Mike1083

I have too been hunting for this diesel, more specifically the reading version. i did find what appears to be a bunch of 1 gauge stuff at trainuniverse.com but after an email and 2 phone calls with no return message my instinct tells me not to go that route. If someone else wants to try it or has dealt with them in the past and they are legit then it sounds like a sweet deal especially priced around 375.00. If i happen to come by any others ill be sure to post here. Mike

If a person chose not to order pre order is there still a likely hood that they would be able to locate the engine easily and purchase it after the release. The market appears to be quite small and i would assume that production runs would reflect that. It seem almost as if these engines are quite limited and would not last long. I am trying to get a feel for how urgent buying what you want is, and how long popular engines usually last for before being completely gone. It would help me to prioritize how i purchase future pieces and in what sequence i should do it. I also got to thinking since i have a interest in the euro stuff as well, is there any reason mth has not gotten into the euro g scale market. I noticed some of the euro stuff in 1:32 so there is clearly a market but only see them in the smaller scales. Also with the 1000 being canceled does this mean that engine will most likely never be produced again unless their g sales increase dramatically?

I decided to take a even closer look at the locomotive and noticed that my smokestack is indeed cracked. I am guessing this loco is too old for MTH to do any sort of fix on that. Any info on this cracking issue? Will it get worse. Mike

Hey Ray, Indeed it does look great, i am still nervous having not run it yet but there isnt much i can do till i get that remote. The photo above of the underneath of the tender by the axles. Do you see the scuffing? is that a manufacturer thing or is that something that i should be concerned with? Here is a photo of the little piece that i myself may have actually broken off. Mike

Hey all I just got home from the local toy shop with what I am told is a new Hudson that has only been run just to make sure everything was working. I was skeptical but when I arrived there she was in the case looking mighty clean. Still not sure if she is actually new. Upon further inspection i did notice what looked to be either residue or rust on the front wheels, but even the track gliders did not appear to be worn much at all. It came with the box, the wrapping, all the paperwork, and even the shipper box. I do, however, have no idea if she actually works, as i do not have a DCS remote. The gentleman did say if something was wrong with her he would refund me what i paid. I got it for 599 which seemed like a good deal.. i had not actually seen a 1 gauge steam engine in person before this and man i gotta say this thing is a monster and holds some serious weight. I did happen to find a little tiny piece of plastic in the Styrofoam which i took a photo of. I could not locate where it may have come from. I also noticed on the tender around the axles on the plastic there is what appears to be a weird marking in the same spot on the black plastic. i tried to get a closeup of it. Its by every wheel on the tender. Now i just need that remote system...Now having one in my hands I think I understand why they are very hard to find. It definitely feels good to have my first real engine and hopefully I can contribute a little more useful info from this point forward. I am gonna post some photos and if anyone notices anything that should raise some flags i would greatly appreciate it.

Man oh man that sounds like a sweet deal. I just got home with the hudson and am in the process of uploading photos. I may have to do some shenaggling...lol...

Fantastic news. Im going for it! I will post photos as soon as i get it. Sure am glad i decided to give it another go around looking for that triplex.

Thanks guys for all the great info, it is indeed appreciated. I think i will stay away from the USA trains for now and try my luck one more time with finding a place that has a triplex. update Well i just decided to call around me looking for that triplex and discovered a hudson with model number 70-3001-1. Apparently its just been sitting in a display case all this time. I am a little nervous because that model has just been sitting for a crazy amount of years. Should i jump on this immediately? Is it possible the engine could have issues? The gentleman said its only been run on a few feet of track to make sure everything was good and then it went into their display case. I think i am going to go tomorrow morning and get it. Is there anything i should be looking for? Any issues with this engine i should look for? I feel like i just stumbled upon a huge hunk of gold. Mike

Its getting to be about that time of year and well i am now in the mountains in a house and i am looking to expand on my Christmas layout. I've decided to upgrade from the BR80 to the BR64 this year for my passenger train but i also have the Piko Christmas boxcars and i am going to need an engine for those to run separate. It just didn't look right to me having the box car with the passenger cars. I was hoping to have a Mth steam to pull them but i waited too long on the triplex and now they are impossible to find, so its looking like the USA trains diesels are the only option now or i could just use the extra BR64 that i plan on having. I was hoping to get some info on the gp7 and the Alco s4 diesel that USA offers in Christmas schemes. Does anyone have either of these engines in a different paint scheme or even the Christmas versions? Are they built to last? The price of these seems very cheap compared to Mth diesels, so it kind of raises an eyebrow..Is it even worth just buying a diesel for 1 month out of the year or should i just use the extra BR64 to pull the boxcars and maybe get a year round diesel for the garden? I find myself all over the place trying to decide what to do and this forum seems to have a lot of great folks with great knowledge so i figured this would be the place to get some wise advice. Mike

Great looking trains and love the layouts. Cant get over how big they appear, not to mention how hard it is to even find one new. Really hoping MTH has plans to release a challenger, hudson or mikado sometime soon.

