But, as time passed the other giants fell by the wayside. Finally, even Electro-Motive, the outfit that brought assembly line “one size more or less fits all” techniques to diesel locomotive production, stumbled and lost the lead to rival General Electric.
A big factor in GE’s dominance is its Dash-8 series of 4,000-horsepower locomotives, which have become extremely popular with North American railroads.
The Dash 8-40C was constructed between 1987 and 1992. GE built 581 of these, while more than 800 of the Dash 8-40CM and -CW versions were erected between 1987 and 1994. Look at those dates again and you’ll realize that some of these locomotives have been soldiering along for two decades!
Opening the box
This O gauge model from MTH arrived in our offices a few days after we received the Lionel SD70ACe (see February’s Reviews). While both models were in Union Pacific colors, there was about as wide an esthetic difference as you could find. It called for immediate comparisons as well. The SD having a wide-nose cab and the Dash 8 having a conventional cab, each had its own set of detail points. But both models did an utterly outstanding job in replicating physical features and served to illustrate that you can build a fleet of modern locomotives as diverse in appearance as that on prototype railroads.
In a world of wide-nose safety cabs, the conventional cab of the Dash 8 stands out. The face of the locomotive is squarish (it reminds me of Alco C-628s or C-630s), though the snout seems a bit taller than the Alcos’. This gives the model its own unique face.
The pilot is as you’d expect, with air and multiple-unit hoses, uncoupler arm, safety accents on the steps, safety tread, and a chain across the gap in the front handrails. The nose features an add-on grab iron on the face and two long handrails on the nose, just ahead of the sand line filler caps. There are some nice cast-in hatch and seam details near the deck.
The cab door opens and has a wiper arm affixed to it. The flush-mounted center windows have wiper arms, and there are illuminated number boards and headlights on the top of the cab face. I really liked the safety tread detail on the cab roof. The roof also sports a grab iron and radio antenna.
You’ll find all the usual door and hinge detail, but throughout the body of the locomotive, you’ll see cast-in latch detail that’s worth noting. It is so deeply recessed into the body that it will have you pondering if it is “supposed to do anything.” It looks great.
Similarly, cast-in screens on the sides are deeply cut into the body. The screens behind the cab are so deeply cut (and accented black), I poked my fingernail in just to see if they actually open into the shell, but they don’t.
The roof has cast-in seam and screen detail. All the topside lift rings are cast in, but there are four add-on lift rings on the “hump” behind the cab. Two of the lift rings behind the cab even have a tiny decal advising O scale workers not to use the rings to lift the locomotive.
There are three finely executed see-through screens on each side – one on both sides of the hump behind the cab and two on each side of the locomotive’s radiator wings at the rear.
The rear of the shell has add-on grab irons. The spot where there would normally be additional number boards is correctly painted over.
The die-cast metal fuel tank houses the speaker. It has a red-accented fuel gauge and fill cap, and a bell is attached to the side of the tank.
Paint application was flawless. The numerous safety and informational tags scattered over the body of the diesel were very well executed.
On the test track
Pull off the radiator screen and you’ll get a dandy view of the rear can motor, as well as the volume and smoke-unit controls, the DCS polarity and three-to-two-rail conversion switches, and the plug-in for the battery charger. It is exceptionally handy to have these on the top of the model, rather than beneath it.
Each of the die-cast metal trucks mounts two power pickup rollers that are 2½ inches apart; the rollers are 8 inches apart between trucks.
When the sound kicked in I busted into a big grin. The first tone was an alarm bell, followed by the sound of the locomotive’s diesel engine slowly cranking over, then chugging to life. It was very cool. Acceleration/deceleration sounds were just as good, and the horn was pretty darned lifelike.
The coil couplers functioned well, and the model was instantaneously responsive to commands (such as volume changes and smoke unit on/off).
Our low-speed average was 2.3 scale miles per hour, and our high-speed average was 67.5 scale miles per hour. Drawbar pull was 1 pound, 14 ounces.
MTH’s Premier line Dash 8-40C is a solid O gauge model of a modern workhorse. It packages a terrific level of detail (such as screens, tread texture, and especially deeply defined cast-in latches) with solid operational characteristics. And dare I mention that it is very nicely priced for a top-of-the-line diesel? That spells winner, to me.
Price: $429.95 (20-2643-1)
Features: O-42 operation, two can-style motors, coil couplers, ProtoSound 2.0 system, three-to-two-rail convertible
Staff comments: I loved the level of detail and the sounds are sooooo sweet. – Bob; This smooth-running diesel may make a Union Pacific lover out of me. – Roger
In my opinion, the MTH Dash8-40C sets a new benchmark for sound bites in current model train production. Engine sounds, horn, bell, cab chatter etc. are superb. The visual aspect of this locomotive is a standout as well. The words HOT ROD comes to mind; well done MTH.
The MTH diesel engine in your video looks and sounds great. Would it be possible to have the test engine pull a test train with 4 to 12 or so cars to demonstrate its pulling power?
Looks great, but it wouldn't fit my curves.
fouled up info where is the K line box cab video hiding????
A great review which gives a most vivid description.
Looks good and sounds good, however it is requiring to wide of a curve for either of my two active layouts.