Personally, I don't want an NCL from anybody other than Kato. Also, I'm sure many of us have already made our requests known to Kato directly.
I'd like to see a NCL myself but enough on this thread already unless the topic is changed to "Kato still not making a NCL!"
I have those cars, as well. But they're the "generic" smooth-side cars, not all NYC prototypes. And if the 1938/40 version of the 20th Century Ltd is your preference, then the paint scheme would be different, too. Also, Kato has never (yet) made E7 locos. At the time, they did make an E8A to go with those NYC passenger cars.
I find it interesting that Kato is going to do FP-7's for the Olympian. This train has been rumored to be in the works for several years and I once asked a Kato rep at National Train Day in Chicago Union Station the following "When will the Olympian be announced?". My question wasn't greeted with the expected "No comment" or "Don't know anything about that." but rather with "What motive power would you like to see, the Little Joe or Bi-Polar electric?" I was a little surprised and voted for the Little Joes. I wonder what made them change their mind?
OOPS, my mistake, thanks for the correction. I sold them quite a while back because they didn't fit my new layout theme.
@Bill Denton I thought about the choice of locomotives as well. In my opinion the iconic locomotive for the Olympian Hiawatha are the chrome nose Erie built engines. I do understand that their use was limited to about 3.5 years before the FP7s replaced them. As you know the locomotive assignments for the train varied a lot and although the electrics were used from time to time I cannot find evidence that they were used for years at a time. The entire lifespan of the Olympian Hiawatha was only 14 years, I think Kato got the best mileage from the train by doing the 1952-1957 train. In 14 years there were so many changes that it is difficult to keep them straight, for example, after only 8 months , the brand new coach touralux cars were removed from the train. Remember also that the two little joe engines only lasted about 2 years in passenger service before they were placed back into freight service. The Milwaukee also built some steam tender cars so from time to time a freight Joe could have been assigned with the steam car. The Westinghouse motors were used until they were unusable.. In a perfect world , I would like to see an AB set of E-7 (Milwaukee to Minneapolis), FM Erie built (Minneapolis-Harlowtown), Westinghouse boxcab (Harlowtown -Avery, 4-8-4 (Avery-Othello), Bipolar (Othello-Tacoma) . The easier way is the FP-7 option.. Randy Stahl
Maybe they haven't changed their mind at all. Presumably there is a limit on design resources that can be devoted to any given project. Developing all of the new passenger cars required a substantial effort. Creating an FP7 model by essentially stretching an existing F7 was likely much less involved than designing an entirely new loco model. Also, it may be possible to produce the same FP7 model in other roadnames besides MLW. If the initial release of the passenger car set sells well, then there should be subsequent production runs at which time we might then see a matching electric loco.
I was curious if the Olympian consist cars are the ones with the portholes? Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk
Well ..that will certainly make an interesting and attractive consist! Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk
Absolutely. When it comes to the Olympian Hiawatha, the Erie-builts are #1 by a wide margin IMO. The EP-2s would be 5th on my list. Jason
Any chance you could be persuaded otherwise? https://farm2.staticflickr.com/1531/25625475716_5baaae782b_k.jpg
While the EP2s were iconic Milwaukee road locomotives, they were not purpose built in 1947 for the Olympian Hiawatha like the FMs. The BiPolars were built in 1919 for general passenger use including the non Hiawatha Olympian and Columbian. The FP-7 locomotives were built in 1950 to replace the entire passenger fleet. They were not unique to the Milwaukee as many other railroads bought FP7s for the same purpose. One of my favorites are the maroon and gold FP7s from the SOO line. Iconic Milwaukee locomotives: A class 4-4-2 F-7 4-6-4 FM Erie Built ( Iconic Olympian Hiawatha engine) Little Joe electric Bi Polar Feel free to add your opinion.
The early Erie builts with the rectangular windshields and stepped roof are probably my all time favorite passenger locomotives. I have a few that I've modeled and will undoubtedly run them with the Kato set when I get it even though they won't be correct for the Olympian in the '51 paint scheme. Perhaps I'll swap in some other cars and call it the Midwest Hi or Columbian. My personal preference would be the '48 paint scheme but I think Kato made a smart move doing the '51 scheme dating it to include the Superdome and producing locomotives that can be applied to other roads and possibly future named train releases. Any way you slice it, it's going to be an extremely cool train!
When I first saw the announcemenet I thought there was a typo regarding the locomotive. I thought the original post meant an F-7 Hudson class (4-6-4). I didn't realize Milwaukee Road had EMD FP7's. I was looking though a passenger train book last night and found a few examples of Milwaukee Road FP-7 in UP livery with an FP45 trailing the "City of Everywhere". I can see the logic of Kato doing this release now. Sent from my SM-G530T using Tapatalk
I've learned something as well. Looks like Milwaukee Road bought 16 ABA sets of FP7s/F7Bs. That's a significant amount, and certainly helps to explain Kato's move. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EMD_FP7
Since I run a free-lanced Milwaukee Road , plus run at a lot of NTRAK setups , I'd take any loco. Unfortunately I already have a pair of FP7s from Intermountain plus a couple of B units in the '52 paint scheme, plus a matching set in the '57/UP scheme, so Kato lost any loco sales from me doing the FP.Luckily they always sell the locos separately. I'd definitely but any electric or steam locos ..........maybe next time
