92000 was the very 1st 9f, built on 31st January 1954. She was withdrawn on 2nd February 1965 having been allocated to Ebbw Junction, Bath Green Park, Banbury, Old Oak Common, Tyseley, Bristol Barrow Road and finally to Gloucester Horton Road. Here she has a Bristol Barrow Road Shed Code. 92000 only worked for 11 years, 5 months and 1 day and was cut up at Birds (Long Marston) during November 1965.
I think you might have had a bad one, cause i got 2 Bachmann 9Fs, a black one and the Evening Star and neither of them stutter or struggle, they both run smoothly.
They must have upgraded the 9F for the NRM version. The torque is great, wheels spin when stopping it with my finger etc....it's actually one of my best runners. Slow accelleration is fantastic on DCC. i'm very happy with mine.
Hey Sam. Just wanted to say thank you for reviving a childhood dream, I've had a couple of trains and you've inspired me to go for it and build a layout. So thanks and stay awesome.
yes quite agree with you, I have got both the Hornby and Bachmann ones, the Hornby one has been the worst one , bad running and even had a new motor, the Bachmann one runs a lot better and to date dont think it has even had a wheel clean
Hi, Sam! You mention the "blind" or flangeless centre driving wheels. This was indeed a real feature, I have a 1970's Evening Star and once had the old Airfix kit. The "blind" was to enable such a large locomotive to go round very tight curves and Network Rail now insists that all wheels have flanges, so none on main line runs any more!
So strange, it must be faulty. My Bachman 9f is the most powerful of all my trains and pulls a rake of 5 coaches up my steep incline without breaking a sweat, where my other locos will struggle. The only complaint I had was the tender. It’s a shame but I just think you got a bad one.
You are totally correct this review is so wrong the Bachmann 9f locos are great and to put a review out like this for one loco of a run of thousands just isnt right.
@@robstrains8711 I know, what’s he on? Have you heard him bleating on and on and on about things which don’t effect the running of the bloody loco! He’s got an issue with Bachmann, clearly. Pathetic.
My Bachman 9F does really well. it’s as good as my hornby collectors edition tornado, limited edition A4, hornby West Country class (Barnstable CUSTOMISED), I just think sams trains got a faulty model, and the fact he uses a carpet is not going to help at all
I have 5 Bachmann 9fs and I am very impressed with the performance of these. I also have the Hornby Corsti 9f. I have been running both for over 2 years and I cant fault any of them. The performance of the Bachmann 9fs is far better than a lot of the hornby Locos I own
Bought both my 9F's 92006 & 92116 from Hattons for £86.00p each 2008 & 2010, both are good runners and I have never had a problem with them, suggest with the boiler join, flash on pipework and ill fitting cab is down to worn tooling in China as I have had my two under the magnifying glass and no faults there. Good luck in getting yours running properly.
@@wucgqwhcvuqwbkchqj He reviews the model he has taken delivery of. It's not his fault he has a rogue, it's Bachmanns quality control department that's to blame for letting it slip the net.
@@davidknowles2491 considering how long said model has been in production it could be the fact it's probably been sitting in a box for years on a shelf or in a store room, and for the poor quality control sam seems to love hornby and yet i've never had a perfect hornby model so no company is perfect
@Daniel Cafarelli i've had a lot of experience with poorly designed models (heljan, dapol, hattons, hornby etc.) But from experience bachmann seem to be pretty good on the mechanism front at least back when this model was first released
Thanks a lot for sharing - loads of people have said theirs run well, so I'm starting to think mine may have been faulty. That said - the mechanism is objectively poor, therefore my 'profound statement' is justified. Hornby make garbage too - don't get me wrong - look at my A2/2 and you'll see a prime modern example. Can't agree that Bachmann models from this era were quite good on the mechanism front though - this, the Hall and the 2-8-0 are some of the worst I've seen! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I think you’ve got a duff loco there Sam. I have a Locomotion Models / Bachmann ‘Evening Star’ loco and I’ve had trouble free running for several years right out of the box. I fitted a Hornby TTS decoder with an upgraded speaker both located in the loco and very pleased with the results. I used to have the Hornby Railroad 9f and the Bachmann is so much better. Try before you buy but I honestly think you’ve bought a duffer. Return for a replacement.
I've got one of Bachmann's 9Fs fitted with a Zimo sound decoder and smoke unit. It runs very smoothly and pulls 50 odd of my wagons without problem even over complicated point work. I think you have a rouge there, but as I've never run it on DC or 2nd radius curves I can't comment on that. Always enjoy your reviews.
Very interesting - might be worth fitting mine with a decoder... I'd be surprised to see mine run properly on 2nd radius though! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains Hey, let me know where to send my egg van. I'll even pay the international post! Thank you for a good laugh, after seeing this video I needed a good chuckle. My mood has been considerably dark since seeing the T9 video. May Hornby burn for that horse apple.
I was thinking the same thing about the egg vans.... But it is a duff example and really ought to be sent back, my 9Fs are much older and run without issues even on 2nd radius track with the tender close coupled!
Good afternoon, it's me once again. I have just finished some testing with my own 9F, and I have been able to reproduce your problem with your item, but not to the extent of what you are seeing on your layout. Mine runs on second radius curves at a minimum of 30% throttle, both direction. At this setting, I can clearly see a significant slowing down on curves, visual estimation of half the running speed lost on curves. Below 30%, my engine stalls on curves, not useable. I'm making a test at 40 % throttle, which gave me a scale speed of 65 km/h, or 41 mph. It's far above the speed requirement for an unfitted freight (25 mph/40 km/h) and the engine clearly struggles on curves , but the slowing down is less noticeable, I estimates it at 15 % maximum. Half-throttle gives a smoother running, with no noticeable slowiing down on curves, but you have a scale speed of nearly 60 mph/97km/h. It's still useable for express fitted freight but for ordinary fitted, it's 15 mph/24 km/h too fast. I have to precise that I had not put any wagons in tow. And now, my engine stalls randomly on curves after a one-hour test, yipee... Seems the motor cut off on load when heated. Well... Even if you have one that looks useable, you will get problems with her... It changes nothing to your test, except confirming that your findings are factuals.
Just one little thing I have forgot : I use this : www . entwinesolutions . co . uk / scalespeed / to measure the speed of my engines and trains. Courtesy from Charlie Bishop of Chadwick Moel Railways.
One last precision, to get the speed of my trains, I use the scalespeed metering page from entwinesolutions. Courtesy from Charlie Bishop of Chadwick Model Railways.
Sam, I have two of these, Eveinng Star and 92116. Both run beautifully with 30 filled coal wagons or 7 coaches running at speed; they will pull way more than my 3 Hornby 8Fs and are second only to my Beyer-Garratt in terms of pulling power. I think you have a bit of a dud one with problems. I agree some bearings would have been nice but overall I can only recommend these Bachmann 9Fs.
Thanks a lot for sharing - loads of people have said theirs run well, so I'm starting to think mine may have been faulty. Given how shoddy the mechanism is, I can't say I'm surprised though!! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I Have seen lots of you reviews and have found them interesting but this 1 I dont understand, I have about 50 Hornby Locos and the only steam Locos I have from Bachmann are the 9Fs and I have to say they out perform all of the Hornby locos with pulling power and they never have a problem with pick ups or stopping, And the detail looks great. ?
My two Bachmann 9Fs from 2007 are superb, beautiful runners, great to view with close fitting tenders, trundling along with a long rake of wagons. Is it the case that this a new version whose mechanism is not as good as the original or is it possible yours simply does not like the tight radius "chicane" on your line?
From everything I've heard about Bachmann 9Fs, I believe this is probably not a representative example. While both 9F models on the market at the moment are dated, I don't recall the performance of either being widely criticised.
You could be right - loads of people have said theirs run well, so I'm starting to think mine may have been faulty. That being said... that mechanism is terrible no matter how you look at it... and that is representative! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Great to hear yours is better - I'm amazed that any of these run well given what's inside! I'd be surprised if we saw any more 9Fs from Bachmann! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains Well I found this on Bachmann's website www.bachmann.co.uk/product/category/152/br-standard-9f-with-br1f-tender-92212-br-black-%28late-crest%29/32-859a
Hi Sam, I've got there Evening Star version. I've had no issues running round 18" (2nd Radius) curves on DCC (Zimo sound decoder). Bachmann are still offering a BR green version to the Collector's Club plus 2 in the main range at £219 & £209 as the RRP!
Thanks a lot for sharing - loads of people have said theirs run well, so I'm starting to think mine may have been faulty. Given how shoddy the mechanism is, I can't say I'm surprised though!! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Very interesting. When Hornby announced their new 9F earlier this year there were a lot of people confused as to why they would bother when Bachman’s model was still considered pretty good. Having seen this though, I reckon Hornby have got a good shot at producing a far more superior loco as long as they don’t make the same mistakes! Great video Sam 👍
This reveiw does not in anyway represent the Bachmann 9f Sam has received a faulty seconds loco I have several of these and they all run perfectly and the pulling power is awesome. Now because of one review an awesome loco is going to be seen as a lemon when it is not.
