New NW2 by Bachmann?

[wcfn100]

So is that an 'All Weather' window on the Fireman's side?  He probably appreciates that. 


Jason

[SkipGear]

Otto MY sentiments exactly but may I ad, why didn't they make an improved SF 4-8-4 Northern body instead?  but an NW2?  I guess I will have to keep waiting.
JoeW

They retooled the ATSF Northern about 2 years ago. Only minor changes but the tooling is fresh and crisp.

[Burlington Bob]

By SkipGear;

They retooled the ATSF Northern about 2 years ago. Only minor changes but the tooling is fresh and crisp.

That's fine for looks but how does it run?  I had one of the early units and it was OK at 30 scale MPH or more but forget it at anything less.

[AVR Mark]

Shouldn't the radiator area on the top of the hood go back almost to the bell? It appears to on all the prototype photos I's looked at and even on the Kato model. The Bachmann NW2 radiator (top of hood) looks short to me. I guess that makes me a "rivet counter".

Mark

[SkipGear]

By SkipGear;

That's fine for looks but how does it run?  I had one of the early units and it was OK at 30 scale MPH or more but forget it at anything less.

Pretty good actually. They will pull the paint off the walls. Adding tender pickup is still an improvement that needs to be done but other than that, mechanically they are fine. The could obviously be more detailed, it would be nice if they were geared a little lower, but still not bad for the price.

[Cajonpassfan]

They retooled the ATSF Northern about 2 years ago. Only minor changes but the tooling is fresh and crisp.

Tony, I don't know; I'm looking at the Bachmann website Northern photo and it looks just terrible.... smokebox front an upside down U shape... Is that the "upgraded" version?
Otto

[SkipGear]

Tony, I don't know; I'm looking at the Bachmann website Northern photo and it looks just terrible.... smokebox front an upside down U shape... Is that the "upgraded" version?
Otto

I think Mark has photos of the new shell on his review. I seem to remember taking some for him. It is not a major redo, just fresh tooling. The overall design of the shell is the same, it just doesn't look like 70's tooling anymore and yes, the photos on Bachmann are still of the older shell.

That said, even the older shell wasn't horrible once you stripped the paint dip job off of it.....



Stripped, repainted, and added a C&O tender for a stand in Greenbrier for a friend.

[Cajonpassfan]

Thanks Tony. I guess being a Santa Fe steam guy, and this being the ultimate in Santa Fe steam power, I still find the model clunky and wish they had started from scratch. Nice job on the Greenbriar though...
Otto K.

[peteski]

Even though this is the NW2 thread (and nobody but me found the window gaskets/frames objectionable)  I'll join the drifting, and I'll add that I also find the Northern very clunky looking. Even the refreshed and stripped/repainted shell  looks like a child's toy. Sort of like those cheap TT scale Wall-Mart plastic model toys or those DelPrado "collectibles".   Not only is the overall boiler shape terrible (looks like a shroud rather than a cylinder shape), the molded-on details are way too exaggerated (too thick).

[spookshow]

Bear in mind that the 4-8-4 Northern is still part of Bachmann's blue label (aka trainset) line. So, one shouldn't expect Spectrum level looks (or prices). FWIW, the latest version is a very solid runner and light-years ahead of any of the earlier incarnations (IMHO).

As Tony pointed out, the retooled shell is simply a cleaned up version of the old one -



-Mark

[Mark5]

Thanks for posting that pic Mark.

I'm pretty sure the stripped one (ATSF loco) in the photo above is the old shell.

Mark

[brokemoto]

Glad to see a painted/unlettered version.

[SkipGear]

Thanks for posting that pic Mark.

I'm pretty sure the stripped one (ATSF loco) in the photo above is the old shell.

Mark

Yes, it is the older shell. A friend wanted the Greenbrier but at the time the Northerns were not available from Bachmann. It may have been the time between batches when they changed the tooling. The newly tooled locos come with the working knuckle coupler on the tender. I went ahead and stripped and prepped mine for him and then picked up a new one when they were available. That is when I found out about the newly tooled version. As the photo Mark posted shows, it is much crisper than the old one.

[Cajonpassfan]

Thanks for the Northern pics guys. Back to the NW2.... My diagrams show the NW2 truck spacing to be 6" shorter than the S4 (22' vs. 22'6") and the same 8' wheelbase trucks. The discrepancy is minuscule, I can easily live with that, but are the trucks the same?
Otto

[seusscaboose]

bump

is the NW-2 released yet?

EP