Actually, I was seriously considering buying from Hattons!  I'm also a Beatles fan, so the fact that they're in Liverpool adds to the selling point of ordering from them!

I live in the US and not a Brit.  For some reason, I've just started to get more into British trains. 

If anyone from Bachmann is looking in, there is a girl who I've been emailing (I saw her model train videos on YouTube), and she loves the older Hornby equipment.  However, she told me that currently Bachmann makes the best OO that she runs now, saying Hornby is hit or miss.

Also, I have read some of those magazines, and they're fantastic to read!

I am in the US, and thank you so much for that link!  Unfortunately, I've now found so many things on there to spend money on!

I'm starting to get more heavily into the European trains, with emphasis on British and German styles.

I have more updated Fleischmann and Piko HO, but the UK equipment I have consists of older Hornby and Tri-Ang (including a well played with but very well running 1953 R3X Goods Train Set!)

I wanted to get some of the Bachmann Branchline equipment for my daily running, just a couple of small steam switchers and goods wagons.

Is there any dealer or stockist in the UK that anyone in the US knows of that is good on price and ships to the US?

Got the engine a couple days ago, and finally got to run it at length last night.  I must say, the detail and running of this engine is amazing.  I really love it!

Here are a couple phone pics of the engine in action on my layout:

Quote from: Barry BBT on June 22, 2010, 01:49:53 PM
Not to dash your good feelings about your purchase, I'm glad you like the Plus version, but.........

You need to see the Tenth Anniversary version in the flesh.

Barry - BBT

Oh, I've seen it, and I love it!  That's next on my list of G Gauge locomotive purchases!

Sorry, the photo is of #10, but I'm posting it anyway because it's really neat!  This is from the 1972 book Steam Powered Passenger Trains of Yesteryear, Volume 1 by E.T. Mitchell.  Found this book for $1.00 at one of my favorite scenic lines, the Wanamaker, Kempton and Southern.  Its full of vintage photos.  This photo I'm guessing is about the 1930's based on the dress of some of the people in it:

I'll get the book out and scan it when I get home today, but I have a book from the 1960's that someone compiled vintage photos of older steam passenger service, and there's a nice period shot of the Tweetsie #12 pulling the passenger cars.

What's amazing is it looks like the Bachmann set frozen in the past!

I'll post it tonight!

Here are some pics of the train in action outside!  Just took them not too long ago:

I am preaching to the choir here, but I'm a little late in getting a more updated Large Scale anything.  The only Bachmann I had was the Royal Blue passenger and the Liberty Bell Limited passenger sets, and just recently found the original Big Hauler battery set a couple weeks ago at a flea market.

Anyway, I found a great price on the Durango & Silverton Freight set, and decided to get one.  It arrived last night, and I have to say I have been missing a lot!  The difference in the older sets I have and this are quite a bit apart!

The chugging is much better, the wheels look amazing in metal, the detail now on the 4-6-0 is gorgeous, overall an amazing jump in look and value!

Not to say I don't like my original sets; far from it, they are my favorite trains (my Great Grandfather was an Engineer for the B&O, and even had the throttle of the Royal Blue for some time), but this set is really nice!

I also liked that the instruction manual had brochures from scenic railroads in with it, and the DVD is really good to watch, even though I've been running trains for a long time.

I'm really happy to be back into Large Scale!  I may be running the D&S outside on Sunday (its Father's Day, and I'm sure my daughter would like that!), so I'll snap some pics and post them here!

Quote from: Pacific Northern on June 17, 2010, 12:34:20 AM


The link was a picture of an Alco 2-8-2 stock engine that was exported to China. That steam engine was a dead ringer for the SY and the conclusion was that once the Alco engine was received it was soon after copied and it was the basis for the SY engine. An example of "Backwords Engineering" which was common practice in China of Western goods.

That's about what the Engineer told me.  He said that China essentially took the Alco and USRA designs and just built from them, especially since after World War II, the US had helped a lot in getting factories like the locomotive shops up and running over there.

I'll have to look online, as so far the only vintage photos of Mikados I see are close but not quite that look.

Pacific Northern-

Thank you for your input!  I'm really looking forward to getting it, even moreso after reading what you had to say!

I got it from an ebay seller, who sells a good bit of Bachmann (I'm also getting a G gauge Durango & Silverton freight set from them, which should be here tomorrow, the Mikado will be here next week).  He's in the US, but this locomotive does look extremely well-detailed (including the Tangshan builder's plate!)

When I get to download them into my computer, I will post a couple photos of the real thing when I rode the line this past Sunday.  Of course, it can't compete with the real Bachmann!   

Just purchased one of the Spectrum Susquehanna SY Mikados off ebay, after riding the real one this past weekend (and even invited into the cab after the run to have a look around!)

I'm really looking forward to getting it, and I was wondering who else out here has one, and what do they think of it?

Here are some pics of the real one in Phillipsburg, NJ that I took when I was there with my family this past Sunday, 6/13.  It wasn't the sunniest out when I took these, so they aren't the clearest:

Quote from: scottychaos on June 07, 2010, 09:21:09 PM
wow..great find! and such a deal! 

now you can go from "1st generation" Big Hauler, straight to an "Annie"
for your second locomotive!
(10th anniversary Big Hauler..the most recent incarnation)
IMO the best bargain in Large Scale..you can find them for $125 to $150..

Scot

First, thanks, guys, for the compliments!  I'm happy to be here!

Scot - actually, this is my third Bachmann Ten Wheeler, but first with freight.  The other two I have are the Royal Blue passenger set and the Liberty Bell Limited passenger set.

The rest of my G gauge stable is LGB.

But I absolutely love how the 4-6-0's run, and I definitely want an Annie soon!

Howdy!  My name is Ed, and although this is my first post on here, I am a long-time Bachmann fan!  Up until I was about 10 in 1982, my father owned a train shop, and always recommended Bachmann to anyone starting out.

Over time, we've become even bigger fans with the advent of Spectrum and the increasing quality of Bachmann.

I'm in this part of the board for one main reason: a find at a flea market.  I took my daughter, who's 9, loves stuffed animals and Barbies, and loves getting a good buy at a flea market.

We're walking around, and we get to the last few tables.  On the grass next to the last table we visit is the first Big Haulers set, complete!

So, the woman comes over, and says, "My Mother bought that for us at a garage sale so we have something to run at Christmas, and it's really way too big for what we wanted, so I just want to get rid of it.  If you want it, just give me $5.00."

I quickly hand over the money and walk the train to our car!  My daughter kept saying how great a deal that was, since the train is so big!

We got it home, and yesterday I had it up and running, all working perfectly!

Although its only the battery one, it's still a nice set, with a few great cars with it!  Plus, it still had the coaling tower, signs, crossing gates and telephone poles!  I have a bunch of Bachmann G, all passenger sets, but this one is nice to just run without fear of something happening to it.

I took a photo out on our back deck, and turned it black and white. 

Glad to be here, and looking forward to talking with everyone!

Ed