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Bachmann B1 or Ivatt 4

Discussion in 'Model Railways' started by lewis.maddox, Feb 16, 2010.

  1. lewis.maddox

    lewis.maddox Member

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    I am looking for some reviews of Bachmann's B1 and Ivatt 4 No. 43106 as I am hoping to buy one of the mentioned soon. Info on running and reliability etc will be greatly appreciated. My layout is analogue (DC)

    Cheers for the help,

    Lewis
     
    lewis.maddox, Feb 16, 2010
    #1
  2. paullad1984

    paullad1984 Member

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    The ivatt 4 is a beautiful model, i had one until i was forced to sell my collection, ran as sweetly as i could of hoped, captures the look of the original perfectly. The bachmann B1 is a somewhat aged model, the chassis is hit and miss, some run well, others run badly. split frame design which in this modern world is a touch old fashioned. the body is not bad, but is not quite upto modern standards.
     
    paullad1984, Feb 16, 2010
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  3. lewis.maddox

    lewis.maddox Member

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    Thank you for your help :)
     
    lewis.maddox, Feb 16, 2010
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  4. Pete Thornhill

    Pete Thornhill Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Administrator Moderator Friend

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    Would agree about the B1 -AVOID!!! The running qualities are too hit and miss and they were considered poor runners even at the time of first release. I recall that we used to have more B1's returned to us than any other model.
    The Ivatt is a nice model with no such problems in my experience.
     
    Pete Thornhill, Feb 16, 2010
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  5. lewis.maddox

    lewis.maddox Member

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    43106 it is then :)
     
    lewis.maddox, Feb 16, 2010
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  6. david1984

    david1984 Resident of Nat Pres

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    My B1 was the same at first, though bizareyl, two years sitting sulking in it's box seems to have persuaded it to work better!.

    The Bachmann Split Chassis Motor in most cases i find preferable to more recent types, though i think the change from Five to Three Pole motors is the root cause, none the less B1 apart i found the split chassis loco's far more smoother and less tempremental than more recent Three Pole jobs.
     
    david1984, Feb 16, 2010
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  7. Pete Thornhill

    Pete Thornhill Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Administrator Moderator Friend

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    That was the funny thing it was only the B1's that seemed to have the problem the rest always seemed to run well!
     
    Pete Thornhill, Feb 16, 2010
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  8. paullad1984

    paullad1984 Member

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    Oh i dunno, i had a J72 that ran like the proverbial bag of spanners.
     
    paullad1984, Feb 17, 2010
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  9. Pete Thornhill

    Pete Thornhill Resident of Nat Pres Staff Member Administrator Moderator Friend

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    I meant in general most ran well where as in the b1's case it was the other way round! Of course in both cases there were exceptions - aside from this I seem to remember the original Replica Railways B1 seemed to run ok!
     
    Pete Thornhill, Feb 17, 2010
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  10. ADB968008

    ADB968008 Guest

    I think the all time worst model was Airfix's 14xx.. but i'm showing a bit more age there.
     
    ADB968008, Feb 18, 2010
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  11. lewis.maddox

    lewis.maddox Member

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    I agree, my Hornby 14xx was a bit of a 'non-runner'. Had to replace the whole chassis with one from Dapol!
     
    lewis.maddox, Feb 18, 2010
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  12. paullad1984

    paullad1984 Member

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    The airfix chassis were bad, ive never had a problem with a hornby 14xx, mind you ive never had a dapol one!
     
    paullad1984, Feb 19, 2010
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  13. DisusedBranch

    DisusedBranch Guest

    Not if you want to add a DCC decoder- then split chassis are an absolute PITA!
     
    DisusedBranch, Feb 22, 2010
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  14. Robert Heath No.6

    Robert Heath No.6 Well-Known Member

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    It's interesting, I had a B1 which ran faultlessly for years, never required anything more than lubrication. Do agree about the J72 though! Also had a jinty which was that poor it ended up being returned - along with a number of others from the same batch, according to the shopkeeper!
     
    Robert Heath No.6, Feb 25, 2010
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  15. lewis.maddox

    lewis.maddox Member

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    lewis.maddox, Feb 25, 2010
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