Any chance of an FT A&B in N scale?

[Albert in N]

Bachmann's HO FT units in Santa Fe blue and yellow freight colors look good.  I could certainly use some in N scale from Bachmann.   The new couplers and dual mode decoder would make  "must have units".  If these are planned, don't forget  the blue and yellow Santa Fe freight colors.   After searching train shows for years, I found an old Kato F-7 in ATSF blue and yellow freight colors.  After adding numbers to the numberboards and converting the Rapido couplers to modern knuckle couplers, it is a keeper.  For unknown reasons, the ATSF blue and yellow freight colors have been neglected on N scale F units.  I'd even welcome a Bachmann Standard F unit in ATSF freight colors.

[skipgear]

Which version would you like?

http://www.intermountain-railway.com/n/html/69001.htm

http://www.intermountain-railway.com/n/html/69013.html

I'm not sure FT's were ever painted in Blue freight scheme.

F7's

Yellow Bonnet - http://www.intermountain-railway.com/n/html/69221.htm

Blue Bonnet - http://www.intermountain-railway.com/n/html/69222.htm

There are also Cat whisker and Cigar band versions like the FT's.

[brokemoto]

Micro-Trains and Intermountain have done these.   IM has done most, if not all, of the roads that had these things, some in different paint schemes.  For this reason, despite B-mann's having done these in HO, I would suspect that Bachpersonn would shy from them, as they probably would not sell too well.

No one has done an F-2, yet.  Not many roads had the things because EMD ran them only one or two years.  I do not remember if IM has stated an intention to do F-2s.

[Albert in N]

I am not sure of IM still producing these and availability.  I do own an Intermountain BN F-7 and it runs good, but I prefer Kato or my Bachmann Spectrum F-7s.  Probably it relates to the IM fragile metal side screen mounting and slower drive train (like Atlas scale speed).   Sure the cast plastic Bachmann or Kato side filter screens are not as detailed, but they are rugged so lifting a locomotive off the track is easier.  Posts on Atlas Forum have noted IM service and parts availability concerns.  I also noted no parts or service buttons on the IM website.  Spectrum F-7s seem to be no longer produced, but still available.  I probably need to get a set to repaint and decal in ATSF blue and yellow cigar band.  These have the single headlight, prototype to Santa Fe freight units.  In fact, Bachmann offers body shells from their parts department.  Who knows, but Bachmann may offer new F units soon.   Call it laziness, but I am not as excited about painting and decaling like in years past.

[Desertdweller]

AT&SF freight FT units were delivered in blue and yellow.

IM's FT units are very good.  I have an AB set in CB&Q light grey (another under-represented paint scheme) and they are very smooth runners.

I think if Bachmann would make an N-scale FT it would be a good seller.  It is an important loco historically:  the model that proved Diesels could handle the freight trains formerly entrusted to steam.  In fact, the blue and yellow AT&SF FT's were the first assigned to this duty.

FT demos ran on railroads all over the country.  A FT in EMD demo colors could be used on lots of model railroads.  Also, an FT would be an opportunity for Bachmann to release it in all kinds of first-generation paint schemes.

FT's had about a thirty-year lifespan on US railroads.  I remember seeing them in service on the C&NW and CGW in the 1960's.

Les

[skipgear]

FT's are the single most over produced loco in N scale. I highly doubt Bachmann would add to that. Intermountain and MicroTrains both brought them to market at about the same time and flooded the market. Both companies lost money on the loco's because they ended up having to fire sale them just to dump inventory. I have both IM and MT FT's in B&O. I don't think I have paid more than $50 a set for any of them.

The IM and MT FT's are all over the place if you just look for them. It would be stupid for Bachmann to bring them out, at least not for a couple more years till the supply dries up, and with that, IM is finally producing them again, or at least trying too. Most of the production run was cancled due to lack of interest in pre-orders. MicroTrains was so burnt by the FT explosion that they have sworn off producing any more N scale loco's.

