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Post by dazed on Apr 29, 2018 23:04:28 GMT -5
Oh, I see...Marklin couplers is the deal. Well, honestly even though I burst your bubble, I would probably just go ahead with these GATX cars. They look nice, and if you like 'em then I'd say go for it. Otherwise you'll end up like me and drive yourself crazy with this stuff. ;-)
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Post by dazed on Apr 29, 2018 13:36:16 GMT -5
They are not used by North American railroads.
For an E8, you would probably want some of the MTL tank cars...although, they might be a little *too* old depending on the scenario you're trying to create.
Guess it depends on how you are trying to explain the E8 in freight service....is it a post-passenger-era short/regional line that is using it? If so you might be able to use the AZL funnel tanks although it would need to be one of the simplified black schemes sans reflectors. And it still would be a stretch. The corn syrup cars didn't come around until the 80's. Obviously an E8 could exist in the 80's too, just less and less likely to be in general freight service. With rare exception, the E's and F's were no longer being used by then. (BN's racetrack commuters being one glaring exception)
I seem to recall the Norfolk Southern using some cowl units to haul some Intermodal trains as a promotional deal at some point. KCS and BN also did I think. I wanna say that KCS used some in captive coal service late into the 80's too. So there is precedence for what you're trying....go for it!
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Post by dazed on Apr 29, 2018 0:45:19 GMT -5
Here's my take... 1. You have the GP38-2, which is old tooling that has bumped along through the years and really allowed z-scale to develop by offering an entry-level style price point for a locomotive that runs well. (whether that is true historically I'm not sure but--crumbling issues aside--it is a nice running locomotive today.) 2. However, the GP38-2 is an anomaly of sorts due to a variety of reasons...how long it has been around, a nice healthy/lengthy amortizing history, popularity, massive amount of schemes available to apply to it, et al. So the reality is that "typical" locomotives in Z cost somewhere in the $160-200 price range, street prices. Seems people don't want to hear that, and that probably stifles the chances of us seeing the GP40, Alco RS-3, GE B23-7, etc. 3. While, for example, the GP40 could use the same mech as the GP38-2, the cost of producing the new shell is significant when considering the size of the market, the demand, and the price the market will bear. In other words, the GP40 WON'T be $90, and everyone will cry foul and want to try and compare the number with the market for N or HO and it just isn't even close. 4. The risk proposition of the GP40 versus the nice big modern 6-axle modern "stump puller" diesels is much higher, and those resources will likely continue to be funneled that direction. Same is true for the GE's and Alco's they are at a disadvantage either by virtue of size, roadnames available, tooling costs, and pulling power. 5. Your question references "manufacturerS"...in reality you are talking about 2, tops: AZL and MTL. MTL seems to be committing "minimal" resources to developing product in Z at the moment so really you're talking about ONE manufacturer for North American proto locomotives. Then, once again, it just becomes a matter of resources thrown at projects. AZL seems to have much different goals/motivation than say an Atlas that truly develops their market(s) well. And again, that's not quite a fair statement to make given the disparity in markets. But it is the reality. Bottom line...AZL can not shoulder ALL the burden of product development in Z-scale and be effective long-term at delivering the variety of locomotives we want in a reasonable time frame. 6. So that segues into...."help us Atlas, you're our only hope..." Atlas jumping into the z-scale game with their track line is significant, and one can only hope that they take further chances on the progression of Z-scale. It doesn't *have* to be Atlas, but that would be the best outcome short of possibly Kato, or remotely Intermountain who really seemed content with drop-kicking z-scale out the door a few years ago. Would Full Throttle or Rokuhan jump in? Who knows. 7. While I still contend that comparing AZL to Atlas is unfair, it IS an interesting study to see how Atlas progressed over the past 30 years or so with their n-scale line. If it COULD be applied to the Z market, you can see that the locos mentioned would be not far away on the timeline.
