Hi Group, March 29th, 07. Thursday 20:00 Hrs. M.D.T. In Regards to the Shark Noses. I was Able to Buy a D & H AA Set at Trains & Such in Calgary. It was the Only Set They Had so I Grabed It. Even Though I Model Western Roads I Took the Set as I Do Remember the PA1s that D & H Had Years Ago. It Kato or Anyone Else Ever Produces a Set of Shark Noses or PA 1s, Get Them While You Can. Well Worth the Costs.:asl: Thanks Group, Have a Great Wkd Comming Up.
Neal's N-Gauging Trains was at the G-berg in Edison, New Jersey. He had an A-B pair in SP Black Widow and one in BN Green. He had one other in a Phantasy Scheme, but I forget which road it was, now. Neither SP nor BN (nor did any of BN's component roads) had 'em, but........................ He may or may not have sold them, by now, but if you contact him, I am sure that he can tell you.
The D&H paint scheme is one that I have never seen at a "closeout" price on that Internet Auction Community or anywhere else for that matter. It's certainly nice-- although I may be biased since my model line interchanges with the D&H...
I bought one set of D&H from the same guy who has the closeout prices but the bidding was fierce, I ended up paying enough to almost buy 3 sets at the current super fire sale price. It was early when that seller first started carrying them. Worth every penny though, especially with the Digitrax decoders in them, nice runners.
I bought an ABBA set of Pennsy five stripers when they first came out. I was somewhat disapointed in the paint especially the silver grills. But I was more dismayed as to how they sound. The grills were solved with some paint and the sound was cured by running themon filtered DC with no pulse. After that they ran very well. So when MicroMark had a sale on these I picked up another ABBA set. These were and still are a disaster. They will require more work than just a little paint.
Ink, I've been thinking about pickiing up a few sets to make the ABBA lashup myself. At current prices, it is just really inexpensive to do so. And I hear some people say they work great, are great pullers, etc. Then I hear people like yourself saying they are a disaster. Nothing is too cheap if it is a constant problem. As much as I want to buy them, something in the back of my head says don't so it. The sharknose looks great, but I am more than tempted to make an ABBA set of LL FAs from Walthers at about the same price. I've only heard good things about the FAs.
I've been very happy with mine. They are noisy, but run fine. The real ones were pretty noisy too! You can't go wrong with the FAs either. I had already purchased 4 Deluxe Shark shells and 4 FA/Bs to roll my own when the Cheap ER ones came up on sale last year, so I now have 4 ER Sharks and 4 LL F's in pieces!
Quote: I've only heard good things about the FAs. That's because they are good things. I have 14 units, (4 ABA sets and an AB for backup power). They'll be power for my though freights. Finally got the all ALCO roster I've always wanted. Noisy isn't necessarily a sign of a poor locomotive. My old Rapido FA's growled almost as loud as the real thing. But they had an extremely sturdy mechanism. (All brass, as I recall). Frank
I would definitely not call my Sharknoses a disaster. Got a single stripe ABBA set (or two AB sets...) and a five-stripe ABA set. These engines are noisy, but they all run well. I still have to convert them to MTL, which means to build coupler mounting pads for the noses. I would always recommend these engines. Another positive surprise for me is the Bachmann H16-44, also a smooth running engine, far better than I had expected. Due to the many specials for the LifeLike FAs, I, too, have a whole fleet of them, PRR FA1s and FA2s, NYC, New Haven. All are great models.
My Sharknoses are E-R models. As far as I know E-R is no longer in business. I understood that Bachmann manufactured the models for E-R and are now selling these engines under their own name (This was the reason why I mentioned the FM H16-44). There is also a cast shell by JnJ, listed on their website, which shall fit the LifeLike FA.
Alright, here is a tough question for all you sharknose pundits around here: For those of you that really love the sharknoses, how many are enough? I already have an A-B set, but I think I might know where I could get another set. I'd really like to see an ABBA lashup. So, how many sharks are enough? Should I go for a full ABBA lashup?
No doubt the Sharks are noisy, but the FA's aren't exactly quiet. I'm wondering if much of the noise comes from vibration transmitted to the road bed, and then to the groundwork. I have three long bridges on my layout. They are total vibration dampers--a noisy engine becomes much quieter on the bridge. The Sharks were pretty quiet on the bridges, but noisy when they got back on the groundwork. The Shark were medium-weights when it came to pulling. But their top speed was realistic, and they ran quite well.
Because of different control systems the Baldwin locomotives could not MU with other manufacturer's engines so they tended to operate with other Baldwin locomotives. An ABBA set is a nice sight especially if coupled nice and close with Unimate couplers.
Pete, on what control system are you operating your locomotives? The reason I ask is mine were noisy when I ran them at home on an MRC powerpack also. However, when I took them to the club and ran them on the Aristo Craft radio throttles they were silent. Our Aristo throttles run on filtered DC with no spike [pulse]. It's the pulse, as in the MRC packs, that cause the noise. They also make a gear whine at high speeds caused by the gear reduction. These things were built with low speeds in mind and operate very well [and quiet too] at lower speeds and filtered DC current.
I have a NYC ABBA set in lightning stripes and a D&H AA set. After adjusting the guage, (they're all too narrow), and filing the truck side frames (because once you adjust the guage the wheels rub on the sideframes) they run and look great. I don't mind the "whine" as it's not very severe at the slow speeds I run my freight trains. The ABBA will outpull all the loaded hoppers I own!
