I have the ph V units from the first run # 62, 123, 134 and the blue does look teal. It should be darker, this alawys bugged me.
:thumbs_up: Nice! Also, they improved on the LEDs. The teal P42s had "icy white" LEDs whereas the improved ones have a warmer color as you have above. I'm so envious!
Thing is, I still see the teal. I went to a LHS on Sunday and they had a couple of the Amfleet/Viewliner sets with the loco, and all the locos were teal P42s. Maybe that's how Kato is getting rid of their teal inventory, by bundling them with passenger car sets.
I got ph V P42's from every run so far and they all match, also i have a pair of Atlas ph V -8 and the blue is a little darker but not by mutch, the silver on the other hand look lighter.
I have 123 and 62, and they're both teal-ish. Once weathered, it isn't as noticable, but it does still bother me a bit. What I can't figure out is how the two don't have even remotely close running characteristics. One is really slow compared to the other, at all speeds.
There are several reasons that one unit is slower than another, it can be that the motor of one is stronger than the motor of the other, less driveline friction, better electical connectivity and so on. Perhaps it just needs to run a bit to break it in a little more. This is not uncommon with any manufacturer, although it seems to be less common with Kato. I have many locomotives with different speeds from the same manufacturer and the same run. Not only are they different in the forward direction, they can also be different speeds in the reverse direction. By that I mean I have some locomotives that are demostrativly faster in reverse than they are going forward. As you get more and more locomotives, you will see more and more of these examples. If you have, or are going to have DCC, it will be no problem to speed match them to run together. I have all of my P42's converted to DCC and speed matched to run interchangeably. It just takes a little time and patience, but once it is done, you almost never have to worry about it again, not until the lcomotive changes charactersitics from age and use.
^ David, I know the reasonings, I've been model railroading since almost birth! :tb-wink: I've just never seen such a dramatic difference. It's really odd. I just have to speed match it to these two, which I've got almost perfect with each other:
I have pulled 14 supperliners, 6 MTH cars, 4 Auto racks & 3 road railers & I didnt even have my throtle half way open. KatoP42= A++++++
Amtrax Loco Color - Teal or Blue? Here are two photos of actual Amtrax locos. Looks like Kato 's color is pretty close, what do you think?
Pretty close to what? It's definitely closer to this one: Than this one: Methinks the design people at Kato were probably thinking more of this when they made the 1st run Amtrak P42s:
I was on the bubble before, but now that I see some pictures, I am thinking that I have to have passenger service now. Those P-42's look great to me! Craig
That photo is on lashedup's Celdonia modules. See my link below for more. I beleive lashedup made them, or kitbashed them himself....
I took my P42 +5 passenger cars (with lights) to the Club layout on Sunday.As everyone told me: "No Problems making the grade!" In fact I maintained a relatively low throttle setting and the TCS decoder made the necessary adjustments to maintain speed up the grades. Just like cruise control in my car. LOL One of the club members kept repeating "the lights don't flicker!" Yes the P42 and Phase VIb cars were a real pleasure. Looking forward to receiving three additional cars from the add on set.
Well, I went and spent some money at the LHS and picked one up. Of course I forgot to order a decoder for it. Looks like another trip to the shop real soon. Good thing Fathers Day is coming! Craig
