Some have said that Athearn is not supporting N scale. However, today the major suppliers have the Big Boy in stock! This is a beautiful model with DCC and Sound, with excellent reviews. Thank you Athearn for supporting N scale!
Do you have one ??? DAMN !!! I'm a "Diesel guy" locked in the '70s. BN, PC, EJ&E, CRI&P. No Big Boys on those rosters, ya' know ??? I have also managed to squeeze in 7 excursion trains just to have something I want !!! Always LOVED the huge steamers !!! Maybe my PC GG1s could hand off my M/T Red circus train to a Big Boy, that will pass it on to Cab Forward, eventually being delivered by BN F45s !!! Hmmmm... will have to consult the Local Authority (Amanda) !!! Even if it winds up I can't use them, I truly hope they make everyone very happy.
Keeping my fingers crossed for the Challenger I ordered last year. Last I heard delivery was put off until July (or August). Glad your Big Boy met your expectations!
Went to my LHS today and picked up my Big Boys I ordered several months ago ($340 ea.). These'll make my running scheme possible along with several other Athearn Big Boys from previous runs. Got some 3700 Class Challengers coming (according to my LHS and Athearn) in June to be helpers on non-Big Boy powered freights. These will compliment my stable of other Athearn Challengers from previous runs. Fun times for a SUPF! Cheers! Bob Gilmore
According to the Athearn site, the Fan Trip Version of the Challenger I ordered is due out in early May. Although I model the WP, I found a video on You Tube of 3985 in the Feather River Canyon. Good enough for me!
I would agree. An older 4-4-0, 4-6-0 and 2-8-0, around the turn of the century would be nice. Bachmann makes a really nice HO 4-4-0 in Russian Iron that I love. And, I really wish there was a standard gauge version of a Rio Grande C-16. The tender on the Roundhouse/Athearn Consol is too tall for my taste.
We still don't really have a decent 2-8-2 or 4-6-2 either (how about it Bachmann?) but we can over populate our steam era railroads with Big Boys and Cab Forwards.
A KATO 2-8-2 IS NOT DECENT!?!?!?!?!? One of the BEST 2-8-2's out there. PERIOD Our FOREMAN of ENGINES is having a conniption fit over that statement!! There are plenty of good running N-Scale steamers out there. And not just 4-6-6-4's 4-8-8-4's either. Bachmannn makes a few, Walthers also and don't forget Con-Cor.
considering that Kato makes their 2-8-2 so often...I see what you mean...I would love a light 2-8-2 with a Vandy that ran like the B-Mann 2-8-0
The Kato's are awesome. How many years till they release one, that the average guy can drop dcc into?
The Kato Mikados are more than decent but they are also out of production and not likely to be rerun, so I stand by what I said but should have said we do not at this time have a decent mikado or pacific. Since Kato ran the last mikado they have either completely retooled or rerun all of their Japanese steamers (some several times) and produced a couple of brand new ones. So they are still in the steam game but just don't seem interested in US steam anymore, unless it fits in with one of their passenger train releases like the Daylight. Porkypine, I think we've all forgotten Con-Cor and Walthers too because they forgot us first.
You're no fun at all, if you're going to keep us on topic! I don't wanna see pics! I don't have the money to buy one, this time around!
Reply to WPZephyrFan: Yes, how about a 4-6-0 with a small tender, just like the real ones had? The one Bachmann gives us belongs on a long distance, superpower loco, not a humble ten wheeler! The guy who signed off on that HUGE tender ought to be in jail.
