Yes I did

One of the fellas i chit chat with at Trainworld was able to find them for me.
Thanks for asking !!!!

Hi Loco Bill

I have a USA GP-38 and Aristocraft RS-3 if that helps both G-Scale

Thanks everyone for the pictures and video WE really enjoyed them!!!!!!!!!!!!

As promised I wanted to post something today. Baseball ran into the evening but here goes.

Comments and Impressions:

Today we opened the ACL version of the O-Gauge GP-30. I wanted to comment on the packaging. The box is a thicker cardboard than was seen with other Williams boxes. It is well constructed and the design and color are classic looking. In other words it's built to last. As I mentioned initially be cautious opening the flaps as not to tear  the edges. If you work a Popsicle stick or in my case a "chop stick" under the flap at the edge to open the box it will lift up without tearing. You will need to open both ends of the box and carefully push the the whole Styrofoam encased unit out of the box. It is a tight fit.

The thick transparent cover is held on by tape and is easily removed. The instruction book and warranty card are in a depressed portion on the backside of the Styrofoam packaging. Use the push holes on the back side of the Styrofoam to carefully release the Locomotive.

The locomotive has a nice hefty weight to it. Feels really solid. The Styrofoam strips between the railings are snug but easily work free without damaging anything.

At this point I took the time to admire the paint job and look for flaws. The paint job on something like this which no doubt is mass produced in large numbers is impressive and quite acceptable. Black is not an easy color to deal with. I remember a master model airplane builder who liked "Night" camouflage mentioning that if black is not applied properly your model will look like a "black hole". No such issue here as I think the colors are applied appropriately and reflect the scale of the locomotive. The decaling is properly applied and the famous Atlantic Coast Line circular crest is boldly applied beneath the cab windows. The yellow railings and trim are a bold contrast and compliment the entire locomotive. Once again it stands out and is quite impressive either on or off the track.

What I also like is there is no assembly of the railings. I also opened a G-Scale GP-38 today that I had since January and you have to assemble the railings. I decided to leave them off as they looked delicate enough to eventually be damaged by Joey's handling. Point being it's great that this locomotive is ready to go right out of the box.
I have to sign off but hope to continue tomorrow.

Hi Joe
Since i have your attention.

What transformer do you recommend for LARGE scale?

I have one that came with an Aristocraft starterset. Since I have a couple locomotives that come with railsounds and engine sounds the basic one I have has no provision to engage those features.

Thanks for the track help!!!!

Just my 2cents. I don't think it's necessary to have fan driven smoke units on the diesels. No doubt it looks cool BUT at what point does the smoke start "clouding" up the room. Not to mention how much will it drive up the cost.

I like what WBB is doing. Giving us quality locomotives at affordable prices. I think in the near future people might be able to add extra features if they want on their own.

Personally that's a feature I could live without if it keeps the prices down.

MTH has a "Premier" line where they add on all the extra poly razz ma tazz. I don't know if WBB wants to go there. With all the advances technically filtering down to this hobby I imagine we will see some aftermarket add on "kits' that will help you do that.

BUT 

Don't write off WBB because it doesn't have Fan Driven Smoke Units I think you would be missing out on enjoying a lot of what is offered overall and even though it might be a nice feature I can't see it being any kind of realistic deal breaker at all -at least for me.

Dr Zhivago had some GREAT train scenes. It's great movie overall as my son sophmore in High School was able to show the movie in his class as a sample of what it was like during the Bolshevik Revolution.

Enemy At The Gates has a Train scene in the beginning gives you an idea how Soviet Troops were transported during Stalingrad Campaign

Thanks wm

Joey has a spelling test Friday 25 words 5 bonus. I told him he has to ace that test and he opens the box!!!! i don't know who is more impatient him or ME!!!!

I hope to post something about it Friday night or Saturday!!!!

ACL GP-30 arrived in today's mail !!!

Thanks for the help and saving me a lot of time.

I'll check out the Favorite Spot.

Ironically there is a spot on the patio we cleared and I can use the LGB track outside and leave it there.

Thanks again sounds like the Bachmann track is the way to go!!!!!

