twhite Have you noticed that here on the forum this past year that there have been increasing queries on the availability of 2-8-8-4's? Missabe, B&O and now the SP AC-9's. Odd that you can't go into a hobby shop these days without tripping over a Big Boy, but a wheel arrangement that was used by far more railroads is pretty much ignored except for brass imports. Maybe we should inundate BLI, Genesis or Spectrum with our 'wish-lists' and see if anyone out there is actually listening! Tom
Have you noticed that here on the forum this past year that there have been increasing queries on the availability of 2-8-8-4's? Missabe, B&O and now the SP AC-9's. Odd that you can't go into a hobby shop these days without tripping over a Big Boy, but a wheel arrangement that was used by far more railroads is pretty much ignored except for brass imports.
Maybe we should inundate BLI, Genesis or Spectrum with our 'wish-lists' and see if anyone out there is actually listening!
Tom
I already have... but if enough of us ask nicely, perhaps they will listen. I'd think right now our best bets would be Spectrum or BLI. I'm afraid that even though MTH has done the EM-1 and DM&IR Yellowstone in O scale, that they would be pretty expensive in HO. I've seen the price tags on some of their most recent releases... OUCH!
dlm
TWhite
Your cat's one handsome boy there!!
Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
igoldberg What are the differences between the AC9 and AC11/12's?. Intermountain is coming out with an N scale AC12.
What are the differences between the AC9 and AC11/12's?. Intermountain is coming out with an N scale AC12.
The AC11/12s were of the unique-to-SP cab-forward design; the only thing that allowed this design was the fact that the SP burned oil which could be pumped to the firebox.
In the mid-1930s SP was in need of an articulated locomotive for the line between El Paso and Tucumcari; because this particular line had access to coal deposits they opted for a convenional 2-8-8-4 design and hence was born the AC9.
There are a couple of locomotives that would tempt me into the transition era one of those being the AC9; with Intermountain designing a loke with 64" drivers I am hopeful that a Yellowstone is under consideration for a future N-Scale offering.
From the far, far reaches of the wild, wild west I am: rtpoteet
The AC9 was a conventional articulated 2-8-8-4 not a Cab Forward 4-8-8-2. They were built by LIMA and did not share any details with the Cab Forwards. The only thing they had in common with the Cab Forwards was the numbers and lettering.
Even easier is to google Southern Pacific Articulated Steam Locomotives, it will take you to a site with an enormous number of photos of the 3800's. A really handsome loco, both in its original incarnation as a coal-burner in New Mexico, and later as an oil-burner on the SP Modoc Line.
I agree, they're an incredibly handsome locomotive. They should be more readily available to the modeler.
For excellent views of SP's smokebox forward 2-8-8-4, go to steamlocomotive.com and click wheel arrangements/then articulateds/then 2884 Yellowstones/then scroll down to highlighted Southern Pacific and click/then scroll down to PHOTOS and click 3800/then retun to PHOTOS and scroll down to SP steam roster photos and click/ scroll down to articulateds and click/then scroll to AC-9 and click 3800-3811/ then click3802 Good left and right forward quarter views of the best looking Yellowstones made. 3800 photo is from New Mexico in 1940. 3802 photo is self explanatory. Drooling is okay but keep a spare shirt handy. Manufacturers could use this as their next prototype and sell well I think.
BlackPatch10
For the love of black smoke!! Get yourself a carbon footprint and make your own tracks upon this land!