UP 4-12-2 ACY So I guess I'm adding another request to manufacturers: Articulated that are hinged like the real ones, and can pull. No need to ask for correct proportions & details. That goes without saying. Impossible--the real ones had a fixed "rear engine" ie rear set of drivers. With "correct proportions & details" these models will require a minimum of 48" HO scale radius to operate--just like most of the brass ones require.
ACY So I guess I'm adding another request to manufacturers: Articulated that are hinged like the real ones, and can pull. No need to ask for correct proportions & details. That goes without saying.
So I guess I'm adding another request to manufacturers: Articulated that are hinged like the real ones, and can pull. No need to ask for correct proportions & details. That goes without saying.
Impossible--the real ones had a fixed "rear engine" ie rear set of drivers. With "correct proportions & details" these models will require a minimum of 48" HO scale radius to operate--just like most of the brass ones require.
Yes, sir, I can understand...but then you've also eliminated so many potential would-be buyers that there likely wouldn't be enough remaining to pay for such an animal--in suitable sales....
Well since were going crazy with non articulated articulated steam locos may I add a sound decoder with only two functions for steamers.
And while were at it how about some HO scale dirt bikes with riders and maybe some 4 wheel ATVs?
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!
tstage Joe, I was speaking of the NYC 4-8-2 L-4a Mohawks. BLI released them in 2009 and they were outfitted with a QSI sound decoder. Tom
Joe,
I was speaking of the NYC 4-8-2 L-4a Mohawks. BLI released them in 2009 and they were outfitted with a QSI sound decoder.
Tom
Oh I'm sorry. I didn't even know they made Mohawks. If you get around to it can you post a picture of it or is a picture of it on your website?
Joe C
UP 4-12-2:
Both of my Key Brass EM-1's can take a 19" radius curve, although they look like @%#*$@# doing it. The Challenger EM-1 can do the same, although she complains about it. I understand the Intermountain SP 4-8-8-2 (which is a 2-8-8-4 that needs a compass) is designed to hinge like the prototype. Can anybody say what kind of radius that engine needs?
Surely ANY articulated (maybe excepting a Triplex or a 2-10-10-2) can handle any curve that can be negotiated be the 4-12-2 after which you're named. However, I will concede that the non-prototypical design may make it easier to distribute the weight for optimal traction. So maybe it's a trade-off: Accurate design or better performance. I like the idea of having an accurate design, then tweaking it to get the best performance practicable.
If Intermountain has commercial success with the 4-8-8-2, maybe they'll consider using that basic mechanism for a good EM-1 or maybe the DM&IR 2-8-8-4 mentioned a short while ago. (Or an NP Z-5 or SP AC-9)
Kinda along the lines of what Nittany said about Amtrak baggage and Viewliners:
I really want (and need) HO Amtrak Horizon cars in IVb. Model availability in proportion to prototype usage is crazy small. Yes, I know Walthers did them already, but they're darn near impossible to find. I would be thrilled if Walthers ran them again; my Missouri River Runner looks odd with a string of Amcans.
On Oct. 29, Bear suggested a Whitcomb 65 tonner & Karl seconded it. Has anybody seen the Conemaugh & Black Lick's bold script lettering on these units? WOW! With that paint scheme, the hobby shops would have a hard time keeping them on the shelves. I'll bet people who don't know (or care) where the C&BL is, would be buying them. And it would open up a market for SW1's, NW2's, and SW7's lettered the same.
ACY Both of my Key Brass EM-1's can take a 19" radius curve, although they look like @%#*$@# doing it. The Challenger EM-1 can do the same, although she complains about it. I understand the Intermountain SP 4-8-8-2 (which is a 2-8-8-4 that needs a compass) is designed to hinge like the prototype. Can anybody say what kind of radius that engine needs? Surely ANY articulated (maybe excepting a Triplex or a 2-10-10-2) can handle any curve that can be negotiated be the 4-12-2 after which you're named.
Surely ANY articulated (maybe excepting a Triplex or a 2-10-10-2) can handle any curve that can be negotiated be the 4-12-2 after which you're named.
Seriously, are we discussing N-gauge or HO here?
I think BLI is advertising 42" minimum radius for their 4-12-2, if it ever gets made--and MTH's version with it's non-prototypical articulated mechanism overhangs severely on 26" radius, but will probably do less (though I don't have less so I don't know what it will be comfortable on).
If you got a Key HO EM-1 around tight curves--well, that must be a miracle--but I would bet consistent operation on curves that tight would only lead to problems...
UP 4-12-2Seriously, are we discussing N-gauge or HO here?
