OK, I gotta ask.... So how much longer wheelbase is the Phase II U28C than the U25C? Are we talking 3" or 24"? That's got to be tempting though, as Trix, Model Power and Con Cor turned out pseudo U28CG's in ATSF paint for nearly 20 years on that original Trix body and 'probably' were the best-selling scheme. The red-silver U28CG, if properly done, is stunning, and the B/Y cigar stripe and yellowbonnet schemes are also correct for the 7900's in the post-passenger era. While there are many other individual details different on the U28CG including the fuel tanks, steam generator stack, etc., very few people have apparently let that stop them.... I've been a little surprise that Kato didn't do the U30C in that scheme as a near-foobie. The U28CG is probably more closely related to that unit overall. Charlie, if you're as involved as it sounds, it will be done right.
"So how much longer wheelbase is the Phase II U28C than the U25C? Are we talking 3" or 24"?" It is looking like 24" but since railroad diagrams are difficult to use to determine the truck spacing I will be using two drawings by Kyle McKerrow. As soon as I have his permission I will share the composite drawing I have made from his drawings.
Here is the composite drawing that I have done using Kyle McKerrow. For any interested I highly recommend the Locodrawings and Locodrawings_2 Groups at Yahoo! Groups. The Locodrawings group has railroad specific drawings for a large number of EMD drawings while the Locodrawings_2 has a large number of GE drawings that are road specific. Kyle's drawings used by permission.
Hi Charlie. I'm pretty sure you have your own list of "things for the future" but an FM H10/H12-44 switcher would be nice, and no one's done one commercially since Trix (Matthew Myers has a nice Shapeways shell that will fit on a VO-1000 chassis, though). The ALCO RSD-12 hasn't been produced since the Atlas/Kato version of the early 90's. As for steam - the 2-10-4 wheel arrangement is wide open, and several roads had them (though the C&O T-1 would be my prototype choice, you'd probably sell more Santa Fe units). The 2-8-4 Berkshire is now out of production; the C&O Allegheny, the Yellowstone, ANY PRR steam (yeah, OK - the K-4, but remember that the PRR had a fairly standard-looking 2-10-4, too) - all these are wide open at the moment, though I don't know if the potential market supports the production costs. I'm tickled to see a new player in the market - particularly one that has the sense to employ your expertise. I hope for the greatest success for this venture. John C.
"...an FM H10/H12-44 switcher would be nice, and no one's done one commercially since Trix..." Actually no one has done the H10-44 nor the early H12-44 aside from the Shapeways shell... the Minitrix switcher is a model of the late-production H12-44.
"Let's not forget the H20-44; I could use a bunch in helper service...." Built years before any other 2000 HP loco it would definitely be something that would be worth while. The down side is the lack of roadnames, though some of the roads that owned them would be well worth having... Akron Canton and Youngstown 500–505 Fairbanks Morris 2000 (to UP 1366) New York Central 7100–7118 (to PC, retired early) Pennsy 8917–8942, 9300–9311 (to PC, retired early) Pittsburgh & West Virginia 50–71 (to N&W, 3 units to AC&Y) Union Pacific DS1360–DS1365, DS1367–DS1370
Jerry, what happened to DS 1366? My records show 1360-1370....did it blow up prior to delivery? And you're right about the horsepower, EMD didn't get to 2000HP in a four axle unit until the GP 20, in a longer carbody, what about thirteen years later? (Although, in reality, the 2000HP didn't translate to commensurate tractive effort at the railhead, and when push came to shove, so to speak, the 20-44's were swept off the rails by STEAM when the Korean War broke out, at least on the UP on Cajon Pass). None of this really matters as the chances of anyone, including Arnold, producing these are approaching the proverbial snow ball in you know where.... Fun stuff though... Otto K.
"Jerry, what happened to DS 1366?" Its right there with the others listed... "Fairbanks Morris 2000 (to UP 1366)" It was the FM demo. B ) "None of this really matters as the chances of anyone, including Arnold, producing these are approaching the proverbial snow ball in you know where..." Who knows... someone might yet due one at Shapeways... never can tell what might happen with them. One thing about them... like their big brother... they were beasts on the rail. PRR listed them as having a starting tractive effort of 63500 lbs. starting, 42,800 lbs. at 14.7 m.p.m. which was a bit greater than locomotives that followed it. NYC figured maintenance cost on these beasts was 2 to 2½ times that of EMD (ALCO being 1½ times that of EMD) but a couple of roads managed to get good service out of these engines despite their unusual opposed piston engine design and a number of old motors were taken from retired FMs and placed in tug boats for further use.
