Milwaukee Road Electrics petition

[SteamGene]

This comes from the Milwaukee Road Yahoo group:
Over at the Milwaukee Road Modelers yahoo user group there has been a
lot of talk lately about the desire for good electric locomotives
built in plastic. Right now bra$$ is the only option and, well, we
all know about that. I've started a petition to see how many
signatures I can gather toward the goal of producing a Little Joe
(EF-4 or EP-4) electric locomotive in plastic, in HO scale. If any of
you would be interested in purchasing such a locomotive, please follow
the link and make your voice heard! We hope that with enough
signatures, maybe someone will seriously start considering it.

http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/PlasticJoes/

Gene

[Ken]

Gene

  Take a look at the EP-4 models made by Frateschi in plastic, the units were built for service in Brazil. Might be of interest?. I do not have any
photos of the Milwaukee engines to compare the models to.

  http://www.frateschi.com.br/products/v8_eng.php


     Ken
      GWN

[SteamGene]

Ken, I can pass that back to the Milwaukee group.  However, I get a "not found" error message.  Is it possible that you cut off part of the URL?
The Little Joe resembles a rather massive EMD cab unit with panographs.  The front almost looks like it has late Tycho talgo trucks. 
Gene

[SteamGene]

I managed to find the site by searching for the company.  Nice ten Wheeler and Consolidation!  You early 20th/late 19th century guys need to take a look at them!
They do resemble Little Joes, but apparently they were bought from or are copies of a New Haven electric built about the time the Little Joes were made.  I think I'll still pass on the company to the road lovers.
Thanks.
Gene

[Ken]

  Gene
  Glad you found Frateschi site, I usually check posting to make sure
address works, had to leave for PT work, ran out of time.

  As a side  note, there is another company in SA that produces  a
  Shovel nose diesel (WP&Y) in HO based on the first order of units which went to SA, 4 years before the WP&Y got theirs. But! for the life of me I cannot find their web site again. Cannot even remember which country
they were in, believe it was Argentina (but don't quote me)

  Ken
   GWN

[r.cprmier]

Caliente Cachorro!!!!!

And in Portuguese yet!  That is one way to drum up business.  You don't even have to scale out the voltage-11,000Voltas

That is one great looking starter.  It could turn into a Little Joe (Joaoito) or a Big Bad EF-3 YELLOWJACKET!!!!  All with a lil' work.  Man, I like that!
NOW...To find out where thay are for sale-and if el dollar-o hasn't shrunk too Gawdawful much!

Caio

Rich

[Conrail Quality]

Well, I would love to have a Little Joe available for less than brass prices. As for the Frateschi V-8, here is how things compare:
Brazillian V-8

New Haven EP-4

Little Joe


Similar body shape on all of them, but the detials varied. The problem with kitbashing the Little Joe is that it had a 2-D+D-2 wheel arraifngment, as opposed to 2-C+C-2 for most other electrics of the time (Including the V8 and EP-4). So using the Frateschi model as a starting point would be pretty difficult.

[pdlethbridge]

this works. and miami trains carries the v8 http://www.miamitrains.com/store/index.html
they list these prices
FRATESCHI

3051    R.F.F.S.A. (Fase 6a. Divisao - Central) EP4 $91.95
3059    2-C+C-2 FEPASA - Ferroviaria Paulista S.A.(Fase III) EP4  $91.95
http://www.frateschi.com.br/produtos/v8_eng.php

[r.cprmier]

If I read it right, the price is 91.95.  I think it may be worth the plunge.  Either that or I have been scratchbuilding way too long and have become a masochist.

Conrail, you have to admit; based on the "options" available to you and I, and that really great picture in Don Ball's "America's Colourful Railroads" nudging us on, it is worth thinking about.  Keep me posted, OK?

PDLethbridge;
Thanks greatly for the wonderful pictures; they are an inspiration and a half!

[pdlethbridge]

picture credits should go to conrail

[SteamGene]

I need to hear "Thank you oh great Chicago, Milwaukee, St. Paul and Pacific Railroad.  May you have high balls forever!" from the New Haven bunch. 
Gene

[r.cprmier]

Gene;
Yeah yeah.  Let's not forget who pioneered electric overhead and third rail systems in the first place, OK?  I seem to recall reading that the New Haven was instrumental in the Milwaulkee's development of their electrical system.    I also seem to recall how the New Haven engineering dept. was instrumental in the tunnelwork on the Cascade project.  Talk about sleeping with the enemy!   In retrospect, I really do not believe the New haven owes much to anyone in that dept; they, George Westinghouse, and Tom Edison seemed to have muddled through well enough on their own.

Cheers (To borrow a phrase....)

Rich

[pdlethbridge]

One thing is certain, they could share info and help because they did not compete.

[r.cprmier]

They did not compete because a lot of times, one railroad owned shares of the other's company; or there were trackage/equipment usage agreements in place.