Well, since a Spectrum Caboose and Spetrum freight cars were made, I was wondering if we would see any Spectrum Passenger Cars in the future.  The current passenger cars we see are nice, but I was they would be nicer if the interior had opening doors, a removable roof to show off the details, LED lighting, metal trucks with better light pick-ups, and better detailed seats.   With the Spectrum 3rd Generation 4-4-0s out, and C-19s out, it would be nice to have Spectrum class coaches with Spectrum Baggage cars, Spectrum Combines, Spectrum Full Coaches, and Spectrum Observations, all in higher quality than the current ones available on the market to compete with Accucraft and their high prices.  Bachmann could make really nice Spectrum Coaches, and I'm willing to pay extra bucks to give my 4-4-0s something nicer to pull.   We could have really beautiful passenger cars out from the Spectrum Series.

Hello

I have 2 of the awesome Heislers, but since they are extremely hard to find, and hardly any show up on Ebay or at live auctions, I was wondering how much longer will it be  before the Heislers return with new models in Large Scale.    They were the best geared engines made in the Spectrum line, and I would really love to add another one to my collection.    I hope to see Westside Lumber Company, Ely Thomas Lumber Company, and many more different road names come out in the next run with wood, oil, and coal loads available, and some with Tsunami sound.    The first runs were awesome locomotives, and they are very tough to find now, but I would love to see a new run of Heislers come out.

With the Bachmann 3-truck Ho scale Climax out, why not make a Ferdinand model from Thomas Misty Island Rescue.   It shouldn't be too hard, just change the valve gear from Walscherts to Stevenson give it color and add a face and change the couplers.  It might be the most expensive Thomas model in HO since it has more realistic details than the others if the spectrum is to be used.   But it would be a good start.   I would love to see Ferdinand the Climax in HO scale.

Well since Shay made a 3-truck model, has there been thought of a 3-truck Climax model in large scale?  It would be nice to see a 3-truck-Climax in large scale.

Are parts for the new Climax locomotive available?

I have both a first and second generation Climax.  My second generation with the DCC sound, and all improved features has been a great engine, but my first generation hasn't run for years due to the various flaws, so I would like to upgrade the parts on it such as the trucks, drive shaft, and the tender tank.

Are those parts available?

Thank you.

I would love to see a Willamette locomotive sometime down the road.  I know only 30 were made, and that they look a lot like shay engines.  The thing is Willamettes and Shays were completely different.  All Willamettes were super heated, even the 2-truckers, the shays were mostly not until the Pacific Coasts came out.  All Willamettes used Walscherts Valve gears.  Shays use Stevensons.  Only 1 Willamette was a coal burn, the rest of the 29 were all oil fired but Bachmann can still offer coal or oil fired models.     All Willamettes had their cylinders facing in the same direction and pointed outside, where as a shay only had 2 facing the same direction while the number 3 cylinder faced the opposite of the number 1 and 2 cylinders.   Also no Willamette locomotive had a cylinder enter inside of the cab where as shay had the number 3 cylinder in the cab.   

I sure a Willamette is made sometime down the road because I have never seen one in a Large scale model, and it would be really neat to see one.  I would also love to add a Willamette geared steam locomotive to my collection.

Since Bachmann came out with the Forney about a year ago, I thought of another engine that would be great, and that would be a Mason Bogie aka 2-6-6T.

The thing is Accucraft was one of very few that made these models in large scale, and only a limited number were made.   I can't think of any other company who made a Mason Bogie even though there are a couple out there, but very very few.   

So, I would really like to see a 2-6-6T Mason Bogie some time down the line.  They are beautiful locomotives, and were very common on narrow gauge railroad lines.  Also not many companies out there made model Mason Bogies, most of them are kitbashed, or were made in limited runs, so seeing a Mason Bogie would definately be something new for Bachmann trains, and would be nice to have running on a layout.   They are beautiful engines.

Has anyone here ever had problems with with the plastic tender trucks on a spectrum 4-4-0s/2-6-0s falling apart after many hours of operation?

I have, and I have spent a lot of money ordering replacement trucks.   To prevent this kind of problem, why not make diecast tender trucks for the Spectrum 4-4-0s and 2-6-0s?  Sure they would be more expensive but they would last a lot longer.    The reason the shays had their trucks changed to diecast was probably because the plastic kept breaking.    Even though the lubricants are plastic compatible, over time the oil slowly weakens the plastic, and pretty soon, the tender trucks start coming apart.   

So, I think new metal tender truck should be made for the Spectrum 4-4-0s and 2-6-0s so there wouldn't be  much a need to replace the tender trucks anymore.   

For future Spectrum 4-4-0s and 2-6-0s that might come down the road, this could be a good solution, and if the tenders are given diecast frames as well to withstand the weight, that would be another plus.    But for now, there should be a way to solve the problem on stopping the Spectrum 4-4-0 and 2-6-0 tender trucks from falling apart after a lot of operation.

I sure hope this comes to play some day.

Chris.

Hello, I saw that Climaxes are coming back, and I am thinking of buying one.  But before I purchase one, I would like to know a few things.   I have a first generation Climax, and I had a lot of problems with it, the gears driving the fly wheel and pistons would always slip, and grind.   So will the new Climaxes receive the same improvement as the shays,  such as new die-cast trucks with new gearing inside?   I would like to know because I hope this will be a better run than the first generation like the shay.   

Thank you, I just joined so I'm new, but I have been collecting Bachmann Trains for years.  The Spectrum 4-4-0s, and 2-6-0s are by far my favorite, and run like tops.