Erm, Bachmann. I've given them my money countless times, and all I get in return is spotty quality. Some can be good runners that last FOREVER and work great, but none of my bachmann stuff, EVEN THE SPECTRUM. I've sold or scrapped nearly every Bachmann I owned. There is one glimmer of hope though. ONE of my 5+ (at one time) bachmann engines ( A plus F7) seens to run like a charm. I had a daylight whose axles split, a 4-4-0 that decintegrated, a 0-6-0 that runs spotty, a pair of F7 that sound like a howling cat, and a SPECTRUM 2-8-0 that had major pickup problems and belt drive slippage, not to mention it's total lack of ability to take cars up a grade.
A friend lent me his Dash 840 C, and IT CAN'T GO AROUND 18" radius curves without alot of problems!! I keep giving them a chance though, with the (maybe false) hope of actually getting a good locomotive from them... Sigh!