase two undecorated Bachmann 4-6-0 ten wheelers from one online vendor. I received both locomotives this past week and programmed both locomotives with ATSF road numbers.
I then put both locomotives through detailed testing on the mainline of the "New" JJJ&E. The first thing I expected was the front pilot truck to derail on both locomotives. After an hour of testing, the front pilot truck of both locomotives didn't derail. The mainline of the "New" JJJ&E has four double crossovers and 71 #6 switches/turnouts. There wasn't a hint of a derailment problem on any of these potential trouble spots. So the front pilot really wasn't an issue on the two locomotives that I purchased.
When running these new Bachmann 4-6-0 ten wheelers at various speeds and in both directions for over an hour, none of the crank pins loosened. Could I have received two magical Bachmann 4-6-0's that don't exhibit faulty crank pins? I guess so. They most certainly weren't pre-tested by the vendor that sold me the locomotives, as he doesn't do that. He just sells and ships locomotives.
Also noted during the one hour running of both Bachmann 4-6-0 locomotives on the mainline of the JJJ&E for over an hour, there was no wobbling, hitch, or any hesitation in either locomotive. I did change CV 2 to 0 from the factory pre-set value of 1 as this value allowed each locomotive to creep along at a speed of one tie at a time without stalling during any part of the test. The "New" JJJ&E is powered by DCC using a NCE Radio Controlled Power Pro.
In regards to the over-sized tender, I do have several smaller Spectrum tenders that I could exchange, but decided to the leave the tenders as is, for the time being. The tender did seem to be over-sized and Bachmann should have used a smaller tender.
I then decided to purchase another Bachmann 4-6-0 ten wheeler from another dealer as maybe the two locomotives I purchased from the original online vendor was a fluke. I ordered a Southern Bachmann 4-6-0 from the second vendor. My good friend Alhoop, a member of this forum should be pleased as he wondered where my Southern locomotives were on the "New" JJJ&E.
Al, three of my Southern steamers are in the Roundhouse. I haven't unpacked the small Southern diesels yet except for a BLI Southern E-7 "AA" Unit. Most of my Southern rolling stock still hasn't been unpacked although a few cars are scattered on the layout.
I received my Southern Bachmann 4-6-0 ten wheeler yesterday and put it through the same testing as the first two locomotives. To my amazement, the results of the testing were the same. There was no front truck derailment, no crank pins loosened, and the locomotive didn't wobble, have a hitch or hesitate at all during the one hour testing.
So after testing three different Bachmann 4-6-0 locomotives from two dealers, I can recommend them highly. The only thing I did notice was that the motor of this locomotive was noisier than other Bachmann locomotives. It must be noted that the Bachmann 4-6-0 isn't a Spectrum locomotive. However, the paint and detailing is very crisp and the pulling power of this locomotive is exceptional for it's size. It easily pulled 20 forty foot box cars on level track. I don't plan to run this locomotive pulling twenty cars, but it tested out that way.
However if you do purchase this locomotive, please be-aware that some problems mentioned above do exist and can easily be rectified. I must have been very lucky with the three Bachmann 4-6-0 ten wheelers that I purchased.
Below are photo's of the Bachmann Southern 4-6-0.
Another issue is the large knuckle couplers that Bachmann installed on the front pilot and rear of the tender. On the early versions of Bachmann Spectrum steam locomotives, the coupler on the front pilot was a dummy coupler and the coupler on the rear of the tender was a Rapido coupler. This philosophy of couplers was changed on the re-release of the Spectrum 2-6-6-2 Mallet and the Spectrum 2-8-0 Consolidation. The Spectrum "Heavy Mountain" also was released with the larger knuckle couplers on the front pilot and the rear of the tender.
The decoder Bachmann uses in the 4-6-0 is a very basic two function decoder that is wired to a board in the tender. This decoder doesn't have BEMF. This type of decoder Bachmann has used in the release of the "Heavy Mountain" and re-release in the 2-6-6-2 Mallet and 2-8-0 "Consolidation". A more serviceable decoder can be installed in this steamer with some creative wiring.
