Athearn DDa40x

[irocinblue89]

I have to say, I think Athearn hit a home run with these. Now, I'm not a rivet counter and I don't really know if "x" handrail is in the correct place. Now what I do know. The paint and decals are really nice. I like all of the little details it has compared to the Bachmann. ( I had them sitting next to each other) I purchased the one with factory installed Tsunami sound. It sounds amazing. When you apply track power you hear 1 of the prime movers start up then a second or two later the other 1 starts. It has a really crisp horn and I can make out the "chug" in the prime movers more than my other Tsunami's. It might just be a setting or it could be something else, but it's really nice to hear that. If I have to give it any kind of negative feedback it would be that they used bulbs instead of LED's and it doesn't pull as well as I had hoped. My MTH SD70m-2 out pulled it. SD70's are a dime a dozen on our club layout though. This one is working it's way up to the pride of my fleet! Thanks for reading!

Seann

 

[akretowicz]

I've thought about one of the Athearn's, but I have all three of the Bachmann road numbers already. Cannot really justify buying another DD-40. Although I do have Athearn's Big Boy # 4006 and I love it. Enjoy it, and post a pic of it!

 

[LoudMusic]

I drove past the DD-40 in North Little Rock about once a month while I was commuting to Little Rock a few years ago. That thing is a beast.

 

[irocinblue89]

I drove past the DD-40 in North Little Rock about once a month while I was commuting to Little Rock a few years ago. That thing is a beast.

It's a beast in HO too. I'm not sure it looks correct though. It almost looks like the proportions are a little off. But it might just be me. I will post pics soon.

 

[TrinityJayOne]

I wouldn't mind one at all, here's hoping Athearn bring it to N scale! I see Bachmann's one on ebay all the time and my trigger finger gets itchy, then I read reviews again and I don't bother.

 

[CoolRuehle]

Why does everyone (and not just the posters in this thread) keep referring to this locomotive as a "DD-40"?

Isn't it a DDA40X?

 

[Espeefan]

If I have to give it any kind of negative feedback it would be that they used bulbs instead of LED's and it doesn't pull as well as I had hoped. My MTH SD70m-2 out pulled it. SD70's are a dime a dozen on our club layout though. This one is working it's way up to the pride of my fleet! Thanks for reading!Seann

That's because physics doesn't scale! A well weighted steam engine model like a 2-8-2 or 4-8-4 will generally out pull an articulated as well. I have the U-50 and it isn't a great puller either. Sure is a pretty thing though! Pretty ugly! so darned ugly I had to have one The dual all wheel drive the DDA40x has should help some, and is a definite inmprovement over the U-50.

 

[Cjcrescent]

I drove past the DD-40 in North Little Rock about once a month while I was commuting to Little Rock a few years ago. That thing is a beast.

During the time my daughter lived in Little Rock, I too would drive past there and look at that monster. That is probably the only real diesel that has impressed me.

 

[Cjcrescent]

... If I have to give it any kind of negative feedback it would be that they used bulbs instead of LED's and it doesn't pull as well as I had hoped...!

Seann

Seann, I would think that there are a couple of things that can be done. Given the size of the locomotive, is there anyplace weight can be added? Don't just look for flat areas, but also corners, nooks and crannies, small areas where even some tungsten fishing weights can be added, (heavier than lead).

Also I would look to balancing the loco, where the center of gravity is close to the center of the loco. On a loco as long as this, equal weight distribution between the trucks will probably help. More weight on one truck, versus the other, can result in poor pulling capacity as well.

 

[bnsf971]

The fact one motor has two large flywheels and the other has only one small flywheel probably doesn't help.

 

[irocinblue89]

Seann, I would think that there are a couple of things that can be done. Given the size of the locomotive, is there anyplace weight can be added? Don't just look for flat areas, but also corners, nooks and crannies, small areas where even some tungsten fishing weights can be added, (heavier than lead).

Also I would look to balancing the loco, where the center of gravity is close to the center of the loco. On a loco as long as this, equal weight distribution between the trucks will probably help. More weight on one truck, versus the other, can result in poor pulling capacity as well.

I was able to get 2oz of lead weight above the decoders but that was it. I can probably find nooks to stuff some in but I'm gonna hold off. i will have to look into the tungsten fishing weights though. I've never heard of those. How much heavier are they? Do you have or know of a ratio? Say 3oz of lead = 4oz tungsten. I have 2 80MACS that can pull almost 200 6oz coal cars. I crammed lead shot every where in those.

 

[Cjcrescent]

IIRC, tungsten is 10-15% heavier but I could be wrong, it maybe heavier. I know that unlike lead, it isn't that soft. The weights I've seen are smaller than comparable lead weights. They're found at places like Dick's, Academy, Bass Pro, and Cabella's. They do cost more for the same amount as compared to lead.

 

[Hergy]

Why does everyone (and not just the posters in this thread) keep referring to this locomotive as a "DD-40"?

Isn't it a DDA40X?

Because there is nothing else for it to be confused with. It's just shorthand for this monster. I suspect that the DDA40X nomenclature is a carryover from the DD35's. DD35's were originally just configured as a booster unit (no cab) and preceded the DDA40X. It was found that this feature limited the flexibility of the units so the UP ordered 15 units with cabs. These were known as DDA35, the "A" designating a unit with a cab.

The nomenclature for the DDA40X indicates a unit with a cab "A" and the "X" indicates experimental features. The experimental features dealt primarily with electrical improvements, such as self loading and other features that found their way into the dash 2 series of the SD40-2's and all EMD Locos since.