The Bachmann Lifetime Warranty.

A relatively local hobby shop makes periodic runs to Bachmann's repair center in Philadelphia and said they have a lifetime warranty and would fix any Bachmann equipment. Well I have managed to collect 3 Bachmann Reading 2-8-0 steam engines (only one of which sorta ran) so in April I delivered 2 of them to the hobby shop for the repair run. One should have been an easy repair since I believe the worm was just loose on the shaft and spinning.

Later I heard that if they can't fix them they will substitute an equivalent engine FOR A FEE. So when I heard that I stopped into the hobby shop and told them I did not want to pay for a substitute, so if necessary just get my engines back if they can't fix them

Well Wednesday (11 weeks later) I get a call from the hobby shop saying they couldn't repair them (I very much doubt that they tried) and just gave me substitutes and wanted $25 each for them. Ignoring the fact that that was exactly what I didn't want, I went to the hobby shop. The substitutes were both Bachman 2-6-2 Prairie locomotives, neither of them Reading and neither having a Reading Wooten fire box. (One was in a beautiful Southern green scheme and was a temptress.) Neither being of any value on a 1950 Pennsylvania - Reading Seashore Lines layout (and not wanting to spend $25/$50) I refused them. So now I've lost 2 Reading 2-8-0s that at least had display potential and am very ticked at Bachmann (and the hobby shop).

Also last week I had won a new Bachmann Reading GP7 on eBay at a very reasonable price. It arrived DOA. Did nothing on DC and nothing on a friend's DCC layout. No light, no noise, no movement. Nice looking engine but back it went.

[35 of my 130 remaining engines are Bachmann, most of them still run.]

Update: While the consols (2-8-0s) are lost forever I must give kudos to Bachmann for their customer service rep, Laura. Multiple emails and a phone call is service beyond what I could have ever expected. They tried their best.