bachmann products made during 1980's & 1990's

[tracy1947]

why won't Bachmann produces cheaper version for kids between 8 years old to around 14 years old.  like they used to do during 1988 to 1993.  plastic wheels, plastic couplers, lesser weight to around 2 oz to 2-1/2 oz,  painting kids like designs.  tracks without roadbed,  simple adaptors.  so that it will continue to promote youngsters around the world.  in fact Bachmann should think and produces video games or computer games,  train simulator,  train running on video for kids as well as adults.  why concentrate on producing expensive limited trains/trains set for adults were almost all hobbyist were either old or very old.?.  and those trains were so good that they even don't have to buy themagain.  think of doing business.  use my ways.  this is just my opinion.  any comment is welcome.

[CNE Runner]

I have read this seemingly endless thread with interest: interest in observing all its twists and turns. If you have the desire to 'run trains' but think you don't have the space check out Carl Arendt's website...trust me, there isn't any reason not to have a layout. As a model railroad vendor we usually see older Bachmann, Tyco, Model Power, Mantua sold by the box! The expected return on investment of these products is nil - with one exception: Bachmann old time cars and locomotives.

Partner, what the posters are trying to say is that you get what you pay for. Rather than 'throw' a couple of bucks on an older Bachmann, AHM, etc. car we will sell you an older Athearn car for very little more [This is NOT a sales pitch...merely a valid illustration of my point.] I would much rather hear of you running 5 quality cars - than attempting to utilize 10 cheap units.

I also think Bachmann has its [collective] hands full - producing and selling quality trains in a very competitive marketplace. 'Want a video game/train simulator? Try MS Train Simulator (there are a few others). Each of these 'games' has after market add-ons to keep your interest up (such as the Sweethaven Harbor for MS Train Simulator). Oh, if this market was so fruitful...why has MS decided not to offer a new version of their Train Simulator? No, Bachmann should (and in all likelyhood will..) continue to put their efforts toward offering quality trains at a price the average person can afford.

Just a thought (no malice intended): Maybe, after 6 pages, it is time to start a new thread?

Regards,
Ray

[jward]

why won't Bachmann produces cheaper version for kids between 8 years old to around 14 years old.  like they used to do during 1988 to 1993.  plastic wheels, plastic couplers, lesser weight to around 2 oz to 2-1/2 oz,  painting kids like designs.  tracks without roadbed,  simple adaptors.  so that it will continue to promote youngsters around the world.  in fact Bachmann should think and produces video games or computer games,  train simulator,  train running on video for kids as well as adults.  why concentrate on producing expensive limited trains/trains set for adults were almost all hobbyist were either old or very old.?.  and those trains were so good that they even don't have to buy themagain.  think of doing business.  use my ways.  this is just my opinion.  any comment is welcome.

there were many companies that did just this in the old days. most are now gone.

others, like bachmann, still struggle to overcome the damage to their reputation from those low quality sets. how many potential model railroaders have given up on the hobby after the frustrations of trains that run like slot cars, derail every time you try to back them, and just plain wear out quickly? i can tell you horror stories of locomotives with open gearboxes and motors that would fry when a piece of grit got into the gears.

and yes, bachmann does offer entry level sets for kids. look at the thomas train sets. but they are also of decent quality.

in the model railroad industry cutting corners doesn't work very well. you may sell a few toys, but the majority of the market is for the better quality trains. bachmann and some other manufacturers have managed to keep the cost of their diesel locomotives down, while raising the quality. we now have it better than we ever have. i wish i'd have had the quality of to-day available back in the 1970s.....especially at the inflation adjusted prices we are paying to-day. 

[Hellhound]

If the locomotives are driven through a single truck instead of both and have rubber traction tires they are pretty much junk. If they still look good use them as static displays. If the rolling stock has truck mounted couplers they are not worth using since they don't function very well and can't be backed up without derailing. they probably have the X2F couplers which are pretty much obsolete. I have been sorting that type of equipment out of my collection and if it still moves under it's own power it gets donated, along with the old brass track, to the 6 and 8 year old. They will race 'em around the track at full speed until they crash!

