AZL April 2023 New Items Part 2

Looks like the KCS E8 might be the first locomotive of the second run of E8/E9s. Any hints on upcoming road names or can we just whine about what we would like to see next? I'm assuming that there will at least be UP E8s for the COLA. I would like to see reruns of the ATSF E8 A/B and IC E8/E9 A/B units. Or you could really make me happy with a CRIP E8 in the rocket paint scheme.
Mark

Great looking E8, but what does it pull?

Had seen these early on into discovering Z Scale 

#AZL-81500 Type C Tractors

The Baggage Express?

My Dear AZLers,

I am lost here. By tractor are you referring to trucks that pulled trailers or farm tractor with the two big wheels with herringbone tread? In either case, greater appeal is offered by that which old railroad literature calls piggybacks. Two 53-foot square-cornered pups or two 32-foot Fruehauf Aerovan trailers are the on-flat car vehicles I’d like to see. As Hans might say, look at the photos. Well, the aforementioned may be seen, on- and off-car, throughout Chicago’s downtown railyards of yesteryear.

Also, International R-190 tractor and rounded front-end Fruehauf Aerovans may be seen flanking the prototype of the Archistories-Ztrack Center freight house. (Trivia question: We all know were that freight house stood, right? We all know what famous streamliner departed right in front of it, right?) AZL has all ready proven itself with on-flat car military vehicles. Easily, then, AZL could produce flat cars that could accommodate contracted third-party vehicles. Look at the beautiful specimens offered by Mad About Cars on Shapeways. (Incidentally, Showcase Miniatures Z scale products are 200:1.) I believe Mad About Cars on Shapeways features a Z scale 1954 International R-190.

Lastly, SD40-2s are like a fine wine. They need time to ferment. The combine cars seem an easy path to tooling given how the actual protoptypes were constructed and with the full line of Z scale heavyweights all ready realized. Baltimore and Ohio would be a good introductory release for the combines. COLA I bet is waiting to have its release synchronized with a holiday or some special occasion. Did you know there’s a B&O combine car sitting at a railroad museum in Massachusetts?! The second run of E8/E9s is a beautiful thing. With this we may expect to see some thunderous glories that hauled passenger service along the Potomac. ’Course those B&Os may come after the release of B&O combine cars.

Lost my train of thought (Pun intended.). I remain an advocate of the production of the open auto racks. Mad About Cars would be an excellent candidate for providing on-car vehicles. Found a photo, attached, that features both pup-size trailers on-flat car and open auto racks. Both open auto racks and piggybacks were observed frequently in the youth of Yours Truly moving through the town where summers were spent as a boy. EZ-sweet AZL tooling can-do projects in my estimation.

AZL is remarkable.

Scott