Made in China, the locomotive is marketed in Bachmann’s Spectrum line of higher-end model railroad products. The model is a downsized version of Bachmann’s same highly successful engine in HO. It matches no prototype exactly but is quite close to the dimensions of an Illinois Central 900-series engine drawn by Bruce Meyer for the April 1958 Model Railroader. Those were circa-1910 Baldwin productions rebuilt in the late 1930s. Railroads all over the country ran similar engines.
More 2-8-0 Consolidations were built than any other steam locomotive type, and they were the typical everyday freight haulers of the 1890s into the 1920s when 2-8-2 Mikados were taking over that role. Many Consolidations, often relegated to branchline and switching duties, lasted until the steam era ended in the 1950s.
This model is soundly engineered and, despite the abundance of parts, is easy to disassemble. Turn the tender 90 degrees sideways to the engine and it separates easily. Detach the rear cab handrails at the bottom. Shove the rear of the shell up and forward, and once it’s started, pry the cab pilot ladders free of the smokebox.
The heart of the design is the metal frame that’s split vertically into electrically isolated halves, as most quality N scale diesels are today. (The uppermost screw connecting the halves on my model was missing but operating performance was evidently unaffected.)
The frame holds the gears and drivers in alignment and provides a mount for the small five-pole, skewed armature, open-frame motor. The motor plugs into the frame and is secured by a screw. The cap on the rear bearing serves no function as far as I can see, so you could remove it and paint the back of the motor black to make it disappear.
On the motor’s drive shaft is a brass worm that engages a pair of plastic spur gears, one above the other, transferring the power down to gears on the axles of the middle pair of drivers. Power to the remaining drivers is via the siderods. This strikes me as a better system than gearing all the axles, as is often done with N scale steamers, because it makes potential siderod bind less likely.
My engine ran well, with just a hint of a bind at the slowest speed, and actually ran better after I’d taken it apart and put it back together. (I didn’t take out the drivers, though, and I recommend you don’t either.) I’ve seen Web reports that some of these engines did not run well. One simple trick that often works is to loosen the screws on the bottom cover plate a smidge. The engine should pull about 21 cars on straight and level track.
The driver axles are mounted in bronze bearings that float in slots in the frame, a very nice feature that helps the mechanism keep itself aligned.
Bachmann has given some thought to DCC decoder installation and the motor is isolated from the frame. If you take out the weight behind the headlight, there’s room for a Lenz or Digitrax miniature decoder. The gray and orange motor leads would go to the decoder (I’d splice them to the decoder’s wires rather than try to solder to the decoder itself). The decoder’s red and black wires would go to the posts the motor wires are presently connected to. Note these wires are not soldered to the posts, but are wedged in place by a plastic clip.
The model comes equipped with a Rapido-style coupler on the tender. This can easily be replaced with a Micro-Trains no. 1129. The front coupler is a scale dummy. Micro-Trains recommends its 2004-1 kit as a replacement. Squeeze the tabs together behind the pilot to remove the stock coupler.
This is the most highly detailed plastic N scale locomotive ever made is inherently delicate. You more rambunctious modelers will need to mend your ways and handle the model carefully. My locomotive is missing the left rear cab handrail (I don’t know if it was there at the beginning), and I found the power reverse lying loose in the box. Again, I don’t know if I dislodged it or if it was never attached. This is a well-engineered, good-running locomotive that takes N scale steam to new heights of detailing.
Price: $135
Manufacturer:
Bachmann Industries
1400 E. Erie Ave.
Philadelphia, PA 19124
www.bachmanntrains.com
Description:
Plastic and metal ready-to-run steam locomotive
Features:
Complete valve gear
Convertible to DCC
Directional headlight
Drawbar pull: .09 ounces
Engine weight: 3.5 ounces
Minimum radius: 9¾”
No wires to tender
16-wheel electrical pickup
Road names:
Union Pacific
Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe
Baltimore & Ohio
Boston & Maine
Chicago, Rock Island & Pacific
Clinchfield
New York Central
Nickel Plate Road
Southern Ry. (green)
Western Maryland (fireball)
Western Pacific
Painted, but unlettered
