The Union Pacific developed these locomotives to take the place of at least two of their regular road diesel units. In fact, these DDA40X units had two prime mover diesel engines and generators to produce an unbelievable amount of pulling power. Anyone who has seen one of these monsters never forgot that experience!
The eventual downfall of these units was in fact, the very size they were trying to achieve. Relying on so much horsepower packed in just one unit was taking quite a gamble. When a railroad has conventional diesel power units, if one “goes down,” they can easily compensate for the loss.
But with these monsters, if they broke down it was like two regular units out of commission. It was just too much of a chance for the railroad. And the maintenance costs were reported to be “out of sight.”
Even though these DDA40X units did not turn out to be the promised future that they were sold to be, they were a very interesting study in railroading. And anyone who enjoys “something different” on your N sale layout, or for that matter in your collection, will just have to get one of these great locomotives.
The Bachmann Company has started a less expensive line of locomotives that come with decoders already installed. These locomotives run just as well on Digital Command Control as they do on DC layouts. The operation of these models is smooth and quiet, with loads of detail for units selling retail for about $100.
And to my surprise, there’s an operating yellow safety strobe light on the top of the cab. A very nice touch! This locomotive also comes with operating directional front and back lights, and the underbody even has a molded area ready for a speaker for those that would like to add sound.
As for the paint, it’s crisp and clear with great graphics. The hand rails look to be sized appropriately and there are a lot of details cast into the body.
In operation, this locomotive easily pulled 12 cars on level track. I would say it will pull more than that, but that was all the rolling stock I had on the track at the time. I made the unit go as slow as I could see, and at a very slow speed, you can’t even hear the motor noise.
All in all, this N-Scale DDA40X locomotive by Bachmann is well worth the money! The only down side I could find were the couplers. They’re the standard Bachmann non-operating knuckle type and are a bit “clunky” compared to the MicroTrains couplers.
But this is a very minor point considering how wonderful the rest of the model is. If your collection includes a fairly modern roster, then you’ll just have to get one (or more) of these locomotives. I know you’ll be as pleased with these units as I am.
