There is one thing you need to get straight first. Bachmann is not an American company. It is owned by Kader Holdings Co. Ltd. and has been since 1981 when they purchased Bachmann Bros. http://www.bachmannindustries.com/ They produce more for other markets in total than they do for the US. Even though many of the model railroad companies are American owned, very little actual work or production happens here. Atlas consists of maybe a two dozen employes here in the US. Intermountain has a total of 8 I think. They owe their existance to cheap foreign labor. Atlas loco's have always been farmed out. Originally Roco, and Rivarossi, then Kato, Sanda Kan, Ajin and Kader. None of them were ever made here in the states. These places are tiny and pretty much just act as R&D/Import firms.
Okay all this talk about NMRA gauge standard and NEMA gauge standard so I guess it is up to me to ask the stupid question of what is NEMA gauge standard and how does it differ from the NMRA gauge standard??????????? Now go at it.
I believe the NMRA track standards are tighter with less openings in flange ways, point gaps and frogs. The wheel flanges are closer together on the NEM and they have a wider tread to bridge over all the gaps. My British outline Peco rolling stock will not go through any of my hand laid turnouts that were built to NMRA standards. Here is a typical Peco wagon with plastic wheels.
A short answer...NEM is to European Modelers as the NMRA is to American Modelers. Two good sources of info: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Normen_Europ%C3%A4ischer_Modellbahnen http://www.modelbaneteknik.dk/n-scale/stnd/stnd1-e.htm .
I am always enlightened when I read your replies Tony. What I take away from this one is: No matter what 'Brand Name" locomotives we Americans buy...we are buying Foreign models built to Foreign standards. So anyone from the U.S. with any kind of a complaint should remember that their complaints will fail on deaf ears. The majority of modelers are from other countries...and if those modelers are happy with what they get we should shut up and be happy we are getting anything to model. This also confirms my suspicions that the NMRA is the 'fly in the ointment' when it comes to model railroading. .
If manufacturers set everything to NMRA standards, no one would use pizza cutter wheels, as I wanna say these wheels are NEM standards.
Good point... NMRA Standards for flange depth maximum is 0.56mm. Yet the manufactures still can't get 'wheel gauge' right to NMRA standards ?....hmmmm .
American engines - no matter where they are made - do not run properly on European tracks. You will always face problems at turnouts and in curves. So, never use Fleischmann track for your USA layout, unless you like having derailments. Peco is the only track brand that can handle both American and European engines.
What's an NMRA guage? :swg: OH! You guys mean that silver thing I use as a spearhead, right? Yeah, I don't use that. And you know what, I have no more derailments than a whole mess of people who slave over those things. You forget Kadee, Accurail, and one other off the the top of my head, but yeah. I KNEW we'd come up with a use for the Radar smiley! :we-radar:
I have bought new since 2007, 4 Kato, 7 Atlas and 2 Bachmann. All of them have had the wheels gauged to NMRA standards. I have checked the wheels every time I had problems when I first started this layout and the gauge was always good from the factory. This made me get my track work a lot better. For no particular reason:we-radar::we-radar: other then to track UFO's.
I own two NMRA gauges that I bought maybe 5 years ago and only used them maybe 4 times. I actually forgot that I had bought the first one because I only used it once and put it up after I could not find anything wrong. I’ve been told so many times that I need the gauge so I bought another one before realizing that I already had one. I’ve been working on an intense 3x8 yard with 46 turnouts for 1 ½ years and I’m just now starting to run locos through the switches. I’m discovering more trouble with the turnouts then I would have ever imagined, so much so that I would never ever used Atlas Code 55 if I only known and I’m so close to just abandoning the whole layout. I never had these kinds of problems with Code 80 or Unitrack. Well now it’s become evident from all that I have read that my problems are gauge related and I can’t find either of the two gauges. Now mind you I don’t have these problems with my Unitrack layout and I don’t know why. Ok all this talk about NEMA, NMRA and and various brands has me so confused that I don’t know what I’m doing. I don’t know what I bought years ago, but I just ordered a NMRA 98-8 Standards Gauge for N Scale. Is this the correct one and is it going to help me fix my problems? Maybe just to be safe, I should only buy Unitrack and Kato trains. baffled:
Johnny B... According to Tony (skipgear)....every locomotive mech built for every manufacturer is built overseas to NEM Standards. YES...you will need a NMRA Gauge and need to check everything !! You can check wheel gauge on locomotives as well as wheels on rolling stock. It is my understanding that metal wheelsets can go out of gauge due to the plastic inserts slidding on the axle. I have some older passenger cars with 'molded plastic wheels' and I can tell you that they ARENT in gauge either !!! The NMRA gauge will also let you check your track gauge and your switches. By those who swear by the NMRA...this little gauge is GOLD !! I am finding my flextrack to be within gauge. But if the locomotives are being built out of gauge...you will have some work to do to get it all to mesh right. It would seem logical that Kato locomotives and Kato unitrack would work well together....dont bet on it. If Atlas track and Atlas locomotives can have problems...because Atlas locomotives are built overseas and gauged to NEM Standards...so can Kato's. If you handlay track...yes...you need some kind of good gauge to lay it right. If you totally disassemble your locomotives...including wheels off axles...yes....you will need a good wheel gauge to put it all back together. Buy a NMRA Gauge and use it !! Although I still contend we SHOULDNT HAVE TO on brand NEW stuff right outta the box !!! Maybe we can paint our NMRA gauges GOLD and wear them with a GOLD chain hanging from out necks. Bling is Bling !!! .
And why do American engines have so many problems on European tracks although you say that their wheelsets are built by NEM standards???
Thanks George, I need to spend the day finishing the track work, but maybe I’ll look again for those gauges. Or maybe I can talk my wife into looking for me. She’s always criticizing me for not being able find anything even when it’s right in front of me. arghh: And George, I can’t believe you said that because I was just thinking the same thing. LOL Well not the gold part, but I was thinking about drilling a hole to hang it around my neck on a lanyard along with my flash drive with all my model train files. Maybe I wouldn’t have lost the last two of them laugh:
