I’m very happy to see this. I’ve been keeping my eye out for an American GK E60 on ebay, but they show up once in a “blue” moon. Carl indicated that the ad may have a misprint as he’s heard that this unit may be 12 wheel drive, not 8 wheel. From the photo it is a very nice looking locomotive and I’m strongly considering getting one (after I get my new FP45[;)] ).
I’ve brought my modeling era up to 1976 and the E60 would fit in perfectly for hauling Amtrak’s long distance trains in the NEC. On my 1983 trip to New York, I asked the conductor how fast we were going after we left Washington DC. Although the E60’s were restricted to 90mph, he smiled and told me we were hitting close to 100 mph! That was a thrill for me! I heard that these giants were put on 90 mph speed restrictions because of tracking/yawing type problems.
There’s plenty of E60 videos on You Tube. Made me really start liking these sleek giants again.
I have no idea if Bachman plans to upgrade the mechanism but the old one had traction tires and is prone to throwing them and derailing in my experience. It is a very easy conversion to upgarde the mechansim with an Athearn blue box GE chassis with six wheel trucks. I think it is the U33C but it has been some time since I did it.
I would like to see a new E60 on the market but the pic in the link above doesn’t look too promising. Perhaps there will be future paint schemes. The model in the pic reflects the locomotive prior to the upgrades and renumbering. In their final years of service, the E60s were numbered in the low 600’s.
Yes, there are a few things that are easy to take care of such as the horns. They need to be swapped out The closest would be a Nathan P5 from Details West. (The Prototype horn cluster was a Nathan P01235, a modified P5. You can hear its distinct sound on the You Tube videos. In their final years some E60s received K5 series horns.)
Seriously, I would like to read detailed critiques from you guys. The more eyes that see this the better. [;)]
I hope that the drive is a decent one, especially with a $100+ price tag. I wonder if this drive mechanism is similar to or better than the drive used in the Bachmann Spectrum E33. Seems that interest in Amtrak’s early years is growing among modelers. Hopefully this unit turns out to be a positive surprise.
If I were fortunate enough to find an American GK unit, I’d slap an Atlas U33C chassis underneath it instead of an Athearn. But of course that is an expensive option.
Bach Man confirmed the new E60s will have an all wheel drive mechanism, and the 8-wheel drive mentioned earlier was a mistake (go to “Ask the Bach Man” for more info). It will probably be the same trucks used for the older SD45 and 8-40CW, so it should be a very smooth runner.[:D]
But as mentioned on a post above, the Amtrak E60s had a unique “one-of-a-kind” 5 chime airhorn known as the Nathan P01235. There was no mistaking what type of electric locomotive was approaching when that horn sounded! Each unit had two sets of horns, one on each end.
Staying away from the NEC is getting harder and harder. First it was EF-4s/E33s Then the Acelas, then the HHP-8s Then BLI did their fantastic GG-1s Now Bachmann is redoing their E-60. I just might have to string catenary on my GN layout so I can run These NEC visitors every now and again. (GN did have electrics so Catenary wouldn’t be that much of a streatch)
Why don’t you just take a deep break and kitbash one? Older Athearn Blue box FP-45s would be an inexpensive place to start. If thats still to pure bred for your liking AHM FP45s can be had on E-bay cheap. I see the powered/Dummy sets selling around $25-$30
I have a couple of the old Walther’s ones, I think Bachmann manufacured it for them. Probably not a new tooling but hopefully they’ll be updated to today’s quality and detail standards.