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Bowser HO scale Alco C-430 diesel locomotive
This is one of the nicest engines I’ve ever had! There is just enough details to make the unit stand out from any thing else, but not too much that you need to look for broken off pieces. And right out of the box the unit runs fantastic. No break-in needed. I timed it running 18’ on my switching module and it took 1hr. 48min.!!! And that is without a stall! In fact since I bought my first Bowser C-430 I went back and bought 3 more (2 CR and 2 WNYP) and 4 of the Baldwin DS-4-4-1000’s. All have Esu-Lok sound and none of these have ever stalled once! The little Baldwin’s are great for switching while the C-430’s switch my yard. Lee has hit a home run with these engines!!!
A couple of additional comments I overlooked were the F-8 Start-up and Shut down of these engines using the ESU-Lok Sound. This is one neat feature I wish were on all locomotives. The Air-Start up of the Alco is most realistic and really sounds great. Bowser has done a great job with the headlights and number board lights. You can turn off the headlights and leave the number board lights on. And as long as there is power to the track you can operate the lights, horn, and bell without starting the engine.
Also the sound you hear with the WNYP-431 is the actual sounds from the real as this is the engine they used for all their 430’s. And it does sound great!
Not sure how it is on other railroads, but on the SP only the lead unit (or unit specified in train orders) had the number boards lit. Reduces confusion when meeting other trains in train order territory. There are many nice features to the Lok-Sound decoders; my complaint is the large technical manual one needs to figure out all the CVs and what they do, let alone function buttons.
To update: 431 did indeed quiet down with running time, both are now near-silent runners without sound turned on. Still very impressed with these units!
Great job on the manufacturing!