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Bachmann China

YW22

1:87 Scale

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Rating
8/10

YW22 Class Hard Sleeper Car  

Prototype Information

YW22's are the hard sleeper type cars which were once the second most populous passenger car type in China, providing a cheap way for a long distance travel. The car is divided into ten open rooms with six beds per berth. There is a conductors compartment and wash/toilet facilities on the car ends. The YW22's have been phased out since the mid 2000's in place of more modern rolling stock, but many have found a second life on maintenance trains.   

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General Information

The introduction of the YW22 filled a major gap for passenger fleets. The first production gave us ten variants available with or without interior lighting and three variations of the common green and gold livery. They were an instant success and only mere months after, a new production run was made with six new road numbers with two of the previous liveries. The second run also saw the introduction of clouded toilet windows, but are otherwise identical. The construction method is a one piece body with a clip in roof and underframe. The couplers are on a swing system, like the old Roco system, which ensures close coupling cars around corners (coupler upgrade is recommended - see below). The interior is a one piece casting which clips into the underframe.

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Packaging

Bachmann passenger cars come in a foldable plastic clam shell which slides inside a thin cardboard box with display window. There are some aesthetic differences on the outer packaging between the first three and fourth series. The packaging for the twin pack in the third series was the same as the others, save for a cardboard sleeve. 

Details

These cars have a generous amount of detail, much of it in the roof and undercarriage, with very nice roof vents, piping etc. Paint work is very nicely applied and the lettering and lining is razor sharp. Bogie details are OK, although missing some of the extra painted details from later runs. The windows have an annoying tendency to fall out, which requires pain staking job of disassembling the car to refit. I often use this as an excuse to add all those pillows and folded blankets which are included in the box! The individual destination boards are a very nice touch - but do not apply these with poly-cement!

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Performance

The lighted version is more resistant to the unlit version due to the wheel brush electrical pickup system, however the effect is minimal. Those who operate more than 10 cars may see a noticeable difference. They do sport the typical deep flanges on the wheels, however they will go through code 83 trackwork (and possibly 75) with no problems.

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Lighting

Untested in first/second series.

Couplers

Bachmann EZ-mates are fitted to the models which should be replaced at the earliest opportunity if you don't like huge air gaps between cars. Bachmann have included their usual semi-permanent drawbars which work well enough, yet are a pain to attach and detach. While I usually advocate the use of KD couplers, on my passenger fleet, I use a Kadee coupler at each end of a rake of cars (type 362 NEM) and Fleischmann 6515's throughout the rest of the train. These couplers offer a spot on length and flawless operation between the cars around corners. I find the KD's don't work well with certain types of cars and are a bit too short for my liking.

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