@@robstrains8711 I mean, if your ones run well that's great but the loco has other shortcomings yet still quite a high price tag. But my point was more that I'd heard people wondering why Hornby were bothering to do a new 9F when Bachmann had already made the definitive model. Having now seen the Bachmann model in a bit more detail it's my personal opinion that there are several things that could be improved upon, so I now understand why Hornby have decided to have a go.
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy I wouldn't say that the Botchman is the definitive model by a long ways. Hopefully Hornby will use an uodated version of their 9F Crosti/Railroad drive
@@cleo6686 Apologies, I don't think I explained myself properly - I meant that other people had said the Bachmann model was so good that Hornby shouldn't bother. Hornby recently released the CADs for their 9F though and the amount of detail looks superb... but obviously that doesn't give us any indication on how well it will run. 😂
I have a Railroad 9F and have been wondering for a while whether to replace it with a Bachmann one. Not any more! I particularly dislike the huge gap between the locomotive and the tender. The Hornby gap is much smaller and it still goes round curves without any problems.
Sam if you can get there this summer. Nothing beats going to Whitby on a steam train and having lovely fish and chips. Get nice pictures of trains in the station 🚉
I own a Bachman 9f, and the detail + mechanism looks the same, so I assume that they are the same tooling, and mine has never had any issues with the motor (but it does have something against 2nd radius turns!)
Yeah - I'm only aware of one Bachmann 9F design! Thanks a lot for sharing - loads of people have said theirs run well, so I'm starting to think mine may have been faulty. Given how shoddy the mechanism is, I can't say I'm surprised though!! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I've got 4 of these all different ages. They all have run many, many hours, run perfectly and pull very strongly. I think something must be wrong with that one. This gripe about wheel bearings is a bit of a red herring. If it works and lasts, (which it does), who cares?
Another video that shows the facts that forms your opinions, I seriously think this loco should be sent back to bachman for them to give you a full report on its problems as many people in your comments have good ones, but however good some people find them there is no excuse for lack of axle bearings on a premium model and the worst thing of all is that it's still available to buy new, bachman should use you to test all there products before realeasing them to the unsuspecting public to avoid further embarrasment because their testers and technical design team need sacking if this model is anything to go by, thank you for your see it as it is video Sam.
I've got two Bachmann 9fs. One I've had for 11 years. No faults at all. Same with my other I've only had two years. Once again Sam's vendetta against Bachmann strikes again.
Without Bachmanns arrival back in the early 1990’s Hornby & Lima where quite content turning the same gear out. In Hornbys case they had no money / desire to make better models & Lima had nailed their colours to the collecting - ltd edition mast. The letters to Hornby / Lima , the model press trying to get them to change all in vain, told that modellers would not pay £75 for locos with can motors & lights , let alone freight wagons at £17.50-£21.95 , many a letter back from Hornby / Lima stating that I was wrong & that demand wasn’t there. Then Bachmann came along , listened to what we where saying & suddenly Hornby & Lima where caught cold & having to play catch up. The Bachmann 9f is a established model & so it seems strange to review a well regarded model & basically diss it knowing that Hornby are about to issue a new tool model, certainly raises questions.Bachmanns ability to make the models to the standards modellers wanted certainly put a few noses out of joint at Margate & Hemel Hempstead. Hornby have a arrogance that I find sickly , this god given right that because they have the ‘name’ ‘heritage’ that they really think they are some kind of premier brand / & god forbid anybody else stepping on their toes & make models of things they consider theirs & theirs only.The 9f has been a staple of the Hornby range for donkeys years & as Cavalex / Rails of Sheffield have seen , Kholer is not averse to spitting his dummy out of his pram. Rapido trains doing a good job in turning the tables on him though😀
Of random fact: the Pennsylvania Railroad in the US had a 2-10-0, very similar to the 9F, except it was significantly larger. The Pennsy I1 class weighed in at 295 short tons, with a tractive effort of 93,000 lbf. It was the dominate freight locomotive for decades with 593 made for the railroad. They were called Hippos for their enormous boiler, and often referred to as: "The Holy Terror of the Pennsylvania Railroad" because of their thunderous exhaust, enormous size and screeching banshee whistles.
When I got my 9F and took it on the track for the first time, it ran fine. And it has tender pickups. So, I think at this point, Bachmann might have made a newer 9F. However, it does still slow down on the corners, but lots of my Locos have that problem. It also does have lots of cab details probably the most out of all my models
The Bachmann motion is either binding, it stops at the same position almost every time or, the quartering is out. Add the sloppy “bearings” and that just exacerbates the problem.
I’ve had bad luck with Bachmann this year. 3 out of 4 diesel locomotives had to go get warranty repairs. 2 right out of the box, and 1 had the motor burn out within a month.
The stopping on curves would indicate some power pick up problems. Because of the long wheelbase between outer axles the inner axles have to shift sideways (not the centre axle as it has no flanges). This may be restricted by the connecting rods and the wheel pick ups, causing pick up power lose and friction on anything but straight running?
Considering friction from the bearings seems to be the downfall of the Bachmann 9F; next time you service it apply a PTFE / Teflon based lubricant. Superior lubrication might help.
Just recieved a pr-owned Bachmann 9f. Have given it a test run and runs quite smoothly back and forth, slow to fast. It's an earlier model, so I suspect you have one of a batch of more recent models.
The problem with this locomotive is that it has been one of the staples of the Hornby range for donkeys years & as recent evidence from Hornby suggests , how dare other companies make models of things they consider theirs & theirs only. Plenty of good reviews / testimony from modellers who use these models on their layouts pulling good length trains etc. So Hornby are making a new one & so the question arises of how do Hornby try to convince people to buy their new model & not stick with their existing Bachmann one / deter future Bachmann sales , I’ll leave it you to join the dots.
Always interesting seeing older standards in the hobby. Would love to see how similar era models stack up against each others ones released at the same sort of time.
You can use close cupled tender on it without any issues, I don't have and running issues when it is close coupled. I have two of them a weathered BR Black and the nice BR Green Evening Star! Never noticed any issu with the way mine fit together, no gaps between the cab and the running boards/plate. Perhaps the tooling is getting a little past its' best!
Finally the bachmann 9F. My favourite class of locomotive. These may not have the best mechanisms but they’re e tough though, good for 90 wagons unassisted probably more but I ran out of room on the club layout. I put my faith in these as I have 4 with a retooled Hornby one on pre-order to see how it compares. So I’m yet to be convinced by Hornbys offerings. I’ll have to get a crosti boilered one. To get a taster. Still waiting for a RTR Tyne dock 9F for the KR models Consett Iron Ore wagons I’ve got on order. Anyways good video mate and keep up the good work. Ross.
Thanks a lot Ross - yeah that's right - and the pulling power certainly isn't bad at all! That sounds great - wondering how those will turn out now! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Thanks Dougie - I did consider it... but it's part of the collection now for better or worse... I might even make a project out of it! ;D Thanks for watching, Sam :)
At 24:16 you can clearly see the rear-most element of the connecting rod fluctuating between top edge out/lower edge out. I believe the poor running is caused by the articulated connecting rod. I had the same problem with my Tri-Ang Hornby Evening Star. Although I think that was in the Nineteen-Seventies!
These 9f's were seen a lot locally to me on the S&D as they absolutely shrugged off the 1 in 33 and 1 in 34's the Bath to Templecombe section had, lesser engines had to be banked on the climb up from Wincanton but not the 9f who could pull a 40x loaded, unfitted coal wagon set plus 20T brake van with little problem and the Pines Express 9f's took the train from Bath to Bournemouth and BR kept adding more capacity and the engine just performed superbly. They were still being used for freight when DMU's took over passenger running but not the Pines, that was still the 9f and because it didn't crawl up the sharp gradient leaving Bath or the insane climb up from Wincanton, it just was a winner all round.
I have the Hornby centenary 9f. It runs like a dream and have ran it for a combined time of about 200 hours in 1 year, I run it all the time because of how nice it is. It has tender pickups and all driving wheels pickup. The driving wheels have bearings and it can crawl slower than any model I have ever seen you review! It has many die cast parts and I look forward to seeing hornbys new 9f.
Oh totally - I'd definitely wait and see what Hornby's retooled version is like... and even if it's no good, I'd still recommend the Railroad ones over this! xD Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@jeffreymcneal1920 A2/2 is an utter joke. Same with large Prairie. Suspect the Hush Hush etc will be junkers as well...and priced astronomically. Hornby mag will gush of course..
