Bachmann Plus vs. Spectrum
trakside
in a black and gold Spectrum box but the label on the end says Bachmann
Plus as does the instruction sheet. Included are working knuckle
couplers and the rooftop fans are see-thru. Can anyone tell me what
this really is and what the differences are between Plus and Spectrum?
Bill
Christopher A. Lee
I've been out of OO/HO for a while, but Bachmann have taken over
some European manufacturers, eg Mainline (British) is now
Bachmann Branchline, and Lilliput (Austrian) is now Bachmann
First Class (I think).
With these they acquired some different technology, eg Mainline
used split frames (good, eliminates pickup wipers) under
excellently detailed bodies but poor motors, and the latest
stuff out of Mainline/Branchline is superb, basically
Mainline plus decent motor/drive (ex Lilliput?). So they're
mixing the best of the technologies of the various companies
in the Bachmann empire.
I saw the HO Bachmann consolidation at the hobby shop last week,
and I thought it was factory painted brass. It looked very good
and ran well.
However, the quality control in the factory (China?) isn't
as good as it could be. I've seen too many wobblers.
Fred Ellis
>
> I recently bought a Spectrum SD-45 - I thought. It was factory sealed
> in a black and gold Spectrum box but the label on the end says Bachmann
> Plus as does the instruction sheet. Included are working knuckle
> couplers and the rooftop fans are see-thru. Can anyone tell me what
> this really is and what the differences are between Plus and Spectrum?
>
Bill,
The SD45 that you bought is a Bachmann Spectrum series. I ought to
know, I also have one. The label on my black box says 'Spectrum', but
the instruction/diagram sheet inside says 'Plus'. Looks like someone at
the factory put the wrong label on your box.
Fred Ellis
(To e-mail me, remove the X from my adress)
Peter King
>
>I recently bought a Spectrum SD-45 - I thought. It was factory sealed
>in a black and gold Spectrum box but the label on the end says Bachmann
>Plus as does the instruction sheet.
Some of the recent Plus engines came through in Spectrum boxes. Not sure
why, it may have been a shortage of the gray boxes, or a mixup at the
factory. (Remember, this is a company who's shipping cases are marked
'FRANGILE'.)
Peter King in NY
john a dalton
>Some of the recent Plus engines came through in Spectrum boxes. Not sure
>why, it may have been a shortage of the gray boxes, or a mixup at the
>factory. (Remember, this is a company who's shipping cases are marked
>'FRANGILE'.)
>
>Peter King in NY
...PeNter...buNt thaNt's thNe waNy youN sNpell iNt !!!...
...biNg joNhn... :)N)
Stewart DIBBS
>(Remember, this is a company who's shipping cases are marked
> 'FRANGILE'.)
Well, my Concise Oxford dictionary lists "FRANGIBLE" menaing fragile, so
FRANGILE could well be a valid english spelling.
Not that many people know the word or ever use it.
cheers
Stewart DIBBS
Michael Powell
because I have what I am sure is a Spectrum but the ends and sheet say
"Plus". The stock number matches the stock number in the Spectrum ads and
listings, however. It is in the black box with "Spectrum " on the top.
I think they goofed big time!
Michael
Peter King (BGX...@prodigy.com) wrote:
: trakside <trak...@netw.com> wrote:
: >
: >I recently bought a Spectrum SD-45 - I thought. It was factory sealed
: >in a black and gold Spectrum box but the label on the end says Bachmann
: >Plus as does the instruction sheet.
: Some of the recent Plus engines came through in Spectrum boxes. Not sure
: why, it may have been a shortage of the gray boxes, or a mixup at the
: factory. (Remember, this is a company who's shipping cases are marked
: 'FRANGILE'.)
: Peter King in NY
--
Warren Kellogg
>Actually, I think you may have that backwards (or, they did it both ways)
>because I have what I am sure is a Spectrum but the ends and sheet say
>"Plus". The stock number matches the stock number in the Spectrum ads and
>listings, however. It is in the black box with "Spectrum " on the top.
>
>I think they goofed big time!
>
>Michael
When you get to this point, it no longer matters <g>. Sorry, Bachmann.
