I would like to know your feelings about the LifeLike GP38-2. Could it be made into a decent running, nicely detailed model? Or would it be better to just go with the Atlas GP38? I guess the main detraction for me is the nasty handrails, but could these be fixed? What is your experience with these locomotives? D.M. Wells
Some folks say they are ok, but I threw one in the trash! It did not run well, and those handrails are awful! Whereas the Atlas one is a work of art
I'll second Alan's comments. Except the Atlas is really not a -2 but a regular GP 38. Still it is a far better engine than the Lifelike. You can still get them on line. BLW has them for about $67 US.
it depends what you are looking to do. For the money, (LL Gp-38's can be found for $15) they are OK. plus at that price, you can bash away and superdetail without fear of destroying a $60 plus Atlas. They are good to practice on. On the other hand, if you want rtr nicely detailed excellent running the Atlas is the way to go. woo woo woo woo woo woo has them for $59.99, and National Hobby was closing out for around $50 a few month ago. The LL is really a cross between a straight 38 and a -2.
I'm neutral on it, I'd not buy one now, but I did buy one in the past, and it works fine, runs OKAY, not real slow, but it is useable. Handrails ain't purty, but it sure looks a hella lot better than something like a Arnold GP9... those are just plain hideous.
Straight out of the box they run great plus, you can get a dummy/powered/caboose set for about twenty dollars. That is 3 sets for the price of one Atlas. Now, having stated that, Atlas will always run better than the LL because this is one engine that LL hasn't flywheel equipped yet. The blackened wheels on the LL seem to attract dirt which is the result of the poor running mentioned above. Disassembly is a lot easier than an Atlas unit though so cleaning is a lot easier to keep it optimized. I personally have several LL GP38-2's. I buy them mainly because of the price and availability and I have no hesitation splicing them up for projects. They can also be made to look real good also. If you would like to see one of my custom LL GP38's with details added click here: My Detailed LL GP-38 <img src=http://www.trainboard.com/sigbreak.gif> Russ
LifeLike GP38 was the first of their "upgraded" line of locomotives and is a respectable daily runner, and can be made to a very respectable locomotive, even by today's standards. The run smoothly, have a 5 pole motor, and are a little noisy. Each locomotive issued shortly after, such as their F7, BL2, GP18, F40PH all were constructed similarly but each seemed to improve on the former issue. I have a few of these locomotives and for the summer leave these on the layout in case my 14 year old decides to run trains for his friends when I am not there. He knows not to run my "choice" locos until I get home. Do not run your Lifelike loco with Atlas locos as they are geared differently and operate at different speeds and accelearation curves as voltage is applied. You will most likely ruin one if you run them together. I hope this provides you useful information. I never EVER run Lifelikes with other brands, as failure will probably follow. Ken "Steamguy" Willaman
What do I think? Not much. Antique pick-up design. No flywheels. I do make good money soldering the wires back on the trucks. I bet a month doesn't go by that someone brings one in the hobby shop with broken pick-up wires. Good for me..... Bad for the customer.
