hi sam. both bachmann and hornby increased their prices and dropped the level of performance and or Finnish on their models.. i stopped buying hornby unless i find older brand new models at realistic prices. bachmann i do not even look at them. i find that buying from smaller companies like accura rapido etc you get what you pay for be it there are limited models to choose from
Sam, thanks for taking one for the team with this purchase. Obviously you can't expect quality performance from Bachmann but the detail is probably rivaling most models made in the last few years. I am head over heels for the paint scheme and if it were a hundred quid less I'd have snagged one but alas these are mad times indeed. As always, I love your thorough attention to detail and eloqution, please keep up these longer reviews. They're the best for a conclusion to a long day. Stay safe and take care.
Very beautiful loco, but also very expensive. Especially when shipped to my neck of the woods. I got the Caledonian 812 in as-built livery and was quite underwhelmed with the mechanism. Stunning loco visually though. I am going to butcher it completely. New 5 pole motor with flywheel, more sensible gearing, new Dapol style draw bar, and DCC with sound relocated to tender. Got a lathe, a mill and a couple of 3D printers, so I'm all set.
@@lemonlime3634 I have a strong 6 pole cancidate, sourced from outside the model railroading hobby. I just installed one in an ancient Tri-ang R52 0-6-0 Jinty. It now has the slowest and steadiest crawl of all my locomotives, without DCC.
Thanks Sam for a great and honest review. I've bought one myself in LNWR livery (Lucknow) and just had to gulp when I saw the asking price. Like yourself, I cannot see the justification for the high cost. Still, being an avid collector of Crewe built locos, it was a "Must have" for me. The LNWR scene has largely been ignored by the mainstream suppliers for most of my life. Despite this, I believe that there has always been a small, but persistent demand for a RTR range of models. Consequentially, new LNWR loco launches are rare events indeed (Even given the Webb coal tank and the G2, both from Bachmann) The LNWR scene is definitely niche and probably low volume from a sales perspective. I'm guessing that with respect to the Precedent, the market that they have identified are the LNWR modellers that would previously have built a kit in various formats. Consider that the most basic LNWR loco kit will set you back close to 300 pounds (including motor and wheels) and that's before you build it and perhaps, when finished, will not be to the same standard as seen here.
20.20 The 'lamp irons' are correct. Many pre-grouping companies used lamps with a spigot on the base, which fitted into a socket on the loco as shown correctly here. 20.28 The LMS followed the LNWR and many other companies from the late C19th in 'pooling' tenders, which therefore had to display their own running-number plates. Since tenders took much less time than engines in major servicing, this made turn-around during works visits more efficient.
The speed record was an average of 67mph between crewe and Carlisle over the cumbria fells, like Shap. So they must have been very fast on the level to make up for the uphill drag over shap, certainly at least 80mph if not higher
Potentially Hardwicke may have exceeded 90 mph O.S. Nock in North Western Page 106 regarding a Jumbo reaching 88mph unassisted, and 90 mph piloting a Whale Experiment. E.ither way the locomotive was running faster than one of Webb's compounds could manage, they reckoned a Teutonic might also nudge 90 mph according to O.S. Nock Page 186 British Steam Railways but the other Compounds never seems as swift.
@@robredz also worth taking into account that GWR scheduled their Castles to run at 61mph on the Cheltenham Flyer between London and Swindon, a much more powerful, 100mph+, locomotive, on a flatter route (okay, with a heavier train) ... Shows what a good bit of design the Jumbo's were ... Shame that Webb was lured into a world of bonkers compounds as he could have made some more outstanding simple expansion locos
@@bluesfish98 W.A.Tuplin in Great Western Steam Page 100, avers a GWR Saint Lady of Lyon running solo in a test touched 120 mph sometghing that would not be impossible, apparently id scared the hell out of the crewand others on the footplate, Collett later CME who designed the Castle Class being one of them.