I know Bachmann recently released a… not new tooled 9F but new tooling variation for it, with those pumps in the middle of the running plate… I wonder if they updated the mechanism at the time?
Hello Sam. Nice video. I haven't commented in a while. The performance of the 9f was terrible. Congratulations on getting 100k subscribers, are/did you getting/get a 100k subscriber plaque.
Thanks a lot Oliver - yeah it sure was! Yep - it's been confirmed, should be with me in a few weeks, and I'll do a video on it! :D Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Id remove the worm gear/motor and push the engine along with your hands and see if the wheels lock up. If so there's a good chance there a quartering issue/bind in the mechanism...which your loco shows symptoms of. I can see the loco locks up at the same wheel rotation during certain shots.
Oddly, 'Britain's Model Trains 2020' gave this model an overall score of 92% . The same publication for 2021 doesn't use the same scoring system but gives it 46/50 - including 10/10 for performance! This model first appeared in 2005/2006 so it's 15 years old. Despite having only a 3-pole motor, no bearings and no tender pickups, my example performs beautifully (on DCC), it crawls well and pulls very long trains up steep slopes. I think your's is a dud and should go back to TMC!
I have two of them and have no ‘real’ issues with either of them. They run perfectly well despite their age, and ok perhaps a upgraded chassis with bronze bearings and a 5 pole motor would improve things. But by how much and retooling costs money and that would be passed onto us the consumers/customers.
Model locos should have at least, metal bearings, 5 pole motors, and flywheels. Without them they are not considered models. Britain’s model trains obviously have Bachmann in their pocket and to be able to give a score of 10/10 for performance makes me complete distrust them. Real locomotives have metal bearings. All moving parts that spin should have bearings. I’ve had a bachmann 9f and it performed the same as this one. Never again will I buy a bachmann steam loco.
@@dwaynejohnson4892 I totally agree that these locos should come with bearings, flywheels and a 5-pole motor (and tender pick-ups) as standard - especially given the ridiculous prices that Bachmann are now charging. I was expressing surprise that my example performs well, as does my Bachmann Hall class, in spite of all the shortcomings. Yes, the annual Britain's Model Trains publication does score some locos unexpectedly high but I don't know who's pocket they're in!
I have 92006, 2nd hand and partially weathered (I'll weather it more myself at a later date), I think (I hope) I paid around £90 for it. The detail is way better than the hornby offering, and the nem pockets are a huge step up from the fixed large tension locks of triang hornby days (although I guess the newer railroad ones may have had upgraded couplings). Except the hornby mechanism is much more powerful and reliable, as my railroad one had 16-wheel pickup yet the bachmann one only has 8 (none on the middle drivers, none on the tender). I'm gonna be adding tender pickups at some point too. My hornby 9f would haul 30 wagons with ease, slipping where necessary, but then it suffered from mazak rot so had to disappear (before I started regularly running trains of 40+ wagons). My bachmann one slows to a crawl under any sort of load, barely slips, even on DCC. The 9Fs were actually found to be able to run 70mph+ on expresses when required, probably summer saturday jobs. Awesome to see you running decent length freight trains now, since you got all the new open wagons. Next up will be a crosti 9f, then a new hornby 9f with westinghouse pumps for the new kr models consett iron ore wagons. Are you calling Bullman fat?!?!
@@SamsTrains you actully drove one cool decapods aren't the biggest but they certinaly aren't small really only the 4-12-2s and the articulated locomotives can 1up a decapod
I have two of them and have no ‘real’ issues with either of them. They run perfectly well despite their age, and ok perhaps a upgraded chassis with bronze bearings and a 5 pole motor would improve things. But by how much and retooling costs money and that would be passed onto us the consumers/customers. And pulling it to bits before you have run the thing and then saying it doesn’t run very well is not going to (in my opinion) give a true reflection of how it would/should run. And not sure what TMC’s policy is or returning ‘faulty’ models. If the poor running was discovered after it was taken to bits would be, would it void the warranty?
Sam I think you have turd of a model. My Bachmann 9f. Iv had one for years. Its is an old model now. But It’s never broken, no detail has ever fell off, and it can pull 50 to 60 wagons on layout with scale gradients.
Very cool you got the class leader but in defense to the 2 bachmann 9F locos i have i have zero issues with their performance as i have done a video on a single 9F's strength pulling 16 heavy coaches on a heavily inclined layout is good plus it's not as bad as hornby having the 4F and 2P in the railways range when they clearly belong in railroad range
Sam. Sorry to say I have a great one which compares with the Hornby version. I also bought both when I worked for Wirral Transport Museum, for their 'Mostyn Junction' layout. Both worked extremely well out of the box and after running in, pulling either 10-12 coaches or 25-30 wagons on the layout every weekend and school holidays.
Eventually we had to replace the motor, but within the week, we had to replace the motor in the Hornby one too!!!! Both great locos. Think you should take yours back force replacement. Normally I agree with you, but think you just got a duff one!!! Good Luck! John Harrison. Wallasey, Wirral.
Are Narrow Gauge engines cheaper than Standard gauge? I'm wondering because I love Narrow Gauge engines seeing smaller engines doing work a standard engine could do.
Indeed the rattling and the sticking is the weight and the fact that it doesn’t have bearings, and by the looks, the cut out of the axle fittings don’t seem flush and clean, it looks like they have flares in them, and with 5 axles doesn’t help
I get the impression bachmann are resting on laurels particularly with 10-20 year old locos that blew everything away when they launched but now are on sale for prices as high as brand new truly awesome new stuff like the beautiful 94xx for example, despite not having had the small detail updates and mechanism updates to justify it. I’ve just bought new 57xx & 8750 panniers albeit thankfully not at full RRP but still at the £100 mark. These were at the £50-60 mark about 10 years ago and haven’t changed effectively still being the 1980s mainline body which was tarted up around 20 years ago with separate fitted handrails - still no lamp irons, no handrail above the mid running board step (lots of flash around that step on both models BTW) no representation of the rodding that runs along the running board, no inside motion so obvious on the new bachmann 94xx and rapido 16xx so when one puts them alongside these models they really are shown up a bit like how putting the hornby 2721 pannier next to one of these shows it up. I really don’t understand why bachmann are fiddling with a new class 20 when there are more obvious targets from the same era, like their 57/8750 panniers in more dire need of replacement.
You've really put the wind up me here! I've got a Bachmann 9F (weathered. 92233) as part of the loco "stud" for my long-proposed "retirement project" of a Somerset & Dorset layout, and purchased some years ago now. (Incidentally at that time, it was Hornby who were getting a "bad press" for the unreliability of some of their steam outline model mechanisms!). It was a vast step forward, in terms of detail and overall "look" from the Hornby "Railroad"9F (I heard on the Hornby launch announcement for their "brand-new" (and very expensive) version is in celebration of 50 years since the introduction by Tri-Ang Hornby of the original "Evening Star", of which their Railroad model is a direct descendant. Although I've only run my Bachmann 9F on a test track, it seems to run, and start and "creep", a lot smoother than your purchase and I've seen a video on RUclips from a year or two ago of an identical loco hauling nine Mk1 bogies around a "tail chaser" layout without apparently having any problems, which would be adequate for my plans. Obviously the design is dated from before space was required for all the "gizmos" which are now part of our DCC model railway age. So here's my dilemma: Before Hornby announced their new model, I had it in mind to invest in another Bachmann 9F from the TMC batch Then I though I'd wait for the Hornby one to come out, but according to their announcement, apart from "Evening Star" -again!- the other two proposed versions are fitted with versions of the BR1B high-capacity tender ( i suppose because in model form it provides more space for the fitting of "loco sound").The Somerset & Dorset 9F's were coupled, like "Evening Star", to the BR1G tender with inset coal bunker. No "basic black" model of this version is apparently going to be released. I know that "Evening Star" was allocated for a short time to haul the last "Pines Express" over the S&D on 8th September 1962, and again a year or two later to haul 3-coach "locals" during a loco shortage at Bath, but all the other S&D 9F's were "dirty black". What do I do? Either assume that the TMC model you have is a poor example (presumably this was a "short run" batch, as the model is not in the current Bachmann catalogue), or wait (and save up my dough) in the hope and expectation that some time in the future Hornby will add a black liveried 9F with double chimney and BR1G tender.to their range?
Thanks for sharing! It's entirely up to you of course - I've also heard of these Bachmann 9Fs running excellently... but good performance or not, they still contain those terrible mechanisms. That said, we don't know whether the Hornby 9Fs will be any good... I expect they will be, but it's too early to say! Maybe it'd be best to wait a while, and see what Hornby's turns out like? Hopefully it'll be with us within the next year! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Bachmann makes two levels of HO locomotives. One for the novice trainset class and the other for the seasoned pro. My early American EMD GP-30's had poor mechanisms but my later Alco Rs-3's are amazing. Apparently there are more than one assembly facilities.
