Bachmann GP40

[rondon47]

I am repainting a Bachmann GP40 in L&N colors.  I got the shell with no hand rails and Bachmann shows them out of stock.  Is there another Bachmann loco that uses the same hand rails as the GP40?  Thanks.

[brokenrail]

The gp 40 railings are odd sized for that model.The gp 38-2 should work with maybe a slight modification.They are more prototypical fine scale not as chunky.Or make a set from piano wire and Athearn metal stations. More durable.
Johnny

[rondon47]

Thanks.  I'll give that a try if I can't find the GP40 rails.  Appreciate the come-back.

[jward]

you could also try the handrails for a gp50.

[brokenrail]

Bachmanns railings that are on their gp 50 will not work.The gp 38-2 are the closest to the prototype Bachmann has that are very accurate compared to the other 2.The 50's railings are 1 long Stanton too long to fit the gp 40 correctly on the blower housing side and walkway step that does not fit the 50 correctly either.Smokey Valley makes metal rail kits for Bachmann diesels also.If a rail kit can be found for a older Atlas/Concore GP 40 shell.They can be used as a direct fit for the Bachmann gp 40 shell since they are of the same tooling. If you compair the 2 they are practically identical except for the later Bachmann version that filled the mold on grab irons in the tooling to have no molded grab irons at all unless you add them yourself. The very old pancake gp 40's shells are different all together and must have been discontinued when the old Atlas tooling showed up.Abit of history of the 40 for you.
Johnny

[nfmisso]

Bachmanns railings that are on their gp 50 will not work.The gp 38-2 are the closest to the prototype Bachmann has that are very accurate compared to the other 2.The 50's railings are 1 long Stanton too long to fit the gp 40 correctly on the blower housing side and walkway step that does not fit the 50 correctly either.Smokey Valley makes metal rail kits for Bachmann diesels also.If a rail kit can be found for a older Atlas/Concore GP 40 shell.They can be used as a direct fit for the Bachmann gp 40 shell since they are of the same tooling. If you compair the 2 they are practically identical except for the later Bachmann version that filled the mold on grab irons in the tooling to have no molded grab irons at all unless you add them yourself. The very old pancake gp 40's shells are different all together and must have been discontinued when the old Atlas tooling showed up.Abit of history of the 40 for you.
Johnny

A bit more history; the original Atlas GP40 was made by Roco in Austria for Atlas in the 1980s.  After Atlas dropped the GP40 (and GP38, GP38HH, SD24 & SD35 all made by Roco) model - shortly after Atlas contracted with Kato for the RS3, Concor picked up the Roco tooling and moved it first to Mexico, and then to China.  Bachmann's original GP40 was in production at the same time as the Atlas model made by Roco, and sold for less than  half the price. 

[brokenrail]

The original Bachmann gp 40 was a single drive pancake motor with high headlights and was not the same shell or tooling that is used when they went to dual drive split frame .This shell that Bachmann produces now is the same tooling as the Atlas with modifications to the tooling since they carry it into the future.Same inner tabs inside still for the light bar, the hood,same closed steps at the battery boxes and the big give away is the half closed mold at the hand brake at the short hood along with the hanging fuel tank detail off the sill at the air tanks. Recently they removed the molded on grab irons and reworked the front cab windows holes for the glass with rounded corners so their sd40-2 cab front glass was made to fit.Still does not have cab doors like the Atlas/Roco version of the same original tooling.Mounting bosses were also added by Bachmann to the underside of the shell so that it could be mounted to their frame and the original shell mounting hole was filled by the air tanks of the original .Either the tooling was acquired by Bachmann or it was copied and modified to soot their needs of a gp diesel that was proportionally correct compared to the 35 and the 45 series  that gives us the odd angled cabs and the odd sized cab windows. They are nice running models ,but proportionally incorrect in compairson to the Atlas/Roco later Bachmann gp 40.
Johnny