Con Cor E8s

oldrk Feb 27, 2007

  1. oldrk

    oldrk TrainBoard Supporter

    3,700
    186
    51
    Are they any good? What are the mechs like? Any pictures of the mechs?
     
  2. Powersteamguy1790

    Powersteamguy1790 Permanently dispatched

    10,785
    10
    115
    I'll take Kato E-8's anytime. Now, those are E-8's.:lightning::lightning:

    Stay cool and run steam......:cool::cool:
     
  3. dascrab

    dascrab E-Mail Bounces

    59
    0
    14
    I'll give the worst first..
    They have a truck mounted pilot and the body detail is bit overly high. The good news is that they are made by kato and are strong pullers. If you have a nice donor pilot, it can be mounted onto the con cor body easily enough. I will agree with Powersteamguy though. The Kato brand is better.
    RICK
     
  4. atsf_arizona

    atsf_arizona TrainBoard Supporter

    1,811
    184
    39
    Yes, go with the Kato E8s. Definitely best of breed.
     
  5. AB&CRRone

    AB&CRRone TrainBoard Supporter

    1,700
    1
    28

    Here are scans of the mechanism. Typical 3-piece frame construction.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    Ben
     
  6. r_i_straw

    r_i_straw Mostly N Scale Staff Member

    22,267
    50,082
    253
    The first ones were made by Kato, however when Con Cor and Kato parted ways, Con Cor got the tooling and they are now made in China. Old tech, not state of the art. But if you can get them cheep, they are rugged and will grind away for hours.
     
  7. AB&CRRone

    AB&CRRone TrainBoard Supporter

    1,700
    1
    28

    The one in the scan is from a mid-1990's run, undoubtedly the made-in-China version. And "grind" is very descriptive. I bought three in order to get two mechanisms for an AB consist that ran well together. This one is the third.

    I never owned one of the Kato built E8's. I did have Kato built and made-in-China PA's and the Kato built ones were superior.

    Ben
     
  8. oldrk

    oldrk TrainBoard Supporter

    3,700
    186
    51
    Does the pilot snap off of the front truck and could it be mounted on the shell?
     
  9. AB&CRRone

    AB&CRRone TrainBoard Supporter

    1,700
    1
    28

    Not sure it can simply be snapped off. It could be removed at least by cutting but mounting it on the shell would require a shim to keep it from riding "high."

    Ben
     

Share This Page