GE 44 Ton Locos - Who makes the best unit?

[Mastiffdog]

My understanding is that Bachmann makes the 44 Ton units, but which series runs the smoothest? I bought one in a white box that wasn't worth a nickel.

I have been told that the black box Spectrum series is much better. I know they made two series, the master and then one that is DCC ready.

Does anyone have a clue about which one of these is the best runners?

Thanks,

Dog

 

[DanRaitz]

Dog,

There have been two runs of GE 44-tonners from Bachmann. They are both "Spectrum", the first run had seperate powered trucks, not a bad runner but a little fast overall. The second run has a single motor with driveshafts to each truck, a lot better runner then the first, they brought the overall speed down. The single motor unit comes DCC ready. Whereas the dual motor unit was put out before DCC really caught on, so it is not DCC ready.

Hope this helps.

 

[jon-monon]

If you have the old twin motor jobbie, you can improve it by wiring the motors in series. Better yet, build two critters out of the old one's trucks and buy a new single motored one at trainworld for $30 or $35. The power trucks also hate too much oil. I had an old used one that did the "sit and smoke" thing, I tore it down and saw it was dripping wet with oil. One motor had melted plastic, but the other was OK, so I blasted the good one with automotive brake parts cleaner and lightly lubed it. Pulled the motor off the other truck and it runs OK one legged.

 

[Mastiffdog]

Thanks to all!

I appreciate your responses. I figured the DCC ready might make a better runner because it is a newer model. Also, since I run DCC, I can install a decoder!

Thanks again,

Dog