Bachmann locos?

[RobertInOntario]

Apologies right away for not having more info on this! My son & I recently saw some CPR and CNR HO diesels for sale for only $39.99 at a heritage railway near Toronto. They were made by Bachmann -- I think they were models of GP30s or similar. My son wanted to buy one and I was tempted since the price was good and the detailing looked pretty good as well.

Bachmann Europe make some British steam & diesel locos and they're top-of-the-line -- very well detailed and superb running. However, I think the N. American version of Bachmann makes several budget -- or should I say, "ultra-budget" -- models that aren't that great. Even though the price was good and the detailing looked good too , on these North American Bachmann locos (the models my son & I saw), I didn't want to buy one because I immediately assumed they were no good.

Can anyone else offer any feedback re the quality of Bachmann's N. American locos? I'll try to provide more details when/if I can!

Thanks in advance,
Rob

[Steamtrains]

Sometime ago I purchased a Bachmann GP-7 and it runs quite nicely. I outfitted it with a Dtrax decoder and it runs just fine....
One of these days I'm going to speed match it with my SD-7 and run them as a consist....

[Justinmiller171]

The only Bachmann engine I ever owned was a Santa Fe F3 that came with my first trainset I bought a few years ago, I have to say it was the best running DC engine I ever owned out of my small collection.

Bachmann has two lines of engines: Standard and Spectrum. I think all Spectrum engines are DCC-equiped, but I have heard that their decoders aren't the best.

[Green_Elite_Cab]

There are about three different versions of Bachmann you can buy:

Standard- This is the "budget" models. Standard models actually vary in quality, from not bad (recent E60CP offerings), to just terrible (current GP40). Many more recent Bachmann Standard models are "alright", but many more are just reruns of old tooling on newer frames.

Standard w/ DCC- All the same things with bachmann's in house cheap decoder. I haven't had run into any issues with their decoders. Several of these bachmann GP30s run around at my club with no issues, and are not bad in quality (though if you want a good GP30, you may want to look for p2k).

Spectrum- Spectrum is the top of the line as far as bachmann goes. Again, large variety in quality, with detail and accuracy varying from model to model, though all generally better than most other offerings. Won't compete with Atlas or Athearn Genesis, but at a higher level than Athearn RTR, or basic Walthers locomotives.

All in all, if you like the way it looks (and don't mind the weird headlight), you should be fine if you go for it.

[FCIN]

Rob;

I see that M. B. Klein is selling Bachmann GP-30's, GP-35's and GP-40's for $39.99 USD and they are DCC equipped. Not available from them in CN or CP paint though. The decoders are very basic and you are pretty much limited to setting the starting and top voltage values. They seem to perform better on 128 speed steps too. I'm pretty sure that a better decoder could be installed as a drop in replacement for the Bachmann board should you desire to do so. The price is certainly not bad and the detail looks to be pretty good too. The Bachmann box will be marked "DCC Inside" (or something similar) if you're in doubt about it.

The only Bachmann DCC equipped loco's that I have are a couple of their outstanding GE 45 tonners which run really smooth on either DC or DCC.

[RobertInOntario]

There are about three different versions of Bachmann you can buy:
Standard- This is the "budget" models. Standard models actually vary in quality, from not bad (recent E60CP offerings), to just terrible (current GP40). Many more recent Bachmann Standard models are "alright", but many more are just reruns of old tooling on newer frames.
Standard w/ DCC- All the same things with bachmann's in house cheap decoder. I haven't had run into any issues with their decoders. Several of these bachmann GP30s run around at my club with no issues, and are not bad in quality (though if you want a good GP30, you may want to look for p2k).
Spectrum- Spectrum is the top of the line as far as bachmann goes. Again, large variety in quality, with detail and accuracy varying from model to model, though all generally better than most other offerings. Won't compete with Atlas or Athearn Genesis, but at a higher level than Athearn RTR, or basic Walthers locomotives.
All in all, if you like the way it looks (and don't mind the weird headlight), you should be fine if you go for it.

Thanks for all of this feedback folks -- very helpful. I was almost ready to consider getting one of these again until I read the comment above... There is a good chance that these locos are GP40 models as they were either GP30s or GP40s (can't quite remember). I don't run DCC so I'm not too concerned there.

Next time I make it back to this railway museum, if I see that they are GP40 models, I'll completely avoid them but might reconsider if they're GP30s, etc.

Thanks again,
Rob

[Green_Elite_Cab]

Thanks for all of this feedback folks -- very helpful. I was almost ready to consider getting one of these again until I read the comment above... There is a good chance that these locos are GP40 models as they were either GP30s or GP40s (can't quite remember). I don't run DCC so I'm not too concerned there.