Let's see
1. A good & correct C30-7. Broadway's is ok, and IIRC atlas had an error, but I forgot what. The BLI pulls better than the atlas, but the body details are kind of lacking, and installing an antic-limber is a bit of a pain to the BLI. Preferably Atlas since they have most of the stuff to make a correct BN one. preferably available with or without DCC/sound
2. A good & correct C415. Even though BN only had 2, I like the looks of these. preferably available with or without DCC/sound.
3. Kato to redo their GP35.
4. Great Northern S-1 4-8-4. I know BLI announced them, but I doubt they are doing them anymore
5. GN/NP/SP&S 4-6-6-4. MTH might, but I've heard too many horror stories about their electronics.
Vincent
Wants: 1. high-quality, sound equipped, SD40-2s, C636s, C30-7s, and F-units in BN. As for ones that don't cost an arm and a leg, that's out of the question....
2. An end to the limited-production and other crap that makes models harder to get and more expensive.
I really like the idea of the Whitcomb 65-tonner. 'course, I'd like to see a Whitcomb 44-tonner, too.
What would probably kill these would be that the price on even the smaller switchers is creeping up to or exceeding price of larger power. When a side-rod 45-ton switcher is more expensive than a Geep ($155 MSRP vs. $109 MSRP), there's a big segment of the market that won't go for the smaller locomotive. Even Bachmann's 44-ton switcher is within $5 of their GP7, now.
What I really want for my fleet right now is a heavy ALCo 2-8-0. My road's diesels pretty much have been covered, and I'm up to my knees in Berkshires.
Another one that's been missed is a smaller, lighter Mikado than a USRA version. 'hard to choose a prototype for that one, though.
-Fritz Milhaupt, Publications Editor, Pere Marquette Historical Society, Inc.http://www.pmhistsoc.org
Pennsy Steam in N Scale.
Modeling the Bellefonte Central Railroad
Fan of the PRR
Garden Railway Enthusiast
Check out my Youtube Channel:
http://www.youtube.com/user/PennsyModeler
There was talk a few years ago about geared locomotives in N scale. Did anything ever come of that?
Each time this question comes up, I repeat myself and say that I would really like slightly less expensive small power trucks for building streetcars, MOW equipment, inspection engines, tram engines, and other oddities.
So let's really think out of the proverbial box:
1. Live steam in On30 and O
2. Scale figures that harden on exposure to air. The figure would arrive packed in an air-tight bag, you open it up, pose the figure and after a few hours it hardens so that it can be painted and glued.
3. A smart phone or tablet app that takes the place of the paperwork used during operating sessions. The car cards, waybills, train orders, etc etc etc are generated by a computer operated by the dispatcher and then automatically sent to the operators.
4. Since no manufacturer is ever going to be able to satisfy every modeler for every steam locomotive, would it be practical to sell custom frames, drivers, valve gears, and motors? Suppose I want to a 2-4-0 and my buddy wants an 0-4-4T. We could each order the appropriate frame, wheels, and motor combination and then build the bodies ourselves. How many people would need to take advantage of this service for the price to drop below that of the average brass locomotive?
Any other really exotic ideas?
Kevin
I used to lament the fact that so few available structure kits resemble architecture found in Southern California. We don't see a lot of masonry buildings as they don't do well in earthquake country. Instead, we have a lot of stucco on frame structures. Modeling the 1950's in the Orange County area, I need a lot of single story commercial buildings with storefront windows and stucco walls. The closest kits I found are the recent Walthers Main Street releases but these have brick walls. What to do? I've become a scratch building fiend. I can purchase 4' by 8' sheets of 0.040" styrene for $20 locally and so have been building like crazy. I find that a light circular pattern sanding of the finish sides of the styrene walls with 220 grit sandpaper and stippling the paint finish looks a lot like HO scale sized stucco. I use a vernier caliper with one jaw sharpened to a knife edge to cut out my storefront window frames. The most time consuming portion of building these structures has proven to be the rooftop detailing. Scratch building all those air conditioning and exhaust fan units can get a little tedious but the end result is quite satisfying. No model available? Why not try to scratch build or at least kitbash what you want?
Hornblower
Back a few years ago Micro Machines made some sets that included 4 wheelers, dirt bikes, and snowmobiles that scaled out pretty well to HO. You have to watch these things in places like Wal Mart and pick them up when they're available.
locoi1sa Well since were going crazy with non articulated articulated steam locos may I add a sound decoder with only two functions for steamers. And while were at it how about some HO scale dirt bikes with riders and maybe some 4 wheel ATVs? Pete
Wow. Lots of new ideas while I was away, plus some endorsements of earlier ideas. There's more interest in PRR steam in N scale.
A lot of folks want more vehicles of a lot of different types. Kevin's idea of having poseable figures is really great. As he says, he's thinking out of the box and that's good.