I sure hope those new structure kits aren't more of the same old same old,
because I've about written Bachmann off at this point.
w
allenlaw
>
> I recently bought a Spectrum SD-45 - I thought. It was factory sealed
> in a black and gold Spectrum box but the label on the end says Bachmann
> couplers and the rooftop fans are see-thru. Can anyone tell me what
> this really is and what the differences are between Plus and Spectrum?
>
> Bill
A couple of years ago, Bachmann released an SD45 as part of their
Bachman Plus series. It ran pretty decent, but there were a lot of
problems with the appearance of the model (sideframes were awful,
location of the windows, etc....) Recently, Bachmann improved on several
of the aspects that were complaints with the original Bachmann Plus
version, (improved sideframes, fuel tank details, fan blades, working
drop steps, etc.) and re released this version of the SD45 as part of
their Spectrum series (comes in the black box) Since the drive
mechanism is basically the same as the Bachmann Plus version, it seems
that they are putting the instruction sheets from the Bachman Plus
version in the box with the Spectrum versions. They should have redone
the instruction sheet to reflect the changes they made to the model.
Richard
Marcu...@ncal.kaiperm.org
trakside <trak...@netw.com> wrote:
> I recently bought a Spectrum SD-45 - I thought. It was factory sealed
> in a black and gold Spectrum box but the label on the end says Bachmann
> Plus as does the instruction sheet. Included are working knuckle
> couplers and the rooftop fans are see-thru. Can anyone tell me what
> this really is and what the differences are between Plus and Spectrum?
>
Bachmann retooled (kindof) the original Bachmann Plus SD45. The Plus unit
had many problems. They addressed some (narrower space between cab windows,
finer truck details). The re-release is more expensive and marketed as
Spectrum.
IMO, the Kato SD45 is superior in every way.
Marc
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Alan Gilchrist
chri...@netcom.com was saying something about Re: Bachmann Plus vs.
Spectrum...
>However, the quality control in the factory (China?) isn't
>as good as it could be. I've seen too many wobblers.
I bought one of the baby train masters (H-16-44) when they first came out,
out of curiosity, I removed the shell to see what the mech. was like, come to
find it was way overfilled with yellow grease.
Disassembled the loco completely and washed out all the old grease and then
reassembled the loco, also in the process, put a dcc decoder in as well.
Alan (remove ".NSPM" before replying via EMail)
IRC INFO: http://www.netcom.ca/~cpr_fan/modelrails.html
* <- Tribble [*] <- Tribble wearing headphones
Bruce Sherman
at the bottom, Bachmann Plus is in the middle, and Spectrum is the top of
the line.
Bruce
trakside wrote in message <35CA17E9...@netw.com>...
>I recently bought a Spectrum SD-45 - I thought. It was factory sealed
>in a black and gold Spectrum box but the label on the end says Bachmann
>Plus as does the instruction sheet. Included are working knuckle
>couplers and the rooftop fans are see-thru. Can anyone tell me what
>this really is and what the differences are between Plus and Spectrum?
>
>Bill
>
Peter King
>
>BGX...@prodigy.com (Peter King) wrote:
>
>>Some of the recent Plus engines came through in Spectrum boxes. Not
sure
>>why, it may have been a shortage of the gray boxes, or a mixup at the
>>factory. (Remember, this is a company who's shipping cases are marked
>>'FRANGILE'.)
>>
>>Peter King in NY
>
>
>....biNg joNhn... :)N)
>
Someone told me it's actually written in Italian, pronounced fran-GEE-lee.
Peter King in NY
Andy Harman
wrote:
>Plus as does the instruction sheet. Included are working knuckle
>couplers and the rooftop fans are see-thru.
The see-thru fans are the acid test, it's a Spectrum. Other changes
were made between the Plus and Spectrum but the fans are the easiest
to spot. Don't know what's up with the labeling, but if you're going
to get one the Spectrum is the one to get... the Plus is truly ugly.
