Southern Pacific question

[Quentin]

If you're a Southern Pacific fan, what piece of rolling stock or motive power would you like to see made by Bachmann? They already have an SP GP40, a few different steam locos, and a 70-tonner, but that's it.

I, personally, would like to see an SD70ACe UP 1996 (Southern Pacific heritage unit) or a Dash 9 with the bloody nose and speed lettering.

[trainman203]

An M-4 mogul or a C-9 consolidation.  The present consolidation is a Harriman engine based an Illinois Central prototype, the C-9 was also a Harriman engine. They are very similar. A few detail revisions plus the addition of the medium oil Vanderbilt tender, whic Bachmann used to sell, would make a good C-9.  But the mogul is really what we should see someone offer in plastic. They are similar to moguls formerly everywhere, unlike the present oddball one Bachmann offers. Again, the medium oil Vanderbilt tender would serve well behind such an engine, so all they have to do is make the engine. 

With all of the molecular attention to prototype detail being lavished on the new Pennsylvania K4 and New York Central Hudson, it would be nice to see a real Southern Pacific mogul issued, instead of merely relettering  the present mogul.

[trainman203]

One thing to remember about model Southern Pacific moguls is that over many long years since the 1960s, there's almost continuously been some HO scale version of it offered. IHC did the last one in the 90s or so but it was a continuation of a fairly crude one offered earlier in the 80s by somebody else. There are lots of them on eBay at any time, but the many crude details and the huge flanges that won't run or anything else except code 100 rail make it not very desirable for anyone really except the train set bunch.

So, I believe there's an opening here for Bachmann to produce a very salable model steam engine. The Southern Pacific was the Pennsylvania railroad of the west coast, and all the way along the southern U S all the way to New Orleans as well. There are thousands upon thousands of SP model railroaders who would buy this engine. And others beyond that who would buy this relatively generic model to convert to something else similar.