Odie Speaking of collectors models...the current owner of BLI's GG1 molds needs to get moving on doing another run of them. I have not seen a single BLI GG1 for sale at any train show this year!
Speaking of collectors models...the current owner of BLI's GG1 molds needs to get moving on doing another run of them. I have not seen a single BLI GG1 for sale at any train show this year!
There's one currently on ebay.
John
I can remember when Trainworld had the sound BLI GG-1 on sae for $125.00. I got 2 of them. Now on Ebay they are going used for around $250.00. It is time for another run. Bli has realy slowed up production and the supply chain.
Bob
People, collectors will buy them just to "have". SOme will think they will "be worth something someday". As long as people will buy and collect such things, they will be made.
They will sell, and sell out most likely, putting money into the pockets of the manufacturer, which the manufacturer will like.
What will be more annoying will be the ones who have the 18" or even 22" curves who will post posts of "why doesn't my DD run on my layout?", OR "How do I get my DD to run on my 18" curves?" OR "will a DD run on my 18" curves?".
Big locos are something many will oooh and aahh over, nothing more.
And I don't think, at least in the case of the real "Big Boy" on dispay at Steamtown, that they are really that impressive in person. I am more inpressed by a heavy Mountain or Berk than the Big Boy.
Maybe the manufacturers will make enough of these "collectors editions" to amass enough money for new tooling to make the real work horses people want for their model RRs. That would be real nice. But I doubt it.
Who knows?
-G .
Just my thoughts, ideas, opinions and experiences. Others may vary.
HO and N Scale.
After long and careful thought, they have convinced me. I have come to the conclusion that they are right. The aliens did it.
Indeed, Larry, we had monster locomotive models available back in the day, too. But the difference was that back then you also had a host of small "modern" steam engines from Mantua, John English, Penn Line, MDC and others, along with a broad selection of small current diesels, to choose from at the same time and with their availability extending over many years. THAT is what makes the situation today decidedly different, particular with regard to steam.
CNJ831
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John,I agree there is a shortage of short wheel base steamers..
With today's limited production lunacy I am thankful we can still find cars or locomotives in stock.
Larry
Conductor.
Summerset Ry.
"Stay Alert, Don't get hurt Safety First!"
Hergy Must offer this disclaimer: I am a certified UP nut. What else could I be living in the city where UP headquarters is located?
Must offer this disclaimer: I am a certified UP nut. What else could I be living in the city where UP headquarters is located?
Actually of the dozen or so modelers I know in the Omaha area, I can't think of one who models UP as the primary road.
Dave H. Painted side goes up. My website : wnbranch.com
wjstix Technically wouldn't this be a "reissue"?? Seems to me Athearn made these for many years, though I'm sure the new one will be much improved.
Technically wouldn't this be a "reissue"?? Seems to me Athearn made these for many years, though I'm sure the new one will be much improved.
Athearn made a DD35 and called it a DD40 because they were producing the model before the actual production run of the prototype engines.
Another issue is that I percieve is that because model manufacturers abandoned pre-depression era modeling decades ago, they don't have the knowledge base to understand the nuances of older motive power and rolling stock. There is little appreciation for the variety and detail of the era.
So while today's diesels and modern steamers might be offered in a half dozen detail variations, the few (if any) older era models are marketed in the 1970's paradigm of one size fits all.
Building a 4-4-0 with the capability of swapping cabs (steel/wood), headlights (oil/arc/electric) and domes, would allow literally dozens of variations to be made. But since very few manufacturers understand the era, they don't know or care to accomodate the options.
Case in point. IHC produced a 2-6-0 and a 4-4-0 that shared the same boiler. They then produced a camelback boiler for the 2-6-0 mechanism, but never marketed it on the 4-4-0 mechanism, even though the parts were interchangeable. How many camelback 2-6-0's were produced? Maybe 100 nationwide. How many 4-4-0 camelbacks were produced? Probably in the thousands. Opportunity lost.
Bachmann has made some baby steps in the area with different cabs and a different tender (but they don't offer the 4-6-0 high drivers with the older tender) and sharing a boiler between the 4-6-0 and 4-4-0. Just thinking a bit further outside the stam box and more inside the deisel box and they can have more options.
Well, I don't see how the manufacturers can win. This post is criticizing the lack of small steam. Another post on here wants a B&O EM1 produced! Different strokes for different folks!
The best solution that I can see is to start my own company and produce smaller steam engines. But if they aren't models of everyone's desired prototypes, do not have a sufficient amount of detail, aren't cheap, etc., etc., then I still won't satisfy anyone, i.e. Bowser, MDC, Mantua, and many others.
Keith Baker
dehusman Hergy: Must offer this disclaimer: I am a certified UP nut. What else could I be living in the city where UP headquarters is located? Actually of the dozen or so modelers I know in the Omaha area, I can't think of one who models UP as the primary road.
Hergy: Must offer this disclaimer: I am a certified UP nut. What else could I be living in the city where UP headquarters is located?
We have UP modelers in Ohio and I know one that's chomping at the bits waiting on this engine...Go figure..
Well, it would appear that the DD40X is more than vapor. Check this out:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/48288130@N02/5440509901/in/photostream/
Further rumors say it will have dual motors, be in the Genisis line rather than the RTR. If this is true, sound would also be an option? And, oh yeah, supposedly by year end which probably means early 2012.
I guess I'll comment on here too, since most everyone has. I agree that I'd like to see more of the normal, everyday stuff available. Used to be you could pretty much count on finding a GP7 (or whatever you desire as the correct name) on the shelf. Wasn't perfect, and you may have to paint an undec version, but at least it was available. Now you have to wait years between releases and if you're lucky you might get one.
