Atlas Model Railroad Co. Product Review

N SCALE ELECTRO-MOTIVE GP40

Atlas Model Railroad Co. has continued the trend of offering high-quality locomotives with its latest offering, a fine model of an EMD GP40. The model runs smoothly and its nice detail is accented by great lettering.

Electro-Motive introduced the prototype GP40 in November 1965 as the 3,000-hp successor. By the end of 1971 EMD had built a total of 1,243 GP40s. because of their high-horsepower output, most GP40s were used in fast freight service. Although most GP40s have been retired, some have been rebuilt and remain in service today.

Externally, a GP40 looks a lot like a GP35. The main spotting feature is that GP40s have three large (48"-diameter) radiator fans atop the rear of the roof, compared to the GP35's one small and two large fans. The GP40 is also longer than the GP35, so the '40 has an extra handrail stanchion on each side.

Atlas' N scale model nicely captures the lines and proportions of the prototype. The moldwork is sharp and the model's dimensions match EMD specifications diagrams and drawings that appeared in the November 1966 Railroad Model Craftsman.

On our samples, which were lettered for three railroads, the paint was even and the lettering was very sharp and readable - even down to the subclass lettering under the cab! The only flaw I noticed was a little fuzziness in the separation line between the green and yellow on the Chicago & North Western unit. But even that disappears at typical viewing distance. The factory-applied number board numbers are a nice touch.

The models follow standard N scale locomotive construction: an injection-molded shell riding on a split-frame chassis that surrounds the skew-wound five-pole motor. All wheels pick up electricity and all four axles are powered.

I couldn't be more pleased with the performance of this model. Right out of the box it started smoothly and ran quietly. This is the second Atlas locomotive made in China (previous N scale Atlas engines were made by Kato) and I'm pleased to report the quality control problems encountered on some of the earlier GP9s have apparently been corrected. All three of our locomotives performed extremely well.

Noise was minimal, although the model was noticeably louder at higher speeds than my atlas Kato-built GP35. I was quite impressed by the engine's slow speed right out of the box, as it crept along at less than 3 scale miles an hour. Typical of N scale diesels, the top speed of 126 mph is excessive, even for a fast freight engine. The drawbar pull of .8 ounces equates to about 20 typical N scale cars on straight, level track.

Atlas is to be commended for the job they've done with this locomotive. The GP40 is a fine model that will find a home on many N scale layouts set between the mid-1960s and the present.