Bachmann HO 2-8-0

How good of an engine is this one for a simple beginner layour, possibly with DCC at some point ?

Regards

Reply to
Rashputin
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I have one and it is excellent. A wealth of fine details, excellent smooth running mechanism. Reasonable price. Dependable, stays on the track. Can handle 18" curves. This is the locomotive that started the current trend of high quality molded plastic steam. Before this unit came on the market hand made brass, or lovingly superdetailed Bowser kits were the only route to decent steamers. Mine runs on straight DC, but it comes with so much wiring between loco and tender that it just has to be DCC ready. The only quibble I have with it, is that it is a little light, being made of plastic, and it cannot heave a long train up a grade. It can handle maybe 20 cars on the flat. On the other hand, the prototype could not handle much more, the prototype 2-8-0 was a medium to light locomotive used on shorter trains. If the looks of the locomotive appeal to you, you enjoy owning it.

David Starr

Reply to
David J. Starr

It's a very very good choice. BUT, so is its sister 4-6-0. You might want to think about how you plan to design and scenic and operate your layout.

2-8-0's were primarily a freight locomotive. Very few of them ever has steam heat connections for operating with passenger cars. Yes, 2-8-0's pulled passenger cars, but most often they would have been a branch line combine with a pot belly coal stove pulled along at the end of a stop everywhere mixed train. 4-6-0's were more of a mixed service loco - some early ones were bigger freight power than the ubiquitous 4-4-0's they replaced. Some were first line passenger power in the wooden car era (Casey Jones died highballing a 4-6-0). But by and large, a 4-6-0 could more reasonably be at home at the front of a short freight, a passenger train, a mixed train, or on a branch line.

I like to think of steam locomotives in pairs - pick any wheel arrangement with a 2 wheel pilot truck (most often a freight type loco), then substitute a 4 wheel pilot, subtract one set of drivers, and increase the driver diameter a bit, and you have a comparably sized mixed service/passenger loco that could share boilers, fireboxes, trailing trucks, etc. etc. This is more or less true for 2-6-0/4-4-0's, 2-8-0/4-6-0's, 2-10-2/4-8-2's,

2-10-4/4-8-4's, etc. Good examples can be found is several USRA pairs, and in several PRR classes. But my point in this is that to my eye, almost always the 4 wheel pilot trucked loco is a prettier, more graceful, better proportioned steam loco than its 2 wheel pilot truck counterpart. So for just one steam loco on a layout, if it makes sense with your scenery and operation plans, why not go with beauty (and flexibility) over brawn? Gary Q
Reply to
Geezer

Rashputin. Great locomotive. Great detail and good running. I've had one for five or six years with no problems. I also have nine other Bachmann Spectrum steam locomotives. They all run well and look good. Bruce

Reply to
Bruce Favinger

I'll second the 4-6-0's as an excellent choice. The Spectrum 2-10-0 is actually smaller than the 2-8-0 and is a good choice for freight but would look ok in front of a mixed train. Designed to be more forgiving on lighter rail they would be right at home on a branchline, a shortline or even as an industrial hauler. Bruce

Reply to
Bruce Favinger

Reply to
agpete

Reply to
agpete

I'm not sure I agree. For a beginner a steam locomotive is probably a poor choice, as by nature it's a higher maintenance and less reliable model due to the valve gear.

Don

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Reply to
Trainman

I'm not sure I follow your reasoning, Don. Why do you feel that valve gear lessens the relability? I ask because I have six Bachmann 2-8-0s now, and not one of them has ever given me a minute's trouble.

Reply to
mark_newton

As a general rule freight engines had two wheel pilots and passenger engines had 4 wheel pilots. Why? The high speed passenger locomotives traded off tractive effort for better ride at speed. Tractive effort on any sort of locomotive (steam, diesel, prototype, model) is coeffiecient of friction times weight on drivers. Coefficient of friction for metal on metal is about

0.25. Sanding the rails improves that somewhat. Therefore my locomotive pulls harder if ALL the weight of the locomotive is on the driven wheels. Hence the 0-X-0 wheel arrangement for switch engines which never go very fast. Once out of the yard and picking up speed, an 0-X-0 switcher begins to ride poorly, and the top speed is limited purely by the fear of derailment. The machinery has enough oomph to go much faster than is safe. To improve the ride at speed, pivoting pilot wheels lead the mass of the locomotive into the curve. As speed increases you need more weight on the pilot wheels to make them grip the track firmly enough to do any good. For typical freighter speeds (30 mph) two pilot wheels can carry enough weight to give a good ride. For passenger speeds (60+ mph) four pilot wheels are needed just to carry the additional weight needed on the pilot truck. The locomotive weight carried on the pilot truck subtracted from weight on drivers and reduced the tractive effort. So there were three compromises, the no-pilot-wheels switcher, the two-pilot-wheel freighters and the four-pilot-wheel passenger engines. The other mark of a passenger engine was larger drivers for higher speed.

David Starr

Reply to
David J. Starr

Huh?

I've had one for years and have never needed to do anything to it!

Doug Menke

Reply to
Douglas E. Menke

I regularly operate a large number of different steam locos on the local club's display layout. This includes many large articulated and duplex locos. I've been running a bunch of them for many years. I've almost NEVER had a problem with the valve gear.

Steam loco running problems are usually related to either bad driver quartering or side-rod hole spacing. Occasionally you might have a problem with a crosshead. The valve gear has little or nothing to do with any of these.

Such problems are usually either a manufacturing problem or a reassembly problem.

But, yes, steam locos are more complicated than Diesels, require more 'TLC', and must be handled more gently as they have lots of exposed mechanical parts. Mostly, that's what makes them 'neat'.

Dan Mitchell ============

Reply to
Daniel A. Mitchell

The Spectrum 2-8-0 was my choice as a first loco and has operated terrifically. Well, except when a circuit board fried for some reason. Took it to Mizel Trains for repair and I was starting to despair when they couldn't get a replacement board after about 8 weeks. But lo & behold, Bachmann sent an entirely new engine as a replacement. I was happy. I've since added a diesel to my small, eclectic layout but I love the steamer more.

Alan Dogs can fly. http://www.fly>

Reply to
Alan

50 years of fiddling with steamers to make them run right. I will admit that most of that is with older Mantua, MDC, Bowser etc, and a few pieces of Brass. Then there were the Rivarossis and Bachmans that had a disturbing tendancy to "throw a rod" at speed.

It's just that with more mechanical parts there's more places for potential trouble, which is why I recommend starting with diesels, then, as you get some experience in troubleshooting, graduate to steam.

Don

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Reply to
Trainman

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