I brought a "super detailed" Hornby 9F (Evening Star) in 2018, hoping to be the the 1st loco-driven version , but turned out to be the last tender-driven batch despite the newer packaging, so I wanted a loco driven one. At that time I could not find the right Hornby 9F (with the tender pickups) for a reasonable price, but I found a Bachmann "Evening Star" for 83 GBP DCC fitted, mint condition. So i brought that instead. Sadly I can not tell any experience with mine, do to it turned ot the decoder does not support DC operation, so I only run it for 5 minutes for testing, but mine has way less tooling issues, probably do to its an earlier product, and the BR green looks awesome from Bachmann! I will be interested in the new Hornby 9F!
The gearing has lubricant, but the axles look very dry, so I'd try lightly lubricating them. Also, this was produced in 2016 (see RMweb for announcement of the limited run 32-859Z) so it's been sitting around for 5+ years, so absolutely no surprise it's dry and tight. I'd give it a thorough going over and then re-appraise it.
@Sam, I have two 9F's, both in DCC with ESU LP4, and none of either work as yours. I would have thrown them out the window. Refs. are 32-850A and 32-858. In any event, I strongly suggest you return yours, that behaviour is not normal. Do take care. David
Complete load of tosh, never had a days troubles with mine and I have three of them, they pull more than I can put behind them, threw two hornby railroad versions in the bin because of mazac rot which was unrepairable. Your habit of close up views with what seems a thousand times magnification I find annoying you could probably do this to any 00 gauge model and pick holes in it. The mechanism is 100% reliable. Any model of 1/76 scale is always going to have some imperfections. Having said all that I suppose one hundred thousand subs speaks for itself.
Hi Sam... it's weird but again I have had quite a different experience. I bought a preloved weathered version in the older style box. My version ran like this out of the box and I was quite disappointed. I then discovered a pin in the box. I soon discovered it had come loose from one of the gears(the uppermost gear in the chassis) I eaaily fitted it and hey presto...my 9f is now a beautiful runner and is silent, smooth and powerful. Check the thar the gear pins are properly mounted. I give it 5 stars in your poll!
update on one 9F.....yesterday it just shorted with a big spark from the wheelset/valvegear.....dead as a dodo....game over.....haven't checked what caused it yet....
Sam, obviously you haven’t received any free bee’s from Bachman. I have six of these and they’re flawless. In fact I had to use one for the Christmas tree set after a Hornby Railroad, new three years ago failed after 20 hours use. And I have six Hornby Railroad versions as I like the 9F. Keep the reviews coming and if you have issues of a warranty type explore that option first before slagging a manufacturer. It becomes like Australian car Facebook sites where it’s acceptable to slag a manufacturer first rather than exploring consumer warranty issues. Pretty sure UK consumer Legislation is similar to ours…
The 9f did have flangeless centre axles. The funniest thing though has to be watching this review with the auto generated subtitles on. So far you've allegedly stated this 9f was made by Pacman and Batman and it's different to the other one made by Homie, Homebeat and Hornbait.
I love 9Fs and I paid the most I ever have for a loco - £57.60 in 1994 (was actually made in 1990). It is tender powered and has traction tyres so you might not like it. However, it does have proper bearings, it can go around 2nd radius curves and it hasn't got Mazak rot. It still works well today, though it is not very powerful with those little tender wheels. Thanks for the video.
@@SamsTrains And I thought it was just my egg van. I swear I added almost half a kilo of lead to it, changed the couplers, and the wheels, to boot. I won't buy anything until Sam has taken it up Gordon's Hill.
Ive had problems with double gearing on model trains in the past, where it almost seems like the gears are fighting each other, of course its ridiculous that BACHMANN would put a problematic mechanism in a locomotive like this, but maybe just pulling a gear out and having a single driven axle will improve running.
Bachman quality varies also in the models they produce for the US market. Some a great others make nice shelf models only. Best to test them at the dealer before plunking your quid down.
I don’t know how you always manage to get the duff ones, I have the Bachmann Evening Star and I don’t experience any of those problems and have had it pulling 50 wagons as well as pushing them backwards. It can be seen at the end of my Roberts train set challenge video.
Like you Rob,i have two black ones and Evening Star,strong as oxes and really sweet runners.Paid £89.72 for the black ones and £108.03 for ES....bargain!
haha yeah I don't know - though most of my recent Bachmann purchases have been fine! Loads of people have said theirs run well, so I'm starting to think mine may have been faulty. Given how shoddy the mechanism is, I can't say I'm surprised though!! Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I checked my 2 Bachmann 9fs (Evening Star and 92192) and I have nothing to report on. They seem to be in good mechanical order. They are a few years old as well so Quality Control maybe different back then? Either way, tough break on your 9f Sam.
92000 was the very 1st 9f, built on 31st January 1954. She was withdrawn on 2nd February 1965 having been allocated to Ebbw Junction, Bath Green Park, Banbury, Old Oak Common, Tyseley, Bristol Barrow Road and finally to Gloucester Horton Road. Here she has a Bristol Barrow Road Shed Code. 92000 only worked for 11 years, 5 months and 1 day and was cut up at Birds (Long Marston) during November 1965.
That's very cool Luke - I didn't realise this was the first! Thanks for sharing! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Have any 9fs have been preserved or anything
@@Thomasthestreamliner yes, there are some 9Fs preserved, the most famous being Evening Star which is now in the National Railway museum collection.
What are their numbers
Could be
I think you might have had a bad one, cause i got 2 Bachmann 9Fs, a black one and the Evening Star and neither of them stutter or struggle, they both run smoothly.
They must have upgraded the 9F for the NRM version. The torque is great, wheels spin when stopping it with my finger etc....it's actually one of my best runners. Slow accelleration is fantastic on DCC. i'm very happy with mine.
Hey Sam.
Just wanted to say thank you for reviving a childhood dream, I've had a couple of trains and you've inspired me to go for it and build a layout. So thanks and stay awesome.
That's my pleasure David, so glad to hear that - have fun!! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Good luck David. This is an amazing hobby!
@@Deuce_and_a_half Well, David, I hope you were paying attention. I don't buy anything anymore until Sam has a go at it.
And thank you, Sam, for sparing me an adult nightmare. I cannot afford anymore rubbish.
I have one of the Bachmann 9F for over 10 years and mine is one of my favourites to run and not had any problems *touch wood*
I like my two as well.
yes quite agree with you, I have got both the Hornby and Bachmann ones, the Hornby one has been the worst one , bad running and even had a new motor, the Bachmann one runs a lot better and to date dont think it has even had a wheel clean
same here no propblema . mines got sound and fire box flicker
Hi, Sam! You mention the "blind" or flangeless centre driving wheels. This was indeed a real feature, I have a 1970's Evening Star and once had the old Airfix kit. The "blind" was to enable such a large locomotive to go round very tight curves and Network Rail now insists that all wheels have flanges, so none on main line runs any more!
So strange, it must be faulty. My Bachman 9f is the most powerful of all my trains and pulls a rake of 5 coaches up my steep incline without breaking a sweat, where my other locos will struggle. The only complaint I had was the tender. It’s a shame but I just think you got a bad one.
That’s impressive
My 9F is the same, so good, almost as good as all my hornby collectors edition and limited edition locos
Owned 5 of these, must say, knocks the b....X of the old Hornby model, lovely model and stunning detail, including brakes..! And runs like a dream.!
Thanks for sharing - very glad to hear that! I think I'll be holding out for the new Hornby one personally ;)
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
You are totally correct this review is so wrong the Bachmann 9f locos are great and to put a review out like this for one loco of a run of thousands just isnt right.
Totally agree this review is wrong !! So wrong😡😡😡😡😡😡
@@robstrains8711 agreed
@@robstrains8711 I know, what’s he on? Have you heard him bleating on and on and on about things which don’t effect the running of the bloody loco! He’s got an issue with Bachmann, clearly. Pathetic.
'Worst mechanism of the year'
Let's wait and give Heljan a chance lol
Bachmanns 9F is 14 years old bruh
@@StPetersLayout I have Lima models which run better than that
@@blisseyran-dom6822 Heck my Airfix Prairie runs better than that.
@@blisseyran-dom6822 still 14 years old do the title “worst mechanism of the year” can’t be used
@@StPetersLayout It just means that he's seen this year
I'm a little late to the party, but that gap between the tender and locomotive is so large you could fit an L&Y Pug in it.
The coupling between Loco and Tander has two holes so you can couple them closer together.
Strange, my Bachmann 9F is the best loco I’ve ever owned... quietest loco and I’d rate it higher than my bachmann city of Truro...
That’s because you obviously have no standards. The bachmann city class is also junk. Just confirms you obviously have. Ever had a good locomotive.
