Rayman4449

Have to share this recent acquisition... Had the extreme good fortune to get my hands on this custom KCS dash-9. I never purchased the factory painted version of this engine because the red was so pink. At any rate, the color matching on this engine was spot on and detail superbly done. It's a one of a kind so there were no others done by this person that I'm aware of. For reference, this is a photo of the factory version: Great looking engine in this paint scheme. Raymond

Thanks for sharing Jim.

And by the way, welcome to the forums.

It was not long after the Triplex was produced that the economic collapse occurred which pulled the rug out of largescale sales. It was also not long afterwards you saw the big G scale retailers that relied on sales volume for their existence close-up. The Triplex was a big seller in O gauge and they have had more than one production run of that model in that gauge. I'm pretty sure MTH went down the list of some of their bigger sellers in O gauge to produce first in One Gauge. The thing that actually amazed me with the Triplex was I probably got more email inquiries from people asking pre-purchase questions about that engine then any of the others combined. I got a lot on the Big Boy, but the volume of interest in the triplex surprised me. Interesting insight on the 1:32 and the European market. That may very well be another big reason why MTH went 1:32, maybe figuring their products will have a more overall marketability that way. With regards to production of the same prototype models, on the surface it might seem like an issue but when you look and really compare the models available (price point, scale and features) I have seen them as being in different categories. USA Trains(1:29): Big Boy=($3500), | Hudson=($2k) | Accucraft (1:32): Big Boy=(~$2200)| | Daylight=($3000-no sound or smoke) MTH (1:32): Big Boy=($1000), | Hudson=($650)| Daylight=($750-full sound, smoke, lights) Only one version is avail of, USRA Mallet, Challenger, Triplex, Aristo Mikado, Aristo Pacific, Aristo 2-8-0 to name a few. There is really a very limited selection of steam models to choose from. Accucraft as continued to make new and different models but they are mostly $3k+ Given the difference in price-point, features and scale, I feel any cannibalization of sales is minimal. The market for $3k+ engines is a lot smaller than the sub $1k versions and in the latter market there is no overlap in steam (some in diesel, but they are in different scales). If there was one thing I would say that probably does hurt the companies in the market some is the fact you have two different primary scales being produced. You have a certain amount of people buying one or the other but limiting the mixing of the two. I think as time has gone on I'm seeing more and more people buying both scales and running both on their layouts as I do. I can understand the attraction of the adherence to true-to live prototypes and for myself I did a number of things on my own layout to achieve what I could given the space I had available. I will say that of the individuals I have corresponded with in Europe, they do seem to generally have a higher level (higher end) product running on their layouts. I regularly see pictures, of finely crafted 1:32, Pennsy T-1s, K4s and associated rolling stock. On the tightness of layout curves I was like you in wanting to run big engines and have them look as realistic as possible. I think the reality with many in the hobby tho is that the use of yard space is limited and is also a compromise with their spouses so they have even less space avail. The rest are just more far more relaxed on what they want to run and how they run it as the sales of the Aristocraft Eggliner proves. Aristo seems to sell alot of those little guys and people seem to love'm. While I have never had any personal interest in them, I have purchased a couple of LGB fan powered 'flyers' that I get a big kick out of running. So much so I fully outfit them DCS digital control! As silly as they are and as impressive as a 3 big boy train pulling 100ft of coal cars is, I got more questions on the the little fan powered LGB than anything else.

Which one did you order? I've ordered quite a few of the GE version and out of that number i had one that had a bad receiver in the main base and needed to be RMAd. Pulling the antenna out of the remote so it was external gave it the kind of range I needed outside with the receiver in the house. As I recall the receiver has an antenna too that can be pulled out of the case which can provide even better results. Keep us posted on how you make out. I'm pretty certain the GE is out of production so finding another that works well would be nice for future reference.

Was asked about this today offline and thought I would post here... One of the devices I brought into use on my track powered layout was one of these: http://www.rayman4449.com/Power_remote-cutoff.htm - GE Smart Remote plus outdoor outlet receiver A remote control that serves as an emergency cut-off to the entire layout in the event of an accident. I have found through time this is one of the best aspects to running track power is that in the event of a derailment I can instantly stop all trains at the same time as every second counts to limit/prevent damage. Another version that I have found that seems to work good too is the Clarion Outdoor outlet control (model: HW2190L) Raymond

