Hi Mr. Bach-man,
Thanks for making all the great Spectrum steamers! Just one question: Why did Bachmann discontinue the Lt. Mountain? She's a beauty. Please bring her back. They are getting harder to find!
Frisco_Manny
Would you believe I just tested a Frisco version this afternoon. Runs fine on DC. I agree, this is a locomotive that should be reissued.
Gene
I just bought one of the Heavy Mountains off of eBay for $50, and then I saw that Bachmann, at one time, made a Light Mountain. What is the difference? In the photos, the overall locomotive looked the same, but the tender was smaller. What's the difference between the models?
Phil
One is a USRA light Mountain and the other is a USRA heavy Mountain. The tenders are not the same, though in the "as delivered'" category they should be. The boilers do not look the same nor do some of the appliances. The heavy has many road modifications for specific roads, C&O being the best example.
Gene
Quote from: martin_lumber on August 16, 2007, 09:30:40 PM
I just bought one of the Heavy Mountains off of eBay for $50, and then I saw that Bachmann, at one time, made a Light Mountain. What is the difference? In the photos, the overall locomotive looked the same, but the tender was smaller. What's the difference between the models?
Phil
Light Mountain:
(http://www.blwnscale.com/blwphotos/BA-482-FRISCO.JPG)
Heavy Mountain:
(http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/catalog/image/products/82501_thumb.JPG)
I don't much care if it was re-issued... The light UP mountain is probably a mutt just like the heavy SP.
What does "...probably a mutt..." mean?
Gene
I vote for reissue.
I have three and like them all.
I have two heavies also and they look a little chunkey IMHO.
Tom
Hoople,
Didn't your mother teach you to keep your mouth shut if you didn't have anything nice to say? Like Gene said What does "...probably a mutt..." mean?
To all,
While I don't personally have interest in this model, (I have 5 of the Heavies and they are more suited to my theme, and I may ad a few more), I would like to see the light Mountain re-issued just from the standpoint of keeping the variaty of products available up.
Variaty mean more modelers will find what they want, they will model more, spend more over all, supporting the manufacturers ability to make even more different models.
Bachmann should be praised and supported for NOT making their products "limited production", requiring "advance ordering", etc, etc.
It is Bachmann's policies of keeping items as long as they keep selling, and re-issuing older products when demand comes back, that keep me always looking at what Bachmann products will fit my theme.
Some other companies, Atlas and BLI/PCM in particular, miss a lot of my business with the combination of how/what products they offer and their "limited" "advance order" marketing.
Example, I model 1954, diesel and steam, most all my diesels are Proto 2000 and Athearn because they are always available. I do not what some of my GP7's to be Atlas and some Proto, that might limit MU opertunities, and Atlas has a policy of lower production and longer times between runs making their product harder get, regardless of price.
Every time I want more Proto GP7's, they seem just seem a phone call away. Same with Bachmann spectrum Steamers, and Genesis F units.
As a consumer, I realy do resent the "buy it now or you may never get it" approach of some manufacturers. So my money goes to the ones who do a better job of keeping their product always available. I do understand why the "limited" production thing is being done, but I admit that as a consumer I am selfish and expect better service than that. To me part of business is being ready to serve your customer when HE is ready, not when you want him to be ready.
Again, thanks and praise to Bachmann for the great products they have brought to market. Now can we just get a Pacific, a Mike, an Atlantic and a modern Ten Wheeler?
Sheldon
I think that Hoople meant that UP didn't have any USRA Mountains. Apparently it didn't, according to steamlocomotive.com. It did have some USRA o-6-os and some light Mikados, but the UP Mountains were nothing like the USRA Mountains, or at least the heavies.
Gene
Gene,
That is true, but he need not talk out of turn about the light Mountain without some facts to support his statement.
Sheldon
Sheldon, I agree.
I also agree that the "special runs" are a pain in the royal butt. I do find BLI to be available and I'm lucky that my railroad has a clause in its incorporation papers which forbid it from using diesel, so any diesel on my layout come from roads with trackage rights - the C&O, to be specific.
OTOH, the legal beagles figured out a way around the "only coal fired steam locomotives" earlier in year and the first SW-9 has been purchased. Maybe.
Gene
Here is UP's real mountain:
(http://www.yesteryeardepot.com/UPOMAHA.JPG)
And the real SP mountain:
(http://www.northeast.railfan.net/images/tr_sp4346.jpg)
Here's bachmann's light UP mountain:
(http://www.theoldandwearycarshop.com/images/bach4-8-2up.jpg)
And here's bachmann's SP heavy mountain.
http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/catalog/?function=detail&id=1893 (http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/catalog/?function=detail&id=1893)
For bachmann's mountain, I couldn't find just a picture, so I had to make a link.
I don't think they're like the prototype.
Mark.
Hoople, just because the SP had some 4-8-2s that don't look like the Bachmann models, doesn't mean that the Southern Pacific didn't have any 4-8-2s that looked like the Spectrums.
THIS is more like what the Bachmann folks are portraying:
(http://users.snowcrest.net/photobob/spl28.jpg)
and their model:
(http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/catalog/image/products/84204_thumb.jpg)
Note that it's not EXACTLY like the prototype 4-8-2s, but much closer than Hoople's pictures. I but if I spent more time on google, I could find a better pic.
Hoople's picture is of an SP Mountain that has been shopped and given a semi-streamlined upper fairing. It probably spent most of its life without that extra tin.
Gene
Paul, I can't read the road number, but if that is SP, I stand corrected.
All I got were pictures of the semi-streamlined engines when I searched:
Southern Pacific 4300 class mountains
What is the history behind calling them "mountains"? Were they first used in the mountains?
Les Yes
The complete story is that the Mountain came from the C&O's run between Charlottesville, Va and Hinton, WVA. They went to the 4-8-2 to end doubleheading Pacifics and called it the Mountain as it went over the Blue Ridge and the the Alleghany Mountains.
Gene
Hoople,
it's SP 4314.
the 4-8-2 is picture #28 on this sight:
http://users.snowcrest.net/photobob/spl.html
bump
They are nice engines and I could have sworn I saw some on sale at MB Kleins. I've seen several at the club and have been tempted to buy one. For now I have an old Bowser/Mantua 4-8-2 lettered for B&M. Anyone wanna trade :P
W hat is a Bowser/Mantua 4-8-2? Bowser makes one but not mantua.
Then it must be bowser. It had a tender similar to mantua's pacific.
Just a point from a non-US based modeller.
i dont know if the Lt.Mountain is prototypically decaled or not.
To my foreign eyes it looks great, it reflects my perceptions of "big" US locomotives and runs very very well.
Besides I can mark it to suite my road easy enough and those that can and do pick the discrepancies are not invited to visit.
The theme of my layout is enjoy!!