Just got in the door from Trainfest, Hide your wallet, hide your kids, especially hide the wife, I regret to inform those of you on some sort of budget Intermountain is bringing to N SCALE..... ...... ...... Southern Pacific AC-12s !!!!! :thumbs_up: :tb-biggrin::tb-cool: Right now all they were showing was 3d computer models off of a laptop, but the rep said as of right now it is a go. He also stated that after the FP-7s are done they may take a look at FP-9s! MORE TRAINFEST Stuff coming...
Hell, for all the build up you would think it was something really spectacular like a Pennsy K4 or , dare I say it, an M1a. But an Ac 12? The wallet, the kids, the wife and even the neighbor's mongrel pet is safe.
Yeah, this was the same AC 12 I mentioned in Febuary (erroniously refered to as an AS16 cab forward... then AC 6 I know nothing about SP steam). Atlas Model Railroad Co. - Springfield Report
I am Happy Yes very Happy I will have 5 or so years to save up they are mmmmmmmmmmm five years from there anouncement to having a SD45-2 Dave
Dave, You may or may not have the full 5 years. IM announced they were planning on making the N scale cab forward at the convention in Denver in August 2005! So, when does the clock start ticking? :teeth: Carter
My dad thought the world revolved around the AC's. He wanted one for his N scale layout in the worst way. You see he worked for REA out of Mojave, CA working the mail trains pulled by those mighty engines. He always referred to them with a nick, "Back-ups". He would explain, "Well, they turned the engine around and ran them in reverse". He was right of course. He couldn't wait any longer and signed off with me for the last time... after I promised, I would get his n scale layout back-up and running. I also promised him that should they ever make a "Back-up" it would operate on his layout. He's gone now...God rest his soul. Which prompts the question, "How much longer do we have to wait before we get those beloved locomotives...we desire?" Got to have one of those "Back-ups". Maybe I can buy one in twenty years at a swap-meet...do you think?
They had a prototype FP-7 there, the rep said it is basically under the hood, an extended frame and driveshaft version of their F7. It looked good to me sitting on the table, although without a reference with me on hand, I don't have all the EMD Blueprints in grained in my head, it looked as good as I could tell.
Forget the FP9, what about a straight F9, I'm sure more roads had them than had FP's. I'll take them in ATSF cigar band and yellow/blue warbonnet schemes please. Regarding the cab forward, if I did want one I think as someone else said, I'd wait for the 3rd or 4th run considering the deplorable standards of production and quality control with recent US prototype N scale steam.
NP FP7's never served the NCL. Two 'A' units (6600-6601) were purchased in 1952 for train service of trains 11 & 12 between St. Paul/International Falls. The units did not have dynamic braking which prohibited their running in the mountain territories. See page 43, Northern Pacific Color Pictorial - Volume I, by Joeseph W. Shine. :tb-biggrin:
