Well help me lobby Intermountain,the folks that brought us one of the most elusive & now one of most sought after & popular units avaliable in n scale,the SD series tunnel motors. We can at least try & the more people the better,here is the pre-production release of their HO cab-forward; [q]InterMountain Railway HO AC-12 Cab Forward Soon you will be able to add this signature locomotive to your fleet. Pictured above is our first entry into HO Scale Steam Locomotives, the Southern Pacific AC-12 Cab Forward. We thought we would share a photo of our progress to date. This promises to be one of the best detailed locomotives on the market. As you can see, we are well along with this project and expect it to be available in the Spring of 2006. While many details are now added, you can see there will be many, many more to go. As new parts are completed, we will add them to the model and update the photos. Once all of the pipes, valves and rods are added, the change in appearance will be dramatic. Once completed, our usual attention to painting and lettering will be evident. As for features, there are several: Details Die Cast chassis for excellent weight above the drivers Molded plastic boiler for exceptional detail Finely molded separately applied details Separate wire handrails Electrical Pickup on all drivers Plastic tender with electrical pickup Available with or without sound Non sound versions are DCC Ready Sound versions have two speakers in the tender Sound versions will run on DC or DCC Available in multiple road numbers and paint variations Early in 2006 we will announce prices, stock numbers and the specific paint and number versions for the first run. At that time we will accept reservations and be able to announce the expected delivery dates.[/q] Yes it's HO ,for now & it's all on cad/cam programs,shouldn't too hard to re-scale it to N scale. With enough people emailing Intermountain,who knows what this company can do,they've done it before & maybe with abit of luck they will do it again. intermountain@intermountain-railway.com [ January 31, 2006, 02:29 AM: Message edited by: JASON ]
The cab forward is one of those "mother lodes" that the manufacturers haven't bothered to dig for. You could make an entire company the size of Intermountain on this product alone! Something this big, you could easily put the motor in the tender, and just push the engine along. Besides, the sound unit should be up there, not the drive unit!
I think someone put the tender on the wrong end All silliness aside, question, do the wires between the loco & tender really show that bad? and this is HO? [ January 31, 2006, 03:18 PM: Message edited by: Kozmo ]
Jason: That loco would be a huge success in N scale. However, judging by previous N scale steamers, especially the larger one's, pulling two cars up a grade might be a chore for this loco. Stay cool and run steam.....
If AZL can do a CabForward in Z scale, how come we cant have one in N? (I know its brass but still...). Look what else AZL makes in Z... PCM has announced one in HO. Maybe we should lobby them too. On the other hand, we are still waiting for the Mountain.... Dave [ January 31, 2006, 04:32 PM: Message edited by: SuperSteam ]
Dave: Not only are we waiting for the 4-8-2 from PCM but also their initial release in N scale the E-7. Both have been lost in the wind. The 4-8-2 was supposed to have been released in February 2006. Here it is February of 2006 and not a word from PCM on either loco. Stay cool and run steam.....
Ok, ok, yes, I admit it, as adverse as I am to getting large steam locomotives I _do_ want a cab forward with sound. //Phew, it feels better to get that off of my chest.
E-mailed them about a month ago, but will gladly send them another. This loco is a no-brainer, if you ask me.
Yes I would like one even though they were not seen on the ATSF between Mountainair and Ft. Sumner (or anywhere else in ATSF colors). I also don't think they were seen on the SP between Tucumcari and Carrizozo either. Or if they were it was rare but it would be nice. If nothing else that's what NTrak is for.
I doubt they were ever seen in New England or the PRR empire. Man, I must be getting old! I can pass on these--well, for a little while, at least. Nothing like my Big-Boys passing through downtown Boston!
I hear ya Bob & agree 100%,I made sure to mention that all axels be geared & maybe a traction tyre or two. Still haven't had a reply from my email yet,I still hold hope for a positive out come.......one day. Surprised to see the great responce so far,how many folks have emailed Intermountain yet? Kosmo,this is a pre-production model,not the actual thing. LoL @ Grey-One. Traindork,did you get a reply from Intermountain? I"m not trying to stir up a revolution or anything,the way I see it,it's more of a sqeaky wheel approach (sqeaky wheel gets the attention) & someone sooner or later will have to produce this loco. Keep those replies coming in folks.
Do you think that this cab forward idea may get mixed up with them? www.locopainter.com/NPC21.html http://cgi.ebay.com/HOn3-NORTH-PACIFIC-COAST-21-CAB-FORWARD-4-4-0-PART-SET_W0QQitemZ6033509995QQcategoryZ484QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem
There's room in the tender for an F unit mechanism. Imagine a steamer with two motors, one in the engine to move the wheels, and one in the tender to give it some umph!
There's room in the tender for an F unit mechanism. Imagine a steamer with two motors, one in the engine to move the wheels, and one in the tender to give it some umph! </font>[/QUOTE]I would hope a 4-8-8-4 woudl not need extra umph!, but then there is the LL 2-8-8-2, so point taken.
