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Post by jlwii2000 on Oct 27, 2014 16:03:30 GMT -8
For your viewing pleasure (or displeasure for some of you who aren't fans):
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Post by valenciajim on Oct 27, 2014 17:03:51 GMT -8
Thanks. Another excellent review on a great layout!
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Post by theengineshed on Oct 27, 2014 17:12:41 GMT -8
Does this one get the miter saw verdict as well?  |
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Post by jlwii2000 on Oct 27, 2014 17:32:46 GMT -8
Does this one get the miter saw verdict as well? I'm not following? Miter saw? |
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Post by theengineshed on Oct 27, 2014 17:44:17 GMT -8
Does this one get the miter saw verdict as well? I'm not following? Miter saw? Its a monsterrailroad thing. Circular saws, models you don't care for... |
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Post by atsfan on Oct 27, 2014 17:51:58 GMT -8
Watch Al's Bachmann review
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Post by jlwii2000 on Oct 27, 2014 18:24:44 GMT -8
Oh ok. Now I get it. I leave the model cutting to Al. I might take a finger off with it. However, this Intermountain model is good stuff IMO.
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Post by grabbem88 on Oct 27, 2014 18:56:25 GMT -8
Great review but that horn sounded weak and strained
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Post by wmcbride on Oct 27, 2014 19:03:48 GMT -8
Great review but that horn sounded weak and strained The Bowser C430 with Loksound really sold me on Loksound decoders. I have always thought any Tsunami horn (with the exception of F units) sounded thin - even after replacing the OEM speakers with bass reflex or higher quality speakers. I suspect any weakness in this Intermountain is due to the cheesy speakers they install. I have replaced my other Intermountain ES44 speakers with Railmaster speakers and that improves things tremendously. That Rock Island is a sharp scheme. Bill McBride |
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Post by grabbem88 on Oct 28, 2014 5:11:56 GMT -8
That's my thing... All the esu's I have the horns sounded really well.... But I do my own speaker/decoder installs no factory..
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Post by bigblow69 on Oct 28, 2014 6:21:43 GMT -8
I am a fan of this engine as my avatar can attest. My big complaint involves the trucks. To me if you compare them to say the Athearn ES44AC steerable there is no comparison. The intermountains lack heft. I don't know about Intermountain's lugging ability as of late but the ones I had couldn't pull any train without massive wheel-slip. Sold them for scrap value.
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Post by magerp on Oct 29, 2014 7:35:12 GMT -8
Nice review. I like the fantasy roads that IM is coming out with, especially the Milwaukee road.
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Post by iccn1000 on Oct 29, 2014 7:46:45 GMT -8
BigBlow - Do you have grades on your layout?
Rob Gruber
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Post by bigblow69 on Oct 29, 2014 9:04:17 GMT -8
BigBlow - Do you have grades on your layout? Rob Gruber There is a grade from one end of the floor in the living room to the other. The grade is on a S curve unknown what it is and if cars are not tied down they will roll for few hundred scale feet before stopping. Simply put I am in this for the fun factor of DCC, control and all out running. I just had a floor put in the Kitchen, hall and landing and expansion can occur once financing is secured. This old house has unlevel floors and the contractors saw half the layout and thought I was crazy. |
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Post by IAISfan on Oct 29, 2014 12:26:13 GMT -8
Man, I looked like such an old grump! Like "get off my lawn!" grumpy! Sorry about that! Working a lot of OT the last couple weeks, and the lack of sleep really shows. I've got a lot to smile about in life, but you sure wouldn't know it from that video. :-)
James, it was a pleasure having you over for the review. Thanks so much for letting me take part. Stop back anytime!
One thing I might add to the review: It's been mentioned that this run of ES44ACs includes a new motor that lacks the power of previous versions. I tend to run short 15-20 car trains over a layout that's essentially flat, so it wasn't an apparent problem for me, but I've heard that those running longer trains or dealing with steeper grades may have issues.
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Post by bnsftcdiv on Oct 29, 2014 14:42:10 GMT -8
Thanks for a good review on these engines, and Joe, the railroad continues to improve, just getting better and better. Atlantic looked great and the creek (ditch?) look very good in the short time it was on there as the engine went by. Hope to get back there soon.
Dave Burman
modeling the modern Twin Cities
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Post by wisconsincentral on Oct 29, 2014 15:42:50 GMT -8
Thank you. I am going to have to pick up one or two of these units. Just because of your review.
Scott
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Post by bigb6flyer on Oct 30, 2014 9:45:42 GMT -8
Got my CSX #3029 yesterday. Great model. Very nice.
