I'm new to model railroading so please have mercy on me. Can you tell me the difference between the EMD GP40 (63556) and the B23-7/B30-7 (61352) locomotives. I am looking to buy some new N scale engines and would like to know which one is a better value. Thanks.
They are more or less equal in quality, just whichever one looks better to you or is cheaper.
model wise, they should be about the same. as for the real ones, there was a world of difference. the gp40 was built by emd, a division of general motors, and was a very good locomtive in its day. it first appeared in 1966 and many are still running to-day. the b23-7 and b30-7 were both general electric products first appearing in 1977. they quickly earned a reputation for being junk power. when i worked for the railroad, we'd often have either type in our locomotive consists. the gp40s built in the 1960s were more reliable than the dash 7s which were 10-15 years younger. norfolk southern has since rebuilt and upgraded many of the gp40s to work in the yards where they work to-day, while the dash 7s were retired and sold off shortly after i left the railroad in 2003. one thing the dash 7s were notorious for was carbon buildup which would result in them shooting flames out the stack.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UYpXwLg5GeM&playnext=1&list=PLC1878BC504E6B17C&index=14
Not much to see after 25 seconds (halfway).
thanks joe. that video shows a flameout rather well. btw, the locomotive appears to be a dash 8 of some sort.....they replaced the dash 7s in general electric's catalog.
I don't know about stateside, but there are a number of GP-40s running on the RockMountaineer up here in Canada.
http://www.discoverholidays.ca/images/tour/RMML.jpg (http://www.discoverholidays.ca/images/tour/RMML.jpg)
Jim
bnsf, union pacific, norfolk southern, kcs all have gp40s rebuilt and upgraded. buffalo & pittsburg, boston & maine, florida east coast, wheeling & lake erie still run unrebuilt ones. there are many others, these are just off the top of my head.