Bachmann GP38-2

[Paulman]

Reinhard, if you want palm trees and CN hoods, Florida Central is running two CN GP9RMs right now. Original paint and numbering, with the noodle painted out.

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[faraway]

Reinhard,Those Bachmann GP38-2 resembles Athearns early RTR GP38-2s.These lacked the grabs like the newer releases....

Larry, I did post my experience with the Bachmann GP38 because the shell is "you get what you pay for" but the drive is much better than expected for that price.

[faraway]

Reinhard, if you want palm trees and CN hoods,

That is a real surprise. They would match my pair of CF7 perfect

Florida Central is running two CN GP9RMs right now. Original paint and numbering, with the noodle painted

I did look yesterday for parts to to build the unique CN GP9RM cab (the front is not simply flat and the roof is extended at the front) but did not find anything. It would be an interesting engine and still frequently in use (according to YouTube).

ps. Intermountain intends to have the IC GP10 in various versions. That will be a very universal engine with chopped nose and the wonderful filter on the back. However, I understood the design is completed, they start doing the tools now. Nothing for the next time....

[Brakie]

Reinhard,Those Bachmann GP38-2 resembles Athearns early RTR GP38-2s.These lacked the grabs like the newer releases....

Larry, I did post my experience with the Bachmann GP38 because the shell is "you get what you pay for" but the drive is much better than expected for that price.

Reinhard,I don't think I made my comment clear enough..I should have said BB GP38-2 instead of early RTR..My bad.

I think Bachmann's GP38-2 looks equal to the BB GP38-2 and at normal operating viewing one could mistake one for the other.Come to think of it,the Bachmann 38-2 looks as good as the Atlas Trainman GP38-2.

[torikoos]

Hi Reinhard,

those GP38-2 look great! I am pleasantly surprised by the improved mechanics and the appearance of these Bachmann units. IMHO, Bachmann is rapidly becoming the new Bluebox kit, but with improved internals. Excellent models to use straight out of the box, and not so expensive so that you 'dare' cutting them up and superdetail/modify etc etc. I think those who like to detail diesels etc have just found their new 'target audience' :-)
Cannon &Co cabs etc , these could turn in to respectable models, and don't look at all bad straight out of the box.

Koos

[faraway]

I got two Athearn RTR GP38-2 in CN zebra paint scheme at a nice price to be combines with the Bachmann engines. I love the zebra paint scheme!
The Athearn shell is as generic as the Bachmann is and needs the same detailing work (not done so far). However, the old! Athearn RTR drive (motor and truck gearbox) is not worth the trouble and has been totally removed. The engines became dummys to be used with the Bachmann only at this moment.

An option to run the zebra units solo is to put the Athearn shell on a Trainman GP38-2 drive. That fits after some cutting and sanding just fine and results in the well known Atlas smooth engine.
A quick check shows that the Athearn shell is wide enough to fit on the Bachmann drive too. The Athearn shell mounting pivots prevents further testing.

ps. The shells are similar but not the same. Both have different tooling.

[Brakie]

Reinhard,Thanks for posting the photo..

Its hard to tell which is which.

[Paulman]

Reinhard, if you want palm trees and CN hoods,

That is a real surprise. They would match my pair of CF7 perfect

Florida Central is running two CN GP9RMs right now. Original paint and numbering, with the noodle painted

I did look yesterday for parts to to build the unique CN GP9RM cab (the front is not simply flat and the roof is extended at the front) but did not find anything. It would be an interesting engine and still frequently in use (according to YouTube).

Kaslo sells resin shells for this locomotive.
<!-- m --><a class="postlink" href="http://modeltrains180.com/4349/hl-23-cn-gp9rm-48-fan-locomotive-shell/">http://modeltrains180.com/4349/hl-23-cn ... ive-shell/</a><!-- m -->

[faraway]

Same treatment for the Athearn shells as done for the Bachmann to looks alike when running MU. Kristal clear will be clear later this afternoon
Still desperately waiting for decals, ditch lights and the bells. The 4701 will get another road number. That engine had an accident and the front light are indeed in the new cab and not in the nose.

