Can we discuss some items that are not available, but should be? My own interest is the transition era in HO scale, but it would be worthwhile to hear from those in other scales or eras. Some of my suggestions are available as resin kits, and some have been available in brass. In general, they are hard to find if they've ever been available at all. Here's my list:
Fairbanks Morse H20-44 road switcher, used by UP, PRR, NYC, AC&Y, P&WV, IHB, Southwest Portland Cement, and possibly others.
Lima Hamilton diesel switcher, used by B&O, Erie, NKP, WAB, NYC subsidiaries, TRRA?, Cincinnati Un. Term., Armco, and possibly others.
USRA triple hopper, used in very large numbers by NYC and C&O and maybe others.
A pin-connected through truss bridge. Maybe this could be a retrofit kit for Central Valley's Pratt bridge, although I'm not certain whether this would work.
Anybody have anything else to add?
HO Plastic SDP40F and P30CH
I think the N&W 4-8-0 Huckleberry would be a block buster.
I also think we need more variety in the 2-8-0 locos. The Bachmann Consolidation is a fine model but it's based, from what I heard, from ICG. We need 2-8-0s to cover some of the other road names.
Finally I think we need another company like Magnuson to produce resin cast brick buildings.
ACYUSRA triple hopper, used in very large numbers by NYC and C&O and maybe others.
I wouldn't mind having a cut of 4-5 of them to be running empty back to home road.
I'd like to see the smaller HO 20th century steamers in UP decoration with DCC and sound, such as 0-6-0, 0-8-0, 2-6-2, 2-8-0 such as Bachmann (preferably Spectrum), Proto2000, Geneis, BLI, etc. I just started last year, so may have missed some prior releases of these. Not very interested in DCC w/o sound.
I'm covered with a BLI Mountain and Mikado, a Bachmann (not Spectrum) 2-6-0, Genesis Challenger & Big Boy, plus upcoming (early 2014 at this point) Genesis 4-8-4, so my preferences above would fill some key voids.
My second priorities would be UP diesels (DCC/sound) in F7, RS-2, etc). I have a DCC only Kato RS-2 (added a decoder but don't have the skills to squeeze in a speaker) and think I missed some Intermountain F72, not sure if offerred in DCC/sound.
Paul
Modeling HO with a transition era UP bent
My list is ever changing, but always growing!
Being a passenger nut I'm always on the lookout for certain types of passenger cars. One area that seems to be lacking would be what some railroads refered to as "betterment" cars. Heavyweights that have been rebuilt or modernized. LOTS of post-war railroads, especially those on a budget, rebuilt heavyweights—especially non-revenue cars like diners, RPOs and lounges—adding A-C, modern windows and sometimes smooth sides.
Here's an example of what I'm talking about:
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/bo/bo-ob3202abr.jpg
Or this PRR sleeper that had the sections removed and replaced with modern Roomettes...
Anyone modeling passenger operations on the B&O, Pennsy, Erie, Lackawanna, UP, SP and a bunch of others would want some of these "betterment" cars.
Walthers came close with their paired window coach like this: http://www.walthers.com/exec/productinfo/932-10120
As long as I'm on a roll I'd like to see a few more bedroom-lounge cars both Pullman and Budd. In pre-Amtrak days, lots of these cars replaced diners and sometimes represented the entire "first-class" portion of the train!
One final car, and I started a thread on this some time ago, would be U.S. No.1 the Ferdinand Magellan! This was done in brass by Overland about ten tears ago and the few that come up often sell quickly at over $1200.00! This car was used by FDR, Truman, maybe once or twice by Eisenhower and even Reagan. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ferdinand_Magellan_Railcar
It sits in the Gold Coast Railroad Museum so there wouldn't be any problems getting data.
Thanks for letting me ramble, I could fill another page with freight cars and locomotives as well but I'll give it a rest for now!
Ed
sodium chlorate car
Dave
Just be glad you don't have to press "2" for English.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zQ_ALEdDUB8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6hqFS1GZL4s
http://s73.photobucket.com/user/steemtrayn/media/MovingcoalontheDCM.mp4.html?sort=3&o=27
GREAT!
I was hoping to stir up some discussion & it seems to have worked.
TexasZephyr, I was aware of the Westerfield kits, but not sure if they're available. I'm planning on building a couple that I already have, but a mass-produced model would allow me to expand the fleet further. Yes, they weren't used by a lot of roads, but there were a lot of them and they were interchanged to a lot of roads, especially in the East. And it's true that the USRA didn't build any; but that's where the design originated.