The NP/SP&S/GN 4-6-6-4 seems to be gaining traction (is that a pun?) By the way, 4-6-6-4's tend to have a smaller "front porch" than most other artic's, so they wouldn't look so bad with the non-prototypical hinge arrangement. And as for those minimum radius curves, I agree wholeheartedly that they aren't a good idea, if only because of appearance. My point was that big artic's CAN be designed to operate successfully on tight curves. Most tend to look horrible on anything less than 30" radius in HO, no matter how they're hinged, and they don't really start to look GOOD until you get to 40" or more (cut these figures in half for N; double them for O).
Fmilhaupt, do you have a specific ALCO 2-8-0 in mind? Brooks engines had a distinctive look that was different from the look of other Alcos. Many non-USRA locos had a "look" that was dictated more by the purchaser than the builder. (For example, PRR 2-8-0's with Belpaire boilers were built by Alco and even [gasp!] Lima!). Are you thinking of a big mainline 2-8-0 or a small branch/shortline 2-8-0. If the latter, I'd recommend a light Brooks engine like the Buffalo & Susquehanna engines.
Hard to know how to respond to Hornblower's comments about scratchbuilding stucco structures. I sure don't know what kind of market exists for Southern California architecture. One of the goals of this whole thread is to create a climate where we won't have to do so much scratchbuilding because the needed items are available. But if the products don't become available, we do what we must. Hornblower has recognized that all of his structure needs are not going to be fulfilled by the suppliers, and has developed workable methods of getting what he needs & wants. I hope he is rewarded with some suitable structures, if only because his efforts deserve to be rewarded. However, I grew up in Ohio and the first floor of our house was --- you guessed it --- STUCCO. So it's not just a California thing.
ACY Fmilhaupt, do you have a specific ALCO 2-8-0 in mind? Brooks engines had a distinctive look that was different from the look of other Alcos. Many non-USRA locos had a "look" that was dictated more by the purchaser than the builder. (For example, PRR 2-8-0's with Belpaire boilers were built by Alco and even [gasp!] Lima!). Are you thinking of a big mainline 2-8-0 or a small branch/shortline 2-8-0. If the latter, I'd recommend a light Brooks engine like the Buffalo & Susquehanna engines.
Yes: a Brooks 2-8-0. You've articulated it much more precisely than I did.
For my own selfish purposes, I'm looking for the beefy ones that the Pere Marquette used, but that are somewhat similar in size and proportions to some owned by the NYC, GM&O, Monon, and possibly the EJ&E.
I have a couple more:
An HO plastic Amtrak Cascades Talgo set with "fins". Trying to hack a model of a European set is about as close as we can get now, and those are expensive!
Also, a suitably detailed F40PH Cabbage.
Atlantic and Hibernia ... 4. Since no manufacturer is ever going to be able to satisfy every modeler for every steam locomotive, would it be practical to sell custom frames, drivers, valve gears, and motors? Suppose I want to a 2-4-0 and my buddy wants an 0-4-4T. We could each order the appropriate frame, wheels, and motor combination and then build the bodies ourselves. How many people would need to take advantage of this service for the price to drop below that of the average brass locomotive? ... Kevin
...
Kevin, hate to disappoint, but its been done, and was a failure. You bought a boiler kit, short or long, a mechanism kit that was a 4-6-0 or 2-8-0, and a separate tender kit that allowed for coal or oil. All this was done by "The Locomotive Company" and they had many problems after their initial runs. These locos all would build into late 19th to early 20th century locos. They came with everything needed, molded in Zamac. The mechanisms were all powered by Sagami can motors and idler gearboxes, connected directly to the motor.
These were supposed to be fairly easy to build, but after building 3 locos from the kits, I can say they were anything but. Most of the boiler pieces were warped, and impossible to straigthen up, there were out of round wheels, the rods were made out of some metal that was so brittle that in trying to clean out the holes for the crankpins, the rods would literally shatter. The gearbox was so bad that the gears would not line up properly. To top it off, it was almost impossible to produce a square level frame.
It took me a year to build them, and it wasn't a pleasant experience. Even with my skill set, I would be very reluctant to buy another kit set up like this. I would prefer a single kit like Bowser's old kits.
Carey
Keep it between the Rails
Alabama Central Homepage
Nara member #128
NMRA &SER Life member
CJCRESCENT's right and Kevin's not wrong. The Locomotive Company reportedly had some pretty serious quality control issues. But that doesn't mean the original idea was bad. I'm told Arbour had the same issues, but I've never tried to build kits from either company. Arbour's patterns were acquired by Bowser, but Bowser has stopped producing this type of loco. Over in England, people aren't so afraid of "advanced" kits, and the manufacturers offer quite a broad selection. The British firm DJH offered US locomotives several years ago, but they didn't sell well. They had a USRA light Mike, a USRA light Pacific, and an NYC 4-6-4. I don't know whether their problems were due to limited availability, poor marketing, or something else entirely.