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Post by dazed on Apr 26, 2018 22:12:20 GMT -5
AZL seems to struggle with BNSF. Short runs, and skipping the H-II scheme altogether for the ES44's. Only 2 of the 6 major bethgon coalporter schemes. (nor the standard BN silver/green bethgon scheme as well) . Shorted ACF's, PS2'CD's, no containers. The stuff they do is really nice, but they just don't seem to gauge their market correctly for whatever reason. But you can have ONE HECKUVA Iowa Interstate roster if you want.
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Post by dazed on Apr 22, 2018 10:57:14 GMT -5
I would say no to allowing multiples. Although probably not considered a statistically relevant poll, at least as it stands you can compare year-to-year results. As few choices as there are, and as few responses that you get, it would really dilute the results if everyone selected 3 or 4 (or 8!) "favorites". Just my two cents. If you must, I would at least limit it to two choices.
Just encourage pollsters to comment in the replies about other cars they "really really like" but aren't the favorite.
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Post by dazed on Apr 21, 2018 16:02:06 GMT -5
Hi Dom, I have the same problem. I was just gonna (a) wait for someone else to respond to your post or (b) just look at one of my other GP38's for inspiration. I'd be happy to help at that point once I have experience with it, but right now I have nothing to contribute.
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Post by dazed on Apr 21, 2018 9:25:54 GMT -5
So to get back on topic...I (once again) voted for the Corn Syrup cars. I have examples of about 2/3 of the list and I'd say most are "contenders", but I just have always loved those cars going back to a couple of Walthers version I had way back as a kid in HO. I just wish AZL would do the Tate & Lyle scheme at some point to round out my collection.
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Post by dazed on Apr 20, 2018 11:59:41 GMT -5
Anything under $20 bucks 😆😂😂 Yeah, I used to criticize Atlas for their Trainman line since you could generally go to any train show and buy the same cars for half the price. But in Z...different story... I would really love to see a "Trainman-style" line of basic cars that weren't $50. (or $250, which is the next car) Something like: -Basic modern 50ft boxcars (any number of prototypes diff from MTL's) -Gons - Railgon-style or Thrall "generic" 52' 6" gondolas would be great. -Generic "MDC-style" tank car. The script has already been written in N. Do those three cars in a hundred different schemes and get the street price to hover right under/around $20 and you have some nice milk cows. Maybe add a double door boxcar and maybe some type of hopper as time rolls on. "Develop your market"...
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Post by dazed on Apr 18, 2018 11:46:03 GMT -5
Very nice!
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Post by dazed on Apr 11, 2018 8:53:46 GMT -5
The Atlas turnouts have been available as a preorder for some time now. I ordered two sets back in December. Atlas formally announced the preorders in the April Model railroader so I suspect they are close to shipping. But to the point, nobody (other than probably a few select beta testers) has used any and thus cannot provide the o.p. feedback yet. But yes we are probably counting weeks, not months, at this point. (maybe even days!!! )
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Post by dazed on Apr 5, 2018 22:21:52 GMT -5
Sorry, didn't mean to cause you so much consternation. But, I would have wanted someone to tell me that.
It looks very nice and very correct now. Great work as always.
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Post by dazed on Apr 5, 2018 15:47:30 GMT -5
Nice job. Great scheme.
The shop hand that painted the SP on the fireman's side must have already given up on the merger. :-) (If you haven't set the decals yet, you might want to look at the placement of the SP letters on the left side of the loco.)
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Post by dazed on Mar 31, 2018 11:26:15 GMT -5
I personally don't think the quality of either video is stellar. The Model Trains Stuff video suffers from a poor angle and "too close up" but it does demonstrate the detail they are trying to pitch. (still photos intermixed into the video would have been much more effective)
The slightly higher angle and panned out view of the Swiss Gotthard video does a better job of hiding the ugly ride-height of the Amfleet cars and is overall more pleasing...I do agree with that.
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Post by dazed on Mar 31, 2018 11:20:34 GMT -5
Since I had no idea what the op was referring to, (and I suspect others wouldn't know either) I Googled around and here are the links: Model Train Stuff: Swiss Gotthard:
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Post by dazed on Mar 24, 2018 21:50:06 GMT -5
Ha, that was good stuff.
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