I wonder if the tie up with the Locomotion / RM has had an impact on the pricing with this loco. With government funding to our national museums being quite low and the Government encouraging said museums to increase revenues from merchandising to compensate it would be logical for income from involvement in the design of models of national collection locos, particularly the more unique / antiquated designs to be looked at to help support the work they do in conserving the real things.
Daily reminder that for models that are, quite frankly, made on the cheap in China, there is simply no excuse for them to be as expensive as they are. However, there is one simple way to affect change in a positive direction; simply do not buy these overpriced models. Vote with your wallet. A very nice looking loco does not excuse inappropriate gearing and poor pony truck design. It betrays a sort of "that'll do" attitude that assumes that enthusiasts will just buy the model, no matter what the performance actually is, just so long as it looks exceptional in the advertisements.
Hi Sam. A beautiful looking loco, love the colour and design. Another example of the manufacturers going for the collectors rather than the railway modellers. You know the ones I mean, the ones that never run their trains and put them in a display case , and they often keep them in the boxes. The high end prices will destroy the hobby. I recently saw a video of the new owner of Hornby, and was alarmed at his ethos of the business, and if you listen to his message, he is targeting the collectors, the super expensive model, and production of fewer affordable models for the masses. Along with fewer models, the ethos he is promoting is an elitism where to the “Collectors “ are the audience, with super detailed models, which are not fit to run on a layout, which are highly priced. The likes of Pete Waterman or Rod Stewart and other super rich people who might be happy to pay the prices now being asked. Hornby will be lucky to survive that ethos. and with Bachman and other manufacturers following suit with the prices, the hobby is returning to the 50’s . Soon Hornby etc will only have a yearly catalog of that era. A couple of models at super high prices.
It becomes a self-destructive cycle. We see this in children's toys where the companies make toys that are WAY to expensive for a toy, that most buyers are adult collectors. A couple of examples are the $500~600 Playmobil Enterprise. For that price, it could be a bit better gimmicks. Or the re-release of the big Millennium Falcon action figure toy at $400+. It was $125USD when made in 2008. People have spent $600~1000 to get one. Many of today's toys have limited playability, other than LEGO. If model Train sets are not affordable for children to get into, the hobby dies. 220-pounds = $300 USD! A child can get a drone for $75, it has four motors. has lights, camera, can fly outside 100m away and do a lot more than going forwards and backwards. My guess, they are doing the math of profit goals. Sell for XX price, even if it means less sold units. If a more detailed model is desired, that doesn't need to move. How about actual model kits? No good answers for this situation. This model in the review is a beauty. I can also admire the design in photos or videos, rather than spend $300.
In it's guise as Hardwicke, from the NRM and in it's lovely lined LNWR black livery it's just about worth the money (paying a premium for it being an iconic member of the National Collection and all). As just a member of the Bachmann catalogue it isn't. That said it's still an absolutely gorgeous model that none of us ever expected to be made. As ever, a great video and keep up the good work. :)
Being a 2-4-0 it has the same wheel arrangement (not counting the tender) as Beattie's Class 0298 Well Tanks that EFE recently rereleased from DJM. I think the Precedent probably has a just a tad more oomph though.
@@DangerAngelous yeah can't say I'd really blame anyone for forgetting about it. It's a shame the model is a bit iffy as the real Beattie Well Tanks are incredible engines
I like the LMS livery on this locomotive along with the 2-4-0 wheel configuration for this tender engine! It’s unfortunate that the price is way too expensive as to be expected with new locomotives.
I really appreciate you doing the initial performance test before the mechanism teardown. Even though the teardown probably wouldn't affect performance, this removes any doubt about it. Please could you explain how you calculate the final score, and how the pulling power is factored into this (if at all)? Because if it was just based on the stars, it would be impossible to get differences in score of only 0.03.