@@dwaynejohnson4892 who tf angered you? You went all out on Will for like literally no reason
My Bachman 9F does really well. it’s as good as my hornby collectors edition tornado, limited edition A4, hornby West Country class (Barnstable CUSTOMISED), I just think sams trains got a faulty model, and the fact he uses a carpet is not going to help at all
I'm now on my ninth bachmann 9f, not a single issue. They all run fantastic regardless of load or curves.
@@dwaynejohnson4892 said the person who collects spiders for a hobby
I've got two Bachmann 9f's. They run beautifully, look superb, and I am very happy with them.
Here here .same here .
I have 5 Bachmann 9fs and I am very impressed with the performance of these. I also have the Hornby Corsti 9f. I have been running both for over 2 years and I cant fault any of them. The performance of the Bachmann 9fs is far better than a lot of the hornby Locos I own
My experience exactly!
Bought both my 9F's 92006 & 92116 from Hattons for £86.00p each 2008 & 2010, both are good runners and I have never had a problem with them, suggest with the boiler join, flash on pipework and ill fitting cab is down to worn tooling in China as I have had my two under the magnifying glass and no faults there. Good luck in getting yours running properly.
I'm confused my bachmann 9f is the best runner in my collection
@Daniel Cafarelli well then he shouldn't make such a profound statement to such a large audience
@@wucgqwhcvuqwbkchqj He reviews the model he has taken delivery of. It's not his fault he has a rogue, it's Bachmanns quality control department that's to blame for letting it slip the net.
@@davidknowles2491 considering how long said model has been in production it could be the fact it's probably been sitting in a box for years on a shelf or in a store room, and for the poor quality control sam seems to love hornby and yet i've never had a perfect hornby model so no company is perfect
@Daniel Cafarelli i've had a lot of experience with poorly designed models (heljan, dapol, hattons, hornby etc.) But from experience bachmann seem to be pretty good on the mechanism front at least back when this model was first released
Thanks a lot for sharing - loads of people have said theirs run well, so I'm starting to think mine may have been faulty. That said - the mechanism is objectively poor, therefore my 'profound statement' is justified. Hornby make garbage too - don't get me wrong - look at my A2/2 and you'll see a prime modern example. Can't agree that Bachmann models from this era were quite good on the mechanism front though - this, the Hall and the 2-8-0 are some of the worst I've seen!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I think you’ve got a duff loco there Sam. I have a Locomotion Models / Bachmann ‘Evening Star’ loco and I’ve had trouble free running for several years right out of the box. I fitted a Hornby TTS decoder with an upgraded speaker both located in the loco and very pleased with the results. I used to have the Hornby Railroad 9f and the Bachmann is so much better. Try before you buy but I honestly think you’ve bought a duffer. Return for a replacement.
I've got one of Bachmann's 9Fs fitted with a Zimo sound decoder and smoke unit. It runs very smoothly and pulls 50 odd of my wagons without problem even over complicated point work. I think you have a rouge there, but as I've never run it on DC or 2nd radius curves I can't comment on that. Always enjoy your reviews.
Very interesting - might be worth fitting mine with a decoder... I'd be surprised to see mine run properly on 2nd radius though!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Or possibly a rogue...😉
Yay after all these years finally a Bachmann 9F! :)
haha yeah - about time!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Looks like we got another loco to pick on during the live streams. Looks like it's going to pull the egg vans and railgun!
haha that's true actually - I hadn't thought of that! ;D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains Hey, let me know where to send my egg van. I'll even pay the international post! Thank you for a good laugh, after seeing this video I needed a good chuckle. My mood has been considerably dark since seeing the T9 video. May Hornby burn for that horse apple.
I was thinking the same thing about the egg vans.... But it is a duff example and really ought to be sent back, my 9Fs are much older and run without issues even on 2nd radius track with the tender close coupled!
Good afternoon, it's me once again. I have just finished some testing with my own 9F, and I have been able to reproduce your problem with your item, but not to the extent of what you are seeing on your layout. Mine runs on second radius curves at a minimum of 30% throttle, both direction. At this setting, I can clearly see a significant slowing down on curves, visual estimation of half the running speed lost on curves. Below 30%, my engine stalls on curves, not useable.
I'm making a test at 40 % throttle, which gave me a scale speed of 65 km/h, or 41 mph. It's far above the speed requirement for an unfitted freight (25 mph/40 km/h) and the engine clearly struggles on curves , but the slowing down is less noticeable, I estimates it at 15 % maximum.
Half-throttle gives a smoother running, with no noticeable slowiing down on curves, but you have a scale speed of nearly 60 mph/97km/h. It's still useable for express fitted freight but for ordinary fitted, it's 15 mph/24 km/h too fast.
I have to precise that I had not put any wagons in tow.
And now, my engine stalls randomly on curves after a one-hour test, yipee... Seems the motor cut off on load when heated.
Well... Even if you have one that looks useable, you will get problems with her... It changes nothing to your test, except confirming that your findings are factuals.
Just one little thing I have forgot : I use this : www . entwinesolutions . co . uk / scalespeed / to measure the speed of my engines and trains. Courtesy from Charlie Bishop of Chadwick Moel Railways.
One last precision, to get the speed of my trains, I use the scalespeed metering page from entwinesolutions. Courtesy from Charlie Bishop of Chadwick Model Railways.
I've got the Evening Star version of this and it runs really well, although it does slow a little on Rad 2 curves.
Sam, I have two of these, Eveinng Star and 92116. Both run beautifully with 30 filled coal wagons or 7 coaches running at speed; they will pull way more than my 3 Hornby 8Fs and are second only to my Beyer-Garratt in terms of pulling power. I think you have a bit of a dud one with problems. I agree some bearings would have been nice but overall I can only recommend these Bachmann 9Fs.
Thanks a lot for sharing - loads of people have said theirs run well, so I'm starting to think mine may have been faulty. Given how shoddy the mechanism is, I can't say I'm surprised though!!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I Have seen lots of you reviews and have found them interesting but this 1 I dont understand, I have about 50 Hornby Locos and the only steam Locos I have from Bachmann are the 9Fs and I have to say they out perform all of the Hornby locos with pulling power and they never have a problem with pick ups or stopping, And the detail looks great. ?
My two Bachmann 9Fs from 2007 are superb, beautiful runners, great to view with close fitting tenders, trundling along with a long rake of wagons. Is it the case that this a new version whose mechanism is not as good as the original or is it possible yours simply does not like the tight radius "chicane" on your line?
i thought about this too. the corners he uses have a very tight radius
From everything I've heard about Bachmann 9Fs, I believe this is probably not a representative example. While both 9F models on the market at the moment are dated, I don't recall the performance of either being widely criticised.
You could be right - loads of people have said theirs run well, so I'm starting to think mine may have been faulty. That being said... that mechanism is terrible no matter how you look at it... and that is representative!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I have a Bachmann 9f and mine runs fine and is a smooth runner. Also Bachmann are planning to release 2 new 9Fs just still no release date.
Great to hear yours is better - I'm amazed that any of these run well given what's inside! I'd be surprised if we saw any more 9Fs from Bachmann!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains Well I found this on Bachmann's website www.bachmann.co.uk/product/category/152/br-standard-9f-with-br1f-tender-92212-br-black-%28late-crest%29/32-859a
Even though it's an expensive loco, I wonder what El Cheapo would think of it.
Hi Sam,
I've got there Evening Star version. I've had no issues running round 18" (2nd Radius) curves on DCC (Zimo sound decoder). Bachmann are still offering a BR green version to the Collector's Club plus 2 in the main range at £219 & £209 as the RRP!
Thanks a lot for sharing - loads of people have said theirs run well, so I'm starting to think mine may have been faulty. Given how shoddy the mechanism is, I can't say I'm surprised though!!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Very interesting. When Hornby announced their new 9F earlier this year there were a lot of people confused as to why they would bother when Bachman’s model was still considered pretty good. Having seen this though, I reckon Hornby have got a good shot at producing a far more superior loco as long as they don’t make the same mistakes! Great video Sam 👍
This reveiw does not in anyway represent the Bachmann 9f Sam has received a faulty seconds loco I have several of these and they all run perfectly and the pulling power is awesome. Now because of one review an awesome loco is going to be seen as a lemon when it is not.
@@robstrains8711 I mean, if your ones run well that's great but the loco has other shortcomings yet still quite a high price tag. But my point was more that I'd heard people wondering why Hornby were bothering to do a new 9F when Bachmann had already made the definitive model. Having now seen the Bachmann model in a bit more detail it's my personal opinion that there are several things that could be improved upon, so I now understand why Hornby have decided to have a go.
@@robstrains8711 Agree. Not sure what is going on with Sam's 9F. Suspect contact problem.
