Bachmann freight cars ??

Madman

Madman

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I'm really just dicovering some of Bachmann's freight cars. It's a bit confusing however. I am somewhat familiar with the regular 1:22.5 series cars with the larger wheels and truck mounted couplers. However, it seems as though the Spectrum cars and the 20' cars both have body mounted knukle couplers. But I understand that one of these series can only negotiate curves down to a 4'-0" radius. Would anyone care to clarify Bachmann's product line?
 
Well, the 20 footers ARE NOT 1/20.3, despite what the yahoos at Bmann may print, its a 1/22.5 model based on a Maine 2 footer. it also has truck mounted couplers, at least the one I had did, the Spectrum cars if they are the higher end ones do have body mounted couplers and need the wider curves. All of the Big Haulers are 4 foot capable, but alot of the Spectrum stuff usually needs over 6.5' diameter to work right.
 
Well, I'll give it a go but I'm not really an expert......

The older, non spectrum, rolling stock has truck mounted couplers (except for the four wheelers and the flat cars) and will fairly happily negotiate R1s. Included is the stuff for logging lines (diconnects, 20' flat car with or without skidder or logs, bobber caboose), the wood planked tank cars, a wooden gondola, mine skips, mining gondolas with platforms at each end, ore cars, hoppers, boxcars, stock cars and refeers. These days they have metal wheels, and they have reasonable levels of detail withoug being outstanding From US sources the 8 wheeled (bogie) vehicles seem to average in the sort of $30-$50 dollar price range. I think their scale is 1:22 or 1:24 although some are advertised as being 1:20.3 but I think that's just Bachmann attempting to standardise on that scale.

Then there is the Specturm range; these truly are 1:20.3 and they do seem to need R3 curves as a minimum (and Bachmann advertises some of them at least as needing 8' dia curves). These are highly detailed models, much more so than than the ones previously described, and consequently command a higher price (typically $100 US or more, with the cabooses well above that; for example Trainworld is currently advertising them at $US 174; although I have seen some flat cars and gondolas on special for $60-70). They are all eight wheelers; there is a very impressive long caboose with integral lighting, box cars usually advertised as being with "murphy roof", framed tank cars (but not ones which are effectively tanks sitting on flat cars), frameless tank cars, hoppers, flat cars, etc.

Physically they are gernerally longer than the cheaper, non Spectrum models and thereby much closer to the "real thing" after the 19th century; although I haven't done the sums I would have thought that the flat car is closer to 30 scale feet than the 20 scale feet of the cheaper version. Their basic frames also seem to be slightly better constructed; for example they usually feature metal rather than plastic truss rods. In the believe it or not category, their wheels are advertised as being 32mm in diameter as against the standard 31mm; and setting them alongside one another they do seem a bit bigger (and certainly better looking); but I might just be imagining it!

Oh, and as delivered their couplers are considerably higher than what I take to be the standard; certainly than the non-Spectrum gear.

Personally, as I like to "idiosyncratise" my stuff anyway I tend to go for the cheaper ones now that they have metal wheels; but it you want realism out of the box then the Spectrum stuff is certainly more convincing.

Not sure if this helps.....

Steve
 
vsmith said:
Well, the 20 footers ARE NOT 1/20.3, despite what the yahoos at Bmann may print, its a 1/22.5 model based on a Maine 2 footer. it also has truck mounted couplers, at least the one I had did, the Spectrum cars if they are the higher end ones do have body mounted couplers and need the wider curves. All of the Big Haulers are 4 foot capable, but alot of the Spectrum stuff usually needs over 6.5' diameter to work right.
Click to expand...
The 20 footers have body mounted couplers and run on 24.5 mm diameter wheels, all that is except for the ore car which runs on the standard 30ft big bogies with bogie mounted couplers and 31mm diameter wheels.

The Spectrum range are 1:20.3 accurate and as described above. I have compared a Bcahmann Spectrum flat car with an Accucraft one, and they're pretty close to being exactly similar :bigsmile:
 
You may be right about the 20 footers having body mounted couplers, its been a few years since I sold mine off. I do know they are not originally 1/20 because when they first came out many moons ago they were part of the Big Haulers line.
 
Thanks gentlemen. The flat car mentioned is the single piece of rolling stock I own of it's type. So, it may or may not have a permanent home here.

However, on a somewhat similar vein, I have been contemplating a coupler change to my rolling stock that I use for shunting operations. All of my stock currently has Hook & Loop couplers, with both ends of each wagon having a hook as well as the loop. This has created some difficulty with shunting operations. I have several LGB electric uncouplers paired with the permanent type. These work less often than I would like with the sysmetrical couplers I have. A-symetrical couplers have been tried, however my trackwork has some places in which the hook comes undone from the loop on the leading wagon.
I wonder if knukle couplers would be better suited to shunting in my case?
 
Dan I am in the process of switching back to Bachmann knuckle couplers for the stock that will be used on my harbor layout, hooks are not really that easy to shunt with although the knuckles are not much better, I plan to used a "manual uncoupling device"... a flat screwdriver, to insert under the coupler to pop the knuckle when shunting. I have heard of a similar "high tech" device being used for hooks... an old credit card glued to a stick which can be inserted in between the hook couplers to depress the tongue. I have a Crest Train Engineer RC controller so shunting is a lot easier as I can do it while walking around the layout, If I didnt have that, shunting becomes a two person job or a very tedious one person job.
 
I have a crdit card like device that I made last year. It's a pice of flat metal on the end of a long pice of #8 tie wire. On the other end is a magnat that I use on occasion for changinging the points position when I am shunting. Otherwise the loco magnets do the job when I am just running trains.

It is becoming apparent that a total hands off shunting operation can be frustrating. As the EPL components, in an outdoor setting, need constant clearing, of small bits of debris, cleared away. The electric uncouplers have a flat piece of plastic below the movable ramp that collects and hpolds dirt. :crying:
 
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