You can -- or will be able to, when they come out later this year -- an 0 Gauge Dapol B4 0-4-0T for under two hundred from Tower Models. Choice of cabs, periods and liveries including fully lined LSWR green. Yes, the Precedent is pretty, but by George, Bachmann are charging like wounded bulls for a not spectacularly special model.
I think this and the 812 is the start of British manufacturers pricing models as expensive as Märklin over in Germany. It's a good locomotive, but that price is just When I buy a model I normally buy it second hand or save up money for many months to eventually afford it as a student but now these are so expensive I don't wanna save up months for a loco anymore. I do like the Caledonian from last time more because I'm a fan of the livery but this locomotive is very elegant too. There is another 2-4-0 locomotive that immediately came into my mind which is the Beattie Well Tank. I can't blame you for forgetting that horrbile little "model" though. Also now that you kinda agreed to review the new horribly expensive models I really want to see the Double Fairlie by Bachmann it's one of my favourite locomotives So if you could do a review on it some day it would be amsolutely amazing. Great review as always, Sam 👍 Also when the "theres a lot of loco in front of the driving wheels" made me smile a lot :D
Hello and welcome back sam great to see you back and with 2 reviews too brilliant viewing for the start of my 4 days off really enjoy the new part about gauge speed and why not with ever more ridiculously high prices coming in we as a community should be demanding near perfection in all aspects of the models including speed amazing reviews as always and looking forward to what you have in store for this year!!!
I do like the speed trap segments of these new reviews! I also like that you mention that you filmed the disassembly after the running-in because it kinda bothered me and some other viewers that you popped open a locomotive before even running it
Did it really cost £220 the most expensive locomotive you’ve reviewed 😉. Good review, beautiful locomotive but too expensive. Oh I also spotted a flaw in the decoration, just above the rear driving wheels the lining around the little semicircular cut out was miss aligned and forward justified to the black.
The glory of Victorian locos, wonderful. Can we have an early Webb compound as well. I think the fine detailing of the wheels adds to the quality of this loco
My mother collected engine numbers on the LNW at Watford, just after the Grouping. I wonder if she saw one in LMS 'red'. Her spotter's book was not passed down.
15:48, the price is a complete novelty!! Honestly what are Bachmann thinking?! The prices in this hobby have gone through the rough and it means that young people as myself who aren’t yet able to get a job can only really afford 1 or 2 models a year..?! It just makes no sense! And yet Accurascale (who seem to have way more detail than Bachmann or Hornby!) are offering their locos for amazingly reasonable prices - their new Manor Class coming in at £141!!!! With way more features than this!! Why can’t other manufacturers do this?! Doesn’t seem to make sense! Thanks for doing reviews of locos as expensive as these as it really does help in saying whether or not it will be worth it! It really is a great service you provide! Thanks so much and keep safe! Oisín
Think yourself lucky you don’t live in Europe or North America where I understand prices are considerably higher than the UK. In that respect it could be said that (1) the UK is just catching up with the rest of the world, but (2) more importantly, there is ZERO EVIDENCE of the hobby in those countries suffering as a result of high prices. Ultimately model railway manufacturers are profit making business first, not some sort of benevolent charity seeking to bring Model railways to the masses. As such they will charge what the market is willing to pay, so as Sam himself said about Hornby this year, if you really want to make an impact, simply don’t buy expensive products! The phrase ‘money talks’ didn’t come about by accident you know. If enough folk did this then either prices would come down or it would prompt new entrants to come into the business at a cheaper price point.
Phil I’m actually not from the UK, but from Ireland and as you say stuff is more expensive over here! The Irish retailers are very expensive and I usually end up buying from UK retailers but Brexit has meant that there’s a huge customs charge on all items - it’s a huge pain! Hopefully we’ll get some new and cheaper manufacturers like you say but I also agree with Sam’s philosophy regarding voting with our wallets!!
@@traintastictrains3632 There is no customs duty on model trains anywhere in the world. The only things you have to pay is the import VAT and the ridiculous prices the postal services charge for filling in a customs form.
