Good morning, Yesterdey I finally broke down and ordered my new GP38-2. It is a P2K with BN paint
I would like to know what I can to expect from it. Will it pull a 18 - 20 car train up a 2.5% grade OK?. Are they very forgiving on 18’’ curves? I know that a lot of you have the P2K and would like to know a few things about it. Do I need to lube it befor running it or just break in it? Any info is appriciated. Thanks Mike
I’m a steam man, but my new 2-8-8-2 sure seems to be sweet. It has a traction tire, which I will put on and it will pull everything. My 2-8-8-2 sure takes 18" nicely.
A couple of months ago I bought one but in Santa Fe. It came to me with a bad circuit board and would only run backwards. Not knowing the cause of the problem it took hours to find the problem. Once I did, I emailed Walthers and they sent me a new board with no cost to me.
My P2K look great to me, except that the yellow on the cab is slight different than the yellow on the body, but from a distance you really can’t tell. I play it off and say that my engine had some cab damage and had the area repainted. The top of the cab is all blue, which, correct me if I’m wrong, should be yellow. Last thing that bothered me but is somewhat prototypical is that mine came without the dynamic brake housing. Now I’ve never seen one without this, but I did do the research and found one picture of one.
As far as it running, well I think that all P2K’s run great. Some people say that they wear down quicker but I have no clue about that. Mine does okay but the start up time in not as low as say Atlas, so I can’t run them together until I start running DCC. Do to no layout, I’ve only ran mine on the dining room table with a couple of cars behind.
Over all I like mine very much. You can see that I do have some issues with it, which I can change for my liking, but I don’t regret buying one.
Why are you asking about it now? Wouldn’t made more sents to ask about before you bought, now your kind of stuck?
Mike, I have 2 P2K locos and I’m very happy with them both. My GP30 runs very well and my PA1 pulls like an elephant on steroids. When I have the money, I’ll get a new one with DCC.
Your going to like the P2K GP38-2’s. I have 7 of them and they all run very well and have nice detail. A 20 car train up a 2.5 grade is nothing for these loco’s.
I have A P2K GP30 and it pulls 19 cars up a 2% grade. The detail on mine is good also. I think your really going to like it. Just curious but where did you get it?
-dekruif
dekruif, I ordered it on line from Hobby Link. It was a little more expensive ($110.00) than some other places but I have bought quite a lot from them and am very satisified with the service. Mike
It’s a great little engine. The P2K GP38-2s look pretty good for the most part, and runs good too. Works well on 18"-radius curves no problems.
You might want to disassemble it to make sure the lube has been applied correctly… I’ve seen some P2Ks that are bone-dry in some gears, and some that has lube caked unevenly in some spots. If the lube is good, put it back together and break it in by running the engine on medium speed for about an hour in each direction.
Geep 38s are “do everything” engines. They look good shunting cars in a yard or delivering a cut of cars to a siding, hauling freights on mainlines, or even hauling passenger cars (as the Long Island Railroad I grew up next to used to do). I’m sure you will get years of great service from yours.
I have a P2K SD60 that could probably pull about 20 cars over a 25% grade without a problem.[:D] Well, maybe not that steep, but it sure is powerful! It also handles 18" curves without hesitation, so I’m sure your new GP38 should work just as well.[:D]