Until a few days ago what would you have thought the chances were of Arnold returning to U.S. N scale and making a U25C?
"Until a few days ago what would you have thought the chances were of Arnold returning to U.S. N scale and making a U25C?" I have wondered what Hornby would do with the line, after they acquired it. While we will have to wait and see just how nice the model is it is still a good thing to see manufacturers taking the plunge for locomotives that haven't been produced before. In a lot of ways I believe that all of it will make N-scale modeling even more successful and appealing. In many ways it is a good time to be modeling in N-scale!!!
And don't forget, all with an MSRP of less than half the average HO release. Looking at HO, I couldn't afford to get what I get in N scale.
I'm hoping the guys at Marklin decide they don't want Hornby beating them and have Minitrix re-enter the U.S. market. I'd put my money down for an up to date FM switcher and U30CG, or dare we even think of a K4.
Hmmm, perhaps they see a trend we've missed. As people downsize, the room needed for a decent sized HO layout becomes more out of reach for most folks. N scale as most popular in a decade?
B-A = C? Not an equation I understand. Manufacturers recognise the need to diversify again as they cannot milk an already failing marketplace- sure the superrich and wealthy buy without regard to cost. But it's taken how long for big, dumb, braindead corporates (big in a niche- not worldwide or national sense) to actually realise cost of living and cost of economic downturn internationally has crushed discretionary spending that they rely upon. And no amount of money printing has put funds back in the low and middle classes anywhere to improve their lot. All it's done is maintain the hegemony of paper transactions and money-go-round at the circus eco-political levels. Change and survive, stagnate and die. Their choice. It will never be "how many modellers will we please with this product?". Rather, "let's scrape another 2% from this market for minimal expense". dave
Agreed, and what's in our future?..more money printing. All in all, the announcements from the N scale show are a home run for me, the Atlas PS3 hoppers, the U25C and the SW1500 are all items I am interested in.
Sounds like a broken record in regards to typical corp America these days. This is the prime reason I will pay a little more $$$ to keep the little guy in business. Ryan
I have to agree with you. When I worked in the hobby business I went back and forth with one of the bosses, from time to time, regarding the last few years of national economic policy and the prospects of hobby sales. I made the point over and over again that economy wasn't really recovering (at least in places where it was hit hardest) and that people would not prioritize their toys over basic needs. The hobby industry relies primarily on people with varying degrees of excess money or misplaced priorities, in a bad economy only people with excess money can really continue spending on things they don't need. The end result is pursuing every dollar you can, where ever you can. That often means discounts on products which cannot be easily made due to MSRP policies, etc. It's all just an endless cycle, unless you change national policy to force job creation in sectors which matter you end up irresponsibly printing money to make it seem as if the economy is really doing better than it is. Without good paying jobs in areas like manufacturing, people simply don't have the money to spend on hobbies, I myself worked more than one job for years simply to make ends meet... there was little left over for trains, planes, etc. To bring this back full circle to the Arnold announcement, I think so many new and interesting products are coming to us these days because manufacturers, and the whole industry, need to grab at whatever cash they can. We are seeing a lot more innovation in terms of rolling stock, locomotive types and road names, etc., but we are also seeing pretty limited runs (comparatively) in an effort to keep people spending what little disposable income they have. In the greater scheme of things, the fairly poor global economy might actually be helping our hobby by forcing more competition for our money. I have certainly enjoyed the rash of B&M stuff which has come available in the last 8 - 10 years... when the economy is roaring no one seems to want to make stuff for smaller Class I's and shortlines (except Atlas). I do applaud this effort to get back into N scale, even if I have no need for the locomotive offered, I might just save up to buy one just to show my support.
On the site: http://hornbyamerica.com/news/arnold-n-scale-u25c DCC Ready configuration to accept standard NMRA 6 pin decoder is on the feature list