Hi Sam, I have the LMS black Version - Talavera. Like you I found the speed excessive and I also removed the traction tyre wheels. After running-in I converted it to DCC, re-aligned the pick-ups and the performance improved. No cutting out and smoother operation. I agree that the model looks superb but not at the high cost, especially having to do some remedial work to get the best out of it! Keep up the good work!!
It's pretty interesting that these haven't sold out yet at rails. Perhaps price is indeed a deterrent. However they do look absolutely beautiful, would love to see these with the Genesis coaches when they come out
If you liked the engine, may I recommend a lovely old book (available very cheaply online) - 'Locomotives worth modelling'. The Precedents are mentioned and there's a lovely drawing too.
A truly lovely loco imo Sam. Pity Hornby’s quality control has been so bad of late when producing otherwise interesting locos i.e. the vaunted Hush Hush…
For a £220 model though, you need it to work on DC as well. Plenty of other less expensive models manage it, unacceptable to have poor performance on a model of this price
Thank You for this nice video ! I got this lokomotive as a present from a very good friend last week. I have not unpacked it until today. Will do it next. What I want to say is that this lokomotive was not built in 1887 for those heavy coaches ! The old LMS Clerestory coaches would look much more better with this Lokomotive :).
Sam: The scale speed is nuts.The Gearing is at question? With the the slower pace of Edwardian Britain could the design electics, may not have been designed to suit?
The speed record of 67mph was an average speed; 790 "Hardwicke" was recorded going 90mph and it held that record for nearly 30 years. However, I still agree that it goes too fast! Great review!
Good review! One thing: that front axle is not a "pony". It was mounted to the frame like the drivers, and that's because it wasn't there to lead into curves: it was there to hold up the massive weight of the cylinders and smokebox. So in this regard the horrible balance is actually realistic. I wasn't as shocked by the price as you were. Until I saw it run, that is. I would have expected it to run better out of the box.
Did anyone bet on the number of times Sam says £220 ? Could have bought one on the proceeds!!! SO Just as when Hornby bring out the Lion and stuff we will not be buying. Price wise and this was a bargain I got a Europa Class LC&DR for £445 in 5 inch gauge. David and Lily.
Someone from my local Model rail club got one of these, very expensive, and it *Hated* the curves! They weren’t even that tight, I think they were 3rd radius, but it just cut out. But *MAN,* it was a good puller, better than a Bachmann BR standard 6P!
Sam, when these were announced I fancied getting one in the LNWR crimson livery. With the decorated samples of the 2-4-0 loco released I thought they looked amazing. Then bam the price was released and what a shock at over £200 each. Thanks for buying one of these for reviewing and highlighting the results of the pros and cons about the LNWR Precedent. As usual with your reviews, on livery, details, running etc being top notch. I've concluded even though I like the locomotive in the crimson livery and all the points that you explained in your review, that I will not buy one until the price is reduced by at least £70 in a sale. I think if it were selling for a more realistic price of say £150 then I would have bought one. So, yes, a nice loco but a shame about the expense of the model.
It looks great but.... you know you could do a video down the road once you've made the adjustments you said on this and other locos and see if theve improved or if the locos problems transcend even those fixes even though it wouldn't change the out of the box score and it shouldn't it would still be cool to see if they can be fixed
Unusually I think you were particularly harsh with the speed comments. This was an express passenger loco, so the 40% speed you said was too fast looked about right to me. Looked at a couple of older videos and you generally run passenger trains at the 40% speed. I have bought Lucknow, my layout is LNWR, so it fits in and I love the blackberry black paint work. Making tools for models is what costs money. Making a large streamlined body and tender only costs a penny more in plastic content than a small tender loco. Yes, £220 is a lot, but . . . . Hornby! Overall, a beautiful looking model in all liveries which is expensive. Worth it? For me, yes.