Andy
Visit the Prototype Modelers Group Web Page at http://w3.one.net/~aharman/index.html
Sorry I must resort to anti-spam practice, reply to aharman at one (spelled out) dot net
David Wheeler
down. However, all of their locomotives, IMHO, are garbage. Except for the
latest steam release that is! :-)
At the hobby shop in which I work, all of my train repair time is spent on
Bachmann (N, HO & G) and very old Lionel. We will not even service a
tyco. Bachmann is known in our shop by their real trade
name..................Botchman! Poor unsuspecting people pay way too much
for Bachmann thinking they are getting a quality product (because of the
price) only to find out they have purchased junk. The shop in which I work
does sell some Bachmann (against my wishes), however, the owners and I have
an agreement. I refuse to sell a Bachmann product to any customer, whether
they want it or not, and I sell twice as many of the higher quality locos
(not necessarily higher priced) in the same period of time.
End of story........down from my box................. :-|
BTW, the Chinese can read english as well as we read chinese! (Box issue).
David
trakside wrote:
> I recently bought a Spectrum SD-45 - I thought. It was factory sealed
> in a black and gold Spectrum box but the label on the end says Bachmann
> Plus as does the instruction sheet. Included are working knuckle
Todd Enlund
wrote:
>Well, my Concise Oxford dictionary lists "FRANGIBLE" menaing fragile, so
>FRANGILE could well be a valid english spelling.
>
>Not that many people know the word or ever use it.
Fragile=easily broken
Frangible=capable of being broken
Frangible does not mean fragile. The USAAF used frangible bullets to
train B-17 gunners in WWII... the bullets withstood being shot out of
a 50 cal, but shattered on impact with a specially prepared target
aircraft.
Todd Enlund
"Bandits at 3 O'clock"
"Roger. What should I do 'till then?"
netnews.worldnet.att.net
> >Well, my Concise Oxford dictionary lists "FRANGIBLE" menaing fragile, so
> >FRANGILE could well be a valid english spelling.
> >Not that many people know the word or ever use it.
> Fragile=easily broken
> Frangible=capable of being broken
______________________________
If we are talking about ABS instead of styrene, then "frangible" is
entirely appropriate.
Andrew Harmantas, Artist, Illustrator, Lecturer, World Traveler, and Bum
Andy Harman
<bruces...@sprintmail.com> wrote:
>The way it was explained to me, in terms of quality and details, Bachmann is
>at the bottom, Bachmann Plus is in the middle, and Spectrum is the top of
>the line.
Sort of like an elevation chart for Illinois <g>
David Thuss
Peter King wrote:
> Someone told me it's actually written in Italian, pronounced fran-GEE-lee.
>
> Peter King in NY
...reminds me of "The Christmas Story" when the father (Gavin McCloed?)
receives his 'major award' from some contest he entered. this large crate is
delivered to the house marked "FRAGILE". He comments something like.....It
must be Italian! It's a fra-GEE-lee.
Great Movie. Always shown around Christmas.
ps. my spell checker (Netscape) recognizes fra-GEE-lee as fragile.
--
Dave
It's all just an illusion! (Henning)
David Thuss
David Thuss wrote:
> ...reminds me of "The Christmas Story" when the father (Gavin McCloed?)
......close, but no ceee-gar......just remembered it was Darrin
McGavin(?)......Boy, the grey matter is shrinking John!
DaleAlanB
>>at the bottom, Bachmann Plus is in the middle, and Spectrum is the top of
>>the line.
>
>Sort of like an elevation chart for Illinois <g>
Yea, Flat as a Pancake!!
Dale
Warren Kellogg
We build skyscrapers to compensate....it's sort of like the guys who had the
biggest stereo speakers back in high school....
w (Illinoisan)
Andy Harman
Kellogg) wrote:
>We build skyscrapers to compensate....it's sort of like the guys who had the
>biggest stereo speakers back in high school....
Or do like we did... the University of Cincinnati built the (at the
time) world's largest and tallest dormitory atop the highest hill in
the topsy-turvy landscape of the Ohio Valley. It was quite a
landmark, could be seen easily from 25 miles away, the view from the
top was spectacular on a clear day. Unfortunately there wasn't else
much that was good about it <g>. Sander Hall was a noble but
ill-conceived experiment that could be considered a total failure,
safety being primary but the building was a wretch in many other ways.
It came down in 8 seconds in August of 1991... cost nearly twice as
much to blow it up as it cost to build it in 1971.