Most railroads had 4-8-4s yet there are only a couple of N scale examples... how bout a (Universal with the ability to change driver sizes and pilot and trailing trucks) 4-8-4 mechanism and a variety of boilers to fit it?? Rock Island, CNW,D&H,GTW,SOO,CB&Q,CN,CV,Milw,ATSF,UP,GN, etc..... The same could be said for 4-6-4s . I don't care if they are kit like as long as a mechanism and boiler are designed to fit together without cutting and grinding. Randy
I'll put in a recommendation for a non-motive power item. I'd be interested in some EMD test equipment, namely test car et-800 and et-909. An SD40X wouldn't hurt either. Here's one with test car 909. http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=2920767 Jason
Brass Steam would be great. There are only a few specific models that do well in ready-to-run plastic like the big artiulateds, a few of the famous 4-8-4s and many of the USRA brethren. Some of the smaller more generic 2-8-0s, 4-6-0s and such seem to be doing well lately. Brass has traditionally gone after the more railroad specific models where it can demand the higher price to cover its increased cost from the modelers who want the more prototype fidelity. In years past, when I could not regularly afford the brass prices, I did my best to kluge, kit-bash and modify whatever I could find in the plastic locomotives to approximate a railroad specific prototype. If new state of the art brass locomotives with excellent running qualities became available for the railroads that I model, I would be more inclined to buy them instead of searching the auction sites for old brass that may not run very well.
I'm in for NP U-boats. And heck yes, new N steam would obviously fill necessary voids! People may say we have many offerings, but I ask why my 40 year old Mallet is quieter than my brand new 4-6-2. I would kill for some good affordable Northerns, Pacifics and the like. Additionally, I'm all in for end-user swappable shells and such. Anything to expand our rosters!
I have seen steam era Rayonier in model form. I am not sure about the diesel. You might check 4L about that.
the AS616, AS16, DRS-6-6-1500 (I have controled one), AS-416, DRS-4-6-1500, DRS-4-4-1500, DRS-4-4-1000 and the RS-12 are all very simular and not modeled. Many classic Class 1's and shortlines can be modeled with them. The SMS lines in New Jersey still runs Baldwin road switchers
Could use a PRR unit for helper service on the east slope: http://www.railpictures.net/images/d1/7/0/4/4704.1169820000.jpg
I hate to to be a wet blanket, but is N scale brass even a viable way to get a good return on investment these days? There are bazillions of locomotives I'd love to see made, but I'm assuming that there must be some reason that N scale brass models pretty much dried up five years ago. Care to give us a peek behind the manufacturer/importer curtain, Scott? -Mark
More wet blankets... Wet Blanket Alert!!! Sure am glad that Mark threw the first wet blanket... LOL The diesel locomotive realm in N scale is plastic... not brass. To a small extent... there may be some diesels that would likely never be manufactured by the mainstream model railroad companies... but... as Mark stated the brass market is limited and may not be viable in this scale... at least for diesels. About the only viable brass models in N scale are the most steamers because everyone really wants them to LOOK just like the prototype. In plastic... that's not likely to happen too often. We get a lot of 'sort-of-like' steamers with popular roadnames plastered on them that attract the unknowing... or the desperate model railroader tired of waiting for a steamer that 'resembles' their prototype road (count me in both of those catagories). So now the other pet peeve that probably modelers in all scales complain about... COST versus Reliable running. There is no doubt that the amount of labor involved in creating a brass model that has high fidelity to the prototype will drive the cost of the model up well over the 'sort-of-like' plastic counterparts. BUT... the brass models have generally a bad previous record for running quality. The drive train (pun?) for a plastic model has been proven reliable for many years and the cost for a NON DCC equiped model (MSRP $120.00) with a discounted price well under $100. IN FACT... if Bachmann were to decide on a U25C... it would probably have dual-mode DC/DCC for under $100. OF COURSE... you get what you pay-for in so far as the level of detail... but it is more acceptable in N scale diesel to add-on details as the modeler wishes. Steamers... on the other hand... can be a real problem in plastic... because they are still very labor intensive and are fraught with potential production issues. Then after they are delivered... if not perfect... get trashed by model railroaders expecting every rivit to be in place and in scale. And as for cost... the model railroader expects a Rolex for the price of a Timex. I feel that for most model railroaders (that can afford it)... it is far more acceptable to pay $1000.00 or more for an accurate brass steamer than to pay $250.00 or more for an accurate diesel hood unit. That's just my 2 cents worth (wait I can't afford that... give me my 2 cents back!). LOL
Well lets see here. Around 2002 I put a deposit on a OMI MILW Little Joe. I paid $580 for it new. I had it until about 2 years ago when I sold it on Ebay for $1,400. So yes I would say there is an good return on investment. However, one must be careful that if such item is EVER produced in plastic, it will make the price of that item fall like the housing market did in 2009!
