Quote from: Doneldon on July 16, 2011, 02:43:30 PM

Quote from: Featherbed Railroad on July 16, 2011, 07:38:56 AM
Now I'm going to buy some appropriate cars to couple to this beautiful loco - the ones I have aren't good enough any longer.

Oh, oh! It looks likw FB has a bad case of the dreaded model railroading fever. I prescribe lots of new trains and retirement to enjoy them.

                                                      -- D

You're darned right I do - I've been looking at the Bachmann website to determine just what type of train to haul behind this locomotive. I'm thinking some log cars and ore cars, but should I hang a passenger car or two off the back as well? We have a local train that started as a logging train and then added some ore cars and now hauls passenger trains as well. I'm thinking of making my own little "Skunk Train" with this locomotive.

I will have to say, the reason I went to Sacramento was specifically because of the mixed reviews of the Shay - I was hoping to see it in action and I loved how your booth had one there running the entire length of the show on a stationary track. Because I saw it in action there I decided to buy it.

Now that my frustration is over and the various lubricants have arrived, I followed the instructions on the videos and got the locomotive lubed up and running.

You are to be commended for this model - it is a beautiful piece and seems to be very well made with lots and lots of little details that are much appreciated. It runs amazingly smoothly and I absolutely love it. Furthermore, we have had a number of our guests (we're a B&B made of cabooses) in the dining room just sit and stare at it going around the track.

I still wish there were a parts description of some of the little parts, but oh well. Now I also have the lubricants so I used them on all our locomotives and they all seem to run better. It is a bummer that the dealer didn't ask/inform me about oils and such but I used to work for a big computer company and training dealers is difficult to impossible.

Now I'm going to buy some appropriate cars to couple to this beautiful loco - the ones I have aren't good enough any longer.

So this is interesting - today was the first day Bachmann parts & service were back in the office after I bought the locomotive (late Friday so they were already closed). I called to order all the different oils and such and was told by the lady I spoke with to just order them from the website, which I did. That same representative also told me "aw you can just run the locomotive - it's been lubed by the factory."

Dear Bachmann - every employee from the floor sweeper to the president represents the entirety of the business to your customers. Think about that when hiring and training.

Part B: I still have no idea what half the things are in the little baggie that came with the locomotive. What is all this great stuff that someone took the time to engineer and tool and create and paint and package?

I no longer feel "enrolled" in this product as I feel that the company's management just don't care. While this would have been a terrific opportunity for Bachmann to excel at service and a great customer experience, I would qualify this as an almost complete failure.

Yes, the locomotive is terrific and I think it's a great value and a beautiful product, but I have no feeling of loyalty or even "warmth" for Bachmann as a company at this point. That was my point with this post - Bachmann is just another company making stuff in China and boxing it up to US consumers without there being any passion about the product from the management standpoint, or that's what I walk away with. Maybe that's why these things are sold at fire sale pricing all over instead of at a premium.

I just motored down to Sacramento train show specifically to look at the Bachmann Spectrum 55 Ton large-scale Shay. I've been eyeing this baby on line for a while and have decided I wanted to see one in action. Long story short, I saw the Bachmann booth at the show and a few rows over someone had a great price on 'em so I bought one.

Took it home, put it on the track and had a demonstration run for a number of our bed & breakfast guests who were very impressed. I hooked everything I could to this locomotive and I think I could almost pull my full-size pickup truck with it. It's a beautiful and powerful model.

But then I took out the instructional DVD and saw the extensive oiling instructions for this unit. But there's no oil included.

As beautifully made as this piece is, wouldn't it make sense for Bachmann to either oil the darned thing at the factory or at least include the lubrication necessary? I don't buy a car or an electric drill or even a pressure washer that doesn't come with the oil either in it, or with it.

So now I've got to wait until Monday to try to buy the four lubricants recommended from Bachmann or go back to the Internet and buy them and wait and wait while my new loco sits on a side track. Hey, at least the fire box and headlights and even the smoke work while the locomotive is stationary - that's cool. But having something this nice that I can't play with is like having (insert beautiful woman's name here) sitting naked across the table from me while I try to undo my seat belt. Never you mind why I'm wearing a seat belt at the dinner table.

I appreciate the schematics, Bachmann, but I'd rather have an owners manual and a quick-start guide that includes lubrication points, a few bottles of oil or, best of all, a pre-oiled machine. I think a nice description of what all the "extra" bits are in the bag would also be great. Some are obvious, others I have NO idea and I've seen a Shay like this in real life. Okay, I've actually run one.

Lastly, the typical LGB-style couplers that come with the unit don't fit so I really had to put my thinking cap on to get it to couple to everything else I own.

But, as mentioned, this is a beautiful piece that I can't wait to run. You could say that once the lubricants get here, I will say "oil's well that ends well!"