Bachmann - 85405 - Locomotive, Steam, 2-10-0 Decapod - Painted/Unlettered

Prototype Information: Under the Whyte notation for the classification of steam locomotives, 2-10-0 represents the wheel arrangement of two leading wheels on one axle, ten powered and coupled driving wheels on five axles, and no trailing wheels. This arrangement was often named Decapod, especially in the United States, although this name was sometimes applied to locomotives of 0-10-0 "Ten-Coupled" arrangement, particularly in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the 2-10-0 was not widely popular but was a favorite of a small number of railroads which operated mostly in mountainous terrain. Among these was the Erie Railroad, a major Chicago to New York trunk line railroad.

The 2-10-0's main advantage was that five out of six of its axles were powered, meaning almost all the weight was available for traction rather than being distributed over pilot and trailing wheels. The long rigid wheelbase caused problems on tightly curved track, so blind drivers were the norm, either on the central axle, and/or on the second and/or fourth axles. Often lateral motion devices were attached to the leading drive axle.

The wheel arrangement's disadvantages included the firebox size restriction caused by the lack of trailing wheel. This meant the firebox was fitted in between the wheels (common on earlier locomotives) and was long and narrow, or if mounted above the driving wheels, was wide and long but shallow. Many locomotives chose the latter option. A firebox mounted over the drivers also restricted the diameter of the driving wheels, which in turn limited speed. As with the Consolidation (2-8-0), "chopping" at speed ensured a rough ride for the crew due to instability caused by the wheel arrangement. In fact, backing any locomotive without a trailing axle was restricted to under twenty miles per hour or less. Most 2-10-0s were not operated at speeds greater than 50 mph (80 km/h).

From Wikipedia

Road/Company Information: Some items are designed to have their owner add whatever company marking they choose, usually in the form of decals or dry-transfers. These items are painted in a generic prototypical fashion but with all company affiliation deliberately left off.

Brand/Importer Information: Bachmann Industries (Bachmann Brothers, Inc.) is a Bermuda registered Chinese owned company, globally headquartered in Hong Kong; specialising in model railroading.

Founded in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the home of its North American headquarters, Bachmann is today part of the Kader group, who model products are made at a Chinese Government joint-venture plant in Dongguan, China. Bachmann's brand is the largest seller, in terms of volume, of model trains in the world.[citation needed] Bachmann primarily specializes in entry level train sets, and premium offerings in many scales. The Spectrum line is the high quality, model railroad product line, offered in N, HO, Large Scale, On30, and Williams O gauge all aimed for the hobbyist market. Bachmann is the producer of the famous railroad village product line known as "Plasticville." The turnover for Bachmann model trains for the year ended 31 December 2006 was approximately $46.87 million, a slight increase of 3.36% as compared to 2005.