@@ThatModelRailwayGuy I wouldn't say that the Botchman is the definitive model by a long ways. Hopefully Hornby will use an uodated version of their 9F Crosti/Railroad drive
@@cleo6686 Apologies, I don't think I explained myself properly - I meant that other people had said the Bachmann model was so good that Hornby shouldn't bother. Hornby recently released the CADs for their 9F though and the amount of detail looks superb... but obviously that doesn't give us any indication on how well it will run. 😂
I have a Railroad 9F and have been wondering for a while whether to replace it with a Bachmann one. Not any more! I particularly dislike the huge gap between the locomotive and the tender. The Hornby gap is much smaller and it still goes round curves without any problems.
Brings back the good memories from last year’s visit to the nymr
Great railway, im a shareholder!
Ahh fantastic - hope it was a good time! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
It is a lovely railway
Sam if you can get there this summer. Nothing beats going to Whitby on a steam train and having lovely fish and chips. Get nice pictures of trains in the station 🚉
I own a Bachman 9f, and the detail + mechanism looks the same, so I assume that they are the same tooling, and mine has never had any issues with the motor (but it does have something against 2nd radius turns!)
Yeah - I'm only aware of one Bachmann 9F design! Thanks a lot for sharing - loads of people have said theirs run well, so I'm starting to think mine may have been faulty. Given how shoddy the mechanism is, I can't say I'm surprised though!!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I've got 4 of these all different ages. They all have run many, many hours, run perfectly and pull very strongly. I think something must be wrong with that one. This gripe about wheel bearings is a bit of a red herring. If it works and lasts, (which it does), who cares?
Another video that shows the facts that forms your opinions, I seriously think this loco should be sent back to bachman for them to give you a full report on its problems as many people in your comments have good ones, but however good some people find them there is no excuse for lack of axle bearings on a premium model and the worst thing of all is that it's still available to buy new, bachman should use you to test all there products before realeasing them to the unsuspecting public to avoid further embarrasment because their testers and technical design team need sacking if this model is anything to go by, thank you for your see it as it is video Sam.
I've got two Bachmann 9fs. One I've had for 11 years. No faults at all. Same with my other I've only had two years. Once again Sam's vendetta against Bachmann strikes again.
Yet again attacking a model that's 15 years old because it's the best he can do
@@Forevagrey oh definitely.
Without Bachmanns arrival back in the early 1990’s Hornby & Lima where quite content turning the same gear out. In Hornbys case they had no money / desire to make better models & Lima had nailed their colours to the collecting - ltd edition mast. The letters to Hornby / Lima , the model press trying to get them to change all in vain, told that modellers would not pay £75 for locos with can motors & lights , let alone freight wagons at £17.50-£21.95 , many a letter back from Hornby / Lima stating that I was wrong & that demand wasn’t there. Then Bachmann came along , listened to what we where saying & suddenly Hornby & Lima where caught cold & having to play catch up. The Bachmann 9f is a established model & so it seems strange to review a well regarded model & basically diss it knowing that Hornby are about to issue a new tool model, certainly raises questions.Bachmanns ability to make the models to the standards modellers wanted certainly put a few noses out of joint at Margate & Hemel Hempstead. Hornby have a arrogance that I find sickly , this god given right that because they have the ‘name’ ‘heritage’ that they really think they are some kind of premier brand / & god forbid anybody else stepping on their toes & make models of things they consider theirs & theirs only.The 9f has been a staple of the Hornby range for donkeys years & as Cavalex / Rails of Sheffield have seen , Kholer is not averse to spitting his dummy out of his pram. Rapido trains doing a good job in turning the tables on him though😀
Your not wrong I had one and sold it for a Dcc one it was an old one ran fine nothing wrong with it one of the smoothest models I ever had
Of random fact: the Pennsylvania Railroad in the US had a 2-10-0, very similar to the 9F, except it was significantly larger. The Pennsy I1 class weighed in at 295 short tons, with a tractive effort of 93,000 lbf. It was the dominate freight locomotive for decades with 593 made for the railroad. They were called Hippos for their enormous boiler, and often referred to as: "The Holy Terror of the Pennsylvania Railroad" because of their thunderous exhaust, enormous size and screeching banshee whistles.
Now that’s a name for a video XD I’m looking forward to this
haha hope you enjoy it!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
When I got my 9F and took it on the track for the first time, it ran fine. And it has tender pickups. So, I think at this point, Bachmann might have made a newer 9F. However, it does still slow down on the corners, but lots of my Locos have that problem. It also does have lots of cab details probably the most out of all my models
Could we see this in one of your experiments as the test subject because it deserves It big time
It sure does deserve it, lol! ;D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
The Bachmann motion is either binding, it stops at the same position almost every time or, the quartering is out. Add the sloppy “bearings” and that just exacerbates the problem.
I’ve had bad luck with Bachmann this year. 3 out of 4 diesel locomotives had to go get warranty repairs. 2 right out of the box, and 1 had the motor burn out within a month.
The stopping on curves would indicate some power pick up problems. Because of the long wheelbase between outer axles the inner axles have to shift sideways (not the centre axle as it has no flanges). This may be restricted by the connecting rods and the wheel pick ups, causing pick up power lose and friction on anything but straight running?
Sam says: "Bachmann 9F has the Worst Mechanism"
Meanwhile at the legion of Heljan "We would like to remind you of our existence."
haha don't worry - I've filmed a review for another Heljan lemon, so there's that to look forward to! xD
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains STOP, you're killing me!
Gotten a night owl?
At least it didn't stall like this 9F
@@SamsTrains **rubs hands in anticipation**
Considering friction from the bearings seems to be the downfall of the Bachmann 9F; next time you service it apply a PTFE / Teflon based lubricant. Superior lubrication might help.
At least with the Hornby centenary 9F you get a nice box and a fibreglass keepsake . . :)
haha that's true... and presumably it'll work properly too, which is a nice bonus! ;D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Just recieved a pr-owned Bachmann 9f. Have given it a test run and runs quite smoothly back and forth, slow to fast. It's an earlier model, so I suspect you have one of a batch of more recent models.
I really would enjoy seeing an inspection video because this is driving me crazy what is wrong with this loco 🧐
haha I know - I'll put it down for a potential autopsy video! ;D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Yes this would be interesting
The problem with this loco is the nut behind the camera.hes i tit.
The problem with this locomotive is that it has been one of the staples of the Hornby range for donkeys years & as recent evidence from Hornby suggests , how dare other companies make models of things they consider theirs & theirs only. Plenty of good reviews / testimony from modellers who use these models on their layouts pulling good length trains etc. So Hornby are making a new one & so the question arises of how do Hornby try to convince people to buy their new model & not stick with their existing Bachmann one / deter future Bachmann sales , I’ll leave it you to join the dots.
Always interesting seeing older standards in the hobby. Would love to see how similar era models stack up against each others ones released at the same sort of time.
Did you watch The Unlucky Tug's video on the Flying Scotsman USA tour?
I did and it was amazing
i did
Yes
I haven't yet - should I?! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains you could recreate the train and consist from that event
You can use close cupled tender on it without any issues, I don't have and running issues when it is close coupled. I have two of them a weathered BR Black and the nice BR Green Evening Star! Never noticed any issu with the way mine fit together, no gaps between the cab and the running boards/plate. Perhaps the tooling is getting a little past its' best!
I love how she looks. That' s the nicest locomotive i' ve had seen
but the mechanism is terrible
Yeah I know - they're pretty cool looking aren't they?? :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Finally the bachmann 9F. My favourite class of locomotive.
These may not have the best mechanisms but they’re e tough though, good for 90 wagons unassisted probably more but I ran out of room on the club layout.
I put my faith in these as I have 4 with a retooled Hornby one on pre-order to see how it compares. So I’m yet to be convinced by Hornbys offerings. I’ll have to get a crosti boilered one. To get a taster.
Still waiting for a RTR Tyne dock 9F for the KR models Consett Iron Ore wagons I’ve got on order.
Anyways good video mate and keep up the good work.
Ross.
Thanks a lot Ross - yeah that's right - and the pulling power certainly isn't bad at all! That sounds great - wondering how those will turn out now!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Send it back Sam lad, not worth it (also very generous, think I'd have given it a 4 maximum haha)
Thanks Dougie - I did consider it... but it's part of the collection now for better or worse... I might even make a project out of it! ;D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
At 24:16 you can clearly see the rear-most element of the connecting rod fluctuating between top edge out/lower edge out. I believe the poor running is caused by the articulated connecting rod. I had the same problem with my Tri-Ang Hornby Evening Star. Although I think that was in the Nineteen-Seventies!
Good review Sam I wouldn’t say it’s the worst personally I’m sure we have seen a lot worse than this before.
