From the Trains.com website, this info on new releases in HO announced late last week: News and Products for the week of February 3, 2005 All the new product announcements received by the Model Railroader Product News desk this week. HO scale locomotives Electro-Motive Division F40PH diesel locomotives. Amtrak (phase III paint) and Chicago Regional Transit Authority. Eight-pin Digital Command Control decoder socket, golden-white light-emitting diode headlight, and illuminated number boards. $125 each. May 2005. Ready-to-run. Kato USA Inc. HO scale passenger cars Pullman bi-level commuters cars. Amtrak (four-window cab/coach and four-window coach), Chicago & North Western (four-window cab/coach, four-window coach, and six-window coach), and Chicago Regional Transit Authority (six-window coach). Detailed interior, directional headlights and tail light on cab/coach cars, and modeler-installed beacon for cab/coach cars. $50 to $59 each. June 2005. Ready-to-run. Kato USA Inc. HO scale details and accessories Assorted freight car loads. Coal loads for Johnstown America BethGon Coalporters, two-pack $5.98; coal loads for 34-foot hoppers, two-pack $5.98; scrap load for 50-foot gondolas, $8.98; and pulpwood load for 40-foot bulkhead flatcars, $9.98. Coal loads injection-molded plastic, scrap and pulpwood loads resin castings. Athearn Trains
Yeah, I'd love to see more steam also. Unfortunately, steam models are a bigger can of worms to manufacture successfully. Research must be done into the prototype, as well as market research to determine whether or not that particular model will sell enough units to be profitable. Take the BLI N&W Class A, for example. Although it is an excellent model (I own one myself), the MSRP was up near $500, and was well out of reach of most everyday modelers. However, a very good thing happened for the consumer- more units were made than there was a demand for. Now, they can be purchased for less than half of the MSRP. Unfortunately, this doesn't bode well for the manufacturer, as they have to let a lot of them go for much less than they hoped for in order to make room for new products. This will only hurt us in the long run, as most companies will think twice in the future before they produce another specialty model in enough numbers to make it affordable, and profitable. But, I sure do wish I could see more steam...
It does look like a better version of the F40, though. With all the roadnames offered, quite a few folks should be happy. Haven't heard any new steam from Athearn since the debut of the Challenger.
Yeah, the problem with steam is that apart from some USRA types, they are road-specific, whereas most diesels are generic and can be released in many different road names.
The F40 is very good news indeed! Reading the specs on the Kato site I like the description of lights set up for push-pull ops on the RTA F40 and cab car
The problem isn;t that most steam engines were road specific, its that most modelers now are "I can only take it out of the box and run it" sorts who have not the first idea about how to take one locomotive and bash it into another. I have my endless supply of Mantua Pacifis though...Everywhere, and 10 bucks goes far enough towards one for me!!!! I actually have one in the mail at this very second, one painted in the UP gray/gray Overland Scheme, which will perfectly match my 5 athern Heavyweights in the same scheme. Its either a very custom unit, or its a new one, and that both makes me happy to see where they left off in the development...and it only cost me...something like...38 smackerroos? [ 09. February 2005, 10:59: Message edited by: Benny ]
Yeah, but the fact that steam locos are road-specific (to those who want to stay prototypical), does of course cut down the number of road names which can be produced, unlike diesel models which can have lots of runs
