Price: $399.95
Features: O-27 operation, two motors, operating couplers, True Blast Plus sound system
Current production run: Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe; Denver & Rio Grande Western; Pennsylvania RR; Southern Ry.
We were delighted with the arrival of the 44-tonner from Williams by Bachmann because its representation of the General Electric unit is more authentic than its postwar O gauge predecessor.
The earliest areas where dieselization made the natural superiority of the product known were in lightweight applications, such as general yard switching and industrial operations. Why 44 tons? The locomotive’s weight came in under the industry standard of 90,000 pounds at which a locomotive fireman (or second crewman) was required.
General Electric learned the trade well and eventually fielded a wide range of freight haulers often identified by the weight of the locomotive (20/23-ton, 25-ton, 44-ton, 45-ton, and so forth). One of the more popular models was the 44-tonner. General Electric made nearly 400 of this model for industrial operations, shortline railroads, major railroads, and the American military. Other domestic manufacturers, such as Davenport, Plymouth, Porter, Vulcan, and Whitcomb, made similar models, but more of the GE products survived.
Opening the box
While I had seen a Williams prototype of the 44-tonner, it was with some excitement I opened the box to examine the final product. The foam cradle has two liftout plugs that free the couplers, enabling you to remove the O gauge locomotive. The first thing I noticed was the handrails, which explained the need to minimize movement in the box (the best way to do that would be to lock the couplers in place!)
The model has a solid, even hefty feel to it. You don’t have the sensation of anything inside shifting just because you turn it upside down! But how it feels is less important than how it looks – and it looks great.
The ends are basic: simulated steel front with brakeman’s steps and cast-in rivet detailing. There is an add-on brake line to the right of the coupler. There are add-on grab irons and an uncoupler arm placed within easy reach of a brakeman. All four corners have steps and handrails for brakemen to hoist them on the platform. I really liked the extra-tall shepherd’s hook-like upper arm on the corners. You’ll note the same design on our prototype photo of Denver & Rio Grande Western no. 38.
The handrails are plastic and interlock so they can come apart – and can be re-connected.
The noses are very nice, being slightly inclined rearward and having rounded edges. In the center are cast-in louvers as well as two grab irons for maintenance workers to grasp. A headlight housing is in the middle of the top and looks ready for a hostler to unlatch the housing and replace the bulb. The roof of each engine compartment is smooth. Running down the middle are intricately rendered, cast-in air intakes. Exhaust stacks are also in the middle, and they bracket both sides of the cab. These are solid, since there’s no smoke unit.
The cab looks great. There are doors on opposite sides and a single crew figure with his hand raised in a friendly wave. The windows have “glass” in the panes as well as wiper arms. The four outside front and rear windows have add-on rain/sun guards.
The sides have good, clear cast-in detailing for the access doors, hinges, and latches. At the bottom of the engineer’s side of the cab are hatches. The opposite side has access hatches at the same spot as well as cast-in hatches on the fuel tank (the run/lock switches are located on the underside here).
The trucks are die-cast metal, and they are a very good rendition of the basic GE 44-ton locomotive truck. Each truck has a single power pickup roller located at the front of the truck. This gives the model a span of about 6¼ inches between rollers.
The paint was a perfectly applied flat black. The orange lettering was clean and crisp as was the orange on the engine steps. Deserving a special salute are the engine number and orange and black stripes applied over the louvers on the ends of the locomotive. A tough-to-paint surface that was very neatly executed!
On the test track
This is a conventional-only locomotive. Let me remind the command-control crowd that this often means higher starting speeds and, when power is cut, the cessation of sound. The model functions in the forward-neutral-reverse cycle. That having been said, I was very happy with how it ran on our test track.
I tested the 44-tonner using both transformer throttle control and an MTH Z-4000 handheld remote.
On powering up the model, I found the sounds to be very good. The motors sounded like they were from a prime mover a bit smaller than, say, an Electro-Motive GP30 road diesel.
The operating couplers are old-school. There’s a small tab on the side of the coupler that you press down to open. Or you can position the coupler’s black metal plunger over an electromagnetic uncoupling section and activate the magnet to open it.
The sound was very good – and it was surprising to me to find it in a package that small. There was a nice range of engine noise that fit the diminutive size of the real locomotive. The horn and bell were very satisfactory.
Motor operation was very, very responsive, and the spacing of the pickup rollers made rolling through FasTrack switches smooth. Our conventional low-speed average was 15.8 scale miles per hour, and our high-speed average was 55.4 scale miles per hour. Drawbar pull was 10.5 ounces.
Having a notion that the 44-tonner would be able to pull only four or five cars without stalling, I was exceptionally pleased to watch it handle a much longer train. We hooked the switcher to nine freight cars we had nearby, and it moved them like a champ. The switcher seemed to have power enough in reserve to handle a few more.
The Williams by Bachmann 44-tonner is a great-looking model that would be a good addition to a switching fleet or as the prime power of a layout focused on shortline. operations. It can pull a nice little train, the motor operation was smooth, and the sounds were clear. Well done, Williams!
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