A Request: To Passenger train and E unit fans!

[AntonioFP45]

Hi Crew,

I hope you all don't deem this as to selfish, but I'd like to request that you please e-mail LIfe Like at [e-mail] and ask them to consider producing the Proto 2000 E7 passenger locomotive. This was the most popular prototype American passenger diesel of the 20th century.

For HO scalers ask them to produce the version with the "large box" numberboards this time. As the previous version had the small ones.

For N scale, according to posters below an E7 was produced by LIfe Like Proto.

According to their archives the last HO P2K E7 releasee was 1998, so it's been a few years.

I communicated with a member of a historical society that gives input to the model manufacturers, including LIfe Like, and he indicated that Life Like is currently studying input for locomotive releases. Since Life Like already owns the molds, an updated E7 may be "do-able". His name is Jim Six. Some of you may seen his very impressive work in past Model Railroader issues.

By all means submit your other suggestions too! With Life Like it's best to
write intelligently and tell them why you request the particular locomotive (history, your layout era, etc). It does help if you indicate that you will buy one or more units.

Thanks for you consideration, guys!

[:)][:D][8D][;)][4:-)][C=:-)][C):-)][swg][tup]

[Anonymous]

I'd rather they make the E2 personally ;)

[BurlingtonJohn]

Seems to me Life Like did an N scale E7 a couple of years ago ... I have several of the P2K E7s in HO .....

As for "I wanna" section of this post, how about an E5?

Regards,
Burlington John

American Freedom Train Yahoo Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AmericanFreedomTrain/

[Anonymous]

Lifelike did indeed do an N scale E7 - I have one in SP Daylight paint (along with the matching B unit) and it was a superb runner for the first sixth months - since then it's gone a bit weird, now doesn't run smoothly but "surges" along, very odd as I've cleaned and lubed everything I can find! I also agree with Burlington John's suggestion of an E5 - I'd like one of these, ideally with sound, from either Lifelike P2K or BLI. Would be especially good if they could offer the sole surviving E5, 9911A, and maybe the Nebraska Zephyr cars to go with it...[8D]

[Anonymous]

I find it ironic that you mention an E7 fon N Scale. PCM is coming out with this very model with or without sound this fall. On the Atlas forum it has been discussed at great length with many, many comments staing " why are they making an E7 when there are so many other models to do? " I thought it was a fine idea because as was mentioned earlier, the E7 was the most common passenger locomotive (diesel). Go figure.

[AntonioFP45]

O.K,

Have any of you guys clicked on the link and provided Life Like with your suggestions?

[Anonymous]

I emailed them, but I told them to make an FP45.[^][}:)]

[CBQ_Guy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by SteamerFan

I'd rather they make the E2 personally ;)

I'm waiting for a (Burlington) E5, the only E's they had which used a B-unit, too. And I love the slanted nose. Please note I won't be holding my breath waiting for this to come out, though. [:P]

[METRO]

I asked em for ya buddy. I also asked for an F-59 as well.

~METRO

[CBQ_Guy]

Hey y'all. I just found this announcement when I checked my Trains.com newsletter:

http://www.trains.com/Content/Dynamic/Articles/000/000/005/751jfpaj.asp

[trolleyboy]

I've sent them an "e" no pun intended for you but I also asked them(LL Canada) to rerun the CP/Via E8's again been even longer since they had a run of them.On the upside anyone interested in chopnose GP9's lifelike Canada is starting to reserve prebook these lil monsters in HO sposed to be out sometime this summer can't wait. Rob

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by CBQ_Guy

QUOTE: Originally posted by SteamerFan

I'd rather they make the E2 personally ;)

I'm waiting for a (Burlington) E5, the only E's they had which used a B-unit, too. And I love the slanted nose. Please note I won't be holding my breath waiting for this to come out, though. [:P]

Yes the E5 was good, but since i model the 1930's, only the E2 really fits in, and it was an A-B-B set (introduced in 1937). the E3 was introduced durning the same time (1938), and the E4 might have made it before '40, but the E5 definatly didn't, so I'd look for an E2 Set (in N scale fo course).

[AntonioFP45]

Metro, Trolleyboy--Thanks![swg][tup]

(Hopefully more of the forum crew will zip them a quick e-mail.)

Steamer fan, I have a picture of E2 #SF-1 coupled to the COSAF in one of my older books. I like that cool "Bubble Nose" design. I think that years back someone made an HO brass model.

CBQ_Guy, an E5 would be sweet, especially since a prototype is still in existence. In brass it would be sharp! In plastic, the company had better do an "exceptional" job with the paint metalizing.