But I do want to discuss the large vs small layout size. What was left out of the discussion about basement fillers, is well over half the country doesn't have a basement. So while basement empires may be common in a mid Atlantic region, in many parts of the country the only option is the spare room. I realize this goes against the grain of the model railroad press (with a couple of exceptions recently) as well as the many others, but I think is in fact a contributer to the decline in new model railroaders. It is protrayed as a hobby that requires significant amounts of room, and big bucks to be in.
But I do want to discuss the large vs small layout size. What was left out of the discussion about basement fillers, is well over half the country doesn't have a basement. So while basement empires may be common in a mid Atlantic region, in many parts of the country the only option is the spare room.
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Actually the Eastern ,Middle States,and mid South states have basements.Going deeper South and Farther West then basements are almost none existent...We need to realize just because a modeler has a basement means he has a Godzilla size layout filling his basement...He may share that basement with other members of the family or he may have a pool table,family room or his wife has a laundry room there.
Again we can not overlook the numerous clubs in these areas that has wide sweeping curves that can easily handle these larger locomotives..
BRAKIE He may share that basement with other members of the family or he may have a pool table,family room or his wife has a laundry room there.
He may share that basement with other members of the family or he may have a pool table,family room or his wife has a laundry room there.
I call Y6B in the corner pocket....
I like the idea of manufacturers running more surveys. In this digital age the cost isn't much, but they do get skewed by the guys who love to answer surveys and don't buy locomotives ;-)
Another point in the "big versus little" controversy. We are in an age where fewer and fewer modelers do steam AT ALL. We DO have a model culture that has finally caught onto the "one size does not fit all" concept. Back in the day of the Mantuas, Penn-Lines, etc the steamers were mediocre on detail at best, requiring time consuming detailing and the mechanisms were often finicky. Talk about shelf models! I remember working and working trying to get some steamers to run right, while the DIESELS did all the running on the layout because they worked. The old steamers were at best only approximations of one railroad's power. If one modeled the CB&Q you were totally out of the picture for steam, except for a USRA light 2-8-2. None of the Mantuas, et al looked even close to a lot of the steam power that guys want to model. Now we may have "monster" engines but they sure look correct, on the shelf or on the layout. The "good old days" weren't always that good and the current crop of models is usually worth the money.
A few more thoughts on the "layout size issue".
I made it clear in my previous posts, my experiance is restricted to the Mid Atlantic, I've never personally visited the home layout of anyone outside this area, and have only visited one or two clubs outside this area, but there sure seems to have been one a month in Model Railroader ever since I started buying it in 1967. Now admittly many of those folks and their layouts are long gone, but 40 years x 12 months = 580, mostly "larger" layouts x RMC = 1160.
For every person I personally know or have met who's "basement empire" as been in RMC or MR, I know at least 10 more who have not had their layouts published (although based on quality, many of them should be). So even if we just extrapolate the last 10 years - 10 years x 12 months x 2 magazines x 10 not yet published = 2400, lets call them medium to large layouts starting at lets say 500 sq ft, with an average of 800-1000 sq ft.
Now to another point about "larger layouts". Just because a layout fills a larger space, it is not necessarily more complex. Many larger layouts simply have more "open running", that is more distance between "towns", longer mainline runs, longer passing sidings, longer yards, etc. I have seen more than few "basement empires" with no more turnouts or complexity than many 12' x 20' spaghetti bowl layouts. Since turnouts and their controls are often a major cost factor, many large, but relatively simple layouts likely have a much lower cost per sq ft than many small to medium sized layouts.
And in my work as a residential designer, I have actually designed a 900 sq ft layout, and the custom outbuilding to house it, for a client.
I met several new modelers last night at our weekly round robin. One told an interesting story about how his neighbor of 10 years across the street has had a "basement empire" all this time - he never knew. Neither knew the other was into trains. I think there are lots of them "hiding" out there.
Sheldon
ATLANTIC CENTRAL I met several new modelers last night at our weekly round robin. One told an interesting story about how his neighbor of 10 years across the street has had a "basement empire" all this time - he never knew. Neither knew the other was into trains. I think there are lots of them "hiding" out there. Sheldon
Unfortunately, I think that speaks volumes about the hobby and people's perception of it.
binder001 I like the idea of manufacturers running more surveys. In this digital age the cost isn't much, but they do get skewed by the guys who love to answer surveys and don't buy locomotives ;-) Another point in the "big versus little" controversy. We are in an age where fewer and fewer modelers do steam AT ALL. We DO have a model culture that has finally caught onto the "one size does not fit all" concept. Back in the day of the Mantuas, Penn-Lines, etc the steamers were mediocre on detail at best, requiring time consuming detailing and the mechanisms were often finicky. Talk about shelf models! I remember working and working trying to get some steamers to run right, while the DIESELS did all the running on the layout because they worked. The old steamers were at best only approximations of one railroad's power. If one modeled the CB&Q you were totally out of the picture for steam, except for a USRA light 2-8-2. None of the Mantuas, et al looked even close to a lot of the steam power that guys want to model. Now we may have "monster" engines but they sure look correct, on the shelf or on the layout. The "good old days" weren't always that good and the current crop of models is usually worth the money.
Don't rule out the brass steamers they actually perform better then the average diesel..In fact as far as diesels Athearn diesel locomotives was a sure bet for superior performance.The other like brands had 4 wheel inferior drives..The Hobbytown diesel was a sure bet as well but,care had to be taken in the assembly of the drive...Brass diesels would run but,howl,whine and grind their way down the track..