Why not a PRR K4 like the HO one?

[inkaneer]

Lots of people would like to see this come to pass.   With all the other RR specific steamers out that have been produced lately there really isn't a reason why we do not have a good running K4.   Bachmann is the one I would like to see do it.  Make it as good running as your HO model

[rustycoupler]

 We all have been asking this for a long time.   Dream.. dream  , oh and passenger cars too, nice streamlines and heavyweights.

[eric220]

Since the subject of an N Scale K4 has come up again, I will once again register my interest.

[mots]

I would prefer a non PRR Belpaire firebox steam loco. However, I would welcome a GN Belpaire firebox Steam loco.

I am a not a pennsy fan nor have I been.   

mots

[Desertdweller]

Minitrix used to make an N scale K4.  I think it had a cast metal body.

Cast metal bodies are, I think, a good idea for N scale.  By making the body itself the weight, it leaves more room for a bigger motor.

You could probably use a mill file to round off the shoulders of the Belpaire boiler if you wanted to model a more conventional Pacific.

Les

[mots]

I have a  MINITRIX k4 the body is plastic this should help

http://www.visi.com/~spookshow/trix462.html

mots

[Bucksco]

I would prefer a non PRR Belpaire firebox steam loco. However, I would welcome a GN Belpaire firebox Steam loco.

I am a not a pennsy fan nor have I been.   

mots

Nobody's perfect 

[in_eden]

K4 discussion? Is it that time already?
Let's all go back on the record.
I'll have 4.
Then make a general "heavy pacific" that can be done in B&O, Erie, AT&SF, Burlington, SP, Southern, and just about every other railroad that ever existed since nearly every Class A or Trunk line ran heavy pacifics at the heads of their major passenger trains!
I'll have several of those...

[1218classa]

As in my earlier thread on this subject I would also like to see this locomotive added to the selection of very high quality engines that Bachmann already produces.

[1218classa]

I started a thread about this in 2009 an it is still the most viewed and replied thread on this forum. That has got to tell Bachmann something.

[dtpowell]

It's a mystery to me. The Pennsy had 425 K4's. The L1 mikado with a similar boiler, 574. While the dome configurations were different. I believe dies could be produced to compensate and cut down on manufacturing costs. Perhaps the different dome (sand dome?) locations could be add on components.
These high appeal loco's seem to have been sadly overlooked for more obscure steamloco's.

P.S. BTW, I believe there may have been five L1 mikado's which used the same boiler as the K4.

[railtwister]

According to this link <http://www.steamlocomotive.com/mikado/?page=prr>, the Pennsy had a lot more than five L1 Mikes, and both the Pacific and the Mikados were designed to use the same boilers to reduce costs.

Even though their combined numbers neared 1000 locos, the design was visibly unique to the Pennsy, eliminating the possibility of using other paint schemes to broaden the potential market. This is why so much of the steam that has been offered in N scale thus far has been of the USRA designs, which ended up being used on many different railroads. The market for N scale is much smaller than HO, and out of the N scale market, only some are Pennsy modelers, and not every one models the steam era. Would there be enough support for these two models to justify the large expenditure required to cover the tooling and other production costs? Maybe the bean counters at Bachmann have their doubts, especially since they have access to their HO sales figures and know that N scale would be significantly less...

That said, although I am not a Pennsy modeler myself, if these two locos were to come out, and they were to be good runners (with no splitting gears or other design flaws!), I would likely buy one or more of each.

Bill in FtL   

[1218classa]

Talk about unique, the N&W produced only 14 class J 4-8-4s yet Bachmann chose to model that prototype in N scale two different times with completely different designs. The first time was before the rebuilding of #611. There may not be many N scalers out there that model the Pennsy but I guarantee you that there are far fewer N scalers that model the Norfolk and Western!  I don't think saying that there are fewer N scalers out there than HO is a really good reason that they don't develop a K4 in N.

[railtwister]

The N&W J was a better choice than a K4 simply because of the fact that it was seen by many so people in recent years, and on tracks other than N&W's, due to the N&W/NS steam excursion program tours. I rode behind it many years ago (maybe 25?) on a trip from Jacksonville, FL to Valdosta, Ga and back. What a great ride that was! Because of that experience, the J became one of my favorite steam locos, and I have one of the most recent Bachmann's N scale model of it, even though I don't model N&W. If a Pennsy K4 had toured several states like the N&W J & Class A, or the SP GS4, we probably would already have a model of it in N scale. I didn't get one of the early runs of the Bachmann N scale J because it didn't run that well, so performance is an important consideration, as well.

Bachmann has made a couple of runs of the K4 in HO. The fact that they did make a second run in HO may indicate that it's still a possibility for N scale - we can only hope!

Bill in FtL

[Desertdweller]

I don't model the Pennsy, likely because I've never had any exposure to it.  But it does seem to have more of a following among modelers than its rivals.

It certainly is a worthwhile subject to model.  Sort of a UP or SP of the East.  In many ways it lived up to its motto "Standard Railroad of the World".

Among its locomotives, the K4 is an iconic type.  It is still the locomotive many people no doubt associate with the PRR.  It was also used throughout the system, including on the highly publicized name passenger trains.

And it was used throughout the transition era, an especially popular era to model.

I think big operations like the PRR are especially well suited to N-scale modeling.

With excellent in-house designs, and lack of reliance on USRA-types, PRR steamers are very recognizable, another plus for a modeler.  I would say the K4 is the iconic locomotive for an iconic American railroad.

This locomotive should be available in all modeling scales, especially in N.

Les