I am looking for a small switcher for my new point to point HO shelf layout. The era is 1949 and the GE 44 and 45 tommers seem to fit the bill. However, in looking at the M B Klein website, the 44 ton unit is $50 cheaper than the 55 ton version. Why is this?
Because they can? I have an old 44 tonner, the kind with twin motors. A later redesign went over the a single motor drive. Very satisfactory small switcher. The prototype was fairly common in the USA. Pictures of it grace the pages of several of my railroad picture books. I never heard of the 45 tonner before Bachmann released the model, nor have I seen any pictures of its prototype.
The 45-tonner is a relatively recent release from Bachmann, while the 44-tonner was first produced a long time ago. So recouping a larger, more recent investment in a new model is one reason.
The 45-tonner is more up to date on details, etc that modelers expect now.
Finally, part of the difference is the mechanism as the 45-tonner is more precise, because it has siderods like a steam loco. The siderods add complexity and the need for tuning each one to achieve maximum performance.