A quick look at the new Bachmann GP40

[Philip H]

So.....

Based on the fuel tank..... is the Bachmann planning to release this with sound one day?

I'd say they are beginning to alter mechanisms to go that route. One has to wonder what other 4 axle units this mech will appear under.  At the very least if they are set up for 8 pin decoders and a speaker it makes the sound installation more possible.

[wm3798]

And are those wipers etched brass add ons or molded into the glass and highlighted silver?  Hard to tell in the photos (which is a good thing!)

[Philip H]

And are those wipers etched brass add ons or molded into the glass and highlighted silver?  Hard to tell in the photos (which is a good thing!)

They look molded and painted.

[coosvalley]

The shell looks like a mini copy of the 80's Roco/Atlas HO GP40. Even the fans have the same look to them.

I don't want one of these, but they fill the niche of good running affordable locos that could be used to help lure some new blood into the hobby.. Good running beginner locos have been neglected for the most part, but would do wonders for turning train set owners into model railroaders...How many potential hobbyists have been lost to poorly running Tyco train sets over the years? The Atlas Trainman line seemed to begin to address this, but they stuck with the limited runs for the locos, and therefore the locos are not readily available, which to me is also a key to any economy line.

My Bachmann NW2 has a similarly detailed shell that is iffy, but not horrible. The drive, however, is super smooth,silent, and slow, great for a switcher. I would say it blows my Atlas S2's out of the water when it comes to how well it runs.. I removed the decoder, and this also opened up some space under the hood, so I managed to add 10 grams of tungsten cubes to the loco, and together these easy improvements made it run even better!

[daniel_leavitt2000]

To answer a few questions...

The engine runs very good. Top end is probably around 80 SMPH, well below that of Atlas or Kato.

There is a coupler box that can take Accumate couplers directly. The box swaps out for a standard 1015 coupler.

Windshield wipers are molded in and look pretty good. My guess is that they threw this in because they already needed to paint the window frames silver on the clear glass sprue and this didn't add any complexity to production.

I think this model is just begging for that etched BLMA cab door.

[Chris333]

It probably runs like the NW2.

[CR4100]

It probably runs like the NW2.

That's not a bad thing. 

[Chris333]

The bad thing is the same door and window molding as the NW2.

[nkalanaga]

I agree that it looks like a train set loco - and that a smooth-running train set loco is badly needed.  If someones first train runs poorly, they probably won't buy a second one.

In my case, my first, for Christmas, at 10 years old, was a 000 set - and it barely ran.  Fortunately, a year or so later, I had enough money to buy an Arnold/Rapido FA-whatever, on sale for 6 or 7 dollars (late 60s).  Like this Bachmann, it had appearance issues, but it ran very well for the time, and was virtually indestructible.  The trucks were easy to take apart, so even dust and cat hair weren't a problem.  Living in a small trailer, with a cat, that was important.  If I hadn't found it, I probably would have given up on trains, at least for several years.

[JMaurer1]

If I was forced to choose either a train set with a good looking loco that ran bad or a bad looking loco that ran good, I would take the bad looking locomotive. In the past, the only choice was a bad looking loco that ran bad... 

[tom mann]

Like the GP7 - the cab steps front and rear are smoothed over, yet it has windshield wipers.

I was about to say the same thing. And they're nicely rendered.

[mmagliaro]

This very much reminds me of what we used to say about the early to mid 90s Lifelike diesels like the F7 and GP18 (among others).  The paint was thick, and the details weren't great, but they ran slow and smooth and they could pull a ton.  So for $18 to $24 (at the time), they were a great buy, and a perfect first engine.

That mechanism under this engine far surpasses what was in the guts of those old LL models, and 25 years later, it only costs $40?    So yes, if it runs as good as you say, this is a step forward for model trains.

[tom mann]

This very much reminds me of what we used to say about the early to mid 90s Lifelike diesels like the F7 and GP18 (among others).  The paint was thick, and the details weren't great, but they ran slow and smooth and they could pull a ton.  So for $18 to $24 (at the time), they were a great buy, and a perfect first engine.

That mechanism under this engine far surpasses what was in the guts of those old LL models, and 25 years later, it only costs $40?    So yes, if it runs as good as you say, this is a step forward for model trains.

I have fond memories of the LifeLike GP38-2 from around 1990 or so.  It ran decently and was cheap enough for a middle school kid to buy. The F7's probably ran a little better, mainly because they were so heavy.

[chessie system fan]

The fans make me think that Bachmann designed this locomotive from a painting diagram or general arrangement drawing rather than actual blueprints.

Maybe like this.

http://www.nscaleshop.com/Photos/GN-325-DIAGRAM.jpg

[Point353]

If I was forced to choose either a train set with a good looking loco that ran bad or a bad looking loco that ran good, I would take the bad looking locomotive. In the past, the only choice was a bad looking loco that ran bad... 

What was wrong with the Kato locos that came with the Micro-Trains trainsets?