I have no doubt many here recently received an Email ad with a similar heading. It involves a VERY cool steamer used to pull a very famous train several years back. I do have the complete train and one steamer that was used to pull it. The newly offered steamer is to be made by a VERY reputable manufacturer. The dealer is also very reputable. I have, and will continue to purchase many items from said dealer. Some very cool stuff that others just won't do !!! I think it's very sad that I and many others cannot get the new steamer. 1) It's to be released in DCC only. I WILL NOT change from DC and convert 300+ locomotives just to have this one. 2) A $100 deposit is required, just in case it is made next year. 3) Price is expected to well over $400. Even if it does operate in DC, paying hundreds for stuff I can't use. Someone somewhere is VERY wrong, and I don't think it's me... this time !!!
I agree...locomotives should be made DC/DCC ready along with a DCC model. And I also agree that having to pay for DCC options DC users cant use isnt right.
While I believe that there is a market for locomotives to come with DCC already installed, ALL locomotives should be available either DC or with DCC installed (actually in a perfect world, installing DCC should be so easy - like some of the locomotives we already have, that it doesn't need to come factory installed). Let US choose which decoder we want to install...sound or no sound. The only reason I can truly think of for a locomotive to be offered with it already installed is to increase the price (I'm talking about you, Bachmann) by coming with a...less than optimal decoder. While I have no idea what locomotive the poster is talking about, $400 is a crazy price to pay for ANY locomotive (I have to assume that it is factory sound and not just a decoder). Don't care if it would be my dream locomotive, I'm not going to pay that kind of money ever again (Intermountain, looking at you and your cab forward here...only bought one and was terribly disappointed in how it ran and its the only engine that I ever bought that ran too slow). We tell the manufacturers what we want by what we buy. I'm not willing to pay $400 for any locomotive.
You don't have to convert it but it may not run on DC. Both of my DCC HOs will not run on DC. Even though Bachmann says they can.
Do you have analog conversion turned off on them? What kind of DC power supply do you have? Does it happen to be PWM (PWM tends to confuse DCC decoders)? All of my DCC locos including Bachmann, run on DC.
If they are not offering DC-only versions, then I'll bet the decoder will run on DC pretty well. Capitalism systemically determines and rewards what is "right" and punishes what is "not right", all by itself. The best thing about it is you get to vote with your $ on what you think is right. And so do the manufacturers, and all the other potential customers.
The steamer you are looking at is not a special run and is available for preorder from other retailers. Specs say it has a dual mode(dc/dcc) decoder. All the locos offered by the manufacturer are rather pricey.
For those of us (still) in the dark, can you at least tell us a manufacturer and model? Sure, I could probably waste fifteen minutes on an internet treasure hunt, but the fifteen seconds I spent to type this is all I wish to "invest."
I believe the locomotive being referred to is the Reading T-1 #1 which was used to pull the American Freedom Train on the east coast. It is available for pre-order from many dealers.
Interesting choice of a unique prototype to produce, with only 30 built by the Reading in their own shops.
Isn't it? Seems to be the rule these days. What? You're going to complain our USRA design uses a Pyle headlight? Fine. Make something you can use out of this, ya ingrates! Well, it's hard to pick a prototype steamer with more paint scheme options. Looks like 2101 wore half a dozen paint jobs in 1976 alone.
I'm gonna order one https://www.broadway-limited.com/7407ReadingT14-8-41976AmericanFreedomTrain1Paragon4Sound/DC/DC.aspx