Latest info: Big Boy discussions continue in Southern California Published: February 25, 2013 POMONA, Calif. - Discussions between Union Pacific and the Southern California Chapter of the Railway & Locomotive Historical Society concerning UP Big Boy steam locomotive No. 4014 are continuing in California. Union Pacific has said it has been approached by and is working with a third party interested in restoring and operating a Big Boy. The company would like to reacquire No. 4014 for possible restoration and return to service in time for the 150th anniversary of the driving of the Golden Spike in 2019. Sources close to the matter indicate that Ed Dickens, who heads Union Pacific's steam program, was back in Southern California recently to confer with some, but not all, of the board members of the chapter regarding the restoration of the locomotive. The sources indicate that discussions are continuing and moving forward. No. 4014 was donated to the Southern California Chapter Railway & Locomotive in Pomona in 1962 after operating 1,031,205 miles in revenue service. The chapter maintains an extensive railroad exhibit at the Los Angeles County Fairplex that includes UP 4-12-2 No. 9000, the only survivor of its type; Santa Fe 4-6-4 No. 3450; and Southern Pacific 4-10-2 No. 5021, also the only survivor of its type. The display includes several smaller steam locomotives, UP DD40X "Centennial" diesel No. 6915, rolling stock, and the Santa Fe depot from nearby Arcadia. It has been reported that some chapter members are in favor of having the locomotive back under steam again, which means returning it to Union Pacific. Others are adamant that the removal of the Big Boy would weaken the position of the chapter as a viable museum and will negatively impact attendance to the museum. ************************

Damn that is expensive! No way am I going to drop that kind of money on one. I think there are likely a number of factors built into that higher price... currency value fluctuations, higher energy costs, rising labor costs in China/emerging markets and probably most importantly right now, lower sales volumes. At this point USA trains is the only high-end steam I would consider buying in the future. I like the build quality, heft, detail, pricing and ease of dismantling/repair. For high-end product it's hard to beat in my opinion.

Oh boy, more tempting news. Assuming the colors are right, I might be tempted to get one of these:

Very interesting to see the auto train pics. I took the train to DC a year ago and really enjoyed it.

That Big Boy looks fresh out the box new One of the things I did (and I think I got the idea from Chuck) was to take and file down the flag off the post, paint it black and give it the same look as the posts on the challenger version. (which I think included filing it down some to reduce the height but dont recall.) I originally just removed the green flags but went back and added them but modified. Really like the new look with the posts added back. Great pictures, keep them coming

Unfortunately I probably wont be attending. Thanks for the info.

Very nice on the Genesis On the amps, I've converted other LGB two axle engines to DCS Protosound and you can expect the same low amp draw with the LGB like the others mfg engines converted. At the largest trainshow we did, we ran 8 loops of trains, with 16 powered engines @24v with only one power supply drawing only 16amps. (display didnt capture in the pic correctly but it shows 24.2v) This is everything that was run: 3- 100ft trains, 3- 10+ passenger car trains and two 4-6 car passenger trains at high speed.

Article I had not read before. Sounds like it would be in concert with the 150th anniversary of the transcontinenal RR completion. My guess is they will make this happen. http://trn.trains.com/Railroad%20News/News%20Wire/2012/12/Union%20Pacific%20looking%20to%20restore%20Big%20Boy%20for%20excursion%20service.aspx

Not sure on the minimum curve but I would imagine it could take as tight as you could want having only 3 driving axles. I honestly most likely won't be springing for one of these unless they are priced pretty low. My days of spending big bucks on a single G scale engine are pretty much done. (now if it was a UP9000 that might be a different story )

Oh boy, Accucraft is working on a 4-6-4 Dreyfuss Hudson in 1:29. My wallet is already cringing... http://accucraft.com/company/ATpress.htm (Thanks for the heads-up on this one Chuck) Raymond

Mallet came out really nice Jim, same on the 2-8-0 Mark. I have too have been ok with the rods being factory metal. Now that engine might look rather interesting stretched out to a 2-10-0.

Good to know and glad to hear NS is bringing steam back on their rails. Probably works out good that they are contracting with other existing steam operators, I'm sure this helps them stay in operation. Maybe someday will see the 1218 and 611 return... Raymond

Love the pics guys. Jim that GS-2 photo came out excellent. Nice use of depth of field. Raymond

This is really going to look good when you get done. I'm really enjoying the progress pics Joe, thanks for sharing!! Raymond

You're making great progress

Looking really good.

I think you did a great job on it Cliff Thanks for posting the pictures Raymond

Again, great idea and video! I will definitely be implementing this in the future when I have time. Raymond