Looking for a recommendation - who makes the best 3-truck Shay (R-T-R)? One requirement - it has to pull a half-dozen log buggies up a 5% grade. -Dan
Hi Dan, The Bachmann three truck is very very good, excellent runner and very quiet. I can push 8 empty skeleton cars up my 5% grade with no problem, I tried it with 6 box cars and it just managed it with a little slipping.
You may wish to review MR's Aug 2000 review covering Model Die Casting HO Shay www.mdcroundhouse.com and the March 2001 edition covering Bachmanns. www.bachmanntrains.com
Dan, if you want an instant copy of the MR rewiew on Bachmann unit, send me your E-Mail address and I can link it to you instantly. Chuck locomotive2@hotmail.com
I have both the Bachmann and MDC Shays and without a doubt, Bachmann is the better loco. It is, however, more expensive, but I feel well worth the added expense. My Bachmann ran perfectly, right out of the box. It has outstanding detail and a prototypical drive line, unlike the MDC, which uses its' tried and true (old) drive mechanism. I made extensive modifications, i.e., new motor, NWSL gears and lots of tweaking to the wheel gears and finally got a smooth running unit. I enjoyed doing all this, and if you like that sort of thing, fine. But I probably have as much money invested in it as what the Bachmann cost.
My wife, Helen, holder of the purse strings, asked for a couple of Shays for her private railroad. I got her both the Bachmann 3-truck Shay and the Roundhouse 2-truck model. Of the two, we both think that the Spectrum model is the superior, both in quality of running and quietness. I also am not too impressed with the headlight on the MDC model. It has the power one would normally expect on a SD90MAC not on a oil fired lamp. Itwould stand the army in good stead for a searchlight.
Personally, I prefer the Bachman Shay. It runs great and, with some looking around, you can get it for only a relatively small increase in price over the MDC shay.
