A while back someone here at MLS was having trouble with his K derailing. I made some measurements on mine and discovered that there was a small gap between the engine and the tender on 8' diameter curves and a much larger gap on 10' diameter curves. Extrapolating those measurements I've concluded that the engine (cab) and the tender would touch on curves between 7 and 7.5'. Tighter curves would require a longer drawbar. I also thought that there was no lateral play in the drivers on the 8' curves. Any tighter curves would most likely cause excessive wear on the track and drive wheels.
I have two of the K-27s (#453 and #455). I received 453 in early January, by mid-January I had to shim the drivers, no problems since then. When I bought 455 in April I ask the vendor (Caboose Hobbies) to fix the drivers before they shipped the engine to me in Virginia. The engine has run perfectly since I received it. I have not added sound or batteries so I cannot answer any of your questions along that line.
There are the minor problems that others have mentioned, the dim head light and the reddish marker lamps, but I'm not planning to do anything about that at the moment.
My roadbed isn't the greatest. It took me 2 years of tweaking the roadbed and my Accucraft K-28 before it would go around the track once. The Bachmann K has great suspension and handles my roadbed like a good mudhen should.
It's a very good engine and it pulls nicely. If you want a reasonably priced K, I can strongly recommend it.
Chuck N
I have two of the K-27s (#453 and #455). I received 453 in early January, by mid-January I had to shim the drivers, no problems since then. When I bought 455 in April I ask the vendor (Caboose Hobbies) to fix the drivers before they shipped the engine to me in Virginia. The engine has run perfectly since I received it. I have not added sound or batteries so I cannot answer any of your questions along that line.
There are the minor problems that others have mentioned, the dim head light and the reddish marker lamps, but I'm not planning to do anything about that at the moment.
My roadbed isn't the greatest. It took me 2 years of tweaking the roadbed and my Accucraft K-28 before it would go around the track once. The Bachmann K has great suspension and handles my roadbed like a good mudhen should.
It's a very good engine and it pulls nicely. If you want a reasonably priced K, I can strongly recommend it.
Chuck N