Thanks for the great tips and responses. A while ago i had seen a rolling stock piece that initially made me think this could even be possible. Thinking back on it i have a feeling it was an ho or o piece(when i was deciding which scale to invest in). It was a stake car that appeared to hold logs. it had 3 rows of stakes and the center stakes were taller than the outer stakes. Ive been trying to see if such a thing exists for g scale and have had no luck. The lgb euro cars really looked like they might work as they appear to have high walls/stakes. Then again i have not seen one in person so i am not 100% on that. Definitely think it will be possible to pull this off i just think im gonna have to get creative with how i can keep the books standing up straight. On a side note, the lgb hudson(the 4 foot radius is a big plus for a classroom)that appears to cost a small fortune and the mth triplex are on my radar. Ive been considering the accucraft electrics but i have yet to really find any good reviews and such. the whistle on the triple is what has me leaning in its favor though.

Thanks for the quick reply. It would be done indoors and on level track. As far as scale goes, should i stick with 1/29 or 1/32. Does this make much difference power wise or affect my ability or space to hold books?

I was hoping to find out if it is possible to create a children's book hauling train line (Reading Railroad) . Essentially books start out at one spot and arrive in another. I would want to use the reading locomotives for the project but i am thinking a custom paint job on a powerful loco or locos might be the better option. I was thinking lumber cars would be the best option as far as holding the books upright but im not sure if that would work. I guess my main questions would be is there a steam locomotive that is out there that could do the haul. i was thinking 3-4 dr seuss size and weight books per car at maybe 4-8 cars long. If a steam is out of the question which diesel should i consider? As far as cars go i am open to suggestions or even custom ideas. This would most likely be used in a classroom and if not approved it would be used as a tool to market reading on a teaching blog in which case it would only need to be maybe 4 cars. I really have no clue about how to even go about attempting this and would definitely appreciate any pointers or tips. The biggest hurdle is going to be having cars that can act as book ends essentially without tipping. I look forward to any help and suggestions. Mike

Thanks Jim and i did give them a look but space is sort of at a premium at the moment and until we move to something bigger i think im gonna just keep working on building up my collection of rolling stock and locos. I am wanting to create a Reading Railroad that can haul real books from one area to another. My reading loco options are very slim from what i can gather but i suppose i could always paint a loco considering this is more for imagination than actually trying to recreate a specific scene. Maybe i should start another topic on how to go about trying to accomplish this goal. Mike

Here is a few shots of my first train and christmas setup. I used the trestle risers from bachman around the back to help avoid wires and also to deal with my rug. Turned out great!

got some photos up.

shop is called the moose caboose. His prices compete with and are usually lower than anything i can find online and thats before you add shipping into the equation. He did say that if i wanted to preorder it before 2014 that it would be less than 500 but that piko expected prices to go up slightly in the new year, so the price could go up slightly but even then it still sounds cheaper than anything i am reading online.

Thanks for the heads up. Mike

I was curious about this model after reading this post and found out from my local shop that it actually is priced under 500 before taxes. I am really hoping they have some realistic north american steam models in the works. Mike

Hey, thanks for the replies and i will post pics shortly as i finally have the train up and running under the tree. I am in the Baltimore area and actually found a great shop about 45 minutes away that has been great. The set does come with sound and smoke. I was a little bummed with the idea that the bells and whistle have to sound at certain times on the track as i guess i thought i had more control over that but that can be customized hopefully. I really want the chug and puff. The euro cars look great and i am hoping to switch out the wheels for metal and also add interior lighting. Apparently piko is going to have interior lighting available for their euro cars soon, so thats on the list of add ons. Hopefully ill have photos and a video up shortly. Mike

Great photos and layouts. Ill be sure to post mine as soon as i get it up and running. Mike

I am hoping to find out if there are any other options besides the piko christmas selection. I was thinking of creating my own christmas village but am not having much luck finding basic structure kits that i could modify myself. If anyone has any info, it would be greatly appreciated. Mike

Well what was suppose to be a quick and easy purchase for a train for under the tree has now turned into a whole lot more. I thought for sure when i started the search i wanted the polar express and then i decided to do a little research and about a week and a half later im waiting for my piko DR BR80 passenger starter set to arrive. Its funny because i literally went from wanting the lionel O to mth tinplate O and std to aristo and lgb and finally settling on the piko. Between the getting sold out and not sure if or when we are getting anymore i decided to go with the piko. Hopefully i made a good choice. I had a hard time finding any reviews on the set but the gentleman i spoke with on the phone who sold it to me was more than willing to take the time to answer any questions i had and thought the quality was good but more importantly that the company looked to be going in the right direction. I do plan on keeping this set inside after the tree comes down and hope to be getting more trains and accessories as time goes on. Its great to be a part of this community and i look forward to contributing in anyway i can in the future, and asking a load of questions. Mike