So, way back when, I mentioned I don't do preorders, and I still manage to get what I want, months or years later.
And in another thread, I mentioned the Walthers Plymouth switcher.
Email today from FDT had them on sale, including the blue undec one I wanted. Almost pulled the trigger. But I wanted to make sure it was the correct item (I would prefer the DC one but I can always pull the decoder out of a DCC one and change to a sound decoder) so I looked it up on Walthers. Hey, they had it for sale for $18 less than FDT. I'll just get it from Walthers. Except, Walthers rather high shipping for slow boat, and crazy high charge for Priority Mail. And no guarantee it was in stock. One last check, old standby Modeltrainstuff. Hey, $2 less than Walthers, definitely in stock, and shipping cost for priority half of Walthers standard. Sold! First new train item I bought in more than 2 years. Depending when they ship it, it usually only takes a day from Timonium to me.
There are STILL some on eBay - these are the first run ones, with a Tsunami motor only with current keeper, not the coming release with Lokpilot. But I'll probably remove it anyway. Who needs to preorder?
--Randy
Modeling the Reading Railroad in the 1950's
Visit my web site at www.readingeastpenn.com for construction updates, DCC Info, and more.
Shoulda waited for the spirit of 76
Henry
COB Potomac & Northern
Shenandoah Valley
The blue one is a close match for a picture I have of a little GE 25 ton boxcab at the same cement plant/ So I just have to letter it and cover it in cement dust. Not to mention I doubt anyone was paiting bicentennial schemes in 1956
rrinkerNot to mention I doubt anyone was paiting bicentennial schemes in 1956 Big Smile
1984 was published in 1949
So it arrived today. Dug out my Zephyr and a piece of flex track so I could try it.
Man is this thing tiny. But it runs quite slowly on speed step 1. A little jery, but it's getting better the more I run it back and forth. The current keeper is pretty impressive - I ran it over a piece of paper, no problem, although it's better balanced in reverse - in forward when it runs over the paper is also derails. In reverse, it just chugs over the paper and continues on. Pick it up running and the motor keeps running, with headlight on, for about 30 seconds. Ran a good distance across my workbench too.
Pulls decently for such a small loco, certainly enough to do its intended job. Won't pull my Mantua 0-6-0 (but the 0-6-0 easily pulls the Plymouth - that's been sitting on my desk for 2 years and I finally got to try it on DCC. I got it super cheap, eBay seller said it didn;t run. When I got it, saw it had a decoder in it. Just now stuck it on the track, selected the cab number, and it runs great. Considering the limited pickup thos have, and the fact that it is rather dusty and in need of a cleaning, it runs quite well, no stuttering or stalling).
Glad I got this little guy. Converting to sound will be a real adventure. I'd have to lose the current keeper, the caps fill the cab, which is the only possible place for a speaker, and a small sugar cube at that. The tiny little motor powers the front axle and then a gear train drives the rear axle, N scale style. All available space around the motor and gears is metal, only some of the detail parts are plastic, which gives it a nice heft.