Well... almost everything I have is from overseas... China, Japan, Korea ... thank goodness for US made Micro-trains! Okay... well... lets see... I don't have any foreign prototype locomotives... but... some of the Kato tank cars are actually Japanese designs which look similar to US prototypes. That's about all I have which is a foreign prototype. I would gladly add 3 Krauss-Maffei ML-4000 engines if decorated for D&RGW.
That's kind of cool. Do you have any information about the prototype? Ahhh, but do your "China, Japan, Korea" models have Chinese, Japanese or Korean prototypes? As for those tank cars, I believe Concor imported some Japanese prototype tank cars that looked 'close enough' to North American prototype tank cars.
I have an old Revell Big Boy that I am making up to look like Big One from Galaxy Railways. I want the N scale set, but I have no money for it, so I am saving up.
This thread has been quiet for a few months so I thought I would tell you some news from here in Australia. Our first true RTR N Scale steam locomotive is being proposed at the moment. I have lifted the following from "Railpage" here in Australia about it: "Gopher Models are proud to announce the world's first Ready-To-Run (RTR) NSWGR AD60 in N scale. There is no Australian RTR N scale NSWGR AD60 available. This is an iconic locomotive in Australia and, although there have been many HO scale versions produced in brass and RTR plastic, none have been produced in N scale. In another innovation, crowd-funding using Kickstarter (https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1560185090/1122497060?t...) is being sought to produce this model. If the funding goal is reached, then the production process in China will commence and it is expected that the models will be delivered in 18-24 months after the funding goal is met. This project will produce an exceptionally high-quality, injection moulded RTR model. It will not be a rapid 3D prototype or a 3D printed model. Gopher Models are produced by BadgerBits who have an enviable track record of producing quality Australian N scale locomotives and rolling stock. The Gopher 48 class (Alco DL531 export model) has been an outstanding success and is indicative of the quality that can be expected from the AD60. The AD60 has been in design stage for a long time and is now ready for production; all it requires is YOUR funding to make it happen. The Kickstarter preview link may be found at https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1560185090/1122497060?t... so you can see what the project is like. The project will "go live" to accept pledges from 1st May 2014 and there is only 60 days in which to pledge money for the project. If the funding goal isn't met within the 60 days, the project will NOT go ahead AND nobody will have money debited. If the funding goal is met, then money will be debited and the model will be delivered according to schedule." http://www.railpage.com.au/f-t11377429.htm Note: The images and video on the website of an AD60 are of the manufacturers (BadgerBits) resin kit version, not a RTR prototype. Apparently the kits are no longer available. The poster of the message has also assumed most readers know about the loco! For those of you who live outside Australia the AD60 Class were a "Beyer-Garratt patent articulated four-cylinder, simple, non-condensing, coal-fired superheated, 4-8-4+4-8-4 heavy goods steam locomotives" http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_South_Wales_AD60_class_locomotive I recall vividly waking up in the middle of the night on a car trip from Sydney to Brisbane in the early 1960's to see one of these 260 ton monsters go past at a level crossing. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-1EWpCQP7eE For a then four yr old boy awe inspiring. AD6029 is being restored by a heritage group in Canberra ACT and was steamed for the first time since 1981 in February this year. Another video of 6029 at a recent evening photo opportunity fund raising event https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VL7b3DgLTtw Anyway back to the proposed N Scale model, I have queried about DCC and Sound, It will be DCC Ready and will have a space for a speaker. This was confirmed to me today by the owner of Gopher Models, Mr Phil Badger who I saw at the Brisbane Model Trains Show. If he gets more than the minimum required backers he mentioned that he will be able to start on other projects such as a NSWGR 38 Class loco and other rolling stock projects. So if you are interested in an iconic loco (a few ran in South Africa as well) https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1560185090/n-scale-nswgr-ad60-garratt-locomotive Cheers, Hendo
I picked up some new items but haven't gotten around to photographing them. As for those AD60s, if I understand correctly, they were standard gauge and are essentially two (2) 4-8-4 Northerns on a single boiler. With that much work going into the model, I can understand the price. That video of the two AD60s double heading was amazing, by the way. Andy Tetsu Uma
I might have to put my money down for this. I've always liked Garratts although I think Queensland's narrow gauge maroon ones were nicer looking than the AD60. If any American manufacturer went this way with some Santa fe steam I might put my money where my mouth is too.
