Here is a link to a video launching a new steam model by Bachmann Europe developed in partnership with the UK's National Railway Museum and it's shop, Locomotion Models, and a big UK model railway box-shifter, Rails of Sheffield.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nhZQ-gXyGRA&feature=youtu.be&utm_source=Mailing+List&utm_campaign=07a0ff62ad-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_11_11_08_15&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_74d01bc2ed-07a0ff62ad-5831517

This sort of partnership is now a major way new steam loco models emerge in the UK, with the NRM also partnering with other manufacturers such as Rapido, Hornby and Dapol, all of whom also partner with other retailers for commissions and limited editions, resulting in a steady flow of several entirely new steam loco models every year, for the UK market of 65 million people.

I wonder if this might be a way to go for the US market, of 330 million people? Bachmann USA often say on this site they infrequently produce new models because there is no market for them and they would be uneconomical. They also used economics to justify reducing the detail on the low-boiler 4-6-0. But maybe markets have to be made?? With millions of people locked down for covid the UK model railway shops are booming, albeit by mail order. The various limited editions usually sell out on pre-order. And you will note that each engine road # modelled by Bachmann for the "Precedent" class 2-4-0 model comes with accurate loco and era specific detail, not just a different road # and paint.

At the very least it seems to me a model of a small Baldwin 2-8-0 to Spectrum standards might be possible bearing in mind that the old MDC / Roundhouse / Athearn 2-8-0 still seems to sell despite its limItations (no criticism - I have several).

Just a thought,
Bill.

No, but the Baldwin Great Northern 4-4-0s with dark green boilers were very nice. Though some photos suggest their originals burned coal, not oil. I wish now I'd bought one of each when Trainworld remaindered them for $99.99 and $149.99, but I did get one each of the B&O Baldwins in that sale and they are very nice too, and there were several "Old Time" coaches in B&O blue in the old Roundhouse range still to be found on ebay.

Best Regards,
Bill.

As the tender appears to have a coal (or lignite?) load, shouldn't the extra fuel be the same? OTOH as the "coal" in the tender looks distinctly plastic you might be well to replace that with wood too. I have always liked the wood load in the Richmond, but two together look too much the same so some variation is needed. If you are burning "emergency" wood you could put some old furniture and a piano from the lounge car on the pile??

BTW Hornby have intriduced a SteamPunk range (ugly critters, I won't be buying any!), so maybe you have started the US version??
https://www.hornby.com/uk-en/bassett-lowke-steampunk

Best Regards,
Bill.

Hi, thanks, I wondered because Trainworld has separate pages for the Bachmann Spectrum and standard steam, and has put them on the standard page, and MB Klein just calls them "DCC Equipped", and though they provide an extensive and favourable description, they don't mention of "Spectrum".

I asked about the oil bunker because whilst it is not shown on the parts diagram on this website I saw a photo of the old Spectrum 84302, ATSF #2552, which had an oil bunker as a spare in the box. Maybe that came from elsewhere, but it would be interesting to know if Bachmann supply it with the new ATSF 2546, but I see it is not listed amongst the "features" in your link, so I assume not.

Thanks again,
Bill.

Hi, does anyone know, does the new AT&SF Decapod come with an oil bunker option for the tender?

And is there a difference why the new run of decs are not classified as "Spectrum"?

Thanks,
Bill.

Hi, I hope I am not too late with this reply, I rarely look in the "N" section, but it happens I have just re-started work on an "N" ptoject of my own. It uses PLAN 10, Pittsburgh, Midvale & Ironton RR from 101 TRACK PLANS FOR MODEL RAILROADERS by Linn H Westcott, 1996 printing. This is a 4-ft x 3-ft HO plan, designed for 15-inch minimum radius curve in HO. I am building it in N on a 3-ft x 2-ft board. This is a very interesting plan, as it includes a significant sized yard (4 roads) which serves a branch line which crosses a creek to several industries (5 spurs), and all in view legitimately, i.e. you don't need a hidden area "off-stage" for fiddling around with stock. As it stands it is a horse-shoe "end-to-end", i.e. yard to industries, but I also laid it out on a 2-ft x 4-ft board with suitable modifications to see how it would be with a continuous run and it works, essentially the "Mainline" is one of the yard roads continuing to the right into a curve which joins the "Old Town" road, which has to be re-angled. Increasing the length from 3-ft to 4-ft is adequate for the new curve, but overall increasing the width to 2-ft 6-inches would allow wider radius curves to ease the passage of the Spectrum 2-8-0.

I laid it out for steam using PECO set-track curves and points, and found PECO #1 radius (228mm = 9-inches) is too tight for steam (but OK for diesels), but #2 radius (263.5mm = 10.4-inches) just about works with small steam. I am currently building it to that standard to see if steam is viable, but expecting to run it with a bunch of New Haven "Warm Orange and Hunter's Green" S-2s, RS-1s, RS-3s and FM H-16-44s I already have, and then with lessons learned build a steam version on a larger board using more generous curves and medium radius points.

There are actually a lot of small HO plans at the front of Linn Westcott's book, including a lot of continuous runs, using very tight curves in HO, but with scope to ease them in N.