I wonder whether that Pere Marquette heavy 2-8-0 could be built using a Bowser/Penn Line H9s and start by shaving off the Belpaire bulges. Or the old Varney Heavy 2-8-0, possibly using that same Bowser mechanism. The old Bachmann RDG 2-8-0 might work if you did serious surgery on the cab & firebox. I'm not familiar enough with the prototype to be sure. If the drivers need to be smaller (55 = 57"), then replacements can be found. This wouldn't be an easy conversion in any case, so the first idea (Get a manufacturer to do it) would still be best.
Lee Town used to make white metal conversion kits. Maybe that idea could be resurrected, using white metal, resin, and brass or nickel silver etchings or castings.
Send Walthers an email explaining what you want. Or tell their new product center online.
I'm sure they can help you
I realize this is a old thread, but maybe it's time to revive it and keep all the good suggestions going about what gaps need to be filled in Model Roading.
I'm still waiting to see Walthers release an Amfleet Cab car that Amtrak used on the San Diegan from 1987-2002. Even after the Surfliner was introduced in 2000, I still remember seeing a few San Diegans running behind a F59PHI until 03.
So how about it Walthers?
I found a link to suggest products somewhere on Athearn's website a while ago and suggested they reissue first generation Metrolink coaches which are long OOP and sell for a premium on the auction site. Seems like they listened because they are going to re-issue them in the spring and their price is going to be the price they have been selling for, around $50 per car.
would like to see some 4-4-2 Atlantics lots of railroads had these from PRR E4's to southern pacific etc.
Plastic BOX CAR ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES....
Northeast corridor Catenary
A reissue of circus trains cars and sets would be nice to see.
I haven't perused through the entire thread to see all the recommendations. However - just in case Tom (ACY) hasn't suggested it yet - a FM H20-44 switcher in plastic would really make a nice addition to the diesel market:
I'd gladly purchase one in the above lightning stripe scheme...or even ACY yellow.
https://tstage9.wixsite.com/nyc-modeling
Time...It marches on...without ever turning around to see if anyone is even keeping in step.
MheetuPlastic BOX CAR ELECTRIC LOCOMOTIVES....
Hi, Mheetu
I presume you are asking for Box CAB electrics? Typos happen...
Broadway Limited has got you covered (although die-cast and not plastic)
They are also making the GG1 available again although with the Bachmann offering, the MTH and previous BLI's, plus the European 1970s models I'm not sure what the market will bear, there?
Speaking of wants in the electric category, I'd sure like to see some PRR E44s as well.
Rapido has the New Haven EP-5 JET coming!
http://rapidotrains.com/nh-ep-5-jet/
Have you looked at Shapeways for PRR catenary supports? I bought some a while back and I'm very pleased with what I recieved. This is the seller that I bought from:
https://www.shapeways.com/shops/designdyne?li=pb
Regards, Ed
I'm hoping that Atlas would make some early GP38 (7660-7939) and GP40/-2s in Conrail blue, in N.
Is there a way to suggest models to Atlas?
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
How about 72' passengers cars with interiors And lights.
tstage I haven't perused through the entire thread to see all the recommendations. However - just in case Tom (ACY) hasn't suggested it yet - a FM H20-44 switcher in plastic would really make a nice addition to the diesel market: I'd gladly purchase one in the above lightning stripe scheme...or even ACY yellow. Tom
Hi Tom ---
Thanks for giving a boost to one of my favorites. If you'll go back through this thread, I think you'll find my suggestions concerning the H20-44. This was the first 2000 h.p. road switcher. It looked like an overgrown yard engine because it had no short hood and was a bit short in length. It had the same 2000 h.p. prime mover and four traction motors as the more famous Erie Built cab units.
There were two different demo paint schemes, and some of the first ones were used by UP as helpers in Southern California, and later as heavy switchers/transfer engines in a variety of UP locations. IHB used them in transfer service around Chicago, and those units eventually joined several NYC units in service on branches and locals in lots of NYC locations. PRR had the largest group, and used them as branch and local freight engines on the Pittsburgh Division as well as several lines in Ohio and Indiana. AC&Y and P&WV used them as their primary road power. It wasn't unusual to see them in multiple-unit lashups with other H20's or other FM units. N&W inherited some from P&WV, and used them at Lamberts Point. Southwest Portland Cement bought three from UP for heavy switching around Victorville. The three SWPC units are all preserved, one each in California, Illinois, and Texas.
Big Dawg Originals is considering the possibility of releasing an H20-44 body shell to fit Hobbytown's upgrade of their well respected diesel drive. Check Big Dawg's Facebook page and tell them if this is an item you want. They will not proceed with the project unless they receive a sufficient number of committed responses.
Thanks again for supporting the H20-44.
Tom (the other one)
This is the Cabcar I was talking about;
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