Large Scale Central

General reliability of Bachmann and Accucraft

General Discussion
#1

Good Day Chaps,

I am interested in preparing a small garden railroad (approximately 150 by 75 feet) and would like to model American narrow guage loosely based on the RGS. As such, I have primarily looked at equipping with Bachmann and/or AMS/Accucraft stock.

I currently have a few pieces of AMS stock and love the detail and they seem robust enough. However, in order to be somewhat affordable, it would appear that Bachmann locomotives will be the choice to go to. I have looked at some past threads on the Bachmann board and it worries me that it appears that the K-27 and several of the geared locomotives seem to have powertrain problems. My question is has this continued to persist or have the later iterations improved?

While currently the Accucraft locomotives are a bit out of my price range, I would hopefully like to add one of the live steam jobs at some future point. Again, how has the experience been with these models in general?

Thank you all in advance

#2

Welcome Lorna!

I can only go by my own experiences…Many will have opinions, here is mine;

The K-27 is the nicest, smoothest running engine I have the pleasure of owning.

The Bachmann 4-4-0 is right there with the ‘K’.

The 2-6-6-2 ‘Mallet’ runs as good as the 4-4-0.

The 2-truck Shay (with the die-cast motor blocks) is as smooth a runner as the Mallet.

The 44-tonner diesel runs like the 2-truck Shay.

The “Annie” is near bullet-proof.

You get the idea…I have yet to repair a single Bachmann and I run the snot out of them.

I also own a Connie…It runs as well as all the rest.

I have run REA/LGB/USA/Lionel/Bachmann/Hartland/ and Marklin. The new Bachmann 1:20.3 is as good, or in many cases better than the aforementioned. To date I have not had a reason to repair any Bachmann engine.

Will they break?..Sure they will. Are they dependable?..As good as any. If you fear Bachmann because of quality then honestly you should not consider any of the manufacturers. These are not Tonka toys, they will require maintenance and occasional repair but if you take good care of them they will return untold hours of fun.

#3

Things to watch for…

Only buy a 2-truck shay of later vintage with the die-cast trucks…Earlier drives were indeed problematic.

The Connie will have an eventual gear failure, so I am told and don’t doubt it. Bachmann sells a replacement gear for 12 bucks…I have one at the ready but have had no issues to date.

Some do not like the gearing of the ‘K’. Others do not care. I love mine but may upgrade the drive in the future.

Non “Annie” 4-6-0’s are indeed cheaply constructed and will likely require future repair.

Early Climax’s are rumored to have issues but I am not aware of exactly what.

Can anyone else think of items to look out for?

#4

Hello and Welcome Lorna. This is a great forum for large scale trains adn you will find a bunch of very knowledgable folks here that can answer pretty much any question you come up with. Do remember there is no right or wrong way when building and running YOUR RR but listen to the tips and ideas, these guys can save you alot of grief.
Your question: I’m not familiar with Accucraft so I cannot speak to them but I do own several Bachmann locos. Any engine can havae trouble if you don’t treat it right but overall the bachmann starter set engines have not been the best. You get what you pay for. If you step up to their Spectrum line you will get a finely detailed nice running loco. I have several of their geared locos and love each one. I do worry about lubing all those tiny moving parts though. I also own a Bachmann Baldwin 2-6-6-2 and it is a beauty but like the K27 it is BIG so you will need to plan on setting up wide curves like 8’ but 10’ diameter plus is even better. The big engines will derail on anything under 5’ diameter.
I also have one of Bachmanns little Davenports which is impressive and a 2-4-2 with the new metal gears.
In my opinion you can’t beat the detail and price points of the Bachmanns.
Maybe someone with Accucraft engines will chime in.
Happy RRing
Todd

#5

Welcome Lorna. I have some experience with both Bachmann AND Accucraft. I own a Bachmann Connie and it’s gears broke after less than 10 hours of running. I had the drive replaced with Barry’s Big Trains drive. It is now bullet-proof. I also own an Accucraft C19 #346 sparkie. These two locomotives are at opposite ends of the spectrum. The Connie cost me $175 new in early 2007. The Accucraft C19 was $2200 in early 2008. No true cpmparison between the two. Bachmann is plastic and Accucraft is brass and stainless steel.