I liked the "drag race" between the 2 locomotives!!!

Please let us know how you paint those!!

Balrog

Really enjoyed the video. I watched it tonight with my son Joey. We really liked seeing

Illinois Central Gulf and lots of Santa Fe. What are your plans for the unmarked Engine we are all curious.!!!!!??

I am sure after school tomorrow Joe will probably hook up all our rolling stock to see if any of our locomotives can pull the whole bunch of them!!!

Thanks for sharing!!!!

 My son and I have Bachmann HO and O gauge trains.

For Christmas we run the G-Scale around the Christmas Tree. Since we are in the process of re-doing the O-Gauge layout I set up the G-Scale for my son to run and remembered how frustrating it is to assemble the track using those practically micro small screws.

I was just wondering if Bachmann Large Scale has a system like easy track or Fas-Track for Large scale. If they did I would switch in a New York minute

wmwalker just read your piece. Thanks for the help. When Joe gets home from school today I will "fire" up the GP and do what you just wrote.

I failed to mention as much as I wanted that ACL your video pushed me off the fence. I am stuck on ACL's classic purple color scheme BUT that black and yellow does look impressive and your video pushed me to pull the trigger and get it.

Thanks again wm the ACL ships today I'll post when it arrives!!!!!!!

Part 3 Running the Locomotive

Thanks for the feedback. I was hoping those that really know the hobby would jump in.

This is the shortest part and we are done.

Right off the bat as you apply power to the engine it lights up and the engine sound kicks in. BUT what I noticed right away was how the engine starting moving at a very slow speed at very low power. VERY realistic and a very nice feature. The acceleration from stop to running speed is very smooth and even provided you throttle slow and easy. Everyone should be satisfied and pleased with that feature.

I already commented on the engine sound and lights.

The horn and bell are all appropriate for the type of locomotive and I thought the volume acceptable. I posted above that it seemed appropriate to what I thought was the scale of the engine. How can there be "scale" sound? I am just subjectively trying to compare it to something.

I liked how if you move the throttle ever so slowly it accelerates linearly so you get a realistic type of acceleration OR conversely deceleration when you throttle down!!

We ran the engine around the lay-out for 15 minutes before Joey wanted to hook up 5 or 6 railroad cars. The engine pulled them effortlessly and after running for about a good one half hour there was no noticeable heat build up on the body. When we set the throttle to 60 scale mph it held that speed without a hic-cup around our 9x9 set up.

Impression: This is a well designed , well engineered. well built  working model of a GP-30. It looks like the GP-30. The color of the Union Pacific example I have appears right and looks like it should given its size compared to the "real thing". The details like "hold handles", panel lines, realistic windshield and wiper blades etc, not to mention the quality of the decaling are all impressive. The engine runs well and the engine sounds are all welcome and nice features. The rail lings are well constructed that they can withstand a child's gripping hands which i think they must have thought about as Joey did pick up the engine at one point with one hand with his fingers around the rail lings !!!!!!!

Bread and Circuses: If you have not considered a more modern diesel beyond F-3 or F-7(like me) really seriously consider the WBB GP-30 series. As I mentioned above what started me down the road was Jack Lynch's presentation on U-Tube it planted a seed that got me thinking more and more about it and I had a hunch this was going to be quite a locomotive and the price was attractive. Circuses: Yep this is a fun locomotive to own and operate, it looks good, runs good and like I mentioned above it has a commanding presence on the layout-it just looks cool. It teamed up nicely with a MTH Scale U.P. Caboose I had bought while down in Florida last year(color seems to match spot on!! I was torn between the UP and ACL went with UP first and because I was so impressed with my purchase I ordered the ACL !!!!!!!

I hope this helps anyone thinking about or not even thinking about this engine. I personally like the application of technology brighter lights using LED's, motor quality, details like the seeing through the upper fan blades, horn and bell sounds. It's all tastefully done well with out being over done. This GP-30 is one engine you will be proud to own and run and have fun with.

Thanks for hanging in there with me a lot goes on around our home as you might imagine and I have to get on the computer when the kids are not around or asleep!!!! Best wishes everyone and I am looking forward to that Seaboard RS-3!!