Cheers!

[cspmo]

QUOTE: Originally posted by 4884bigboy

I emailed them, but I told them to make an FP45.[^][}:)]

I would love to see them make these.

[AntonioFP45]

QUOTE: Originally posted by cspmo

QUOTE: Originally posted by 4884bigboy

I emailed them, but I told them to make an FP45.[^][}:)]

I would love to see them make these.

O.K CSPMO,

Make sure to tell them!![;)][;)]

[CBQ_Guy]

QUOTE: Originally posted by AntonioFP45

Metro, Trolleyboy--Thanks![swg][tup]

(Hopefully more of the forum crew will zip them a quick e-mail.)

Steamer fan, I have a picture of E2 #SF-1 coupled to the COSAF in one of my older books. I like that cool "Bubble Nose" design. I think that years back someone made an HO brass model.

CBQ_Guy, an E5 would be sweet, especially since a prototype is still in existence. In brass it would be sharp! In plastic, the company had better do an "exceptional" job with the paint metalizing.

Cheers!

Several months ago a guy on another board posted a list of items he was selling and on the list was a brass E5 A & B unit at a VERY attractive price. When I contacted him to purchase, he said he was in the middle of a family crisis and would get back to me. I took him at his word and at some point lost or deleted his original email with the list on it.

And I never heard from him again . . . [banghead]

[Anonymous]

E5 A and B? I thought the CB&Q only ran A units? Have also been keeping eyes open for a brass E5 - there's very small amounts of brass equipment on the UK eBay site, which doesn't attract much interest (and is consequently pretty cheap by brass standards).

[passengerfan]

To Railroading Brit.
The CB&Q operated the following EMD E5A and E5B units and I also mention the C&S and FW&D originals as well. Hope this he;ps
9909 A Silver Bullet

9910A Silver Speed
9910B Silver Power

9911A Silver Pilot
9911B Silver Mate

9912A Silver Meteor
9912B Silver Comet

9913A Silver Wings

9914A Silver Arrow
9914B Silver Swift

9915A Silver Carrier
9915B Silver Clipper

C&S
9950A Silver Racer
9950B Silver Steed

FW&D
9980A Silver Chief
9980B Silver Warrior

[Anonymous]

Thanks for the info passengerfan - I didn't know they existed! These were actually cabless B units (as opposed to their numbering an A+A pair as ****A/****B? Just asking as I've seen photos of later CB&Q E's with a B suffix to the number that were A (cab) units. Thanks again!

[passengerfan]

Beginnning with the CB&Q E7A units no further B units were ever produced for the CB&Q. The original numbering for the CB&Q E7A units was 9916A-B to 9925 A-B 9926A-B - 9930-A-B and 9931 A-B - 9936 A- B and 9937A renumbered from 9911- 9937. All of the CB&Q E8 and E9 units were A units only as well. Some of these units carried a B number as well, but all were A units.

[Anonymous]

That would explain it - most of the photos I have are during their commuter-service days and show E8s/E9s, hence no Bs. Thanks for the info!

[passengerfan]

The CB&Q E5A and B units were nothing short of magnificent. They were geared for over 100 mph operation and when assigned to the Twin Cities Zephyrs operated at speeds near their maximum daily. The stainless steel units were the easiest to keep clean on the outside and the areas where paint was applied was always being touched up as the paint never seemed to last for long on these units. Today one E5A survives at the Illinois Museum and operates at the head of one of the second articulated Twin Zephyrs. It is still impressive to this day. I grew up at a time when I could witness the surviving E5 units still operating and when the CB&Q introduced the 1956 Denver Zephyrs the publicity photos were taken with a freshly cleaned and polished set of E5A and E5B at the head of the train. They became regulars on the Blackhawk and Ak-Sar-Ben Zephyr both unfortuinately nocturnal runs. The Texas Zephyr was also a great place to see the C&S and FW&D E5 units operating as well as the unnanmed pair of trains between Denver and Dallas. Up until 1956 when the CB&Q new Denver Zephyrs entered service the E5A and B sets were regular power on the old Denver Zephyr trains and they looked right at home having replaced the shovelnose A-B sets originally built for these train sets. I don't believe I ever saw the California Zephyr between Chicago and Denver behind the E5A and B units nor do I ever remember seeing pictures of them pulling that particular train. It was not unusual to see the CB&Q E5A and B units at the head of the Empire Builder or North Coast Limited between Chicago and St. Paul. Even the Western Star operated behind CB&Q E5A and B units between the same city pairs. They served the CB&Q long and faithfully and it is great knowing one was preserved and is still operational today. If you haven't already guessed I am a great fan of the CB&Q E5A and B units.