Not the worst ever - but I do think this is the worst I've seen so far this year ;)
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
These 9f's were seen a lot locally to me on the S&D as they absolutely shrugged off the 1 in 33 and 1 in 34's the Bath to Templecombe section had, lesser engines had to be banked on the climb up from Wincanton but not the 9f who could pull a 40x loaded, unfitted coal wagon set plus 20T brake van with little problem and the Pines Express 9f's took the train from Bath to Bournemouth and BR kept adding more capacity and the engine just performed superbly. They were still being used for freight when DMU's took over passenger running but not the Pines, that was still the 9f and because it didn't crawl up the sharp gradient leaving Bath or the insane climb up from Wincanton, it just was a winner all round.
Thanks a lot for sharing - they certainly are amazing machines aren't they?
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Bachmann 9F: Worst Mechanism Of The Year.
Martinmartmartinson Dapol Mogul: Hold my non-existent buffer.
I know I am bad with this kind of jokes should leave this to you guys really...
Lol
haha yep - barring Mr Martinson's mechanism of course... I mean... cough... that was amazing though?!?
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Hem, I've missed something, what did he find wrong with his Mogul, this one ? (martinmartinmartinmartin of course)
Sam, I believe you mistook this paper weight for an operational locomotive. Bear up there, man.
I have the Hornby centenary 9f. It runs like a dream and have ran it for a combined time of about 200 hours in 1 year, I run it all the time because of how nice it is. It has tender pickups and all driving wheels pickup. The driving wheels have bearings and it can crawl slower than any model I have ever seen you review! It has many die cast parts and I look forward to seeing hornbys new 9f.
Thanks for reviewing this because I was thinking of getting one but never mind guess I’m waiting for Hornby a retooled version
Oh totally - I'd definitely wait and see what Hornby's retooled version is like... and even if it's no good, I'd still recommend the Railroad ones over this! xD
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Run, don't walk, away from this disaster. Watch out for Hornby, they have put some real stink bombs into the market. I own one.
@@jeffreymcneal1920 A2/2 is an utter joke. Same with large Prairie. Suspect the Hush Hush etc will be junkers as well...and priced astronomically. Hornby mag will gush of course..
That one is a duff one. The Bachmann ones are better most of the time! Mine are all original and running well!!!
I know Bachmann recently released a… not new tooled 9F but new tooling variation for it, with those pumps in the middle of the running plate… I wonder if they updated the mechanism at the time?
Early, haven’t watched the video but I bet it’s gonna be a good one
Awesome - hope you enjoy it!! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I saw it. Needed an airline barf bag midway.
There should be a line along the top of the boiler on most steam locos as the real things had boiler cladding in two halves joined at the top.
Hello Sam. Nice video. I haven't commented in a while. The performance of the 9f was terrible. Congratulations on getting 100k subscribers, are/did you getting/get a 100k subscriber plaque.
Thanks a lot Oliver - yeah it sure was! Yep - it's been confirmed, should be with me in a few weeks, and I'll do a video on it! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains I hope it comes perfect. You don't want any damage to it.
Id remove the worm gear/motor and push the engine along with your hands and see if the wheels lock up. If so there's a good chance there a quartering issue/bind in the mechanism...which your loco shows symptoms of. I can see the loco locks up at the same wheel rotation during certain shots.
That's a good thought - but when crawling, the wheels don't appear to lock up... it's a very strange one!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains for example you can see at 29:00 the loco always stalls at the same point in the wheel rotation.
Oddly, 'Britain's Model Trains 2020' gave this model an overall score of 92% . The same publication for 2021 doesn't use the same scoring system but gives it 46/50 - including 10/10 for performance! This model first appeared in 2005/2006 so it's 15 years old. Despite having only a 3-pole motor, no bearings and no tender pickups, my example performs beautifully (on DCC), it crawls well and pulls very long trains up steep slopes. I think your's is a dud and should go back to TMC!
I have two of them and have no ‘real’ issues with either of them. They run perfectly well despite their age, and ok perhaps a upgraded chassis with bronze bearings and a 5 pole motor would improve things. But by how much and retooling costs money and that would be passed onto us the consumers/customers.
Model locos should have at least, metal bearings, 5 pole motors, and flywheels. Without them they are not considered models. Britain’s model trains obviously have Bachmann in their pocket and to be able to give a score of 10/10 for performance makes me complete distrust them. Real locomotives have metal bearings. All moving parts that spin should have bearings. I’ve had a bachmann 9f and it performed the same as this one. Never again will I buy a bachmann steam loco.
@@dwaynejohnson4892 I totally agree that these locos should come with bearings, flywheels and a 5-pole motor (and tender pick-ups) as standard - especially given the ridiculous prices that Bachmann are now charging. I was expressing surprise that my example performs well, as does my Bachmann Hall class, in spite of all the shortcomings. Yes, the annual Britain's Model Trains publication does score some locos unexpectedly high but I don't know who's pocket they're in!
I have 92006, 2nd hand and partially weathered (I'll weather it more myself at a later date), I think (I hope) I paid around £90 for it. The detail is way better than the hornby offering, and the nem pockets are a huge step up from the fixed large tension locks of triang hornby days (although I guess the newer railroad ones may have had upgraded couplings). Except the hornby mechanism is much more powerful and reliable, as my railroad one had 16-wheel pickup yet the bachmann one only has 8 (none on the middle drivers, none on the tender). I'm gonna be adding tender pickups at some point too.
My hornby 9f would haul 30 wagons with ease, slipping where necessary, but then it suffered from mazak rot so had to disappear (before I started regularly running trains of 40+ wagons). My bachmann one slows to a crawl under any sort of load, barely slips, even on DCC.
The 9Fs were actually found to be able to run 70mph+ on expresses when required, probably summer saturday jobs.
Awesome to see you running decent length freight trains now, since you got all the new open wagons.
Next up will be a crosti 9f, then a new hornby 9f with westinghouse pumps for the new kr models consett iron ore wagons.
Are you calling Bullman fat?!?!
Did you like driving the 9F in real life? :p
It did - much more so than driving this model! ;D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains wait Sam did you drive the 9F?
@@SamsTrains you actully drove one cool decapods aren't the biggest but they certinaly aren't small really only the 4-12-2s and the articulated locomotives can 1up a decapod
I have two of them and have no ‘real’ issues with either of them. They run perfectly well despite their age, and ok perhaps a upgraded chassis with bronze bearings and a 5 pole motor would improve things. But by how much and retooling costs money and that would be passed onto us the consumers/customers. And pulling it to bits before you have run the thing and then saying it doesn’t run very well is not going to (in my opinion) give a true reflection of how it would/should run. And not sure what TMC’s policy is or returning ‘faulty’ models. If the poor running was discovered after it was taken to bits would be, would it void the warranty?
Sam I think you have turd of a model.
My Bachmann 9f. Iv had one for years. Its is an old model now. But It’s never broken, no detail has ever fell off, and it can pull 50 to 60 wagons on layout with scale gradients.
As per the movie "Christine"....you know about "turds"......you can't polish them....
no propblems . mines got sound and fire box flicker. can derail, but slow speed is fine. you got a duff one
Hi Sam. 🤗
Hello!! :D
Very cool you got the class leader but in defense to the 2 bachmann 9F locos i have i have zero issues with their performance as i have done a video on a single 9F's strength pulling 16 heavy coaches on a heavily inclined layout is good plus it's not as bad as hornby having the 4F and 2P in the railways range when they clearly belong in railroad range
Any day that Sam uploads is going to be a good day
Awhh thank you! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
very very true
Definitely, And he's uploading a lot more often recently
Absolutely
Well for us viewers it is, not necessarily for Sam. We appreciate him more than he knows.
Sam. Sorry to say I have a great one which compares with the Hornby version. I also bought both when I worked for Wirral Transport Museum, for their 'Mostyn Junction' layout.
Both worked extremely well out of the box and after running in, pulling either 10-12 coaches or 25-30 wagons on the layout every weekend and school holidays.
Eventually we had to replace the motor, but within the week, we had to replace the motor in the Hornby one too!!!!
Both great locos. Think you should take yours back force replacement.
Normally I agree with you, but think you just got a duff one!!!
Good Luck!
John Harrison. Wallasey, Wirral.
Are Narrow Gauge engines cheaper than Standard gauge? I'm wondering because I love Narrow Gauge engines seeing smaller engines doing work a standard engine could do.
Indeed the rattling and the sticking is the weight and the fact that it doesn’t have bearings, and by the looks, the cut out of the axle fittings don’t seem flush and clean, it looks like they have flares in them, and with 5 axles doesn’t help
I get the impression bachmann are resting on laurels particularly with 10-20 year old locos that blew everything away when they launched but now are on sale for prices as high as brand new truly awesome new stuff like the beautiful 94xx for example, despite not having had the small detail updates and mechanism updates to justify it. I’ve just bought new 57xx & 8750 panniers albeit thankfully not at full RRP but still at the £100 mark. These were at the £50-60 mark about 10 years ago and haven’t changed effectively still being the 1980s mainline body which was tarted up around 20 years ago with separate fitted handrails - still no lamp irons, no handrail above the mid running board step (lots of flash around that step on both models BTW) no representation of the rodding that runs along the running board, no inside motion so obvious on the new bachmann 94xx and rapido 16xx so when one puts them alongside these models they really are shown up a bit like how putting the hornby 2721 pannier next to one of these shows it up. I really don’t understand why bachmann are fiddling with a new class 20 when there are more obvious targets from the same era, like their 57/8750 panniers in more dire need of replacement.
