Bachmann Spectrum USRA 4-8-2 light Mountain

[GP38-2freak]

After surfing through the Walthers N Catalog I want to order a Bachmann Spectrum USRA 4-8-2 light Mountain in Union Pacific for my Micro Trains heavyweights...
Could you give me some information about this model, as my only experience with Bachmann steam locomotives is/was the 4-8-4 Northern from the "Empire Builder" Train Set which I got 20 years ago from my parents..it looked nice but ran like scrap...I still have it but the motor went to heaven...so, do you think that the light Mountain is a good model?

Tim

[Dave V]

Plan on shimming the bearing block on the traction tire driver by about 0.005" or so if you want it to haul more than its tender.

It's the basis of my M1 kit bash, and had I to do it all over again, I would have waited for the heavy 4-8-2.  It never performed the way I wanted it to.

[SkipGear]

Supposedly the most recent batch of light mountains have had the frame issue addressed. The newest ones are reported to pull pretty well, still not up to the heavy mountain standards but good just the same. Just look for the loco's with the functioning couplers (McHenry look alikes).

[Mike C]

I have one of the older ones, and it pulls 10-12 cars on my layout. Layout is fairly flat, and smaller. So I don't usually pull more than about 12 cars.....Mike

[peteski]

For this type of question I refer people to Spookshow's (Mark's) wonderful website http://www.visi.com/~spookshow/locos.html   He usually keeps it up to date with all the latest models.
There you'll find very useful review of that model http://www.visi.com/~spookshow/bachmann482.html

[GP38-2freak]

After looking on Marks (Spookshow) site I think that I could fix the problem with the traction tires when I replace them with ones from Fleischmann, it looks liek the old problem with some german steamers..you get them, run them, pull them apart and after reassembly they run like jewels...

thank you for the nice & helpful answers!

Tim

[mmagliaro]

After looking on Marks (Spookshow) site I think that I could fix the problem with the traction tires when I replace them with ones from Fleischmann, it looks liek the old problem with some german steamers..you get them, run them, pull them apart and after reassembly they run like jewels...

thank you for the nice & helpful answers!

Tim

Hey!  What Fleischmann traction tires are you using, and where do you get them? 

[mcjaco]

That bearing block fix does not work on all the units.  Mine is one of them.  It actually made it worse, and so did the tape method. 

I'd like to hear about the Fleishman tires too.  Otherwise, it's Bullfrog Snot, and hope for the best.

[Nato]

    I will agree with all the comments so far,once I shimed up the traction driver my 4 locomotives will easly pull 25 cars. Be aware these locomotives are not DCC like Bachman's newer steamers Heavy Mountain ,Two Ten Two.Also as a rivet counter of sorts UP & SP 4-8-2 locomotives should have vandy tenders,the Bachmann larger vandy tender (C&O) design used on the Heavy Loco Model is not easy to adapt as it is designed for DCC wireing The light Mountains are still nice models and the Frisco S.L.S.F. model closely matches the preserved loco that was used in Fanzee Trip service in the 90's. Nate Goodman (Nato0.

[spookshow]

The newest release of the light 4-8-2 does have a DCC-ready tender (although it doesn't actually come with a decoder). Should be swappable with the C&O tender, though -



Cheers,
-Mark

[GP38-2freak]

Could someone give me the diameter of the traction tire equipped axles (millimeters would be helpful)...
@mmagliaro: I live in germany so I have little problems to get traction tires as replacement parts, send me a PN if you need something.
Tim

[spookshow]

The axles or the drivers?

-Mark

[GP38-2freak]

The drivers    traction tires on axles look very 

[mmagliaro]

I don't have a light mountain, but I do have a heavy mountain, and I believe the drivers are the same diameter.
I measured the traction tire driver parameters as follows:

0.390" over the metal tread where there is NO groove cut for the tire
0.394" over the tire itself when it is installed in the driver (this is a little subjective because the tire is soft, but I tried
    to get a measurement where it "just touches")
0.376" over the groove with the tire removed.

This implies .394 - .376 = 0.018" difference, or a tire thickness of .009"

[spookshow]

I get 10 mm on my light mountain (measuring the driver face and excluding the flanges).

Cheers,
-Mark