New Bachmann 4-8-2

W

Wyomingite

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Hi all,

I was wondering if anyone on the gauge purchased the new Bachmann 4-8-2 steam engine. I recieved mine yesterday and its a very beautiful engine to say the very least. Needless to say I could'nt wait to see it run and what a disappointment.

The thing tracks like its on ice and the more I ran it the worst it got. I no train repairment but I'm thinking the traction tires are not sitting low enough to give it any traction to speak of.

I have a little grade on my layout but nothing to be concerned about as all my other steamers including my Mallets with no traction tires have no problems at all. Has anyone had the same problem and any input would be greatly apprediated.

Ron:curse: :curse: :cry: :cry: :thumb:
 
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billk

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Jun 12, 2001
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Hey Ron - I extracted this from a thread on the Bachmann forum - maybe it will be of some help:
As many of you know, I and others have been struggling with the anemic pulling power of the Spectrum Mountain. Many suggestions have been put forth to remedy the problems, from filing down the blocks of the non-traction tires, to increasing weight, to removing the trailing truck spring, to shimming the traction tire block. I am happy to report that I have gone from a loco which could not pull five cars up a 2% grade to a loco which now pulls twenty up it without slowing down at all. How did I do it? Well, in taking it apart to try a few remedies, I removed the traction tire wheel to examine it. I noticed a slight difference in the dimension of the block which seats the traction tire wheel. Or at least I thought I did. I figured, no, it can't be that easy. Well, I simply rotated the block 1/4 turn so the dimension was the other orientation, put it back together and ran the loco. Voila! Now, with the Spectrum Consolidation, this is the most powerful loco on my layout. It is simply that the traction tire was too high to make full contact. I don't know why this should be, but it is. Try it. It takes one minute, by simply removing the retaining plate on the bottom and pulling out the TT wheel. Be careful in your orientations because the two blocks on either side of the wheel rotate independantly. It may take a couple tries to orient them the correct way.
Click to expand...

For the full thread, go here, and look for a thread called "My soluton to the Spectrum Mountain".

There's also a thread, from the same guy, I think, on the Atlas forum here.

Regards, billk
 
W

Wyomingite

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Hi Billk,

I read the thread and gave it a try but nothing has changed. Its really funny it will back up twelve cars with no trouble at all. Forwards it just spins like on ice. I have it packed and in the morning it will be heading back to 4NScale. Thanks again'

Ron :( :( :(
 
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Cinnibar

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Northern

Ron,

Sorry to hear your Northern didn't pan out. I followed thru the comments at the Bachman site and it sounded like they were on to something but I don't blame you for sending it back. In my opinion Bachmann's engineering is right on the mark but I think they must have some manufacturing process and/or quality problems at their China assembly plant. I bought two of the 2-8-0's. The first one ran like silk right out of the box and is even smoother a year later. The second one was a totally different story. I put it on the main, eased in some power, it started to move and then locked up tighter than a drum. After disassembly and inspection I found the drivers way out of "quarter" and the valve gear all out of wack. I "eyeball" quartered the drivers and set the valve gear position using my other engine. Viola - that did it! It runs as good as the first one. BUT..........no one should have to go through that with a new engine. The only reason I didn't return it is that an old friend hobby shop owner gave it to me at a ridiculously low price and I just didn't want to hassle him. Bachmann is doing some great things in N scale but I think they probably know they have yet to get a handle on what must be incredibly complex assembly process'(artistic endeavors?). I sure hope you new one is a winner! :)
 
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Arlaghan

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I dont' own one of these locomotives (but I'd sure like to!) but reading the solution posted above got me thinking...

If you could rotate the block to "lower" the 3rd driver... couldn't you do the same thing to the other 3 drivers to "raise" them? That would make the driver with the traction tire take the brunt of the weight...

Just thinking outloud here... :D
 
W

Wyomingite

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Hi Guys,

Well theres sure nothing wrong with thinking out loud. Needless to say others input into problems is what I'm here for and I have recieved some great information. Looking at some of the other forums I noticed there is problems with this 4-8-2.
Just a minute ago the door bell rang and what showed up was my second 4-8-2. Now I really have my fingers crossed but glad it did arrive as I did'nt get to the post office yet. To be honest I feel the guy who rotated the blocks was very lucky but was the only one who solved the problem doing so.
I had no luck doing it and in fact things got worse. After rotating the blocks the third time the engine only moved forward a short distance then stopped. I reversed it and it backed up beautiful and never slipped a wheel. I again moved the blocks and it just slipped on the track like it was ice.
One of the guys on another forum filed down the blocks squarly and then added shims and that cured the problem. Like I mentioned I'm no train repairman but rotating the blocks is very simple to do. I have six Kato Mikes and bought the traction tire kits for all of them so know how to do that. I also feel Bachmann has quality problems and sure wonder if they run checks at the plant on how they really run. I also have two of there 2-8-0s and had to return both has they had the bad wobble. I also feel Bachmann is making some great steps in bringing more steam engines to us N-scalers and believe me when I say this is one beautiful steam engine to say the very least about it. I'm sure the problem will be solved but most likely in the second run. I would advise anyone who wants one to wait until that happens. Well I'll let you guys know how the second one runs tonight.

Ron:thumb: :thumb: :thumb:
 
W

Wyomingite

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Well I tested the new 4-8-2 this afternoon and happy to report its a whole lot better but not as good as I feel it should be. It pulled twelve cars with no problems but just after adding two more it started to slip again. I sure feel Bachmann needs to address this problem as most model railroaders are sure not going to be happy with that kind of pulling power. For anyone with any kind of grades I would stay away from it for now. Tonight I'm going to add some weight to the cab and see if that changes anything. I'll also give it several more hours of running time to see if it loosens up some more. Both my 2-8=0s took several hours before they ran well. I'll give this one a week and if its not any better I'll return both and wait for the second run.

Ron :cry: :cry: :thumb:
 
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Cinnibar

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4-8-2

Ron,

Sorry to hear that. Not all that impressive - that is for sure! It would be nice to hear how other owners weigh in on this engine. I guess the Bachmann site would be best for that. It is sure enough a beauty but it will have to pull better than that to attract any buyers. Please keep us posted.............. :(
 
W

Wyomingite

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Hi There,

Well the second one did'nt make three hours. I was working at my bench when I heard it spinning. It was hung up on one of my bridges and could'nt move. I tried to back it up and it went about six inches and started spinning again. I really thought it thru the traction tires but they were still there. I'm going return them both and horse trade them for two Model Power Pacifics with the new tenders. Hopefully the second run will be a big improvement.

Ron :cry: :cry: :thumb:
 
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