I don't think I was too harsh - yes the 40% speed looked okay, but that should have been the speed at 90 or 100%... that's kind of my point! It's so badly geared, that the slow speed is hugely effected... at £220, this is a problem! Agreed though... better value than Hornby now, lol! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Thanks for going to the expense of bringing this beautiful locomotive for review. Whether it's worth the price is a matter of opinion. Affordability will be the deciding factor for many. The Hornby pecketts at around half the price are looking like good value to me. To be fair I have been pleased with my Bachmann purchases. Dragging my train around with the wires caught me out luckily got away with it, Great review as always Regards Paul. 🚂🚃🚃🚃
Hello. Fine review. Can I make a simple suggestion for improvement? At this end of the year your scores and positions don't mean an awful lot as there isn't anything contained in the video to compare them with. Perhaps including in your table (marked out in a different colour and not numbered) the top, middle and bottom scoring locos from last year's reviews would help. This would give a bit of context to a blank 5.71 (especially if the top score last year was 7.9 or whatever)... On balance of 2-4-0 tender locos, the prototypes had a high axle loading on the leading wheels, which is why they developed into the 4-4-0 when bogie technology improved enough. The Great Eastern 2-4-0 which became the LNER E4 class and lasted well into the 1950s had more weight on its front wheels than on either driven axe.
Very pretty little thing. These prices are rapidly approaching those of the likes of Marklin and Fleischmann, whose models, frankly, wipe the floor with Bachmann and Hornby in terms of build quality, detailing and, crucially, reliability. Hornby's top-priced models would be categorised similarly to the Railroad line in Germany, I'm sure! New slippers?
Hi Sam, nice review as always. Something I have noticed that I will pass on to you. I have some very old vintage locos (50yrs) and as you might expect, the ultra slow running can be inconsistent and jerky. However as soon as I hook up a descent load, of wagons the slow running improves immensely, I assume this is because more power is being applied to move them. Might make an interesting experiment, and might improve the slow running performance of some locos in your reviews.
Wow! I haven't watched yet but she looks so impressive. Although Bachmann always manage to pull that part off with their loco's. And an hour long! You certainly had a lot to say about this loco. I'm so glad we have someone like you who in this hobby, who goes into such detail in their reviews so that we know exactly what we get for our money. Thank you for all your hard work Sam.
Hi Sam: Shame about the price. It cetainly looks good. I would like to see more models of this type. How about the Midland & South Western Junction Railway. The Midland class 156 with the outside frame springs. Nice addition to the Beatie Tanks for period modellers. The hobby is now only obtainable for club modellers. The days of 'Dad & Son' are long gone!
Beautiful looking loco, but if it is a poor runner the looks are not enough to make it worth owning if you like to run your models. So, this is the most expensive you've bought to date? Well how about shooting for the moon and get say a Hornby Dublo merchant navy or princess this year? Both of those are good locos in their normal form, it would be interesting to see what the new diecast dublos perform like in comparison as the extra weight should make them something special in the performance arena. Besides you'd probably be able to sell it on at a profit after if you don't want to keep it 👍😉
Decent review there Sam it looks amazing in that midland red it may be expensive but far better than kits that is what you need to start considering I think.
G'day Sam Great review as always mate. Beautiful locomotive. I love the look of the big driving wheels and the scheme. Unfortunately model railways are becoming so expensive. I live in Australia and recently bought a SDS Aussie D3 class steam loco, non DCC or sound for well over $600 Aussie dollars. I have to be very selective these days due to cost. But I've scored some ripper 2nd hand models so it all equals out I guess🤔🤷♂️😁 This hobby needs to have great looking, great running locos and rolling stock at affordable prices so that it can attract newcomers to the hobby.