Hope that is helpful.
Bill.

A final Bachmann UP - OWR&N loco note for posterity. I had been looking to choose a Baldwin 2-8-0 as companion for my Spectrum 84903 Baldwin low boiler 4-6-0, UP - OWR&N #1585. I had established that the post-Spectrum "Sound Value" BAC 57904 Baldwin 2-8-0 Consolidation, Union Pacific #730 is indeed lettered for the OWR&N, and was about to take advantage of the then current MB Klein 10% off Bachmann offer - but I didn't! Why not? I saw on ebay.fr Spectrum 83607 2-8-0 UP 618, which is also a UP - OWR&N loco, but comes with the Vanderbilt medium coal tender!! This looks splendid, and provides a very pleasing contrast to all the Bachmann 2-8-0s with USRA medium coal tender so I had to make that choice. There is one disappointment - whilst the loco cab is lettered for the OWR&N (in very small print), the tender rear is not - it is just lettered UP 618. However, I know the loco is OWR&N even if I can't read it without a magnifying glass!! Also the decoder is only 28 speed steps and the tender looks tricky to open and uncertain which higher spec decoders (for good slow-speed switching) it might accommodate, but it looks great sitting on the track next to #1585.

So, to summarise, anyone looking for a Baldwin 2-8-0 for their OWR&N, if you want a distinctive looking loco do a search for Spectrum 83607, Baldwin 2-8-0 UP OWR&N #618 with Vanderbilt medium coal tender, DCC Equipped. BTW #618 seems to have been the last of a class of 71 locos built by Balwin in batches for the Oregon Short Line between 1904-7, with #618 delivered in July 1907 (and 4 more delivered by ALCo in 1908 for a class total of 75) (data culled from locobase).

Best Regards,
Bill.

Talking to myself here, but I found one on ebay where the seller had taken his own photos rather than using the Bachmann stock photo, and the tender back is indeed lettered OWR&N. So that matches the sound value low-boiler 4-6-0, and the earlier Spectrum UP low boiler 4-6-0s. On the 2-8-0s, I had noticed that the tender shells in the parts store for UP 616 & 617 are both lettered for the OWR&N, but #730 is a long way from 617, so it might have been from somewhere else.

Best Regards,
Bill.

Hi, is the back of the tender of Bachmann HO 57904 Baldwin 2-8-0 Consolidation, Union Pacific #730 (DCC Sound Value) lettered for the OWR&N, please?

Thanks,
Bill.

If you are in Houston I would suggest you get the Rock Island. It is Bachmann Spectrum #81408. I am not sure if it is DC or DCC, it doesn't say on the box and I have only ever run mine on DC, but mine runs fine and looks fantastic! You can find them on ebay for circa $100 in new, sealed condition. It does not have sound. Its only drawback in model operating terms is you have to turn it, unlike an RDC, as it doesn't have a driving position at each end. The Rock Island model doesn't have a trailer car.

Best regards,
Bill.

Hi, as 321 people have read this thread I thought it worth providing an update - no, I haven't put a decoder in yet, at my age things don't happen that quickly!

Alternative road #s for Bachmann if they re-run this model (PLEASE DO):

GB&W #255 has the same type of tender and the headlamp and whistle are in the same place as on the model:

http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr0102/gbw255.jpg

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.greenbayroute.com%2F1940255.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.greenbayroute.com%2F1940255.htm&tbnid=QtpI4GF0aJ8C0M&vet=12ahUKEwjJroe--YjmAhVr0uAKHdRvCVQQMygBegUIARDQAQ..i&docid=wSJoW2OzOZPyWM&w=1275&h=713&q=Green%20Bay%20%26%20Western%202-6-0%20%23257&client=firefox-b-d&ved=2ahUKEwjJroe--YjmAhVr0uAKHdRvCVQQMygBegUIARDQAQ

GB&W #257 has the bell and whistle in the same place, but it has a rear-view tender, i.e. a narrow coal tub (not unlike the P2K 0-6-0 / 0-8-0 tenders):

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.greenbayroute.com%2Fkgb257.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.greenbayroute.com%2Fgbw257.htm&tbnid=ehecPbIki3HefM&vet=12ahUKEwjJroe--YjmAhVr0uAKHdRvCVQQMygAegUIARDOAQ..i&docid=PovaVJ-oWUEjNM&w=1222&h=721&q=Green%20Bay%20%26%20Western%202-6-0%20%23257&client=firefox-b-d&ved=2ahUKEwjJroe--YjmAhVr0uAKHdRvCVQQMygAegUIARDOAQ

https://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http%3A%2F%2Fi840.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fzz322%2Fwarhawk-repros%2FONLY_STEAM%2F081712%2FKGBW_2-6-0_257_PloverWi_08-23-39.jpg&imgrefurl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.ebid.net%2Fus%2Ffor-sale%2Fkewaunee-green-bay-western-rr-2-6-0-257-8x10-photo-148867373.htm&tbnid=-8Llws0JFVTHXM&vet=12ahUKEwjJroe--YjmAhVr0uAKHdRvCVQQMygDegUIARDUAQ..i&docid=J7fWlgDFCtb6MM&w=1023&h=545&itg=1&q=Green%20Bay%20%26%20Western%202-6-0%20%23257&client=firefox-b-d&ved=2ahUKEwjJroe--YjmAhVr0uAKHdRvCVQQMygDegUIARDUAQ

