Nice..If they run well I can see me buying one of those Red & Yellow humdingers for my industrial park at the club...
I quite like the red one with the yellow/white striping for my logging line until they do Santa Fe zebra stripes, it has a 1950's look to it. I wonder how the couplers are mounted and how easy it will be to replace them with something that works, dummy couplers are not much use on a switcher.
If the couplers are like they are on their rolling stock, they are just dummy replacements for the Rapidos and operate with the "up and down" motion versus the "side to side" of Micro-Trains Magne-Matics and the generic knuckle couplers. My guess is that the replacement for other Bachmann locos might work-- the old MTL number is 1133's. But I think Z Scale couplers would look a lot better for these units.
I looked at the Bachmann site, right where you said to look... and found nothing. Acela locos and cars, C40-8s, SD45s and various other models, including trolleys, but nothing on the 44Ts. Edit. Found it. http://www.bachmanntrains.com/home-usa/products.php?page=2&act=viewCat&catId=260
I'm very excited about these - my mill will be very happy to see these - does anyone have an update beyond the web sites and on line retailers about the availability date for these little guys ?
GE 44 Ton roster Lots of roads. Many shortlines, but major roads: SOU, Santa Fe, B&O, B&M, CN, Burlington, Milwaukee, Lackawanna, Rio Grande, Erie, GN, IC, LV, LIRR, MEC, SOO, MoPac, NC&StL, NH, NKP, NYO&W, NP, PRR, Frisco, SP, WP, WM, UP... basically everything popular except NYC.
i guess i need one too:tb-hissyfit: Long Island RR40013085412/50 but its a buckman,i'm kinda put off to the brand after 3 of my spectrum -8's have split gears (now dummies)
I have one of the yellow/black versions on order, and I am excited about that one! It is similar to a local industrial switcher which is actually a 65-tonner but since those are coming in December of NEVER then I'll make do with the 44. It will be interesting to see what kind of pulling performance it provides. My requirement is that it pull 3 appropriately weighted ~60ft freight cars with FVM wheels. I would be very happy if it pulls 4, and ecstatic if it pulls 5. Anything beyond that and it probably gets my vote for product of the year.
I have one on order as well, to ber used as a roundhouse switcher in my version of Tacoma. NP did indeed own a GE 44 Toinner, but only one, Number 98: Interesting that it was painted in a "reverse" color from standard NP practices, yellow (probably?) with black stripes. The picure was taken in 1950 and can be found in the excellent "Museum of the Rockies Photo Archive". I expect it to pull 3 cars, so it can pull a short string of hoppers from the yard to the roundhouse coaling tower (plus the occasional ash gondola, oil tanker and supply car). A nice additional job and the engine is "cute", so my wife will like it! Cheers Dirk
I'm sure there will be some way of doing it, we'll just have to wait and see. A T-shank McHenry coupler would probably work well on small engines like this with not much coupler mounting room, if we ever see such a thing. Producing rolling stock, especially switchers, with dummy couplers is a step backwards from Rapidos IMHO. I know MTL and Accumate have patents and royalties and so forth but it hasn't stopped every other N scale manufacturer from using one or the other, or designing their own like Kato.
Yes but this is Bachmann we're talking about here. I feel like they wont do anything that might raise the cost of production...ever. Yet the MSRP tends to follow the higher edge of market trends. Honestly, sometimes I wonder how Bachmann can still be in business. You can buy a Kato with brand new tooling and smooth as silk operation which will last a lifetime for less than a Spectrum with old/modified tooling that will crap out just a few months after purchase. I'm sure we've all learned this lesson the hard way, so why do we keep giving in? When this 44t was announced, I was excited as hell. But once the excitement wore off I realized I've bought nothing but dissapointment from Bman in the past. I want one of these very badly, however I will not be making a purchase until I see first hand the quality and longevity. Either way, I am anxiously awaiting the results. Lets hope for the good of the hobby Bachmann proves me wrong. Oh, and back to the coupler. If Bachmann does put dummy couplers on this, might as well spend the money for the replacement on a Z coupler. It's such a small engine in the first place, the Z coupler will make it that much prettier.
Bachmann MSRPs tend to be heavily discounted, especially at some outlets, so it's hard for me to take the $100 price tag very seriously. If that price point does hold, well, I don't need anything that badly. The photos I've seen on Bachmann's USA and UK sites show the 44 tonner with dummy couplers. In addition, their freight cars also come with the same dummy couplers, and Rapidos in the box.
I have seen the 44T for about 75 dollar. That's not bad for an engine with decoder. And if it runs well, it is rather cheap!
Here's our local 44 tonner. I am sure after the first round of purchases these 44 tonners can be had on the cheap just lik their HO counter part...
They're mass producing a long wanted engine, that is slightly smaller (28'-04") than an NW2 (44'-05") and has DCC for a retail under 100. Which means when it hits the stores it will be...anywhere from 49.99 - 69.99. Did I mention it has DCC? Think about it the NW2 runs for 60 clams and requires a decoder which costs 35-40 samoleans. The 44T loco will be a steal at its price, pending it runs smoothly and pulls 3-5 cars.
Just spoke with Bachmann customer service. The locos are on the ship coming from China. He said you can expect to see them the beginning of June. Until they get to the west coast, clear customs, cross the country and Bachmann does their thing the timing sounds about right. I am VERY interested in one, but will wait to see what others say about it. The recent Bachmann engines have been excellent. I have a friend that has a number of them which he put decoder into and they are quiet, crawl and are very smooth. running.