Fantastic review Sam. I have just got back from the club layout where I premiered my Precedent. It ran exactly the same as your's did. Not a great impression. I'll fit the plain wheels and look at reducing the springing on the front wheels. I wonder how hard it would be to change the gearing. Keep it up mate! PS You should take one more for the team and review the Hornby Clan class which has always been in demand and haa recenty been reissued.
When I first saw it I thought that it was expensive but it seems any loco that they do in conjunction with the National Railway Museum always seems to have an extra £20 premium. The Hornby Winston Churchill is £20 more expensive than the other Battle of Britain/West Country Locos in the Hornby range, perhaps it is the additional license fee they have to pay. Good review though, I find it interesting that removing the traction tyres does make much practical difference, in reality these things wouldn't be pulling that many coaches.
is it possible these early loco's didnt have sprung buffers at all in real life? i remember you criticizing Stephensons Rocket for that when they werent a thing on the actual loco to begin with.
Hey don't feel bad about this purchase I bought a DCC locomotive for $540 :/ I am happy with the model though. It's a HO scale Southern pacific daylight with DCC installed with sound and lights. Price aside I really love this locomotive.
Why can't manufacturers seem to get it into their heads that we want flywheels and higher gear ratios for better low-speed and realistic speed performance?
I’ve got the LNWR black one Lucknow. Kept de railing whilst running in…possibly my track work was causing it so I’ve re laid parts of my track where I think the issue is. Sent it back to Rails to check they can’t find anything wrong with it. I’ve yet to try it so fingers crossed it’s ok. I do feel like I’ve been ripped off a bit though especially when I’ve got far bigger locos for less than the price of this. Don’t particularly like the tender to loco connection either nor the spring too. Be interesting to see what mods you do to yours if you do any
Yeah of course it is - an 0-6-0 has all driven wheels. If a none-driven set of wheels is taking a good proportion of the weight, pulling power is dramatically reduced! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
lucky your not into australian locos, all the recent steam locos released are 330-350 quid for the dc versions and 425-475 quid for dcc with sound ( includes a 0-6-0 tender loco up to a 4-60- passenger loco and a 2-8-0 freight loco.
I wish this review came out 2 days ago as I just bought one of these and I must say I haven't even seen it in person yet and I'm already disappointed. Too expensive is an understatement. Thanks for the review I am actually surprised you bothered I thought the price would put yourself off buying it.
Ahh sorry to hear that - I'm sure you'll enjoy it though - and if you're not happy, you have the right to return it for a refund! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
Thanks again Sam, the hobby is getting very expensive to buy new releases. This is a beauty to look at, but at the price point, as you review, sadly lacking on the rails. Someone seems to be making a whole lot of money and not overly worried about quality.
Beautiful engine but I am glad that you are doing a review on this loco because I can never afford one so at least I will get to see one and watch it run . Thank you Sam .
haha yeah - except Hornby's models aren't worth the new high prices! This isn't either... but it's closer to being worth it and Hornby's are! ;D Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Deserves a 8/10. I cannot understand how you cna give the value a 1/5 and you gave the quality a 5/5 and detail a 4.5/5! And the running of it was decent too, so I don't understand how you cna give the value a 1/5.
I felt somewhat the same as you about this. The price just seemed too high, so I declined to pre-order one. I was also influenced by the fact that I am modelling LMS operations, and whilst the model is available in LMS livery, it wasn't a very significant engine in LMS operations, as it was really already obsolete at the time of amalgamation. On a note related to that, if they had produced a Claughton, I would have pre-ordered it at this price without hesitation. However, I do now have one of these on the way from Rails, as it didn't sell out in pre-orders, and when there were some available for immediate shipping I caved and bought one. The appearance is spectacular, as you well note. However I'm disappointed to see that the performance is not that great due to poor gearing. Seriously, if folks are developing high end models like this, they should really be able to get basic things like the gearing right.
Call me crazy, but I just bought one myself. Even though I put it down, the engine's just too beautiful to refuse, so I got it while I still could and will enjoy it from time to time. However, first thing I'm doing is swapping out those rubber axles. LOL!!!
