Bachmann Spectrum GE Dash 8-40CW opinions needed..

[Anonymous]

I am looking at getting one...

Anybody have one already ?? can they tell me a little more about how they run ?? are they Powerfull enough to pull say Twenty 50' Steel Reefers?
are they a Slow runner ??

[alcodave]

Spectrum makes a decent locomotive for the price that they cost. i have owned a few of the 44 tonners and a gp 30 and they are good runners. the 8-40cw is a good looking model with alot of detail i thought about buying a few for my fleet!Train World seems to be a good place to buy new ones and im not sure about used i try to stay away from buying used engines whenever possible,mainly because you dont know how well they were taken care of.anyway i wish you luck and hope you find a good deal and have many years of modeling pleasure with your new locos!

[Anonymous]

I've got one each of the old HO and N versions (not the latest DCC-ready type). The HO one I picked up at a substantial discount from an LHS that had bought a pile of them at an end of line clearance deal, the N was full list. The HO example pulls anything you hang behind it, runs smoothly and slowly (can be a bit lively, but you soon learn the fine throttle control needed), and looks decent enough. My only complaint is that I suspect the proportions may be slightly out - it looks lower and wider than my Athearn Dash 9s and is a fair bit shorter too. The new models may well have fixed this though, and I'd buy another if I saw one for the same price.

The N scale loco is a bit sad really - it looks brilliant, runs smoothly and slowly, but has very little haulage ability. I did find a problem with part of the truck moulding (the section that supports the sideframes) being bent so that it ground on the rail and lifted the wheels off slightly, but even after fixing that it's not brilliant (won't handle a 5-unit Walthers double-stack car). If this has been sorted on new runs I'd recommend it, as apart from that it's pretty good.

[Anonymous]

Well I bought one, A Santa Fe GE Dash 8-40CW...
I have to agree it is a Slow runner, but at 3/4 power it seems to be able to haul Eight 50' Steel Reefers (no added weight) on a 1% Grade..with out too much effort and for the Money I paid for it... (Next to nothing in the Terms of Model Rail roading) I am happy with it, My Model Power FP-7 Metal Body runs rings around it as far as pulling power goes.. It is on par with my Life like Gp-38....