Williams Dash 8 Powered and Non-powered engines

[tkscollectibles]

Need help - recently saw an O gauge Union Pacific "Dash 8" diesel set - Powered unit cab #9450 & Non-powered unit cab #9451. Can't seem to find out WHEN these were produced and if there is a Williams product number for each or for the set. They WERE packaged individually and in boxes that are identical to the current Red/Silver/White boxes with a window. Any help would be much appreciated! Thanks! Tom [email protected]

[Joe Satnik]

Dear Tom,

Could they have been Dash 9's?

Powered Dash 9 item #DA9-05 Union Pacific cab # 9449 appeared in W.E.T. catalogs around 2003.

Hope this helps.

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik

[phillyreading]

On the boxes does it have Williams or Williams by Bachmann?
That will help date it.

Another thing to consider is that although the engines may be lettered or stencilled for a certain series engine, sometime Williams gets it wrong and makes an engine, in your case a Dash 8, for a railroad that never had a Dash 8.
A case I have noticed is that Williams by Bachmann is currently selling an SD-90 for Norfolk Southern in Heritage Series, and Norfolk Southern never did SD-90's in that lettering. The ones that Norfolk Southern did are SD-70Ace diesels.

Second case I know of is the GP-38's, Williams lettered one for the Reading Lines and Reading never had a GP-38(new or used) in their fleet. GP-35's and GP-39-2's and GP40's.

Lee F.

[Joe Satnik]

Dear All,

Looking up the UP diesel roster,

UP 9406-9559 (154 units) GE C41-8W (Dash 8 series) would cover the road numbers 9449,9450, and 9451

which are seen on W.E.T. and WBB C44-9W (Dash 9 series) model locos.

Actual UP road numbers for GE C44-9W (Dash 9 series) locos are 9700-9739 (40 units). 

So, Williams put Dash 8 cab numbers on its Dash 9 models, hence the confusion......

Hope this helps. 

Sincerely,

Joe Satnik

[phillyreading]

Thanks for the info Joe!
Bachmann will probally say it keeps production costs down to use a Dash 8 number on a Dash 9. Just like the GP-39 numbers on a GP-38.

But what about the people out there that are looking for a correctly lettered model of any engine? Not everybody will buy an incorrect roadnumber for an engine.

Lee F.

[TrainmanGene]

Back in the Jerry Williams era the numbers were wrong in many cases. The Brass K4s had the Juniata Builder plate with a Baldwin cab number. The Brass J1 Hudson had a J3 number and i'm sure there were more.  But remember the numbering system Lionel and American Flyer used were the catalog numbers on the cabs and totally protyiically incorect.