[Desertdweller]

Tony,

I disagree that FT's are the "most overproduced loco in N scale."  The companies that aim for the mass market (Bachmann, Life-Like, Atlas) have never produced an FT, although F-7's and F-9's have been churned out in awesome quantities since the late 1960's.

As best as I can recall, the Microtrains and Intermountain FT's were the only ones on the market.  And these are small-volume manufacturers, compared to the other three.

If you were able to purchase a MT or IM set of these for $50, you did very well.  For my FT set I paid $150 at a Hobbytown, and that was discounted $50 below list price.  Maybe the poor sales you mentioned were not so much due to the choice of prototype as to overpricing.

I'm not sure there is such a thing as an overproduced loco in N scale, but if there is, it would surely be the F-7.  It's hard to think of a manufacturer who did not build these.  Just the same, I love them.  They are a great loco for modelers of the transition era and post transition era.  Used on Class Ones, regionals, and short lines.  Passenger and freight versions.  At home on almost all railroads in the fifties and sixties.

Les

[skipgear]

Over produced as in more produced than there is demand for.

Again, Microtrains lost a pile of money on the FT tooling. They never produced enough to pay for it and sat on what they did make forever. There are still IM and MT FT's available all over E-bay, and retail stores. BLW and MBKlien show many variations in stock. IM just cancled their first re-run of them in 3 years because of lack of interest. 

I can't see how you think this loco is in such huge demand. They were an early Pre-War , steam era diesel that didn't last long past the war and were replaced with later updated/upgraded F units. I model the era they were used in 45-50 but most people model a time past that when they were long gone.

[Desertdweller]

Tony,

I think the FT should sell because it was so commonly used, and because of its great historical importance.  These units were in service far beyond the 1945-50 time frame you mentioned.  I personally recall seeing these in service well into the 1960's.

These units were used in both freight and passenger service.  They were the only road freight unit allowed to remain in production during WWII.

Maybe the reason the IM and MT FT's didn't sell well was because of their high price.  These units sold in a higher priced market than the contemporary F units sold by Bachmann.  They were at least double the price of Spectrum F-7's.  Even at that, I feel they were worth it.  Perhaps the market for FT's at that price wasn't big enough for IM and MT both at the same time.

Les

[skipgear]

The flaw in your logic is that Bachmann can bring them to market cheaper. The IM price was not that bad. It was actually about the same price as buying a Kato or IM F3/F7 AB set and they were more detailed. The Spectrum F7's have very nice shells but the mechanism is so so at best. It is not DCC friendly, in fact it is a PITA to install DCC in them, I've done it. That alone makes the price of the IM loco's worth it for many people. The detailing on the IM and MT loco's is a quantum step forward over the Bachmann F7. They are not in the same ball park.

Current Bachmann diesels with DCC (not even Spectrum) retail at $120.00. Double that for an AB two pack would make them $240 retail, right about where the MT loco's retailed. Now add in Bachmann's deep discount that most people give and you are in the $140-160 range, just about what the IM units sold for. Any new tooled loco is going to be done with DCC and is going to be more expensive that previous offerings. Times have changed, you are not going to see a $60 FT AB set like the F7's.

[Desertdweller]

If MT has tooling for FT bodies that they don't plan on using again, maybe it is an opportunity for Bachmann to buy it at a good price.  Injection mold tooling is a major factor in the cost of production.

As for the rest of the unit, the F-7 chassis and trucks should fit.

Les

[wcfn100]

Which version would you like?

The version with the short booster.


Jason

[Albert in N]

A Bachmann FT would look nice on the track beside my ATSF Bachmann Northern.  Like other modelers, I like the steam to diesel transition era.  Trains, and locomotives, were usually shorter and nearly always had a caboose.    At least Bachmann has introduced some new transition diesels.  Some of these (GP-7 and RS-3) may even soon be offered in ATSF freight colors.  In the meantime, I can run my Bachmann Standard FM H-16-44 diesel, in the old ATSF zebra stripe colors.