Bachmann - 84554 - Locomotive, Steam, 2-8-0 Consolidation - Chesapeake & Ohio - 705

Model Information: Bachmann first introduced this model in 1980 and it was a bit of a dog, so they improved it in 1983 (introducing a higher quality motor) though it was still a bit of a dog. Bachmann overhauled this model in 2001 with tender pickup and made it DCC-Friendly. Later, in 2010, they added a DCC version. The 2001 model is Bachmann's first 'modern' steam locomotive model. It shares nothing in common with the earlier 1980s vintage 2-8-0. The improvements have made a fair amount of difference

For the early models they don't look too bad for 80's vintage product. The paint schemes in particular stand out as being eye-catching. This doesn't offset the relative low running quality but does help a little. For the 2001 and later models, the detail work is superior to the Kato Mikado. There are more detail parts and they seem to be better designed to withstand handling. I have lost *multiple* parts from my Kato's whereas everything seems really well glued on with the Bachmann units. Pickup comes from the 8 driver wheels on the loco (though not the pilot) as well as the front truck on the tender. It runs smoothly and can pull a lot of cars. It is quiet and runs well at low speeds.

DCC Information: The 1980s version is not DCC-anything. I have read that the 2001 version is DCC-Friendly, but to be honest I don't see it on my early version. The later version stores the decoder in the tender and is connected with wires to the locomotive. An odd-design, but I am assuming this is due to cramped quarters in the loco shell.

Prototype History: Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-8-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, usually in a leading truck, eight powered and coupled driving wheels on four axles and no trailing wheels. In the United States and elsewhere, this wheel arrangement is commonly known as a Consolidation.

Of all the locomotive types that were created and experimented with in the 19th century, the 2-8-0 was a relative latecomer. From its introduction in 1866 and well into the early 20th century, the 2-8-0 design was considered to be the ultimate heavy-freight locomotive. The 2-8-0's forte was starting and moving "impressive loads at unimpressive speeds" and its versatility gave the type its longevity. The practical limit of the design was reached in 1915, when it was realized that no further development was possible with a locomotive of this wheel arrangement.

From Wikipedia

Road Name History: The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway (reporting marks C&O, CO) was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond to the Ohio River by 1873, where the railroad town (and later city) of Huntington, West Virginia was named for him.

Tapping the coal reserves of West Virginia, the C&O's Peninsula Extension to new coal piers on the harbor of Hampton Roads resulted in the creation of the new City of Newport News. Coal revenues also led the forging of a rail link to the Midwest, eventually reaching Columbus, Cincinnati and Toledo in Ohio and Chicago, Illinois.

By the early 1960s the C&O was headquartered in Cleveland, Ohio, USA. In 1972, under the leadership of Cyrus Eaton, it became part of the Chessie System, along with the Baltimore and Ohio and Western Maryland Railway. The Chessie System was later combined with the Seaboard Coast Line and Louisville and Nashville, both the primary components of the Family Lines System, to become a key portion of CSX Transportation (CSXT) in the 1980s. A substantial portion of Conrail was added in 1999.

C&O's passenger services ended in 1971 with the formation of Amtrak. Today Amtrak's tri-weekly Cardinal passenger train follows the historic and scenic route of the C&O through the New River Gorge in one of the more rugged sections of the Mountain State. The rails of the former C&O also continue to transport intermodal and freight traffic, as well as West Virginia bituminous coal east to Hampton Roads and west to the Great Lakes as part of CSXT, a Fortune 500 company which was one of seven Class I railroads operating in North America at the beginning of the 21st century.

At the end of 1970 C&O operated 5067 miles of road on 10219 miles of track, not including WM or B&O and its subsidiaries.

Read more on Wikipedia.

Brand/Importer Information: Bachmann Industries (Bachmann Brothers, Inc.) is a Bermuda registered Chinese owned company, globally headquartered in Hong Kong; specializing in model railroading.

Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the home of its North American headquarters, Bachmann is today part of the Kader group, who model products are made at a Chinese Government joint-venture plant in Dongguan, China. Bachmann's brand is the largest seller, in terms of volume, of model trains in the world. Bachmann primarily specializes in entry level train sets, and premium offerings in many scales. The Spectrum line is the high quality, model railroad product line, offered in N, HO, Large Scale, On30, and Williams O gauge all aimed for the hobbyist market. Bachmann is the producer of the famous railroad village product line known as "Plasticville." The turnover for Bachmann model trains for the year ended 31 December 2006 was approximately $46.87 million, a slight increase of 3.36% as compared to 2005.