Model Railroading > Bachman FA

I've never owned a Bachman product and would like to hear others opinion of them. I see they've released an FA in a variety of schemes and I'm particularly interested in the EL version. How well do they do in the detail and paint department? How are they mechanically?

Thanks,

James Adeney
Toronto, Ont.

Generally, they are trainset quality meaning high rate of failure and repair. If it is still under warranty they do not repair it they send your old body back with a new chassis under it. Probably not worth your aggravation. If you want an FA you will not find many options.

The newer Bachman steamers are much higher quality.

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Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 11/30/11 19:12 by fbe.

James,

Bachmann's early efforts and some of their low cost "train set" locomotives, leave much to be desired. Some of their newer efforts are very good. Many folks here will say nothing positive of Bachmann products. Myself, I've had some that self destructed and some others that are giving me very good performance.

J.

Walthers Trainline has a FA, not sure if they have a EL, but mine is a good puller, Ed

Hey James.

While other posters are correct regarding the quality, Bachmann has one thing going for them - a LIFETIME limited warranty. It may not sound like much and many manufacturers will supply replacements for broken or missing parts at no charge, but do they offer to replace the locomotive AFTER the warranty has expired?

Case in point: I have an older model BM 4-8-4 Northern that suffered from the infamous 'split axle sleeve' syndrome. I contacted Bachmann who suggested I send it to them along with a cheque for $15.00 - if it can't be repaired they'll replace it with a similar locomotive and return the Northern's shell.

Lo and behold, a few weeks later I received not only my Northern back (complete, not just the shell) but also a new-in-the-box Norfolk & Western Class J with tender. Mind you, it was from their standard line, not Spectrum but still, a brand-new engine for fifteen bucks?! Can't beat that!

Footnote: My Northern's since been repowered with Bowser's repowering kit. Not only does it run like a dream now, but with the Bowser mechanism and weights, comes in at a hefty 1.8 pounds!



Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 12/01/11 01:11 by TheCurator.

calsubd Wrote:
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> Walthers Trainline has a FA, not sure if they have
> a EL, but mine is a good puller, Ed

The Walthers FA came from Train Miniatures when Walthers took them over. It was a nice shell with a power chassis built from Athearn U-Boat components. It rean like an Athearn. I believe the body casting is a bit undersized in most dimensions but it looks pretty good unless you mix it in a P2K consist. I have not seen any of the Trainline models lately to see how they are powered.

MTH is coming out with an FA-1 powered A & B. Look on their website home page, at the bottom go to "Videos", and a new page opens up. Select the HO FA-1, and view the full screen mode. They demo a Pennsy set. Looks pretty nice to me - I think they nailed the nose and cab winshield contours and profile.

Bob

ATSF100WEST......Out

fbe Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> calsubd Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Walthers Trainline has a FA, not sure if they
> have
> > a EL, but mine is a good puller, Ed
>
> The Walthers FA came from Train Miniatures when
> Walthers took them over. It was a nice shell
> with a power chassis built from Athearn U-Boat
> components. It rean like an Athearn. I believe
> the body casting is a bit undersized in most
> dimensions but it looks pretty good unless you mix
> it in a P2K consist. I have not seen any of the
> Trainline models lately to see how they are
> powered.
Thanks for the info, for the money I paid 12 years ago ($29.95) it will be around a long time because of its NH paint job, Ed