You've really put the wind up me here!
I've got a Bachmann 9F (weathered. 92233) as part of the loco "stud" for my long-proposed "retirement project" of a Somerset & Dorset layout, and purchased some years ago now. (Incidentally at that time, it was Hornby who were getting a "bad press" for the unreliability of some of their steam outline model mechanisms!).
It was a vast step forward, in terms of detail and overall "look" from the Hornby "Railroad"9F (I heard on the Hornby launch announcement for their "brand-new" (and very expensive) version is in celebration of 50 years since the introduction by Tri-Ang Hornby of the original "Evening Star", of which their Railroad model is a direct descendant.
Although I've only run my Bachmann 9F on a test track, it seems to run, and start and "creep", a lot smoother than your purchase and I've seen a video on RUclips from a year or two ago of an identical loco hauling nine Mk1 bogies around a "tail chaser" layout without apparently having any problems, which would be adequate for my plans. Obviously the design is dated from before space was required for all the "gizmos" which are now part of our DCC model railway age.
So here's my dilemma: Before Hornby announced their new model, I had it in mind to invest in another Bachmann 9F from the TMC batch Then I though I'd wait for the Hornby one to come out, but according to their announcement, apart from "Evening Star" -again!- the other two proposed versions are fitted with versions of the BR1B high-capacity tender ( i suppose because in model form it provides more space for the fitting of "loco sound").The Somerset & Dorset 9F's were coupled, like "Evening Star", to the BR1G tender with inset coal bunker. No "basic black" model of this version is apparently going to be released. I know that "Evening Star" was allocated for a short time to haul the last "Pines Express" over the S&D on 8th September 1962, and again a year or two later to haul 3-coach "locals" during a loco shortage at Bath, but all the other S&D 9F's were "dirty black".
What do I do? Either assume that the TMC model you have is a poor example (presumably this was a "short run" batch, as the model is not in the current Bachmann catalogue), or wait (and save up my dough) in the hope and expectation that some time in the future Hornby will add a black liveried 9F with double chimney and BR1G tender.to their range?
Thanks for sharing! It's entirely up to you of course - I've also heard of these Bachmann 9Fs running excellently... but good performance or not, they still contain those terrible mechanisms. That said, we don't know whether the Hornby 9Fs will be any good... I expect they will be, but it's too early to say! Maybe it'd be best to wait a while, and see what Hornby's turns out like? Hopefully it'll be with us within the next year!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Bachmann makes two levels of HO locomotives. One for the novice trainset class and the other for the seasoned pro. My early American EMD GP-30's had poor mechanisms but my later Alco Rs-3's are amazing. Apparently there are more than one assembly facilities.
I brought a "super detailed" Hornby 9F (Evening Star) in 2018, hoping to be the the 1st loco-driven version , but turned out to be the last tender-driven batch despite the newer packaging, so I wanted a loco driven one. At that time I could not find the right Hornby 9F (with the tender pickups) for a reasonable price, but I found a Bachmann "Evening Star" for 83 GBP DCC fitted, mint condition. So i brought that instead. Sadly I can not tell any experience with mine, do to it turned ot the decoder does not support DC operation, so I only run it for 5 minutes for testing, but mine has way less tooling issues, probably do to its an earlier product, and the BR green looks awesome from Bachmann!
I will be interested in the new Hornby 9F!
The gearing has lubricant, but the axles look very dry, so I'd try lightly lubricating them. Also, this was produced in 2016 (see RMweb for announcement of the limited run 32-859Z) so it's been sitting around for 5+ years, so absolutely no surprise it's dry and tight. I'd give it a thorough going over and then re-appraise it.
@Sam, I have two 9F's, both in DCC with ESU LP4, and none of either work as yours. I would have thrown them out the window. Refs. are 32-850A and 32-858. In any event, I strongly suggest you return yours, that behaviour is not normal. Do take care. David
How much does this 9f cost anyway have to know the price first before I buy it
Complete load of tosh, never had a days troubles with mine and I have three of them, they pull more than I can put behind them, threw two hornby railroad versions in the bin because of mazac rot which was unrepairable. Your habit of close up views with what seems a thousand times magnification I find annoying you could probably do this to any 00 gauge model and pick holes in it. The mechanism is 100% reliable. Any model of 1/76 scale is always going to have some imperfections. Having said all that I suppose one hundred thousand subs speaks for itself.
Two things that I think are splendid about you. One:Your reviews are perfect which is great. Two:You answer to every comment. You seen really nice
Thank you so much!! Struggling to make that every comment these days - but doing my best!!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains No problem:D
Hi Sam... it's weird but again I have had quite a different experience. I bought a preloved weathered version in the older style box. My version ran like this out of the box and I was quite disappointed. I then discovered a pin in the box. I soon discovered it had come loose from one of the gears(the uppermost gear in the chassis) I eaaily fitted it and hey presto...my 9f is now a beautiful runner and is silent, smooth and powerful. Check the thar the gear pins are properly mounted. I give it 5 stars in your poll!
That's fascinating Craig - I'll definitely investigate this further!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
update on one 9F.....yesterday it just shorted with a big spark from the wheelset/valvegear.....dead as a dodo....game over.....haven't checked what caused it yet....
Sam, obviously you haven’t received any free bee’s from Bachman. I have six of these and they’re flawless. In fact I had to use one for the Christmas tree set after a Hornby Railroad, new three years ago failed after 20 hours use. And I have six Hornby Railroad versions as I like the 9F. Keep the reviews coming and if you have issues of a warranty type explore that option first before slagging a manufacturer. It becomes like Australian car Facebook sites where it’s acceptable to slag a manufacturer first rather than exploring consumer warranty issues. Pretty sure UK consumer Legislation is similar to ours…
The 9f did have flangeless centre axles. The funniest thing though has to be watching this review with the auto generated subtitles on. So far you've allegedly stated this 9f was made by Pacman and Batman and it's different to the other one made by Homie, Homebeat and Hornbait.
HaHaHaHa.
I love 9Fs and I paid the most I ever have for a loco - £57.60 in 1994 (was actually made in 1990). It is tender powered and has traction tyres so you might not like it. However, it does have proper bearings, it can go around 2nd radius curves and it hasn't got Mazak rot. It still works well today, though it is not very powerful with those little tender wheels. Thanks for the video.
the jitteriness of this loco paired with the derailing egg vans would be a spectacle
haha! Don't give people ideas! xD
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
@@SamsTrains And I thought it was just my egg van. I swear I added almost half a kilo of lead to it, changed the couplers, and the wheels, to boot. I won't buy anything until Sam has taken it up Gordon's Hill.
William will remember that...
My Bachmann 9F, black with early crest, runs very well.
I am excited to see the new Hornby model though!
Do you ever use the buffers? Maybe you can get power pickups on the tender.
No I don't use them in OO gauge - and sure, with some work you could do that! :D
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
Thanks for the review I've long wanted a 9F and I'm glad I watched your video before buying one of those.
Ive had problems with double gearing on model trains in the past, where it almost seems like the gears are fighting each other, of course its ridiculous that BACHMANN would put a problematic mechanism in a locomotive like this, but maybe just pulling a gear out and having a single driven axle will improve running.
I bought a Bachmann Evening Star over 10 years ago. I will consider replacing it with the Hornby one if it is a better model and runner.
Bachman quality varies also in the models they produce for the US market. Some a great others make nice shelf models only. Best to test them at the dealer before plunking your quid down.
I don’t know how you always manage to get the duff ones, I have the Bachmann Evening Star and I don’t experience any of those problems and have had it pulling 50 wagons as well as pushing them backwards. It can be seen at the end of my Roberts train set challenge video.
Like you Rob,i have two black ones and Evening Star,strong as oxes and really sweet runners.Paid £89.72 for the black ones and £108.03 for ES....bargain!
haha yeah I don't know - though most of my recent Bachmann purchases have been fine! Loads of people have said theirs run well, so I'm starting to think mine may have been faulty. Given how shoddy the mechanism is, I can't say I'm surprised though!!
Thanks for watching, Sam :)
I checked my 2 Bachmann 9fs (Evening Star and 92192) and I have nothing to report on. They seem to be in good mechanical order.
They are a few years old as well so Quality Control maybe different back then?
Either way, tough break on your 9f Sam.
9F’s, the 999th steam loco made by BR, and the 1st steam loco I knew about. Still my favorite steam locomotive.