The new standard line offerings have spectrum quality innards, but lack the amount of details that you would see on the spectrum line locomotives. They're running qualities will be excellent, but you will need to add miscellaneous detail parts.

There is still a large group of Analog modelers who disliked having to pay extra for electronics they would not be using. Secondly, decoders can be found around 15$ a piece. Also note that Bachmann shaved off 10$ from the MSRP to account for the lack of decoder.

No, this is not a thread about what locomotives are DCC ready. I'm very happy Bachmann has seen the light and has returned to the DCC ready trend. No longer do I have to discard Bachmann decoder in exchange for another manufacturers decoder. As I've said before, thanks for paying excellent attention to input received. Oh, and I will definitely be picking up some of those new 2-6-0s!

Looks like we're getting Alco switchers too!
http://www.pbase.com/tracktime/image/136264540
But wait, there's more!
FA-2s
http://www.pbase.com/tracktime/image/136264657

Yes the SD26s and GP7s were tired. Pan Am has been pulling surprises though. They now have two FP9s that they are rebuilding with 645 blocks for use on the business train. In addition, they have plans for 3 heritage schemes on 3 of the remaining GP9s used in yard and local service. I look forward to seeing B&M maroon, blue, and MEC gold geeps on the system.

D&H had the right location to take advantage of ALCo. In fact, I believe the D&H must have played a part in moving the majority of new locomotives from the ALCo plant in Schenectady to the owners. Had ALCo not been located on the D&H system, it's quite possible they would have far more EMD locomotives rostered (or may have never rostered the challengers?). As a side note, ALCo/FM still exists building marine and locomotive diesel engines, though most of the newly manufactured 251 engines are used in Australia.

Bachmann is one of a handful of major manufacturers that takes forum information to heart. Kudos to that, and providing a product that has been requested time and again. And this is where I sneak in my ploy- B&M 2-6-0s!

When Guilford bought the B&M properties everything was still 40mph. Trains moved at a reasonable pace until the strike, when the system pretty much fell to pieces. Today, fortunately, Pan Am and NS are both pumping large amount of cash into bringing the trackage back up to a competitive level. For the first time since the 1980s trains are cruising at 40mph again, a big improvement from the mess of 10s and 25s.  That is interesting about the tractive effort. Back then there was such an assortment of power it is surprising they didn't keep the locomotives with which the mechanical department had the most experience with. Today they're attempting to standardize on 645 engines and 3000 hp with GP40s, GP40-2Ws, and SD40-2s. Funny how the -2 electrical hardware is something they're now using. This standardizing is essentially what killed off the "cool" locomotives, and back in the day all the "cool" power came from everywhere as hand-me-downs to displace what had been a fairly uniform roster.

Back to the D&H... Delaware-Lackawanna still uses three former D&H RS-3s, painted up in the black and yellow scheme in which they were delivered. The latest unit they've acquired 4068, started off with that number before being sold to the Lamoille Valley in the 1970s as their 7801. When the LVRC closed in 1995 it found it's way to a Canadian tourist railroad before finally winding up back in home territory.

The GP35s were a mistake and have since been retired/scrapped (along with the cool old power like SD45s SD39s SD26s and GP7s). The GP40s were purchased from Conrail very cheaply. Though the GP39-2s were newer and had more advanced electrical, the GP40s had 3000 horsepower compared to 2300. Guilford still uses almost the entire fleet of GP40s, including several of New York Central heritage.

That is very flashy! I remember seeing the prototypes on a tour of the Wilmington shops (I assume Amtrak does most of the work on MARC's electric fleet). This may just inspire me to get back to work on a half dozen outstanding MBTA projects that I've paused from. Kudos to you both on an excellent finished product!

I've been advocating for a couple years that a 4-4-2 be produced by a major manufacturer. Many roads had them, and they were all different. By the time USRA came around there wasn't a huge need for smaller power and so that limits roadname possibilities slightly. In addition to that, most roads began pulling them out of service in the 1930s and 1940s, so only a handful made it to the transition era. Despite all that, the 4-4-0s in the Spectrum line must sell well for the company to consider both prototypes. There may be hope after all.

As Jeff said EL and the D&H were owned by NW subsidiary DERECO. The D&H provided a new market to eastern Canada as well as what could have been a direct connection to the B&M and the New England market. Unfortunately DERECO never took in the B&M, and the D&H and EL were spun off. The D&H was later picked up by Tim Mellon's Guilford Rail Systems, who made a big splash in the railroad world after deregulation. Mellon hoped to reach Chicago and tap into industrial market in the rest of the northeast. An unwanted child, Mellon let the D&H go a few years later, sucking much out of the company. When on it's own it was left with a hodgepodge of poorly maintained locomotives and trackage that had seen few capital improvements. It didn't make matters any better than the Colonie Shops, the main repair shops for D&H locomotives, had been mothballed by Guilford. After struggling through bankruptcy and temporary operators (New York, Susquehanna, & Western operated it for a few years after Guilford) Canadian Pacific stepped in. Sadly their 1990s trackwork was the first major work done on the route in decades. There are still a few D&H "heritage units" on the CP. These are GP38-2s that received the lightning stripe paint in the 1990s, I believe under CP ownership.

What is your situation? Are you running trains on the floor? A layout? What types of track are you using?

If you're using EZ track and wishing to connect it to flex track, you'll need to elevate the flex with strips of cork or similar roadbed material. Do you have a rail cutter like Xuron's? When forming a curve you'll need to shorten the inner rail.

I was reading an article a couple days ago, which accused the cars involved to be unstable. From looking at the pictures it appears every car remained upright and on the track. I'm very sorry for those involved, but the media has really blown this out of proportion.

Thanks Don. I have another car with some imperfections that I also plan on modifying. I figure a magnet with a hole drilled through it will act the same as the copper loop. I hope to start in on modifying an N scale hopper today, so we'll see how that goes.

*Many Weeks Later*
Having not done much modeling in many months, I finally "finished" the car over this last school vacation. I do plan on ordering a spool of ez line from Berkshire scenic to help keep the doors sprung closed. It's not pretty, but the workings of the car are not visible under normal viewing angles, and disappear when painted black. The car may or may not receive a paint job. The friend who I received it from had already given it several coats of paint, so it may not be until I actually get my hands on some "better" cars that they will actually go into service.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jHqHffNHq90