The highly anticipated Paragon 2 series from Broadway Limited has arrived in the form of a new AC6000. Out of the box, the unit has all the aesthetic earmarks that you would expect from Broadway Limited sporting many separately applied detail parts and a beautiful paint job. Upon examining photographs of the prototype (Union Pacific 7513) it's clear that Broadway really did their research on the way the loco looks.

The loco features a dual mode dc/dcc sound and power version of the decoder that is used in their Blueline series of locomotives. The motor sound is loud but lacks clarity and definition, the horn is brash and the bell sounds like someone tapping the side of a wine glass. The better feature sound wise, was the locomotive's load response, when you place a string of cars behind the loco you'll notice the sound “ramping up” as the loco works harder to move the cars.

The loco also came with flashing ditch-lights installed but unfortunately Broadway overlooked the use of the traditional “white” LED's which as most of us know, are actually an irritating blue. Because of this, the locomotive looks sadly toyish while running. Users may want to change the LEDS to the GoldenGLO style that resemble incandescent lamps.