Just got the ok to let everyone know that we are in the process of working up a series of Smooth Side, Pullman Standard (and others later)Passenger cars. I can't talk due dates or car styles (figure the usual suspects!)at this point, those have been decided and we are working on them as we speak. I'll be able to say more in a few weeks. These will be 100% injection molded, no resin or photo etched sides... with all new trucks, accurate details and flawless paint. I am working on a way to get power into the cars for lighting, not sure if that will be the initial offering, but it is being addressed. I'm really stoked about doing this project!! Also an update on the SD40-2...making lightning progress on it. Chassis and trucks are designed and tooling should start in short order. Steve got the plastic shell components are designed,and we are looking at doing plastic railing that plug in much like the Kato N Scale engines do. I am also trying to get an accessory sprue designed that will have some "fussy bits" (as the Brits say) included so you can convert and or super detail your engine. Pricing TBD, costs are going up everywhere, but I think we will come in close to the GP-35's... I will also be securing next year's production in a few weeks and will know what we will be doing. All in all, including new track pieces in development (220 Straight and 100-120mm adaptor track section) 07 and 08 are looking good for Z. Cheers Joe PS...this is not a late April Fool's prank!!
Great news on the SD40-2! Can't wait for the first release. Whatever it is, I'm buying 2, stripping them and making them CSX.
East Coast Guys What is it with you CSX guys, always stripping!!!! Actually we are early in the paint scheme matrix, but CSX, dispite me adverse feelings for anything East of the Cascades, is a good choice for one of the first releases... ) Joe
Great News! Joe D', This is great news!!! The mention of passenger cars is great also. So many people wanting accurate passenger cars! Excellent! The SD40-2 will be s great offering too. I know a few with AT&SF/BNSF will be coming my way, perhaps strip some for Repaint. (Had to say that due to the above comments! :shade: ) Thanks for the update Joe! Hobo Tim
This is AWESOME news. I'll be stripping 2 AND kitbashing them into tunnel motors -- which means lengtening the chassis and shell a few feet. which also raised a bigger problem with kitbashes due to the plastic railings -- they are just impossible to glue. dave f.
Rail Engineering plastics aren't the only option here. ABS and Styrene can be used, we are still noodling it all over at this point. I'd like to have a material I could paint and glue...the latter two would fill the bill. Joe
For that thin of a cross section, Styrene is useless, and most forms of ABS are probably useless as well. Engineering plastics are used for these things for a reason... durability.
Wow... passenger cars in Z scale! And I was considering dropping out of Z since I really like passenger cars... and no one made any that I knew of. So... how about N scale?
Joe, this is AWESOME news!!! MTL passenger cars in Z... I can't wait. Sign me up for a couple of those inevitable CP Rail SD40-2's as well Cheers, Dan MacKellar
Passenger cars Don't drop out of Z...you will hate yourself later on ) I have tried several times to sell passenger cars in N scale, difficult to do at this point with so much out there. I plan on making the arguement that Concor makes Autoracks for half what we do yet we still sell them out everytime we do them. Same goes with passenger cars I guess. We will see.. Joe
The only thing I wonder about the PAX cars...will they be sold in sets or will we need to piece together a whole train by buying one car a month? Very good news though!. They make glue for engineering plastic. It looks like black super glue, Cyrnopoxy maybe (?) I wished the stirrups on your newer cars were still engineering plastic. That was always a MT thing, if they broke you could easily replace them. Like the PS-2, if you break those... Plus the engineering plastic stirrups seem to have finer, thinner detail. This is what I do when my big fingers break them off:
Really I didn't break them off, they were cut. Since Roberts 70T hoppers are sold out everywhere. I tried to make one myself from the AT&SF car.
John, If one of the first is CSX, I'll still end up with at least two, strip one and make it the New Image paint scheme or the traditional paint scheme, depending on which paint scheme is released. Thanks Joe D' for the promising news! Joe
i know this is going to upset someone, but ... if MTL EVER wanted to do an undecorated limited release, it would pay for itself if it were the very first SD40-2 release. 1) because people want them -- the sooner the better (and undecorated would allow them to come sooner). 2) because it seems most people are going to strip them anyway, 3) it would get the SD40 into people's hands at ANY introductory price MTL wanted to charge ... AND still have earth-shaking new flashes with each road name released thereafter. 4) and because ........ somebody help me here ..... .... dave f. (oh boy ... now we've done it)