I think there may be a market for N scale brass steam done right. I have a Key brass NKP Berkshire that runs and pulls as well as anything (Kato's Mike; GS-4; Athearn Challenger); I'd happily buy a couple more of these at the $600 price I paid for mine given the level of detail and superb running. Because nearly all steam locos were unique in their appliances and appearance for a particular road, there may be a small market for specific steam locos with correct details. But the price point would probably have to be in the $750 range, not $1000, and the most logical candidates would be big steam (an Allegheny, a Yellowstone, a C&O T1, Pennsy T1) that will never be mass produced (I believe we'll see a UP 4-8-4 from a mainstream manufacturer, because the market is there and there are already some 4-8-4 mechanisms that could serve as the base; but I don't see an Allegheny or Yellowstone in plastic ever). As for brass diesels - nope, just don't see the market. John C.
Scott- A respresentative of the Northern Pacific Railway Historical Association, (not me), is trying to find the best way of making contact with your company.
I've lived in South Florida for almost 40 years and recall Orange Blossom Hobbies being called the largest source for brass model railroading in the Southeast U. S. I went to Orange Blossom Hobbies regularly in the 1980's to 1990's until they closed. Unfortunatly for me... those were lean economic years for me with a young family. They had a fairly large stock of N SCALE brass steam and diesel locomotives. I could bare afford cheap plastic rolling stock at that time... but... I got a chance in the mid 1990's to take a look at a beautiful N scale Northern Pacific Z5 articulated. Orange Blossom apparently was downsizing their inventory... probably due to mismanagment (overstocking) inventory. The manager of the model railroad section took me back to the 'storage' area where they had hundreds of pieces (maybe thousands) of brass in all scales. He said that he could make me a really good deal on the Z5... only $900.00... which I was shocked to hear such an HIGH price for any N scale model. At that time they had FT in brass for $180 (just the A unit) and an RS-2 for about $150... all numbers which seemed ridiculously expensive to me. I was very appreciative for him to show me some of the items... but told hime I couldn't justify paying as much as my mortgage for one model train. I'm sure that Z5 was worth a lot more than the $900 offer... and who knows... maybe I could have negotiated a little lower than that... but the money just wasn't in my financial 'ballpark'. Today... I might just go for a good quality brass Z5 at $900.... but I'm sure it would be more like $1500 to $2000.
Sorry folks, I keep keep forgetting about the name...:uhoh: Just in case anyone is a little confused, everything I have suggested, the steam, the U25C, etc. would be offered in plastic or die-cast... The price range would be in the Kato neighborhood for DCC ready locos. However, our goal is to make state of the art, so if we can cram Sound into those tiny little buggers, WE WILL! That would put the price in the $250-$350 range... Does that change anybody's minds about what they would like to see or what they might be interested in?
N Scale Steam We have been looking at the challenges of steam in N scale. All of you out there who express concern over the reliability of plastic N scale steam are right on the mark. That is why we would be looking at several types of "blended" options... For steam with large boilers and fireboxes, we are considering using die cast frames and bodies or die cast frames with a plastic body. We would probably move the price up a little so that we could use brass for the side rods and all the linkages and steer away from that terrible trend to try and use plastic siderods at all costs.:frustrated: For the medium to small steam engines, we have considered two possibilities. One, we would use a die cast frame with a plastic body, or two, we would build a brass boiler to gain the detail and strength advantage that brass offers in a small space, but pair it with a die cast frame to gain weight and save on the overall cost. The option of using a die cast frame means that you could get could a model with brass body and details almost everywhere that's visible, but die cast internals and undersides that is within $100 of the cost of a model with a plastic body. If you check out the brass hybrid models being offered out there in HO and compare them to the similarly equipped plastic models from the same manufacturer you will see what I mean. Now, in HO having that brass boiler is nice because of the advantage of realism and higher quality detail, but its mainly a looks thing, but in N Scale... why it really could be the key to finally cracking that elusive quality and reliability vs. price conundrum. Would anyone consider buying one of these blended steam engines with an all brass boiler and brass cab if the price were below $500 (including sound and DCC)?
