Update on a brass E-44 on that action site painted for the PRR. It sold for $683.87! Is there a market for E-44? I think so!

Still hoping for that long overdue announcement the Bachmann is releasing the E-44. Having several E-33's and all are great units, I believe with a minimal amount of work, it can be done. I have two brass E-44's that have had the motors and trucks replaced with Bachmann E-33 parts. Added lights and a decoder and they perform incredible.
Bachmann has always been a great producer of electric locomotives and believe that an E-44 would sell extremely well considering the impressive work they've done in the past. And that no one else has made any except for those older and rare brass models. Please consider it Mr. Bachmann and staff.

BTW: that brass E-44 on eBay sold for $655.00! I think there's a market for them.

  Don't mean to keep dragging this up, BUT.... Just saw a brass E-44 on "that auction site" going for over $460.00! I bought two awhile back that needed work. I used two of Bachmann's E-33 for trucks, motors and some railings. Added a decoder and some lights and now have two remarkable units!
  Bachmann could produce these with less trouble. All is needed is a frame and body. The trucks are the same as the E-33. The E-60's use the same pantographs. And with the limited number of engines out there, I believe it would sell.
  Although only a small number of railroads had them, look at the E-60's, only two phases of Amtrak and they're doing great. The E-33's are another great engine. I have several in both PC and Conrail. If the E-44 is made, I would have to add as least 4 to 6 to my roster!

 I have already rebuilt a brass E-44 with the motor and trucks from a damaged E-33 and what an improvement. As with the limited railroads that ran them, look at another manufacturer that just release Baldwin Centipedes. Only two other railroads other then PRR had them, but they're already on their 3rd run! Again, if Bachmann made them as good as the E-33, the would sell like crazy! I know I'd get several myself.

An engine that Bachmann might consider doing. The E-44 electric. Only one done was in brass and isn't the best running if you can find one. Now, the E-33 that Bachmann released a few years back is an excellent performer as well as quite accurate. The trucks would be the same, that's a start, as well as the pantographs from the E-60. Pleeease 

I just converted several IHC and Rivarossi passenger cars to metal wheels and Kadee couplers. The 36" wheels are what you want. Just be careful as some of the plastic trucks might be too tight on the axles. I corrected the problem with a small drill bit in a pin vise to open the inside of the journal box. Do it slowly and test the wheelset often. You don't want to drill right through the plastic.

Have you looked on eBay? You might find a good deal on even a Walthers unit.

 I have used Digitrax decoders without any problems in all my Blueline engines. The best part is if you have to reset the decoder, CV8 will reset both the Digitrax and Broadway Limited's decoder at the same time.

Have you tried to file the truck with a round file where the axle rides? Had a problem with some Walthers' Amfleet cars doing the same thing. Used a round file and did a little at a time until they rolled free without too much slop.

  Check ebay. There's usually some out there for sale.

  ebay is a good source of catenary material. There was Jason's Brass Poles, but his website is closed. He makes great poles and wire. I have some and its looks great and is close to NEC. You can find it on ebay, too. Look under catenary in HO scale.
  As for powering the overhead, it can be some work, but it look real when the lights are low and the pantograph skips at a joint and sparks for a sec.

Also check Model Railroader magazine for ads and sugguestions. Atlas has a block signal system that is pretty much "plug-and-play". You might want to check them.

The dynamo is used to power lights and any other electricial needs on the Locomotive(headlights, marker lights, cab lights, and on more modern engines, Radio). It does run off steam. It does not suppy power to the cars. Most cars in steam era had batteries and an axle driven generator. Early ones uesd large leather belts, later used multiple rubber belts like found in a car. More modern cars had shaft driven generators. All this before Head End Power.

Mr. Bachmann, I've got a noisy GP-30. Using DCC, the engine makes a almost buzzing sound, but if I remove the shell, all is quiet. I've tried to brace the shell in spots, but can't seem to remove the noise. Any suggestions?