That's another loco for the Sam's Trains glass case collection! I liked the way you kept ranting on about the £220 - I don't think any of your viewers will forget that figure! Rails of Sheffield is an expensive supplier - the demon Barber is the Sweeny Todd of Model Railways! Thanks for uploading.
Not worth it, I think. Might be worth that price if it had firebox flicker and sound. Does this mean you will explore the recently retooled Bachmann V2? I'm looking at that one, but turned slightly off by the immense pricetag.
Hey, Sam! Just a heads up, I noticed your recent thumbnails are very compressed and lower quality than usual. You might want to check that! You also did an amazing review this time. :)
Well I’m one of those people who spent their money on one of these. Mine tended to waddle on the track - the rear driving wheels with tyres - did not run like the tyre surface wanted to sit on the rails - the profile was awful. So I swapped out the rubber tyred wheels for all metal wheels; this runs smoothly but as expected traction is reduced. Beautiful loco but not perfect
Thanks for sharing - that doesn't sound good at all - I wasn't impressed with the performance of mine, but yours sounds woeful... I too noticed an improvement without the rubber! Thanks for watching - Sam :)
@@SamsTrains yeah. I think a lot of locomotives are made with running qualities down the priority list after beauty (if they didn’t look appealing we wouldn’t buy at all), and cost of production. It takes time to make a product, and to develop it to become a really good runner, when many will never be run but sit as collectors pieces, makes them more expensive. The gearing in particular seems to be something chosen as something that merely connects whatever motor they choose to the axle of drive that they choose, without a lot of consideration of speed / torque. Adding traction tyres to this machine seems like a bodge to me; an afterthought to correct the issue of lack of pulling power caused by a poor gearbox design. There is no doubt a better transmission could have been installed; but if it added another £25 to the cost would it have priced this model out of viability in sales?
When this loco is fitted with the recommended Bachmann 36-557 and changing the values of two CV's it runs excellently with slow running and no loss of power. Sadly Bachmann do not publish this information. Other makes of decoders may be able to be modified to give good running on DCC. Performance of this model is rubbish on DC.
Hey Sam. Interesting video. What a ridiculous price tag though! As for that squeaking after the running in... it wouldn't surprise me if one of the crank pins was undoing and catching the inside of the body (check for scratches). Probably something to keep an eye out for in the future.
I bought the “Hardwicke” version and tried 2 brand new 21pin decoders and various alternative cv settings to try to control the Jack rabbit start and runaway performance. All to no avail. So, I’ve sent a detailed report to Bachmann of all my different attempts to remedy the situation and await their response. Otherwise, it’s a gorgeous little chap that I hope will not compel me to return for a refund.
Its not like a loco with this lacking of extra function needs more than a decent 8 pin decoder so I don't know why they even bothered with the 21 pin socket (probably to try to verify the price). You could try to adjust that spring of the front wheel for better balance i suppose. If I'd own one of these locos I'm sure i'd try to add resistors to the motor, or try to replace it with a 24V one, since there's not much I could do with its poor gearing. An interesting loco, and a good looking model, but I'm not impressed, specially for that price!
Hi Sam, great review of a lovely little locomotive. 790 Hardwicke (the preserved engine at Shildon) was a legend of the Victorian Railway in the race to the north and I think the premium is probably worth it if you are interested in that period. The racers only pulled 3 coaches, a nice length for a model railway. The drivers called them Jumbos because of their pulling power and they were exceptional steamers - on the night of the record Hardwicke was doing 45 at Shap Summit and reached well over 80 on the descent. There is a story of a vicar who had his summerhouse made in the shape of Hardwicke's cab so he could sit drinking tea from a can and imagine he was on the footplate on her record run. For heavy trains they normally had a pilot of the Lady of the Lake class - beautiful 2-2-2 single wheelers. What a combination that would make on a model railway.