#6

Thank you, sirs. I realize most anything needs maintenance. Glad to hear that the Bachmann is not overly problematic.
The Accucraft as mentioned is far off, but is a dream to have at least a live steamer at some point.
I have done some reading and one reason set aside the room I did was to run curves of not less that 10 foot diameter.

Again thank you and thank for the warm welocme.
L

#7

Mornin’, Lorna - tac here over in UK having just delivered mrs tac to the airport on her way to stay with her cousin in southern Spain - hence the early bird comms.

I have a bunch of each, Bachmann and AccuCraft, electric and steam but can offer direct comparisons with only two - my AccuCraft K27 and the Bachmann version at 1/5th the price.

As can be seen on Youtube, for some unnacountable reason, they both run at precisely the same speeds hauling a long double-header, something they should not do, given the alleged disparity in the motors, but THEY don’t know that, and do it anyhow.

When we bought my metal K27 there was nothing else in the same correct scale, and it was not a bargain here in yUK at almost $4500. The Bachmann plastic version, however, has a bit more detail, and cost only £650 here, but with a fluctuating exchange rate it worked out at about 20-22% the cost of the AccuCraft version. It is, without any doubt, the most bang for your buck of ANY large-scale model on earth. Bought because it had the green boiler, we love it to bits and run it as much as anything else. To compare it with the AccuCraft model is a facile exercise, they are plainly in a different purchasing market, but if it had been around back in 2000, then I wouldn’t have invested my pension in the AccuCraft version, for sure.

Just to see what else is in the toy cupboard, we also have -

Bachmann

Two two-truck Shays with metal trucks - converted on disintegration of the original trucks, after that, no problems of any kind.

Two three-truck Shays - no problems of any kind.

Heisler - ditto.

Climax - ditto

Connie - just replaced the gear after almost ten years.

Annie, one of the very first - no problems of any kind.

K27 - almost three years old - ditto

AccuCraft Steam

Three-cylinder Shay - misaligned truck bolsters on receipt - fixed, and a couple of additions - otherwise no problems and nine years old. A Youtube star.

Gauge 1 Royal Hudson - way too many problems out of the box to list, but fixed, at considerable expense here in UK after parts sent to me free by Cliff Luscher in Union City - figure about $1000-worth. A Youtube star.

16mm Scale NG/G16 Beyer-Garratt - needed converting to ensure effective steaming, at my expense. It was the prototype for the ‘fixes’ on the second and third run of this rare loco, and runs beautifully - tons of it on Youtube.

16mm Welshpool & Llanfair Rwy 0-6-0 - a star runner out of the box and on Youtube.

16mm ‘Edrig’ - same again.

AccuCraft electric K27 - getting VERY heavy now that I’m getting old, but a very beautiful model that I jus love to watch and to listen to - full Sierra Soundtraxx digital sound system with shovelling fireman, Alumite greaser action and all the sounds you could wish for.

Many of us here have identical or not dissimilar experiences with comparatively high-dollar models, although moving up another gear in spending, my one Aster model has NEVER give nany grief of any kind. Your chances are better these days, as the latest tranche of steamers from AccuCraft, especially the smaller ones, are greatr runners.

One point here - you blithely talk about a ‘small track of 150 feet by 75’. That is NOT a small track by any standards, and will need some thinking about it you intend to run electrically-powered models of any size with reasonable consists behind them. You also mention curves ‘no less than ten feet in diameter’ - take an old man’s advice and make those curves as big as possible - on a track the size that you are contemplating, 16 or even 20 foot curves would be quite usual, especially if you ever have a guest running day and some klutz turns up with a USA Trains Big Boy…trust me, you can NEVER have too big a radius curve.

