# Thoughts on the Bachmann Climax?



## rreiffer (Jan 14, 2009)

Hello all,

I was wondering if any of you have had experience with a Bachmann Climax? What are the issues with the engine (I have heard about some)? Are they easily fixed? Are they worth the money (or what are they worth)? I have found one close to me and I like the looks of the engine but I would like anyones feedback on them. Thanks

Rich


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## tj-lee (Jan 2, 2008)

Rich, 

Start here: 

http://www.girr.org/girr/tips/tips5/climax_tips.html 

Best, 
TJ


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

Rich, I've had mine for about seven years or so. I bought it off a guy who had never heard of North-American geared logging locomotives, and it didn't go with his mainly Swiss railway, so he off-loaded to me for about a quarter of what his wife had paid for it. 

Best deal I ever got. 

It is an absolute beauty if a trifle fragile in the detail department. I'm told that the early ones had drive-train issues, and bearing in mind that mine must also be one of them, I hafta say that nothing has gone wrong so far, but then, I take care of my trains. You do the same, and it will reward you with many years of pleasure, just like mine. 

Read the post-history as suggested, and make up your own mind, but remember that they are getting rare, and Bachmann have said that the ywon't be doing any more. 

tac 
www.ovgrs.org


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## lotsasteam (Jan 3, 2008)

Hi Rich! 
Go for it !I have 2 Bmann Climax(original 3 ) Easy fixing(if you encounter truck problems(check the bottom plate for early signs of meltdown)sent 50 $ and the 2 Trucks to Bmann for repair/new ones . The next step replace the standard brushes with LGB (previus post) follow G.Schreiers advise and connect the 2 Trucks electrically and another mod is replace the stock smoke unit with the Aristo smoke unit (will fit easy after you cut the ears off and both sides of the fillerfunnel,it puts out alot of smoke and the final add on :sound! On of the Climax has the G.Schreier mod Bmann sound(its ok ,better than silence) and the other one has the Sierra board installed(sounds really good) 

Manfred Diel


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## paintjockey (Jan 3, 2008)

My climax has been converted to battery R/C but it runs flawlessly. It is a fragile locomotive as far as details go but ifi handled properly that problem is minimal. It is typically my "go to" loco when people come over to see my layout. If you can get one for a decent price I say go for it.


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## rreiffer (Jan 14, 2009)

Thanks everyone. From what it sounds like I need to go get this little engine. 

Rich


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

Mine was a complete pain running on track power. Never could get power to both trucks at the same time. I converted to battery power and hardwired the two trucks together. Now it runs great! Also had to get the drive shaft fix from Bachmann.


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## Gary Woolard (Jan 2, 2008)

Del, I recently picked up a used Climax that's already converted to battery power, but I don't remember hearing about a "Bachmann Axle Fix." How can I tell if I need such a fix?

TIA,


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## Del Tapparo (Jan 4, 2008)

Gary - Not the axles, it's the drive shaft. The fix is a new part that allows one truck to spin half of the drive independent of the other half connected to the other truck. Without this slip joint, you break the drive shaft if the trucks get out of sync, like when one loses power. Call Bachmann. If you can get their attention, they will send you a new one free of charge.


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## lotsasteam (Jan 3, 2008)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pIclFHYpcFo 

2 climax smoking: Tucks are hardwired toghether,Aristo smoke unit installed and also the original pickup bearings are replaced with LGB carbon brushes! Ca 20hrs on climax 1 and 30 hrs runtime on climax 2 on live steam/electro(trackpower TE) There are ca 250 ft of track just 2 feed wires and ca 50 % Hillmann railclamps installed the rest is stock LGB/Aristo Track connectors and will be replaced as needed! 

Manfred Diel


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## Fritz (Jan 11, 2008)

Hi, 

The Bachmann Climax is a very fine loco. But as far as I know, they don´t make them anymore. You can only get them 2nd hand now. 

I bought one, equipped with batteries / RC, treated with an airbrush by Mr. McCalla, two years ago in Germany from a friend. 










A very reliable runner. 

Have Fun 

Fritz / Juergen


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## Gary Woolard (Jan 2, 2008)

Thanks Del -- 'tis appreciated!


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## tacfoley (Jan 3, 2008)

..and for those readers here in yUK who might want to get hold of one of these little gems - long sold out - Steve Warrington of Back2Bay6 has one BNIB, unlettered, so you can colour it in to the road of your choice.









The price is amazing, too.

Give him a call if you are interested!

tac
www.ovgrs.org


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## Rod Hayward (Jan 2, 2008)

Like I said before, you cant beat a good Climax.....


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## rreiffer (Jan 14, 2009)

Thanks for all of the input. I decided to pick up the engine and now I can't wait till it shows up. 

Rich


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## rreiffer (Jan 14, 2009)

Hello all, 

I finally got my Climax today and she is a real beauty. It appears to have very little time on her. I did get the drive shaft fix but Bachmann now charges for it (since it has been out of production for so long I guess). I will be looking real close (in the daylight tomorrow) at her. It's pretty neat to see her in the dark with the flicker in the coal and underneath. 

Rich


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## cape cod Todd (Jan 3, 2008)

Oh man I'm jealous of you rreiffer. My Climax won't be here until Thursday according to UPS tracking. From everything I have been reading here about the CLimax it is one nice little engine. Except for the drive shaft fix, I will have to look into that. What is weird is that I have been watching for a Climax for a time now and they are rare. One came through the classifieds here but it sold very quickly. I caught one on Ebay early last week and since then I have seen a handful being offered? All this Climax mania seems to have "Climaxed" when I asked the question here about when Bachmann first offered these little gems. Maybe sellers read the inquiries and pulled their locos off their shelves to sell? I know when mine arrives it will be cherished and I'm sure it will delegate my LGB C&S Forney to second favorite engine status. 
Enjoy. 
Todd


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## George Schreyer (Jan 16, 2009)

there may be more changes than just the drive shaft that are necessary to get it running just right. BE SURE to jump around the power contacts from the truck to the frame. It is easy to do and will save you lots of grief.


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## Big65Dude (Jan 2, 2008)

If anyone's interested in how I bashed my B'mann Climax and how I installed a rechargeable battery-powered control and sound system in it (fully self-contained, no need for a separate battery car,) click on my name below and go to the "Engines" drop-down menu. The sound, control and power systems are depicted in the last item under the "How-To" menu.


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## rreiffer (Jan 14, 2009)

All, 

One side note: Bachmann no longer will send out the free drive shaft. They now charge $10 for the "fix". I guess they figured that the engine has been out of production long enough that any requests for this fix are to replace broken ones and not the original defect (which is probably fair). 

The Climax is a great running (very quiet) engine and mine came in the original box with the video on how to lube it. 

It's pretty sweet to see it run at night with the flicker box going! 

Rich


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## rreiffer (Jan 14, 2009)

Jack, 

VERY impressive Climax and GREAT modifications! My question is how many hours did it take you to get her to final product? 

Rich


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## Big65Dude (Jan 2, 2008)

Rich -

I really couldn't tell you - I generally don't keep track of that sort of thing. I just keep at it as long as I'm having fun - and it hasn't stopped being fun yet. 

Besides, I spend a lot of the time "working" on a particular model just sitting there, smoking my pipe, looking at it, and thinking about the next thing to do and how to do it. (That's fun, too.)

Thanks for asking. I hope you have as much fun with your trains as I do...


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