07-04-2012, 09:28 AM
I happened to notice a thread on another forum at <!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://www.therailwire.net/forum/index.php?topic=26592.0">http://www.therailwire.net/forum/index. ... ic=26592.0</a><!-- m --> where some folks start bashing Bachmann (N scale in this case), but others make the point that Bachmann is much improved. I've got to say that I lived through the whole 1960s-70s Bachmann era, and I've sort of reflexively thought of some locos like the GP50 as having pancake motors, but it looks like (after 30 years) the whole line has been revamped, and many locos are acceptable, especially considering their price, while others are good. One thing I like about this forum is that I haven't seen any knee-jerk Bachmann-bashing, and on the other hand, there's a willingness to try something new.
I don't worry too much about ditch lights vs era. Ditch lights started to become standard in the late 1990s, while the NS paint scheme started in the early to mid 1980s, so it would be unusual to see a Southern GP50 with ditch lights anyhow. I generally don't look too much father than whether a boxcar has a roofwalk or not to determine era (and if I look past that, the first thing I look for is whether it's tagged). It's a model railroad, not a museum!
I don't worry too much about ditch lights vs era. Ditch lights started to become standard in the late 1990s, while the NS paint scheme started in the early to mid 1980s, so it would be unusual to see a Southern GP50 with ditch lights anyhow. I generally don't look too much father than whether a boxcar has a roofwalk or not to determine era (and if I look past that, the first thing I look for is whether it's tagged). It's a model railroad, not a museum!