I made several inquiries as to how soon these cabooses will be available and got a reply yesterday. I know these folks are busy and have to deal with the inevitible delays in working out production details.
http://www.springmillsdepot.com/i-5main.htm
I thought I'd pass along the reply I got from Bill Carl:
We will be producing the B&O I-1, I-1a, I-2, and I-3 at the same time as the I-5s. Otherwise they probably would never get their own tooling. We do believe the delay will be good for everybody who is a B&O, Alton, GM&O, BOCT, SIRT, and Buffalo Creek & Gauley caboose fan.
We will air freight from our factory the I-5s, I-1s, I-2s, and I-3s first. We will QC the I-5s and get all I-5 orders shipped first. We will get the N-34s shipped behind the I-5s, get the N-34s QC'd and get all N-34 orders shipped second. Then we will already have the I-1/2/3s in hand from the I-5 shipment, QC them, and then get them shipped ASAP.
All customers who preordered the I-5s or N-34s will receive this email shortly. We have just fallen behind with the holidays, our day jobs, family commitments, and year-end inventory/duties with SMD. Plus we have two major shows coming up that are back to back and the Chinese New Year behind them. We hope to announce two new cars this spring. To say we've been busy is an understatement. However, we fully expect to pull it all together and get some more high quality models to market in 2015.
We are offering a full refund to anyone who has placed a reservation with us on the I-5s and N-34s. Of course, they will lose their reservation. They just have to tell us so.
Bill Carl Spring Mills Depot
Stay Tuned, Ed