Any thoughts on the proto 2000 series? I am looking at a couple of Proto 2000 EMD E8’s for my Layout. They have Sound and DCC. Any thoughts?
I’ve heard great things about them so I just got one off of Ebay. I’ll see what I get and how it is. Mine doesn’t have DCC or sound but I think they are still great engines.
dekruif
I have one of the older non DCC ones in Conrail paint and my god is it heavy! I’m sure it would pull every piece of rolling stock I own no problem. It can already pull a 10 car, weighted passenger train with no hesitation. Detail is an A+, too. You’ll be very happy with yours, even more so since they’ll have Sound.
P2Ks are great locos, they are well detailed and pull well too. I stay away from the newer ones because they are charging way more than I am willing to pay for a loco of that quality. But the old ones in the blue boxes are wonderful if you can get a good price. Check ebay and train shows.
Schom,
I have 3 Alco S1s are they are terrific locomotives! Great crawlers, good pullers, and beautifully detailed! If you haven’t already, check out the pricing at Trainworld and M.B. Klein. You can find some real deals at both.
Tom
I bought my son a pair of P2K Burlington E8As for our California Zephyr. No regrets here they are great models and performers.
I have one of the P2K SD60s. It’s detail is excellent+, along with the paint and running.[:D] It can also pull a lot. It was already heavy with its metal frame, but then they went and put a gigantic metal weight over the entire chassis![:O][:D] I’ve also seen the E8s, and they look even better than the SD60, which is very good.[:D] So I’d say yes, Proto 2000 is a good buy.[:D]
Some Proto 2000 models have a problem with split axle gears; however, Walthers will send free replacements. Some of the E units make more noise that I like.
I have an older P2K E8, great loco. Added a decoder with little effort.
I have a GP9, a GP18, and an S2. All Proto 2000, and all great engines. I’d highly recommend them.
Last I looked I have 10 of them including a new UP E8 A/B with DCC and Sound. The normal problem with the Proto 2000 E series is that you can not get some models. I ordered my UP set months in advanced to make sure I got one. I have examples of 3 series. The early one with non DCC ready, the DCC ready version and the DCC and sound version. All of them are great looking and pull well. They did leave off some of the details on the new series but replaced them with other features. My RI E8 has been the work horse for years and is used in testing quite a bit. At one time any changes made to the layout it was sent out to test the way. I also have a SD9 and 3 Proto 1000 F3’s. All are fantastic.
RMax1
I have to chim in as well. I have a SD-7 and its one of the smoothest runners I have. I was extremly surprised. And yeah, its heavy and it’ll pull the benchwork (Ok, maybe a stretch but is nice) I will definatly get more.
I bought a GP7 from Epay last year. So far, it’s been a great engine, and hasn’t (yet) suffered the cracked gear problem. I still have some detailing work to do with it. Jim Six did a great clinic on the NYC ones!
I have a bunch of them; E8, E6, GP7, GP30, SW7 and SD60. They run great and are heavy pullers. Most I have converted to DCC, except for the E units. A single E unit can pull a 10 car passenger train without a sweat.
I currently have a 40 car freight train on my layout (0% grade). I had two SD60s pulling the freight. They have DCC and the decoder in one of the units is doing weird things. I pulled it off the tracks while the train was operating and the second unit continued to pull the train with no problems.
The SD60s are too modern for my era so I will be backdating them to SD50s.
JIM
I have alot of Protos, most of my HO fleet is proto(But thats becuase they’re the only ones that did lots of CNW) I have Geeps of all kinds, SDs of all kinds. Great engines. I have pair of SD60s that fell off my layout and hit the floor, other than a couple broken pilots(Minor) and a few cracked gears(again minor) They are just fine. If you drop an SD60 frame on your foot you’ll know it in a hurry, I also have an E6A&B Other than being a little beat up Are just fine, Heavy as heck. Good pullers too. All of the newer protos do not have the cracked gear problem
I have alot of p2k units, I just bought a Union Pacific U28B # 506 with sound, awsome unit. I haven’t tried pulling a train with it yet, but I bet it could pull at least 50 cars by itself if not 75. I think as long as Walthers keeps up the quality they’ll be hard to beat!
I just bought 3 GP-9’s at a train show. One of them right out of the box had the “famous” cracked gear problem. Called Walthers and they mailed out replacement parts. Other than that, they are great engines. I have at least 10 of them and I love them.
Absolutely! I have 5 and plan on getting alot more!! I also have an SD60M and i’m certain it could pull the walls of the house!! it can pull 3 locomotives and all 30 of my freight cars no effort at all!!
Once you get one, you won’t be able to stop! [:D]
I recently purchased a set of the E6 AB. I had gotten them confused with the BLI sets and was very disapointed to find out the B unit was a dummy and had no sound. Other than that they are pretty good units.
I have two P2K GP30s and one SW8. They are all still DC at the moment. The paint jobs are very good. The level of detail is fair. All three are very dependable, quiet, smooth, good pulling locomotives. Bruce