As for the means of powering this LARGE layout of yours, you’ll need to address that little problem separately, unless, of course, you intend to go over to battery power and r/c.

But whatever you need to know, somebody here has done it before, that you can bet on.

Best wishes and welcome again.

tac, ig & The Lonesome Viking Boys

#8

Just remember the bigger you go the higher costs and the more maintenance involved. (and nothing takes the fun out of a hobby like getting in over your head!)

Realistically assessing your budget, commitment (and the tolerance level of your significant other!), skill level, and health (especially your knees!) first will keep you from biting off too much too quickly.

NOT trying to discourage you, more like want to continue to see you for a few years

To answer your question, The Bachmann 5th and 6th generation Anniversary/Big Haulers are probably the best budget “beaters” on the market today (The earlier ones were kind of crappy, tho). Run the wheels off one to “get your feet wet”, then get another loco as your budget allows.

#9

Welcome Lorna
:slight_smile:

#10

Welcome Lorna. I think you got great advise so far. I have been in the hobby for about 5 years. I startd out with running track power. I have had great luck with Hartland Big John, LGB Forney, Newer bachmann Industrial, and an older LGB Mogul. They all run great.
You mentioned Live Steam. For starters look at the Live Steam Forney. I bought one about a year ago and I have been very happy with it. It is affordable especially if you compare it to the price of some of the Bachmann bigger engines. Live steam is alot of fun but make sure you build your layout with live steam in mind. You want to try and have a spot where the layout is elevated so you can prep the engine. You also want to keep the layout somewhat flat. Since getting hooked on live steam I dont think I will ever buy another electric engine. Live steam is a lot more money but I will just have fewer engines in my roster. It is still good to have track powered engine and /or a battery engine for those lazy days. Keep us updated on your layout progress.

#11

Welcome Lorna - You’ve received good advice from all the guys above, and I’ll just add my little 2c to the mix.

Since we all want to see you stick around, I’ll repeat the above advice to keep it simple, at least at first. Have some kind of rough plan - you don’t need a lot of details - but an idea of where you’re like to go in the long run, and build one complete section that you can run trains on very soon. Keeps your spirits up.

You should know before you get in too deep whether you’re going to watch trains or run a railroad. Two different things entirely.

If you’re building so that you and visitors can watch trains go round, then building at ground level among the plants may be the best plan for you, but I can tell you that raising my railroad, first on rock and earthwork, and later even higher onto benchwork, was the best thing I ever did.

Table height (<>30") works well for me and mine. This meant some sacrifice in scenic realism, but since I operate point-to-point and do switching (shunting) moves FAR more than roundy-roundy, getting off the ground has been more than worth the tradeoff. Oh, did I mention my aged back?

Combining a garden RR and higher elevation without using benchwork means using hardscape - a lot of heavy digging, lifting and placing of rocks, as well as and dealing with drainage issues. Ask the guys who know…

I tried it and realized I was spending all my train time doing heavy labour. Change of plan.

Now I use benchwork and bridges, and the older parts with the hardscaping still work well as transition points - it all blends together somehow… The more heavy construction your method employs, the more important it is to know more or less where you’re going and why; a little advance planning is essential, because you will most certainly want to make changes here and there, if possible without undoing a lot of your prior heavy labour.

Summary: Three choices - 1.Ground level, 2. Up a bit on hardscape, 3. Up all the way on benchwork. You can combine them of course, but if you’re primarily an operator, I most heartily recommend #3.

There are other opinions, but level track is generally considered to be best and personally, I do prefer it.:cool:
:cool:

#12

Again, thank you all for the wonderful advice. I have much to think about here. One reason I asked before just buying and then realizing uh-oh moment.

