benshell

Ray, I think you're right about appealing to people not in the hobby with models of popular operational locomotives. I think model train manufacturers should try and get their models to be on display and sold at any related museums and ticket offices too. There's always a temptation to buy something at those kind of things, and while it's usually something small like a book or t-shirt, having a nice model on display would plant a bug for some. When I rode SP 4449 last Christmas they had large scale Bachmann ten wheeler on display, and not the upgraded one either! It was inside a nice display case that was worth far more. Why not have an MTH GS-4 on display, and available for sale? For re-runs, my first choice would be a GS-4, or two. I'm trying to save/look for an Accucraft GS-4 now, but I would still buy an all black MTH GS-2/4. For something new, I think an N&W 611 or NYC Dreyfuss Hudson would be nice, but the gotcha is that I'd really want matching passenger cars, so (assuming cars are available) they'd be expensive purchases I'd really have to think about. Better yes, just stick with SP and make a Pacific (Accucraft is planning one). SP 2472 is operational, although granted it's much less famous than many other locomotives like the 611.

Wow that sounds great! And I'll bet it's even better in real life--I know that's been the case for me; I feel like all my engines sound better in real life than on video. By the way, how did you trigger the station stop announcement sounds? And would that be something that can be triggered using DCC?

Thanks for the report Jim! It's too bad it was poorly attended, although with it being Easter weekend I'm not too surprised. I'm glad to hear Scott Polk is working on steam... to me that's the biggest shortage in 1:29th scale. Aristo-Craft steamers are generic, but they are better than nothing. And they are popular for kit-bashing.

I think you're talking about mine. For everyone else, I have an MTH smoke unit I bought off eBay that didn't work very well, but I don't know for sure if I burned it out or it came that way because I didn't open it up before using it. I didn't realize you could open it so easily. But I do know that in the beginning I put in far too little smoke fluid, having been used to other manufacturer's units!

Looks good! I'm glad to see more photos and first impressions. It looks like I failed to mention the door detail, or lack thereof. I did find that noticeable especially on the baggage car where the doors should have been inset more--even to the point of casting a shadow. Well, much as I like a matched passenger train, if you look at prototypical photos it seems you rarely seen them. Railroads were always changing paint schemes, car designs, and shuffling cars between lines. And if you're into the modern era, just model a tourist railroad. Then any passenger car that meets FRA standards is a good passenger car! (With some exceptions of course. More than anything else I'm referring to my recent ride behind SP 4449. If I wanted to model then I'd need at least three different road names in my train.)

Looks great Jerry! You have a beautiful railroad too.

This is in the hills above Santa Cruz, in Northern California. It's only about 3 hours away from me, and yet I've sadly never been there. Maybe this year! But one of the sister locomotives is in the lobby of the California State Railroad Museum, here in Sacramento. Here is a great article about the history of these locomotives: http://www.sfmuseum.net/hist9/overfair.html

Cool, glad you mentioned me. I'm surprised to hear you can't get NYC though. Are they already out of stock? I know some road names shipped a few months ago (at least N&W), and I'm not sure if all road names have arrived yet. Congrats on ordering some UP though! I'm sure they are going to look great. Be sure to post pictures.

$313/coach? Wow, that's crazy!

Haha, I was actually really surprised to get the full support of my wife on this. When it comes down to it, she's grown to be pretty tired of trains thanks to me, but I guess when she hears me talk about something long enough then she'd rather I just buy it so we can move on! I was watching the MTH Daylight on eBay today too. I definitely wasn't going to bid, but interested to see the sale price.

Thanks! Yes, the color is great. I've been undecided whether or not the MTH Daylight colors would bother me, but I suppose the fact that I keep wondering if it would bother me is an answer to that question. Although I'm still wondering if it would be worth considering an MTH GS-4 and re-painting it. Which is the stronger puller, MTH or Accucraft? That's another question/concern since I do have a long 2.5% to almost 3% grade. Next time I take a road trip to KC I will definitely consider bringing them. Although size could be an issue. We got a new vehicle last year with a lot of cargo space... a Tundra with a tonneau cover. But even so, the boxes these came in are huge!

Cool, yeah I included photos of some of the less than perfect aspects. Mostly it's the fit of the observation car dome piece and less than perfectly milled corners in some windows. But again, I was really looking for issues. I was actually wondering about Kadees too, but it appears that it's an easy conversion as long as the height is correct. But it's not like I'm going to mix and match with other cars, so I really just need to upgrade one end of the baggage car.

Well, I'm now officially into 1:32 scale. My passenger cars arrived yesterday, and I just uploaded the photos! See all the photos here: https://www.flickr.com/gp/benjaminshell/W6te51 (Six are shown, but I actually bought ten... four extra coaches). I think they are a little less detailed than they could be, and the fit and finish isn't perfect either (I'm being really critical--most people aren't going to notice anything), but there aren't many choices. I haven't weighed them or put them on the track yet, and they are heavy, but for all metal cars it's very reasonable. Also, they don't have lights or figures, so eventually I will want to figure out how to open them up. Overall these are great looking cars and I'm really happy with them. Of course, if USA Trains ever does make a GS-4 then count me in... I still prefer 1:29th.