Kato Released C57 4-6-2 (4th Generation) with New Mechanism and Tooling It looks like the folks at Kato have created a new mold and reworked the mechanism in their C57 4-6-2 similar to what they did with the D51 2-8-2 and the C62 4-6-4. Coreless motor (that doesn't appear to stick back into the cab), flywheel, and working headlight. No word on if it is DCC friendly or not but I would bet that it is or at least better than the old C57. In Japan, C57s worked passenger trains and were in service until 1974. Here's a couple of pictures I borrowed. (I hope they don't mind.) Now that Kato has this very nice mechanism, I hope they can be persuaded to do some more U.S. steam. (As always, I will not hold my breath.) Andy Tetsu Uma
Andy, that's going to be my next Japanese prototype purchase. Those C57s are really nicely proportioned locos. I should be getting my C11 and three passenger cars in the mail from Hobby Search today. I'll have to post some photos later!
Got her in the mail today: I also picked up three coaches for her to pull: And, finally, to cover all the bases, I found a Shinto shrine kit that I couldn't resist:
Well, I couldn't resist the urge, so I ordered a Kato C57: And a seven car sleeper express "Nichinan" for it: Andy, this is all your fault! lol
My new C57 was waiting for me when I returned from my vacation in Japan. Very nice, lots of fine detail and when you put it beside an old Kato C57 you realise how over scale the old one was. Has space in the tender weight for a sound decoder and speaker like the new D51's. Now if they'd turn their talents towards an American Pacific or redesign the Mikado to this standard.
I've reserved three of the new C11's by Tramway. It will be interersting to see how they compare to the Kato and Micro-Ace versions.
I'd like to see that as well, especially a new Mikado. I won't have a chance to operate my C11 or C57 for a bit as my layout is undergoing construction at the moment. Once I get the track down and some wiring done, that'll be the first thing I do!
International modeling Most of my trains are international, since I model three branch lines from very different locales. That also means I model in three different N scales: 1:148 for Scotland, 1:150 for Taiwan and 1:160 for Canada (which is "foreign" to me, since I'm in the USA). I do this all on the same modules by also having interchangeable structures and scenery. I also have models from other European countries (Sweden, Spain, Switzerland and Russia) and Asian countries (China, Japan, with Indonesia and Malaysia coming soon). At present, probably my most exotic is a 2-6-0 from Thailand that I kitbashed from a Japanese Micro Ace model. Is this, maybe, the only Thai N scale steam model in the world? Anyone know of others? For those who'd like to see some of these models, I'll have the AsiaNRail modular layout at the 2015 NMRA National Convention and Train Show in Portland, Oregon next August, where I'll also be giving a presentation on modeling Asian N scale. If you have the May/June 2010 issue of N-Scale magazine, you can read my article on AsiaNRail to see what our group is doing. It isn't all Shinkansen! Paul Ingraham, Coordinator, AsiaNRail
A friend of mine is a member of an Asian railroading group in the SF Bay Area. Maybe it's the same? He's been at me to join! His name is Patrick and he introduced me to a fellow member named Brad who builds some beautiful Japanese/American NTrak modules.
Hello, John! Yes, indeed! Patrick belongs to the local Bay Area Freemo-N group and has a Japanese-themed module. Brad Myers is a fellow NTRAK modeler with me in Peninsula NTRAK and has both AsiaNRail and NTRAK Japanese modules. All of us and several others will be displaying our Asian N scale models at the 7th Annual Train Days show at the Los Altos History Museum on September 17 and 18, 2016, 10am - 4 pm both days. We will have a combined NTRAK/AsiaNRail layout, made possible by Brad's Hot Springs Japanese module that creates a junction between the two layouts. If you're in the Bay Area then, please stop by and say "Hello!". Better yet; bring an Asian train and come run with us! If you'd like to join us, please contact me directly at <pei@sonic.net>. And, if we're lucky, another friend of ours, Tom Van Horn, may join us for the show. Tom's a WP modeler, a member of the WP Museum in Portola, and a docent at Railtown, the Sierra Railway theme park in Jamestown, California that's part of the California State Railroad Museum. I'm sure he'd like to meet a fellow WP fan s well! - Paul Ingraham, Coordinator, AsiaNRail N scale modular group
I got 2 Kato "juice jacks" that were similar to the electrics that Great Northern had and later Pennsy bought off the GN. They were JNR EF57 box cabs but back in the day they were stand ins. Still, they more closely resembled a NYC electric than the GN or PRR as the latter were a 1+C+C+1 arrangement rather than the 2+C+C+2 of the JNR and NYC electrics.