Interestingly, in 1948 GB&W #256 (i.e. the prototype for the model) had the headlamp on the smokebox door, and the bell on top of the smokebox where the model has the headlamp:
http://donsdepot.donrossgroup.net/dr0102/gbw256.jpg

SUITABLE ROLLING STOCK

There aren't many steam era RTR GB&W freight cars, but if you remember the old Branchline Trains Blueprint kits, they issued two versions of their 40-ft wood reefer kit for the GB&W, both in a grey WRX scheme, one with arched lettering and the other with straight:

Branchline Trains Blueprint Series kit 1211 - 40' ACF/URTX Wood Reefer, Light Grey Body, Black Lettering, Arched "Green Bay and Western Lines", "Western Refrigerator Line Company", W.R.X. #9338, Red "Green Bay Route" Herald, New 9-29.

Branchline Trains Blueprint Series kit 9009 4-PACK - 40' ACF/URTX Wood Reefer, Light Grey Body, Black Lettering, Straight "Western Refrigerator Line", "G B & W Lines", W.R.X. #9099, 9123, 9158, 9166, Red "Green Bay Route" Herald, New ?-?? (the pack is still sealed so I am not sure of the build dates).

I know these kits have not been issued for a while, but I found all the above on ebay in the last few weeks, so they are still to be found. I know Atlas absorbed this range and now issue them as RTR models, but I went back through the Atlas archive and they have not yet re-issued them for the GB&W.

Hope this is helpful for someone!

Best Regards,
Bill.

Hi, I have Bachmann 51712 Green Bay & Western ALCo Modern 2-6-0, DCC Ready. I don't know much about the GB&W - I got the model as GBW 256 is the actual loco Bachmann based their ALCo Modern on, and hence the most accurate scheme for it, and because MB Klein had it at an unrefusable discount (Though logically, however cheap you are not saving anything if you wouldn't have bought it anyway!). I am looking to put sound in it and wonder which decoder might fit and have appropriate whistles, etc? I know hundreds of you will be keen GB&W modellers and will have done this job for yourselves! After all, it is the only RTR GB&W steam loco model ever made!!

Whilst on the subject, my notes on this loco say "The Bachmann model is based on the GB&W Class R Mogul, the last of a batch of 5 (GB&W 52-56) which may not all have been identical (3 from Schenectady, 2 from Pittsburgh). Delivered 11-24 as GBW #56, re-numbered GBW #256 in 5-37, modernised 4-39, retired 10-48." Does anyone know what precise state of it's life Bachmann have modelled (as distinct from numbered, which is clearly 1937-48)? Of the 5 "R" class 2-6-0s, #s 54 + 55 were built by Pittsburgh in 1918, and #s 52, 53 and 56 by Schenectady in 1914, 1916, and 1924 respectively, so whilst one might expect the Pittsburgh pair to have been twins, the three Schenectady sisters might all have looked different. On the other hand, all might all have looked the same after the GB&W modernised them, presumably in its own shops?? (Except for GB&W #54 which was retired in 1937 and so presumably not modernised) I am musing on this as it would be nice if when Bachmann re-run the model they could use a different #, if that would not outrage fidelity.

And has anyone produced a steam-era GB&W caboose? the Walther International Car Co. Bay Window caboose for the GB&W (#615, 616, 617) were built new for the GB&W in 1965-7, so far too late for steam.

Grateful for any advice,
Bill

Just a point regarding body shell swaps - Bachmann have changed their electrical connections between loco and tender. The older Bachmann stuff had a 4-pin connector and a 2-pin, total 6 pins. The new stuff mostly has a single 8-pin connector. So you can't just plug an old tender into a new loco chassis - I fould this when looking at tender swaps between the old and new 4-6-0s. You may have to swap your Clinchfield tender body onto your new 2-8-0 tender chassis, but tender bodies don't always fit newer chassis either, or you may need to take the circuit boards and 8-pin connector from your new loco and put it into your Clinchfield tender, again if it will fit!

Good luck,
Bill.

Hi, is this model lettered for the OWR&N? The Bachmann publicity photos are too small to read the cabside lettering, and their product description does not mention it, but the old Spectrum UP #721 was lettered for the OWR&N, on the cabside and tender rear, and Bachmann lettered their Spectrum UP 4-6-0s for OWR&N engines too, so I thought this one might be too.

Thanks,
Bill.

Hi Terry, thanks for that info. I was stumped when google deleted their "View Image" button, and had, dumbly, not thought of getting it back via "Right Click", and I was unaware of the ability to "click the image icon above the typing box on Bachmann's site and "paste" the address between the img tags." In fact I had never even noticed that there was an image icon!!!!! My posts will be slicker in future!

Best Regards,
Bill.