Me too !!
Those critters are great. I own a Keystone kit, 44-ton. It runs like a gem. You can see it: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Geob8ivh7U
I've started with the 25-ton:
Wolfgang
Pueblo & Salt Lake RR
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I own the 25 tonner, it makes a nice kit if you have at least moderate kit-building skills, but probably not for a beginning modeler. It is very very very very light, and really needs lead packed into every excess nook and cranny. I suppose that by ripping out the cab detail you could cram in a decoder, but DCC would be one heck of a challenge.
Mine will pull 5-6 cars, but it's so light that often it will just sit and spin its wheels. I'm considering making up a custom weight that can hang under the frame and add some weight. I literally chose a brass horn over a plastic one just to add a little bit of weight to the model! (Note: The photos below were taken before I added the horn.)
One problem with power pickup is that the axles are hard to keep true: normally only three wheels have good contact with the ground, the other is off a little bit, perhaps because the plastic frame is a little bit non-straight.
Here's my model:
Here's the prototype I'm modeling, an industrial loco at the Simsmetal yard in Sacramento, CA:
Dwarfed by a GE 70 tonner!
Not sure if this link will work, but here's a low-res video of my 25 tonner in action:
Can anyone tell I'm kind of fond of these locos?
I purchased one for about 20 dollars retail some time ago. I opened the kit and had second thoughts. It is not your basic kit.
I resold it and will wait for a good boxcab to come down the pike.
It is a nice little kit.
I'm very interested in this little critter. But I resisted to buy this 25ton. I've heard from friends about it: Grandt Line has a nice kit of a GE 25 ton, both models, boxcab and small cabin. I've built the first one and have seen a model built of the other. Nice models, beit that the pulling isn't just that impressive!And another one wrote: They have one small problem - electrical contact. Having only 4 small wheels they tend to stall on the tiniest piece of dirt. A simple cure I found was to keep the track as clean as possible and to run them in pairs. To mount DCC in them the cab is empty - the motor actually fits in the hood. Just like the prototype!
So I decided to build my own, from brass. I have only someone to make the driving unit.
They run well. Electrical pickup is good. Plenty of room for a decoder. Add some weight and they can pull about 5 cars on level. The answer to how hard they are to build depends. It depends how good you are at building moderate level kits. This is definately not a "shake the box" type of kit. There are many parts and many small parts. The instructions are excellent but care must be taken in following the instructions. I built a On3 steam switcher from Grandt line. There were times I felt like taking the kit and either throwing it in the waste basket or against the wall. But I was patient and completed the kit and it was a gem.
Hope this helps,
Steve B.
No personal experience with the boxcabs but Malcolm Furlow used 2 of them in his book about building the San Juan Central. He permanently connected these 2 mainly because he installed a decoder into 1 of them. He says in the article "They are easy to assemble and they operate great", you will need to add weight to them. I have assembled other Grandt Line kits and have found the instructions and the quality to be fine.
MHO
"The true sign of intelligence is not knowledge but imagination."-Albert Einstein
http://gearedsteam.blogspot.com/
Do any of you guys have any experience with Grandt Line Box Cabs or Switchers in HO scale? I am thinking about getting one of these, but would like a little info on them first. How is their electrical pickup? How many cars can they pull? I think they are in kit form, are they hard to build? Thanks,
Jim