Next time I make it back to this railway museum, if I see that they are GP40 models, I'll completely avoid them but might reconsider if they're GP30s, etc.

Thanks again,
Rob

Its probably a GP30, since i don't see any canadian GP40s, but there were CP GP30s available.

For some reason I thought the GP30 was formerly part of Bachmann's Spectrum line. I sometimes get the feeling that Bachmann is trying to gear their products towards kids, at least when i look at their diesel collection. its all very basic, few details to damage, even on the spectrum line. their EZ command set looks like a toy, and kids are the ones playing with it on the boxes.

again, the GP30 should be fine, but in general with bachmann products, always inspect before you buy.

[Russ Bellinis]

Many of their body shells have been used with more detail in the Spectrum line while they may use the same body without all of the extra detail in their toy line. To make matters even more complicated, they also sometimes make a decent running model with minimal detail.

[RobertInOntario]

Thanks for all of this feedback folks -- very helpful. I was almost ready to consider getting one of these again until I read the comment above... There is a good chance that these locos are GP40 models as they were either GP30s or GP40s (can't quite remember). I don't run DCC so I'm not too concerned there.

Next time I make it back to this railway museum, if I see that they are GP40 models, I'll completely avoid them but might reconsider if they're GP30s, etc.

Thanks again,
Rob

Its probably a GP30, since i don't see any canadian GP40s, but there were CP GP30s available.
For some reason I thought the GP30 was formerly part of Bachmann's Spectrum line. I sometimes get the feeling that Bachmann is trying to gear their products towards kids, at least when i look at their diesel collection. its all very basic, few details to damage, even on the spectrum line. their EZ command set looks like a toy, and kids are the ones playing with it on the boxes.
again, the GP30 should be fine, but in general with bachmann products, always inspect before you buy.

Thanks -- this has me curious & interested again, i.e. that they could well have been the better-running GP30s. As far as I could tell, the details looked pretty good to me. They had these locos in current CNR and CPR colours, as well as one in 1950s/60s maroon and grey livery -- that's the one I'd be interested in. I'll check it out further if I get a chance.

Cheers, Rob

[RobertInOntario]

The loco that I saw (especially see my posting just above) could well have been this loco --
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Sure looks like it & the price is similar.

Rob

[Squidbait]

Robert,

A quick check of the box will tell you whether they are the newer "better" Bachmann locos or the older trainset (poor) quality ones. If the box is blue (it may or may not say "DCC on Board" in the lower right corner) it's one of the newer ones. They are actually fairly decent, they have a split-frame metal chassis, a mid-mounted motor, flywheels, and LEDs for headlights. I have installed Tsunamis in several of them (GP7s, RS3s, GP38s) and they run quite well with a good decoder.

If the box is white, it is likely old stock, of the train-set quality stuff, which you can pick up at model railroad shows for considerably less than $40.

[Justinmiller171]

If the box is white, it is likely old stock, of the train-set quality stuff, which you can pick up at model railroad shows for considerably less than $40.

Train-set quality does not necessarily mean that it is bad, I got my first bachmann trainset at a trainshow for $25, it had an f7 that ran great and had fairly good detail.

[Squidbait]

True. To be fair, for the last 10 years or so the Bachmann F7 was actually a huge improvement over the old one. The newer one had a metal chassis, mid-mount motor and 8-wheel pickup and drive. The earlier versions had a plastic chassis with metal weights in the fuel tank, maybe 8-wheel pickup, and a power truck or two which tended to give on-off throttle response.

If the box is white, it is likely old stock, of the train-set quality stuff, which you can pick up at model railroad shows for considerably less than $40.

Train-set quality does not necessarily mean that it is bad, I got my first bachmann trainset at a trainshow for $25, it had an f7 that ran great and had fairly good detail.

[RobertInOntario]

Robert,

A quick check of the box will tell you whether they are the newer "better" Bachmann locos or the older trainset (poor) quality ones. If the box is blue (it may or may not say "DCC on Board" in the lower right corner) it's one of the newer ones. They are actually fairly decent, they have a split-frame metal chassis, a mid-mounted motor, flywheels, and LEDs for headlights. I have installed Tsunamis in several of them (GP7s, RS3s, GP38s) and they run quite well with a good decoder.

If the box is white, it is likely old stock, of the train-set quality stuff, which you can pick up at model railroad shows for considerably less than $40.

Thanks! Hmm, if I recall correctly, I'm pretty sure the box is white!
Rob

[Genetk44]

About a week ago I bought a DCC on Board Bachmann GP9 in CN green/gold/black livery and its a wonderful runner. Great slow running, smooth and absolutely quiet...for $66.00 it can't be beat...I'm going to put a Tsunami sound decoder into it.
Chhers
Gene