SW-1... hmmm... never would have guessed a small switch engine from Arnold/Hornby. That is a tough assignment for their second or third attempt. I guess the technology has advanced to the point where Atlas can do an S2 with sound... and A/H can do an SW-1. Got to wonder if the heavy frame might be Tungsten... it would seem to be necessary for this to have enough heft to pull a few cars.
I would expect the SW1 will have a traction tire like the U25C so it should pull pretty good, but you can always run two or three together to pull a good size train.
What folks need to keep in mind is that the SW-1 was a 600 HP yard switcher designed to replace a lot of the 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 steam switchers. It was never designed as a road engine and top speed was at best in the 40 MPH range. Put up against the 0-8-0 steam switcher it paled by comparison but it did a good job replacing the smaller stuff. In our selectively compressed world if the little critter can easily latch onto 10-14 cars of the 40 and 50 foot variety, and pull them at a sedate 20 or 30 SMPH on the level, without wheel slip, then this loco will be good enough for me. Using two on a long transfer cut of 20 or 30 cars in a double headed mode would be prototype. If the information on a cast metal shell is correct then I would hope it doesn't have a traction tire and has sufficient weight to do what I described and not take away from electrical pick-up on the short wheelbase.
So, I wonder if Hornby is going to dust off the Arnold S-2 design for this loco. The S-2 had its issues (the spring "worms"; the plastic gears that cracked, causing a "limp"), but the thing was heavy due to the metal shell and the fact that the mechanism was essentially a slab of metal with just enough space cut out for the motor and spring worms. The pickup used wipers on one side, with the other side transmitting through the truck into the one-piece frame, and many may not remember that the S-2 was actually one of the very first (maybe it was THE first) loco sold with a digital command control option. Mine still run great (having replaced the wheelsets with lo-profile ones from NWSL), with a Lenz Silver mini mounted in the fuel tank area. They will creep one tie at a time, are relatively quiet, and a single one will easily pull that 10-14 car cut that John Moore talks about above (mine will pull 20 cars on the level before giving up the ghost on 15" radius curves). Given the somewhat "old style" electrical pickup of the U25, I'm wondering whether the SW-1 will see a resurrection of the Arnold S-2 mechanism, perhaps updated just slightly for easier DCC conversion. John C.
I guess we will have to wait until Arnold/Hornby makes a official announcement. For the some what old style electrical pickup the U25C does just as good as any N-scale loco I own. It will creep threw several medium turnouts without a single headlight blink. What more could someone ask for in any N-scale loco.
In a word, "no". Charlie Vlk states "Brand new from the flanges up. State of the art. 3D CAD design. Intelligent product design for today’s market. All important variations tooled. Heavy die-cast chassis." Cheers, -Mark
Where did the idea come from that it will have a metal shell? I see the description as having a heavy die-cast chassis. Doug
I think that came from the aimless and baseless speculation that the model might be based on old 1990's Arnold tooling. Hopefully that rumor has been squashed before getting a chance to sprout and take wing. Cheers, -Mark
No one was more delighted (or surprised) then me to discover that I had gotten this one right. The SW1 has always been a favorite locomotive of mine and I'm extremely happy to see it come to N scale. In looking it up on Wikipedia I was astounded to discover that it had almost 90 original purchasers. Added to that all of the locomotives that were acquired through secondhand purchases, mergers and acquisitions, and these little engines were truly owned by an incredible number of roads. The CB&Q had 20, one of which pulled the local freight run on their Black Hills branch in South Dakota. They even went so far as to outfit it with permanent class lights and snowplows! I also have a Milwaukee road video that includes a train chasing scene following a local pulled by five SW1s lashed together elephant style. Way too cool! A few years ago while railfanning I encountered one at a small rail facility that had had the cab stripped off and had been converted to remote control. It was nice to see one of these little jewels in person, but kind of sad that it had been so heavily modified.
