Heads up! A new N Scale 44-Tonner is on the way.
Saturday, July 19, 2008 at 7:02PM Deny Turani sent this in.
Bachmann announced on July 15 that they’ll be producing a GE 44-Tonner in N scale! (You may be interested to know that they also announced a DD40AX at the same time but I don’t see too many of them around here these days so I’ll focus on the switcher!)
This is great news. Here’s a picture of the a pre-production unit.
The unit will come with DCC installed so no hassle of cramming in a new decoder into what is likely a pretty confined space. The locomotive is slated to come in the following paintjobs: Unlettered (Yellow), Unlettered (Red and Yellow), as well as PRR, B&O, NH.
I have already placed an order for an Unlettered (Yellow) one at Feather River Trains in San Rafael. They have a good selection of N Scale and Z scale stuff and are just a short drive across the bridge in San Raphel. Feather River Trains have the 44-Tonner listed for $75 compared to MSRP of $100. I’m sure with some hunting around, you can probably find this unit a few bucks cheaper, but by buying locally, I skip shipping fees.
Comparison with Sims Metal #9911
It turns out that the local Sims switcher is actually a GE 50-Tonner (thanks to Miles the Weatheringman for pointing this out). However, I am mainly focused on the strangely-ugly-yet-appealing outline of this industrial critter so the Bachmann unit will do nicely. The N Scale version will probably get some tweaks such as the interesting exhaust stacks.
The windows may need adjustment too. Although the blue and white looks good, I want mine to stand out more so I’ve ordered one with the yellow.
Here’s the location I have planned for it.
The scrap yard (tan ground and grey wall) will receive gons of scrap on the foreground track outside the wall. Just like the Sims switcher, the N Scale version will collect the cars and shove them into the yard for unloading. I have room in the scrap yard for an extra track if I want to increase the amount of activity at this location.
Later the empties will be returned to the delivery track for collection. The nice thing about this arrangement is the 44-tonner only has to haul 3 or three cars at a time so pulling power of the Bachmann model is unlikely to be an issue.
Time to get yours reserved don’t you think?!!
- Coxy
Steve Cox
The latest on the 44 tonner from Bachman is “Coming in 2009”.
Reader Comments (2)
Hey Coxy! Here's a photo of an actual SIMS metals 44Tonner in Richmond working the plant a few years ago! How about painting your locomotive like this? It's more eye-catching than the 50Tonner's paintjob and 100% accurate for the bachmann model.
http://cencalrails.railfan.net/sims5004jd.jpg
Greetings Well I finally did it - replied on your blog that is