N Scale Steam

[in_eden]

The T3's could be made from the Light Mountains fairly close. The T4 would be a slam dunk on the Heavy Mountain chassis. Just having the tenders would be worth it.

I've been told Bachmann may have something up their sleeve for the NY Toy Fair announcements. We'll just have to wait and see.

3rd Rail (O scale brass) is making a B&O Mountain... I'm hoping that the knowledge that the B&O T 4-8-2s existed, and were both successful and eye pleasing will grow, allowing them to become manufactured.
You have insider info? I'll cross a finger or two.
I'm looking for anything remotely prototypically B&O... Ts, Ps, Qs or Ss!

[brokemoto]

There are a number of B&O steam locomotives out there, all USRA.

Model Power sells USRA light mikados and pacifics.  They suffer from 1970s construction methods, but substituting the B-mann SPECTRUM USRA Standard tender for the MP is a marked improvement.  The major modification to these required would be moving the center mounted headlight to the high position to reflect B&O practice.

B-mann sells a USRA 0-6-0.  They sell it in B&O in the 'prairie', 2-6-2, wheel arrangement, but since it is really a USRA 0-6-0 with idler trucks added, all that you need do is buy the 'prairie' and remove the idler trucks.  The number is also incorrect, but it is not difficult to remove the shell, erase the incorrect number, prepare the shell and add a correct number from a Microscale sheet.  As B-mann has been issuing new steam with decoders already in the tenders and has upgraded its 2-8-0 by the addition of a decoder, I would not be surprised to see the 0-6-0 issued with a decoder.  Both tenders in the SPECTRUM construction are already there.  The recently upgraded 0-6-0 sold well.  The final upgrade is a logical next step.  If B-mann were to put a decoder in the current version it would not work well with the current tender configuration.  The one flaw left in the 0-6-0/2-6-2 is the construction of the one live tender truck.  It creates a tremendous amount of drag on the locomotive.

I have done  a test fit of a SPECTRUM USRA switcher tender to the latest version of the 0-6-0.  The improvement in runnability and especially pulling power is remarkable.  Several have actually made the switch and they report findings similar to mine.

I would not mind seeing P-7s or P-1ds or Q-4s.  I would buy Ts or Big Sixes.  What I really want to see are P-3s and P-4s, as they worked the Washington and Baltimore commuter trains, but I would expect that they would appear only in brass.  Considering the price of brass and how poorly most N scale brass performs, I would hesitate to buy it.

[andrechapelon]

How bout a great running 4-8-4 with a common driver size and a zillion different boiler shells for your favorite RR or RR's ? D&H today ... Soo Line tomorrow ...

Have you checked over on Trainboard? There's a guy who appears to be developing shells (UP FEF, Santa Fe 3765, 3776 & 2900 classes) to fit on the Kato GS-4 chassis.

http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=128364

http://www.trainboard.com/grapevine/showthread.php?t=128619

Here's another thing to consider. The Bachmann J is based on an engine with 70" drivers. Other railroads with 70" driver 4-8-4's include NC&StL, SSW/SP (GS-7/8), DL&W, Wabash,  Lehigh Valley, Reading, D&RGW and Nacionales de Mexico. You'd need boxpoks for a number of them, but not for al (or at least not all axles). Toledo, Peoria & Western and Western Maryland engines as well as Temiskaming & Northern Ontario (later Ontario Northland) used 69" drivers - close enough.

You could probably alsoi use the same chassis for locos with drivers in the 72-73" range as the visual difference is small in N. These would include the first 2 SP GS classes plus GS-6, MP/D&RGW (M-68), CofG, C&O, GN (S-1), and WP.

Andre

[Roger Perkins]

  This is very refreshing to me to find all these post that reflect an interest in n-scale steam.  I attempt to model the steam era and also like B&O.  I am not a rivet counter, so had no qualms about having the Kato GS-4 painted in a simple B&O blue scheme.

I am still awaiting the 4-6-0 which has been discussed at length here and on the Atlas forum to come out in the second release and would be delighted it the short USRA tender was standard on it.