Russq4b, I agree that an N&W Mollie 4-8-0 would be wonderful to have. As for the 2-8-0, I'd suggest drivers in the 55-57" range. Other than brass, I think every 2-8-0 produced in HO has had 50-52" or 62-64" drivers. Actually, Bachmann's 2-8-0 isn't just an IC engine. It's a pretty much standard Harriman 2-8-0. Give it the drivers I suggested, replace the sandbox and tender, take off the Baker valve gear, put on a new cylinder block and VOILA you've got a very presentable UP or SP 2-8-0. That may sound like a lot of changes, but it's not really that much of a big deal when you remember that BLI produced 2 versions of 2-10-4 to represent PRR and C&O. The UP 2-8-0 should also please Peahrens.
Keep the ideas coming. Maybe there's a manufacturer out there listening.
...and, Peahrens,
UP used USRA 0-6-0's as available from Walthers. And if you look around at swap meets or eBay, you might find a Roundhouse 0-6-0, which could represent a fairly early Harriman 0-6-0.
We also need vehicles for the 70 through today.
A Lima yard switcher would be nice as well.
Modern railroaders with safety vest and some with a RCO belt pack.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Hi,
I would love to get ahold of some smaller ATSF specific steamers, and an Illinois Central Mountain with the big ugly sand box on top.
Car wise, I'd like Walthers to put out a streamline Illinois Central RPO and tail end car.
While there are a ton of mid 20th century structure kits out there, I do believe there is room for more.
ENJOY !
Mobilman44
Living in southeast Texas, formerly modeling the "postwar" Santa Fe and Illinois Central
How about some big, old, long and ugly freight houses like this one, so I don't have to scratch build them myself?
Rich
Alton Junction
ACY Russq4b, I agree that an N&W Mollie 4-8-0 would be wonderful to have. As for the 2-8-0, I'd suggest drivers in the 55-57" range. Other than brass, I think every 2-8-0 produced in HO has had 50-52" or 62-64" drivers. Actually, Bachmann's 2-8-0 isn't just an IC engine. It's a pretty much standard Harriman 2-8-0. Give it the drivers I suggested, replace the sandbox and tender, take off the Baker valve gear, put on a new cylinder block and VOILA you've got a very presentable UP or SP 2-8-0. That may sound like a lot of changes, but it's not really that much of a big deal when you remember that BLI produced 2 versions of 2-10-4 to represent PRR and C&O. The UP 2-8-0 should also please Peahrens.
I am a B&O guy, so I would like a 2-8-0 that's close to what the B&O had. In general I think there would be a good market for 2-8-0s because I see a lot of people base their layouts on branch lines.
How about some big center cab Lima or Baldwin transfer units? More pre war RPO HW cars that are affordable like Walthers did with the B60b and the R50b? Maybe an end door scenery car and horse car to go with them too.
BLI has answered the prayer of most of us SPF with the soon to be released H10 2-8-0. I can foresee the next release with a lines east tender to firmly establish it as a great model to all of us PRR modelers.
Larry.
Didn't Eddystone locomotive works come out with a Lima switcher in plastic?
Pete
I pray every day I break even, Cause I can really use the money!
I started with nothing and still have most of it left!
I'd love to see a NYC 2-8-2 H-10a/10b in plastic sometime. They are available in brass but pretty road specific so I don't expect to see one.
FYI: True Line Trains will be releasing some low-cupola cabooses available in NYC, P&LE, P, McK&Y, and Rutland schemes sometime next year.
Tom
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
About 30 years ago or more Custom Brass had released a Reading K1sb (2-10-2) and I had always hoped that someone other than a brass maker would produce them. BLI has the Reading T-1, though unaffordable...they still make it. K1...yeah that would work for me.
Mark H.
Modeling in HO...Reading and Conrail together in an alternate history.
SD90MacH II with prototype sound.
Rail Whales
68' DODX 140 ton flat(I've scratch built one)
Richard
One thing that's hard to find are combination cars, cars that are say 1/4 baggage with the rest being seats. In Heavyweight cars, Bachmann makes one that's about 50-50, and the old AHM/Rivarossi cars were about 1/4 seats, 3/4 baggage. In lightweight, I don't know if anyone makes them?? They were quite common on top-of-the-line trains like NYC's Twentieth Century Limited, or C&NW's 400, but they're pretty rare in HO.
A Pennsy F22 flat car so I can ship my 16" Naval Gun Barrels (made by Laserkits)
AMB Laserkit Photo
I know Funaro & Camerlengo has resin kits, of which I have two, but me and the stake pockets and the acc are NOT having much fun trying to get those tiny stake pockets to stick! Brass F22s are occasionally found at about $175 a copy (currently, one at brasstrains.com!)
