I'd like to put together an SP Daylight streamliner set with the famous 4-8-4 steam locomotive. Does anyone know if the Bachmann locomotive will work reasonably well on an 18" radius track? I have 22" at hand, but I am not sure if I want to replace my curves.
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
With all of my experience in modol railroading, I have found that it is important to use good quality locomotives. You can skimp on rolling stock, but don't do it with locomotives. Bachman makes some rather cheap-quality locomotives. I do not know about HO scale, but I do not like their N scale locomotives at all. I think you would do better to buy a better quality locomotive. Again, I do not know much about HO scale, so I cannot recommend a particular brand for you.
------------------ Elias Valley Railroad (N-scale) www.geocities.com/evrr
Posted by Tom H (Member # 53) on :
I have never had good luck with Bachmann in HO scale. However - any 4-8-4 passenger locomotive requires a larger radius curve - preferably 28 inches or larger to run properly. Also - if you are running scale length cars, there would be quite a bit of 'hangover' on a 22 inch radius.
Have fun & Keep on railroading. Tom
Posted by Mr. Toy (Member # 311) on :
Does anyone besides Bachmann make an SP Daylight HO steam locomotive?
------------------ Trust God, love your neighbor, and never mistake opinion for truth. -Mr. Toy
I'm not a Bachmann guy and true, they do not enjoy a great reputation but for $60.00 bucks from Trainworld versus the $108.00 MSP it may merit consideration. It has a limited life time warranty. First year, free repair or replacement and there after a $15.00 bench/service charge. Go to the site, www bachmann-trains.com Product section and type in 11301 and up it pops. Most of the larger steamers, Lifelike, 2-8-8-2, Riv Allegheny,2-6-6-6, and the trix 4-8-8-4 will operate on 18" radius but with considerable overhang. Today's larger diesels and 11" plus long passenger cars require 22"-24" radius in part due to the limited lateral truck swing.
We all can't start at the top. If you have a limited $ budget try the bachmann. It's covered by the warranty.