I recently bought a new Spectrum Dash 9 for $15. I am new to this, but I do know that Bachmann is not on anyone want list, however the price was right. My Kato will pull a long train of a 4% grade at slow speed with no problem. The Dash 9 with only 10 cars will spin attempting to make the grade. I think if I can add more weight to the loco it will perform better. Any suggestion on how I can do this or is the dash 9 destined to be a show piece in a rail yard. Paul
Just for clarifiation purposes, Bachmann made/makes dash-8's and not dash-9's. Anyway, the current/previous releases by Bachmann certainly do not pull anywhere close to a Kato or Atlas, nor can you lash them with either because their gearing is so much slower (unless you are able to do something with DCC). You may be able to add some weight to improve the pulling capabilities, however the gears in these locos are somewhat fragile and this may actually hasten their demise. If you like this unit, you may want to consider a second unit from the same release to add pulling power by lashing the two (or more) together. I have a couple of these that I made some cosmetic improvements on (new handrails, etc.) that I actually like. Even with their drawbacks, my units run relatively smooth and nice (although they don't pull too much). Also, keep in mind that Bachmann is planning to release a re-worked N scale 8-40CW that I believe is going to include an improved drive mechanism along with improved handrails and some cosmetic changes. Russ
I'd tend to agree. I have several of the Spectrum SD40-2s. With a little work, they look pretty decent. If you can find another Dash-8 for the same price, I'd go for it and just run the two together.
I used to have a couple of Bachmann dash 8's which I used together, as they would not run with anything else. They performed ok, but not up to current standards, so they were sold. Anyway, as I was backdating my layout era they did not fit the period.