Mark at Silver State Trains called me Thursday to say my Daylight cars are in... the call surprised me because I'd sorta forgotten/given up on them after having preordered them two years ago! I'm not quite ready for this sort of expense (and they won't honor the preorder price ), but it's now or never so I'm delaying the order a couple weeks but will receive them the second week of February. I will definitely take and share high res pictures when I get them! I will also be saving again and seriously looking for an Accucraft GS-4 again. In the meantime, I'm not sure that any of my 1/29th scale locomotive are going to look very good pulling these.

Hi Mike, Two of the sensors (reed switches) are the chuff sensors. You may only need one for your sound card. I tried both in parallel and that didn't work at all because the "on" part of the cycle is far too long. Hook up an ohmeter and push the engine back and forth to figure out which is which. I think they are the front and back most wires, but depending on how the wires are routed it's best to double check. The other two can be used for sound triggers from magnets on the track. I don't use them, but look at your Phoenix manual for how to wire them up. I hope this helps. Let us know if you have any other questions.

Yeah, I'm excited! I've already got my tickets for the Holiday Express. We've been to the Oregon Rail Heritage Center a few times, but it'll be the first time my kids have seen 4449 under steam (or entirely assembled, and with tender).

That's really cool. Cutting off staybolts with a torch is one of the few steam locomotive restoration tasks I've done. It's not that hard, but you have to be careful not to damage the firebox sheet. UP's tool sure makes it look a lot easier with more consistent results! And their lathe work making new staybolts is great to see too. But I have to wonder why it is necessary for replace ALL the staybolts on 844? Or even 4014 for that matter. I don't believe that's something that's normally necessary.

If all else fails, you may want to try and repair what you have, or build your own replacements. If you can post pictures or descriptions of which parts you need I'll help brainstorm options. I know some people have been getting really into 3D printing, which is likely the way of the future for needs like this. But there are always other options as well.

Hi Jim, I don't live in Colorado, but I did take photos of all 50 layouts on tour during the NGRC (not including the pre-tour). https://www.flickr.com/photos/benjaminshell/collections/72157655783925550/

Agreed. And the lack of availability of products drives away consumers from the hobby altogether. Produce something new which people are excited about (like N&W 611) for a great price and I'll bet you'd see new people join the G-gauge world just for that. I know someone who is an O-scaler (with an extremely extensive collection and museum-quality layout!) who recently bought two of the new Accucraft San Francisco Cable Cars. I guess it was something that wasn't made in O-scale, at least not as highly detailed. Now he's interested in more large scale! But he's quickly learning that it's hard to actually buy what you want, even what has been made in the past! I'm disappointing by the new catalog and I wasn't even looking for anything new... I'd be happy with new production of the GS-4 and Challenger with PS3. But I already have a USA Trains Big Boy, so another Big Boy is going to be a tough sell for me when there are so many other things I want. Still, I think it will sell well, and hopefully encourage MTH to produce more big steam.

Great survey, I hope lots of people vote! So far the results are mostly in agreement with my opinion, so let's hurry up and get that FEF-3 built. However if you're going to add N&W 611, I'd also be interested in hearing how people would rank SP 4449. N&W 611 is understandably the most talked about engine right now, but with #4449 nearing completion of the rebuild it might gain more attention again too. I'm hoping both gain enough attention to make UP management jealous. Also, in California there's no comparison: SP is by far the most popular road name with Daylights and Cab Forwards dominating the model world, followed by UP with FEF-3s, Big Boys, and Challengers. I've been going to train shows since I was a kid, and I didn't even know about popular east coast locomotives like the 611 or the Dreyfuss Hudson until recent years when I started really learning about trains across the country (and the around the world for that matter).

Well, as I posted on other forum, I haven't gotten this letter (and I do have 10-cars on preorder at $250/each), but I'm really frustrated to hear this. I guess they don't want my $2500, they want $0 instead. I was already on the line about whether to get these or cheaper MTH cars. We still haven't seen what the Accucraft cars even look like but from the pre-production samples they seem to be really lacking detail.

It's 6.875 inches. What brand of excavator do you have?

Hi Jim, I have a custom-made diamond on a curve... my friend made it for me using track I gave him glued to ABS. Electrically one track is continuous and the other has jumpers drilled and tapped on the bottom. The result isn't perfect, but it works. Here are pictures before, during, and after installation. I don't seem to have a good closeup, or a good current picture now that it's ballasted. IMG_20140217_125729.jpg by Benjamin Shell, on Flickr IMG_20140226_160410.jpg by Benjamin Shell, on Flickr DSC_9075.jpg by Benjamin Shell, on Flickr If you have any specific questions I can ask the person who made mine.

All I know is that they made at least one (which I bought ~Feb 2014). At the time RLD also had them in stock, but that would imply they made at least two! Considering the demand for these (I'd been begging for them for at least two years, and I wasn't the only one), I'm surprised they didn't produce a lot more.