How about it Bowser? Please???
Pretty good.
Looks like there's a lot of interest in heavyweight head-end cars, and several votes for the Lima switcher. Yes, the Lima was available as a limited-run resin refit kit to go on the (Bowser, I think) mechanism, and they were available in brass a couple centuries ago. The Scenery car and the Horse car are available as kits from Bethlehem, I think. By the way, they were used by more roads than just the PRR. Without looking it up, I think NYC, SP, & maybe B&O.
The forthcoming PRR H10s could be offered with a different tender, as Locoi1sa suggested. Also, the only consistent spotting feature that distinguishes an H9s from an H10s is the "snifter" valve on the steam chest. Shouldn't be too hard to come up with an H9s variation in a future run.
Tstage mentioned the NYC H-10 Mike. A nice suggestion. Then there's the NYC H-5 Mike which boasted a roster of about 600 engines for the NYC and subsidiaries, plus the NKP's copies. Some of the NYC engines were sold to the AB&C (later part of the ACL), and at least one went to the HPT&D. So several road names could be offered. I'd buy either one --- H-5 or 10 --- for use at my NYC interchange, and maybe an extra H-5 for my NKP interchange.
Crhostler, the RDG K-1 has always been my favorite RDG loco. I don't model the road, but might buy one just because I like the big brute.
Still hoping someone will second my suggestion re. the F-M H20-44. Walthers had the PRR plan 4129 10 & 6 briefly, but just try to find one today. It'd be nice if they'd re-release that. And how about the STANDARD PRR flat end obs. and lounge cars that were used on several trains. The ones Walthers released were unique to the Broadway.
How about suggestions for other scales & gauges?
ACYThe Scenery car and the Horse car are available as kits from Bethlehem, I think. By the way, they were used by more roads than just the PRR. Without looking it up, I think NYC, SP, & maybe B&O.
ACY.
The New Haven also had some horse cars later converted to baggage cars. My former club was housed in a 1905 Bradley and sons former horse car.
Ed.
I concur about the stake pockets on the F22. I used a thick ACC that stayed workable for about ten minutes but thick enough to hold the parts on their own. I did mine like an assembly line with all the parts prepped and ready to instal. Paint, decals, trucks and couplers are left to do. Then I can start on the gun tube.
I'll second the call for a Fairbanks-Morse H-20-44. The NYC, IHB and Pittsburgh & West Virginia had them. With regards to 2-8-0 Consolidations, I've always liked the looks of the big 90-series ones that the Lehigh & Hudson had. Bachman used to make a model of a big Reading 2-8-0 but it had a cheap pancake motor and didn't run well. While I'm dreaming, how about a big 4-8-2 such as those owned by the B&m and L&HR? Or a Lackawanna or Lehigh Valley 4-8-4?
I'd like to see BLI do a 2nd run of the 4-8-2 Mohawks; this time with the Paragon2 decoders. I would love to double-head two of them on a friend's huge layout.
I'd like to see Atlas produce flex track.
I know that some manufacturers have produced these, even of late, but I wouldn't mind seeing more GP38's and, although not in my era, the SD70. More road names in each too. I may be displaying my ignorance, so please ignore if I'M wrong.
OK, I do UP and CB&Q so my list is biased towrds the West (and HO scale);
1) ACF/Rogers 34-foot 50-ton ballast cars. Used in the thousands on UP alone, but only done in brass years ago bt Challenger Imports. These cars were used by CNW, CB&Q, UP, GB&W and others? These aren't like other hoppers. Badly needed, never done in resin or plastic!
2) UP "Harriman" passenger cars in plastic. "Proper" models, not just rehash of the old MDC moldings.
3) UP O-50-1 tank cars. Not unlike what the Athearn car SHOULD be, but the UP cars had big 69" domes.
4) a reasonably priced UP "common standard" 2-8-2
5) a UP SD70M with flaired radiators in HO
I'll stop here and let everyone digest :-)
I would love to see the Conrail Executive Train passenger cars modeled accurately....The Proto2000 locos are fine, just need the cars now....
I'd like to see a K4 pacific in N Scale. Our only options are the old Mintrix models or poorly-running brass. In fact Pennsy steam of any kind would be welcomed. Its so plentiful in HO but there's a total dearth in N.
Modeling the Pennsylvania Railroad in N Scale.
www.prr-nscale.blogspot.com
GP-9_Man11786In fact Pennsy steam of any kind would be welcomed. Its so plentiful in HO but there's a total dearth in N.
I would imagine that's probably true for just about any N-scale road name.