Bachmann offers this model in several different road names as part of its DCC On-Board product line, and I purchased it in Alaska Railroad colors to match the dome coaches in both sets. The model comes with a basic factory-installed Bachmann decoder, which controls only the speed and direction, as well as turning the operating headlights on and off. The lights are directional, which means that only the front light will illuminate when the locomotive is moving forward. I am planning to upgrade the DCC features of the locomotive to an NCE or similar-model decoder because a manual for the Bachmann decoder wasn’t included in the box with the locomotive.
The locomotive’s body shell is plastic with a one-piece metal frame, and the paint job is clean with sharp lettering. Bachmann’s DCC-equipped model has a different road number that’s different from those in the two starter sets. The locomotive comes equipped with Bachmann’s E-Z Mate magnetically operated knuckle couplers and an air horn on its roof. Any type of under-track or between-the-rails delayed-action uncoupling magnet can operate the couplers on the GP40.
I tested the locomotive’s ability to pull trains using a battery-powered digital meter with Bachmann’s nickel-silver E-Z Track and E-Z Command Dynamis DCC system. The meter was set to measure the pulling force in kilograms, which I converted to grams and then to ounces using a calculator. Every conversion that I did between grams and ounces was based on 28 grams per ounce. After 100 tests with the meter’s brass-rod drawbar hooked through the locomotive’s rear coupler, I was able to estimate the drawbar pull of the DCC-equipped version of the GP40 at 2.9 ounces. This amount of drawbar pull is equal to 41 HO-scale freight cars at a pull rate of 14 cars per ounce.
I was able to change the locomotive’s DCC address to its road number with the Dynamis system using service-mode programming. The locomotive runs at a respectably low speed when operated with a Dynamis system, but I haven’t been able to test it on any curve sharper than a 22-inch radius or broader than a 26-inch radius.
MRSP: $47.00
