I'm going to get one to go with my Challenger. Now, if I can just convince Athearn to produce an N scale DDA40X, I'll be so very happy!
Plus it would only have a drawbar pull of somewhere in the 6-8 oz range...not even sure you can budge a streamliner car or coal car with that kind of pulling power. Kato obviously gave in to the Environmental Crowd to make the FEF electrically powered and "clean and green" vs historically accurate with coal or oil fired. I can't believe they will sell a single unit to a Class 1 or Class 2 railroad with specs like that.
Wow, I know that sometime my opinion is with the minority, but this is probably the first time that absolutely everyone but me feels differently, LOL. But seriously, we'll find out soon enough. I personally think there is a much larger market for a model that is correct for when this beauty was in "real" service. It also affords the opportunity for multiple road numbers, which a correct modern day engine would not. I'm curious if a poll could be added to this thread to gage the opinion of the TrainBoard collective (i.e. do we prefer a 40s - 50s era model or a model correct for today's 844).
Whatever version is produced I'd say it will be easier to modify into whatever UP version you want rather than trying to make some other loco into an FEF.
Perhaps I missed something, but I don't see anyone saying Kato has it wrong; I see a lot of useful and well thought out information about the different versions of the locomotive over its lifespan. Is that wrong? I don't think so, at least for those of us who care about such things. I think we are all excited to see this model coming.... Regards, Otto K
Where did THAT come from? Nobody knows what Kato is going to do except produce a modern 844 (how accurately is anybody's guess at this time), but the differences between it and the 40's, 50's 844 and other FEF-3's are miniscule and easily rectified for those of us who will buy several to run on our transition era U.P. layouts. When I talked with the Kato rep back in 2012 at the WGHS in Salt Lake City, he was very clear they were producing a modern excursion train also, so I expect there will be at least one water bottle, and the rest of the specialized cars U.P. runs with the 844 nowadays. The good news is that the cars will also work with Athearn's 3985 Challenger, and possibly with a model of the upcoming 4014 Big Boy restoration. Modeling the 4014 as oil fired will be pretty easy as the Athearn coal load just slides off, and the modern oil bunker top just slides on in its place. Removing the 4014's cast-on ash pans would be a PITA however, involving a near total disassembly of the model to get at the bottom half of the boiler. I'll be getting at least six of Kato's FEF-3's and if they do the bolt-on-drop-coupler FEF-2 pilot as an add-on piece or a whole separate model, I'll be getting several of those also...all to compliment my brass FEF-3's and FEF-2's. Frankly, I'm expecting the Kato model to be better than the initial run of Key FEF's, but not as good as the last Key run, which was a simply magnificent model. Here's a photo of one of the last run Key FEF-2's I took on my good friend Nate's layout in Salt Lake City, which is fresh from the paint shop in 1946, as no Worthington SA feedwater heater has been applied ahead of the double stack yet, which makes the smokebox 18" shorter than the early 50's version of the same engine would be. I think it's a very astute marketing decision to make both the 844 and the accompanying modern excursion train and I'd bet on Kato deeming this move a huge success. Hopefully it'll open the door for more N. American steam from them. Cheerio! Bob Gilmore
Where did THAT come from? Nobody knows what Kato is going to do except produce a modern 844 (how accurately is anybody's guess at this time), but the differences between it and the 40's, 50's 844 and other FEF-3's are miniscule and easily rectified for those of us who will buy several to run on our transition era U.P. layouts. When I talked with the Kato rep back in 2012 at the WGHS in Salt Lake City, he was very clear they were producing a modern excursion train also, so I expect there will be at least one water bottle, and the rest of the specialized cars U.P. runs with the 844 nowadays. The good news is that the cars will also work with Athearn's 3985 Challenger, and possibly with a model of the upcoming 4014 Big Boy restoration. Modeling the 4014 as oil fired will be pretty easy as the Athearn coal load just slides off, and the modern oil bunker top just slides on in its place. Removing the 4014's cast-on ash pans would be a PITA however, involving a near total disassembly of the model to get at the bottom half of the boiler. I'll be getting at least six of Kato's FEF-3's and if they do the bolt-on-drop-coupler FEF-2 pilot as an add-on piece or a whole separate model, I'll be getting several of those also...all to compliment my brass FEF-3's and FEF-2's. Frankly, I'm expecting the Kato model to be better than the initial run of Key FEF's, but not as good as the last Key run, which was a simply magnificent model. Here's a photo of one of the last Key FEF-3's I took on my good friend Nate's layout in Salt Lake City. Love that TT gray!! I think it's a very astute marketing decision to make both the 844 and the accompanying modern excursion train and I'd bet on Kato deeming this move a huge success. Hopefully it'll open the door for more N. American steam from them. Cheerio! Bob Gilmore
THe loco's not even out yet and we're trying to determine drawbar pull? the GS4 handles a full 18 car train(daylight with all 4 articulated coach sets), I'm certain the FEF model will match and possibly exceed that. I'm not aware of UP's proto practices other than a train that was lead by 3 GP's to and from the Dalles Oregon.
All this conjecturing and no official press release yet? How about we wait for something from Kato proper before we start counting rivets? That said, I'm in, especially for a Greyhound scheme engine. I have ridden in the cab of 844 and she's a beauty. She'll go nicely with my Athearn 4-6-6-4 from the very first release.
Oh man. I an jealous. I have chased it many times but never got to go for a ride, even behind it. (I have ridden behind the 3985 many miles.)
The pics remind me we need the water bottles, too. Or maybe a new run of the Athearn fire engines. And I hope we can can get real scale water for them and not that same old treble O water.
This is all UP's fault for making so many modifications to 844. Did we have these debates when Kato made 4449 or Athearn 3985?
Uh oh, someone found something wrong with the Kato FEF3....ALREADY! It's not even here yet. Besides you'll find me a committe of one who DGAS. I will buy as is, after I collect all those soda pop cans and plastic bottles, smiling the whole time it operates on my layout. Yep that's right a member of the DGAS committee. And the local MR's think I'm the rivet counter in the bunch. Not exactly.hboy:
HawHawHawHaw and still C-ing OL Let's see my old pappy used to say, "Don't put all the hens in the hen house". No that wasn't it: Don't count the eggs until they hatch? No! Here I think he said this, "Don't put all your eggs in the same basket". Hell, I don't know he said so many things that didn't make much sense to me any old way. There has been an official notice, yes! A warning of sorts. Yes, no one has actually seen a prototype. Yes, there is a lot of sarcasm here and hard core criticism about something we know very little about. Not earth shaking news. May I suggest, time for some folks to join the DGAS committee. Better to wait and see then to write it off before it get's here. Besides I had a lot of fun sticking a finger in the eye of the nit pickers (of which I've been an official member), by picking a part a locomotive we know nothing about. Sarcasm, that's what it is. Colorful sarcasm. I think that was the point of Post's #67 and my following postings. Or was that just cow pies tossed in to keep things smelling sweet. Heeheehee!:teeth: In case you missed an implied message here. It is guaranteed that someone, somewhere, will criticize any product put out there despite how good it is. True. Self appointed critic's. Yep, that be them. DGAS