[BoevilleandNewtown]

To a point, I think the the hobby has pretty much priced itself out to the beginner.

I can remember years ago my dad and I could go out and for about $20, be able to have something to start with. I was 8-10 years old.

I can't fathom going out and spending $50 to $100 for a trainset that my 8 year old is going to tear up.

Odd thing of it is, I hear some people putting down the older equipment. Much like anything else, if you take care of it, it will take care of you.

I still run an old TYCO 0-4-0 switcher from the '50's from time to time along with 3 old Revell F series diesels (the ones w/ the rubberband drive). Granted, they don't see much time because of the age (played heck getting parts for the Revell's!).

I'm still a DC person. My 11ft x 13ft pike just doesn't warrent DCC yet.

[jward]

not all older equipment is created equal. that tyco-mantua 0-4-0 from the 50s would be much better quality than a similar tyco steamer from the 1970s, with a pancake motor tender drive. i have seen locomotives of that era with cheap 3 pole motors geared directly to the wheels-little to no speed control possible with those. they ran like slot cars. i have seen n scale locomotives with motors that burned up after a couple of days use. i have seen pancake motors where the bearings actually melted on them, these were running on a display layout where everything was weel maintained including proper lube of all locomotives. and i've seen locomotives with traction tires literally bounce themselves off the track trying to pull a train. it really doesn't matter how well taken care of it is, a yugo is still a yugo.....

if you are looking for reasonable priced locomotives that will run forever if taken care of, buy an athearn diesel. i have some that still run well after 30-40 years of service.....

[BoevilleandNewtown]

I agree w/ Athearn. They have made good products for years (once you get past the HiFi drive system).

As far as AHM, TYCO, Mantua, Life Like, Bachmann, some of the mid '70's stuff was a bit cheap and did run like a slot car.

The AHM's I have have been "reworked" and are quite reliable. Most of the Bachmann and Life Like are BER (beyond economical repair), except for the Proto and Spectrum. Those are nice pieces.

What I have been telling beginners these days who have young kids, go to EBay, find something decent and reasonably priced and have fun.

This way, if it gets broke, no loss. You also find out if the kid wants to even play with the trains.

[Johnson Bar Jeff]

Not all older equipment is created equal. that tyco-mantua 0-4-0 from the 50s would be much better quality than a similar tyco steamer from the 1970s, with a pancake motor tender drive.

I've bought a bunch of the 0-4-0Ts on eBay, the engines where the entire superstructure (boiler and cab) is one piece of cast metal. With a little light lubrication, I've gotten them purring like kittens, and they will pull just about anything I tie to their tails.

I have seen n scale locomotives with motors that burned up after a couple of days use.

That was my experience of N-scale when I was still just a kid, and one reason why I've stuck with HO.

It really doesn't matter how well taken care of it is, a yugo is still a yugo.....

If you are looking for reasonable priced locomotives that will run forever if taken care of, buy an athearn diesel. i have some that still run well after 30-40 years of service.....

[rockymidlandrr]

When I first entered this hobby I was started off with a life-like train set.  Pancake motor GP38-2, horn hook couplers, the works of everything obsolete.  My secondly locomotive was another pancake drive, so I was really beginning to think that's how the locomotives were supposed to sound, loud and noisy, and it really was a turn off. I got a IHC 4-6-2 about a year later And I was blown away, WOW that's quiet!!! A bachmann white box F9 with a can motor quickly parked everything else that wasn't of quality.

Today the fleet looks a lot different, knuckle couplers and a lot more trains. But the climb to get to where I'm at now. I applaud Bachmann for having their starter sets at a reasonable price and decent quaility. One would hope that's how everyone else would be, but sadly its not.  The 00's product are better than the 90's. My basic message is, if you give someone something good in a train set, but if the quality is bad they might not buy again.

[Joe323]

Regrettably in the 80 - 90s HO was of poor quality, Lionel was too expensive so it wasn't untill the late 2000's that I got back into the hobby.  Most of my HO complaints poor quality locos, couplers, cars etc have thankfully been addressed.

Now with DCC I can operate a small layout in a protypical fashion. 

The hobby has come a long waty.