[passengerfan]

Back in the early 1970's I believe Model Power imported EMD E7A units in HO from Roco in Austria. They were noisy but could pull the bricks out of the foundation of your home.

[Anonymous]

I've heard about the Roco E7s before - might they be any relation to the Rivarossi ones? It's not unknown for manufacturers to share/pass on moulds so it could be the case - witness some of the older UK Bachmann models which were originally tooled for Mainline back in the '70s, or old Airfix mouldings dating from a similar vintage and now used by Hornby.

Passengerfan, I too am a big fan of the E5 - well, all E units but especially the E5. I read the accounts on the IRM website about their mid-'90s excursions with 9911A and the Nebraska Zephyr - now I really want to get hold of a HO scale E5 to add to my museum's fleet!

[AntonioFP45]

QUOTE: Originally posted by passengerfan

Back in the early 1970's I believe Model Power imported EMD E7A units in HO from Roco in Austria. They were noisy but could pull the bricks out of the foundation of your home.

I own two of them! You're right they sure can pull. The motor is HUGE and fills up the center of the body. Turns out that these were the same motors used in the O Scale locomotives!

They are quite noisy. For 1970s technology they actually look pretty decent. The only annoying discrepancy, IMHO, is the screw in the roof. As mentioned, they sure can pull, however, pick up is on 8 wheels rather than 12 like the P2ks.

I was going to spend some money in rebuilding these units, but P2K E7s are often available from $40 to $55 brand new, so I may wind up selling the Model Power units at a swap meet. For now, I'll hang on to them until my layout is built

[cicada]

Has anybody thought about using a Cary/Bowser E3 as a starting point for an E5? The headlight casing is wrong (E5's had the same style casing as L&N E6's, whereas the rest of the prewar E3-E6 series had casings similar to E2's), but that could be fixed with a file. The biggest problem would be the side windows-- too large and too high on an E3.

The Cary metal seems to be a pewter or similar alloy; it can be cut and soldered, so side panel surgery is possible-- you wouldn't even need to be too careful about the lower side panels, because you would need to overlay them with fluting anyway-- thus, you could probably cut out pieces of the side panels and flip them upside down, swapping sides to lower the windows. This doesn't fix the size issue, though-- that would take even more surgery.

The Cary metal can be polished quite nicely on a buffing wheel, so if you did the surgery very carefully and were good at soldering, the result could polish up nicely. The real challenge is cutting it cleanly-- the metal is tougher than it looks, and you need a good saw blade to make a dent in it-- so you lose a bit to kerf. Might have to use two shells as a starting point.

The advantage of starting with a Cary body rather than a P2K body is that the Cary nose and windshields seem a little more nicely shaped-- there's something too flat about the P2K E3/E6 windshields. The Cary windows are too large, but I've fixed that in the past with solder or Bondo.

I conducted less complex surgery on a Cary E3 to turn it into an E1, and although the metal isn't easy to work with, I did manage to produce a passable model. I'd like to do an E5 this way, but it looks like it could get tricky.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by AntonioFP45

Hi Crew,

I hope you all don't deem this as to selfish, but I'd like to request that you please e-mail LIfe Like at [e-mail] and ask them to consider producing the Proto 2000 E7 passenger locomotive. This was the most popular prototype American passenger diesel of the 20th century.

For HO scalers ask them to produce the version with the "large box" numberboards this time. As the previous version had the small ones.

Thanks for you consideration, guys!

[:)][:D][8D][;)][4:-)][C=:-)][C):-)][swg][tup]

I am always glad to help out with a request like you asked for and I will email them with the request.

You might have to wait a few more years however, because of the recent BLI E7's probably satisfied the HO market need for that engine, but they were with sound installed.

[Anonymous]

QUOTE: Originally posted by AntonioFP45

O.K,

Have any of you guys clicked on the link and provided Life Like with your suggestions?

My email is off and running.

[AntonioFP45]

Thanks, everyone!

Don't forget to e-mail them your suggestions as well!

[RMax1]

I love E units but the problem with Proto2000 is that you have to scramble to get the ones you want or you're just out of luck. If I bought all the ones I want when they first come out I would be broke. $149 a shot is expensive when you want 3 or 4 of them. Then after you add decoders etc. etc. I have bought some off Ebay and a few for under $50 here and there. They are fantastic but I'll agree the way LifeLike markets them and distributes them leaves a lot to be desired.

RMax1