Kato AC4400CW or Atlas GE DASH 8-40CW

Model Railroader General Discussion (Model Railroader)
1

Hey guys,
I’m thinking of buying a kato AC4400CW, or a atlas GE DASH 8-40CW. which engine would you recommend, and why.

Thanks for the help,
dekruif

2

They are both wonderful engines. Really can’t go wrong either way. The Atlas might run a bit better than the Kato, but the Kato’s do pull more.

3

I’d go for the Atlas locomotive. I’ve experienced Kato and Atlas locomotives in the past, and the Atlas locomotive ALWAYS seems to run better, look better, and have a lower engine noise. Plus, Atlas offers sound and DCC on their locomotives. The best I’ve seen Kato offer is a DCC plug.

Just my [2c].

Matt

4

kato =smooth

5

I had a Kato AC4400CW and to tell you the truth it ran great… one problem. It was just too light. It was eaisly out done by most of my Athearn BB units, if you can find a way to make it a little heavier it may work fine for you. Other wise you may want to try something else. Mine was built for sound and the hole they left for a speaker is right where the weight should be in the fuel tank. Good luck!

6

I have both of these engines and they run smooth. I can’t tell the difference.

Stan.

7

I have 3 Kato AC4400CW’s and find they run great and will pull a ton of cars. I don’t own an Atlas Dash 8 so I can’t compare the two. I don’t find the Kato’s light as Joey suggests.

8

The Atlas DASH 8s have finer detail and come fully assembled. They also have DCC and sound installed, if you get the Gold version.

The Kato AC4400s are like high quality Athearn Blue-Box kits. You install every detail part yourself. They are also reliable. They should also run as smooth or smoother than the Atlas diesels, but they only come DCC ready.

9

I have both but I’ve only ran my Atlas, I love it too. The engine purrs like a kitten. To be honest if Atlas made every type of engine, I would only use them but here in the real world that’s not true, so I buy the Kato for my AC4400’s and AThearn RTR for my DASH-9’s(can’t find the Kato anymore).

10

As I said on another thread a few days ago, I have many Kato HO models including a pair of UP AC4400s that are some of my best engines with lots of pulling power. But lastweek at my favorite hobby shop I compared some new Kato SD40s with similar Athearn models ; something has changed on Kato models that are now noisier and lighter than their Athearn counterpart ! The detail level on the Athearns was as good as on the Katos but the price tag was 65 Cdn$ less ! I don’t know if this trend will continue but the LHS owners told me they also had many problems with N scale locos too. I hope the next issue of AC4400s won’t follow the same path… Never had any deception with my Atlas locos.

Martin
Québec City

11

I too was checking out the new Athearn RTR SD40s at my LHS on Saturday, and I was so impressed that yesterday I preordered 2 MRL’s from First Hobby, Inc. I took a look at a Santa Fe and SP and both were excellent, I almost bought the Santa Fe. I have a few Kato engines but I’ve only completed the detail on one, so I’ve only ran that one and I love it so far, but my Atlas’ I love.

12

Dash 8 Atlas gold all the way for me. Works good and soungs even better