An update:
Old Bachmann DCC decoders are wonderful nose mounted LED drivers at virtually no cost

[torikoos]

Looking good Reinhard,

I've just got myself a cheap Atlas GP38-2, non dynamic. It's to super detail / kitbash , into another road name probably.
Haven't quite made my mind up yet (the one I got is a CP dual flag livery unit, probably ex SOO line in reality). It's NOT going to be SP, to my knowledge SP never had any non -dynamic GP38-2 engines, besides I have two genesis GP38-2 on order in SP scheme.

Koos

[torikoos]

However, the old! Athearn RTR drive (motor and truck gearbox) is not worth the trouble and has been totally removed. The engines became dummys to be used with the Bachmann only at this moment.

Are you sure, or are you referring to the old Blue box drives? I know the RTR drives are fairly similar, but they have improved a bit in my opinion, the motor does need replacing, either with a Mashima (A-Line) or a NWSL repower kit. I did that for a GP38-2 I have (actually, that WAS a Bluebox unit, but I replaced the cab for a Cannon&Co one , it's actually the unit in my current avatar :-) ) , and it runs fine, including very slow speeds.

Koos

[faraway]

However, the old! Athearn RTR drive (motor and truck gearbox) is not worth the trouble and has been totally removed. The engines became dummys to be used with the Bachmann only at this moment.

Are you sure, or are you referring to the old Blue box drives? I know the RTR drives are fairly similar, but they have improved a bit in my opinion, the motor does need replacing, either with a Mashima (A-Line) or a NWSL repower kit. I did that for a GP38-2 I have (actually, that WAS a Bluebox unit, but I replaced the cab for a Cannon&Co one , it's actually the unit in my current avatar :-) ) , and it runs fine, including very slow speeds.

Koos

I did refer to the current not blue box Athraen RTR engines like GP38, CF7 etc. but not to the very new one with improved drive like SW1500.
I did remotor with A-line and Kato motors. A-line is a big disappointment because the flywheels are not factory mounted and balanced. The drive vibrates at all speeds above switching. The Kato motors with factory mounted flywheels are very quiet and a good choice.
The trucks are a problem too I could never solve. They do not isolate the engine vibrations from the rails. That is given by design and can not be changed other than mounting different trucks. You can test the ugly effect if you take an Athearn RTR chassis with trucks but no motor and an Atlas/Trainman chassis with trucks but no motor etc. Glue/nail a track on bare plywood and roll both with your hands. You will notice the difference immediately (you can mitigate the truck problem with a good track isolation on the layout).

I handle Athearn RTR therefor as follows:
- If there is absolute no other chance to run the model solo (e.g CF7) I install a Kato motor
- If I can MU (like in my CN GP38 case) it becomes a dummy
- Otherwise I refrain from Athearn RTR models

ps. There is a special situation with the RTR GP38-2 because the shell can be transplanted on a Trainman GP38-2 drive solving motor and truck issues.

[torikoos]

Ok Reinhard, I guess I understand now. Having said that, my layout at home is laid on top of 2" (5cm) extruded styrofoam (the roof insulation boards), so that in it self is pretty sound proof, perhaps this is why I never noticed the phenomenon you mention.
I do agree the SW1500 has a good drive, it is actually a Genesis drive with the skew wound Roco supplied motor.

Yes I have seen how the Kato motor / drive also fits, and I must use this next. I must say the A line balance issue I wasn't aware off, I remove flywheels to get some more space inside for speakers/wiring etc. DCC decoders have momentum to program, and that completely seems to compensate for flywheels and you can get away without them. In DC however , they are an absolute must have.

Koos

[sailormatlac]

Reinhard, you'll make a lot of canucks jealous over here!!! Wonderful job on generic models. I like how you take modest and easily available models and turn them into nice working engine for a layout.

Matt

[faraway]

I pulled the two Athearn RTR dummies from the storage and upgrated them with Trainman GP38 drives. They got bells, drop steps and (wrong american model, have no canadian available) ditch lights. They are nice shells on super drives. I hope they will match the Athearn GP38-2W expected early next week. My current "green layout" is a perfect playground for some CN and CP engines.

Same treatment for the Athearn shells as done for the Bachmann to looks alike when running MU. Kristal clear will be clear later this afternoon
Still desperately waiting for decals, ditch lights and the bells. The 4701 will get another road number. That engine had an accident and the front light are indeed in the new cab and not in the nose.

An update:
Old Bachmann DCC decoders are wonderful nose mounted LED drivers at virtually no cost