#13

Welcome Lorna - My $0.02

I own a Bachmann K-27 it runs very good and is very solid. Most I think will agree that it is a solid loco. The biggest disaggrement is the gear ratio. The K will run away from you on a downhill run and can slow down considerably on an incline. I think it is all a matter of preference. You can spend the extra money and change out the gears (there is ne available about $250) or adjust the throttle as your loco runs. Other than that there are a few that will complain about the electronics being too confusing and such, if you want to add aftermarket stuff. I have to be honest I dont see it. I wired my K-27 with a Phoenix sound, Airwire RC and batteries. It was not difficult at all and it runs great.

I own a Connie which the drive gear has split and I have the brass replacement from Bachmann. I have not replaced it yet, because I have other projects to do first. But the Connie had been a faithful runner for arout 7 years before the gear split. Bottom line on the gear, it will at one time do it but no one knows when theirs will. I still think it is a great loco.

I also own a 2-6-6-2. I have to admit I’ve not ran it alot on my layout. But I did run it on a Christmas display last year. It ran 8 hrs a day 7 days a week for about a month. It ran flawlessly.

I own a 2-truck shay. I bought mine used and it was a first edition. It had the plastic trucks and they did split. I have the metal ones but I have not yet installed them.

I also own an Accucraft C-19 Electric. This is a beautiful engine and it runs great. I’m glad I have one. BUt I dont think I could afford to just buy Accucraft.

As others have said, its your RR. Have fun with it first. My advice go ahead and buy a Bachmann. It will run just fine. If after running it a while you dont like how it runs up hills or so on and so forth. There are aftermarket parts to change that and you will still be ahead of the price of an Accucraft. Buy an Accucraft when you have been in the hobby long enough and want something that is your “Pride and Joy”.

#14

Consider PIKO’s 0-4-0 or 2-4-0 steam locomotive to get started. Price is low and product has been favorably reviewed here (see REVIEWS). Garden Railways also gave it an examination and concluded it worthy of the cost.
Welcome to the myriad of topics!
Wendell

#15

My initial concern is the the OP decides NOW on the form of power - starter sets will NOT have a power unit that will drive a train around a ~450 foot track.

tac, ig & The English Pit Boys

#16
tac said:
My initial concern is the the OP decides NOW on the form of power - starter sets will NOT have a power unit that will drive a train around a ~450 foot track.

tac, ig & The English Pit Boys


A very good point to consider Lorna. Many will make suggestions on what they consider better…DC, DCC, Battery, Steam. But this is an important first step. If I may make my own suggestion…Do not limit yourself to one power source. Your proposed layout is of reasonable size and could run DC with a good power supply and feeders, and I would recommend you do so. I would also recommend you have a few Battery powered loco’s, and with Bachmann you can EASILY do both with the same engine. A real plus for Bachmann in my opinion.

Multiple power sources does not limit what you can run, and just as important, it does not limit what your friends can run!

#17
Mark V said:
tac said:
My initial concern is the the OP decides NOW on the form of power - starter sets will NOT have a power unit that will drive a train around a ~450 foot track.

tac, ig & The English Pit Boys


A very good point to consider Lorna. Many will make suggestions on what they consider better…DC, DCC, Battery, Steam. But this is an important first step. If I may make my own suggestion…Do not limit yourself to one power source. Your proposed layout is of reasonable size and could run DC with a good power supply and feeders, and I would recommend you do so. I would also recommend you have a few Battery powered loco’s, and with Bachmann you can EASILY do both with the same engine. A real plus for Bachmann in my opinion.

Multiple power sources does not limit what you can run, and just as important, it does not limit what your friends can run!


Its really hard for me to write this but…Even though I am a dyed-in-the-wool track-power anti-electronics doodleyguck complete Luddite…Given the OPs stated layout goal, 150’ x 75’ (which BTW is AS Large as my entire property! I’m sorry but that’s NOT small by any standard!!:open_mouth: ) I cannot imagine trying to track power something that large :wink: , I would suggest investigating RC/battery operation for something that large ;). It would also significantly reduce your maintenance and track cleaning requirements plus you could build using whatever crappy used brass track you can find on Ebay, as long as its solid all it has to do is support the trains with no worries about conductivity issues that DC or DCC could trigger.