To fix the front pilot derailment problem it was suggested by several users to turn the front pilot truck upside down as the factory installed the front pilot truck in the wrong position. The loose crank pins were fixed by using some "Loctite". The wobble in the locomotive could be fixed by changing the value of CV 2 to 0. This worked in some cases but not all. Some users found that by running the locomotive for an extended period of time solved the "wobbling" The over-sized tender could be fixed by changing the tender out to a smaller Bachmann tender.
The large knuckle coupler on the front pilot and the rear of the tender can easily be solved by using a MT Z scale #905 coupler on the front pilot and by body mounting a MT Z scale #905 coupler on the rear frame of the tender.
So after much thought and deliberation, I decided to purchase two undecorated Bachmann 4-6-0 ten wheelers from one online vendor. I received both locomotives this past week and programmed both locomotives with ATSF road numbers.
I then put both locomotives through detailed testing on the mainline of the "New" JJJ&E. The first thing I expected was the front pilot truck to derail on both locomotives. After an hour of testing, the front pilot truck of both locomotives didn't derail. The mainline of the "New" JJJ&E has four double crossovers and 71 #6 switches/turnouts. There wasn't a hint of a derailment problem on any of these potential trouble spots. So the front pilot really wasn't an issue on the two locomotives that I purchased.
When running these new Bachmann 4-6-0 ten wheelers at various speeds and in both directions for over an hour, none of the crank pins loosened. Could I have received two magical Bachmann 4-6-0's that don't exhibit faulty crank pins? I guess so. They most certainly weren't pre-tested by the vendor that sold me the locomotives, as he doesn't do that. He just sells and ships locomotives.
Also noted during the one hour running of both Bachmann 4-6-0 locomotives on the mainline of the JJJ&E for over an hour, there was no wobbling, hitch, or any hesitation in either locomotive. I did change CV 2 to 0 from the factory pre-set value of 1 as this value allowed each locomotive to creep along at a speed of one tie at a time without stalling during any part of the test. The "New" JJJ&E is powered by DCC using a NCE Radio Controlled Power Pro.
In regards to the over-sized tender, I do have several smaller Spectrum tenders that I could exchange, but decided to the leave the tenders as is, for the time being. The tender did seem to be over-sized and Bachmann should have used a smaller tender.
I then decided to purchase another Bachmann 4-6-0 ten wheeler from another dealer as maybe the two locomotives I purchased from the original online vendor was a fluke. I ordered a Southern Bachmann 4-6-0 from the second vendor. My good friend Alhoop, a member of this forum should be pleased as he wondered where my Southern locomotives were on the "New" JJJ&E.
Al, three of my Southern steamers are in the Roundhouse. I haven't unpacked the small Southern diesels yet except for a BLI Southern E-7 "AA" Unit. Most of my Southern rolling stock still hasn't been unpacked although a few cars are scattered on the layout.
I received my Southern Bachmann 4-6-0 ten wheeler yesterday and put it through the same testing as the first two locomotives. To my amazement, the results of the testing were the same. There was no front truck derailment, no crank pins loosened, and the locomotive didn't wobble, have a hitch or hesitate at all during the one hour testing.
So after testing three different Bachmann 4-6-0 locomotives from two dealers, I can recommend them highly. The only thing I did notice was that the motor of this locomotive was noisier than other Bachmann locomotives. It must be noted that the Bachmann 4-6-0 isn't a Spectrum locomotive. However, the paint and detailing is very crisp and the pulling power of this locomotive is exceptional for it's size. It easily pulled 20 forty foot box cars on level track. I don't plan to run this locomotive pulling twenty cars, but it tested out that way.
However if you do purchase this locomotive, please be-aware that some problems mentioned above do exist and can easily be rectified. I must have been very lucky with the three Bachmann 4-6-0 ten wheelers that I purchased.
Below are photo's of the Bachmann Southern 4-6-0.
 |
| Southern 4-6-0 |
 |
| Southern 4-6-0 |
 |
| Old Sepia Photo Of Southern 4-6-0 |
No comments:
Post a Comment