Brad
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Post by calzephyr on Oct 30, 2014 10:07:02 GMT -8
For your viewing pleasure (or displeasure for some of you who aren't fans): Thanks James for the review. Did you have drawings or references to check on detail and dimensions being correct?? The model looks good and seems to run well. Larry |
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Post by curtmc on Oct 30, 2014 20:18:09 GMT -8
For some reason I decided to get the IAIS 513 too... Probably because of the cool scheme. It arrived yesterday. The original plan was to also get a pair of NS and a pair of CSX (boxcar logo) in the coming weeks on a follow up order.
I have Intermountain Gevos from prior runs and were very pleased with them. The motors in the new run are nowhere as good as the prior runs. After seeing the lack of power in the new run, and reading reviews on TO about how weak they are at pulling (including those from Bruce - a person I trust to be correct on reviews) the plans to buy the other 4 have ended and I'm considering returning the one I got.
IM needs to offer replacement motors for them... As for now I'm done buying IM engines until they go back to a motor with adequate torque to pull...
PS. As a side note on these units, the IAIS ES44ACs were built to CSX specs (500-511 like CSX 800-949, and 512-513 like first CSX 950). IAIS #512 actually wore CSX paint (as first CSX #950) and was test/demo unit for GE (new nose with engineer side door). #513 was also GE demo unit originally.
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Post by bigblow69 on Oct 31, 2014 14:14:24 GMT -8
For some reason I decided to get the IAIS 513 too... Probably because of the cool scheme. It arrived yesterday. The original plan was to also get a pair of NS and a pair of CSX (boxcar logo) in the coming weeks on a follow up order. I have Intermountain Gevos from prior runs and were very pleased with them. The motors in the new run are nowhere as good as the prior runs. After seeing the lack of power in the new run, and reading reviews on TO about how weak they are at pulling (including those from Bruce - a person I trust to be correct on reviews) the plans to buy the other 4 have ended and I'm considering returning the one I got. IM needs to offer replacement motors for them... As for now I'm done buying IM engines until they go back to a motor with adequate torque to pull... PS. As a side note on these units, the IAIS ES44ACs were built to CSX specs (500-511 like CSX 800-949, and 512-513 like first CSX 950). IAIS #512 actually wore CSX paint (as first CSX #950) and was test/demo unit for GE (new nose with engineer side door). #513 was also GE demo unit originally. Yeah God forbid we'd actually want a model to pull a train or just sit and look pretty on a layout. Make a statement send them back. If no one complains things won't change and this will be the new norm. Price hasn't changed yet the quality is less. I'm waiting to see MTH(without protosound). The motor situation is the same reason I'm gobbling up older Atlas Dash 8's. The newer ones have a motor half the size. There is no way that IM's can keep up with Athearns,Kato's or the earlier Atlas's for that matter. |
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Post by jlwii2000 on Nov 5, 2014 18:00:58 GMT -8
For your viewing pleasure (or displeasure for some of you who aren't fans): Thanks James for the review. Did you have drawings or references to check on detail and dimensions being correct?? The model looks good and seems to run well. Larry Larry, I did some quick comparison to several shots of the prototype found on the internet to compare to the model. -James |
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Post by jlwii2000 on Nov 5, 2014 18:02:52 GMT -8
For some reason I decided to get the IAIS 513 too... Probably because of the cool scheme. It arrived yesterday. The original plan was to also get a pair of NS and a pair of CSX (boxcar logo) in the coming weeks on a follow up order. I have Intermountain Gevos from prior runs and were very pleased with them. The motors in the new run are nowhere as good as the prior runs. After seeing the lack of power in the new run, and reading reviews on TO about how weak they are at pulling (including those from Bruce - a person I trust to be correct on reviews) the plans to buy the other 4 have ended and I'm considering returning the one I got. IM needs to offer replacement motors for them... As for now I'm done buying IM engines until they go back to a motor with adequate torque to pull... PS. As a side note on these units, the IAIS ES44ACs were built to CSX specs (500-511 like CSX 800-949, and 512-513 like first CSX 950). IAIS #512 actually wore CSX paint (as first CSX #950) and was test/demo unit for GE (new nose with engineer side door). #513 was also GE demo unit originally. Because pulling power has been a reported issue by several modelers and I lost my pull meter during the move, I have added a note about pulling power in the video. The integrity of my reviews is highly important to me, and I didn't get a chance to witness first hand the lack of power. The note can be found as soon as the locomotive is unboxed and remains on screen for almost a minute. -James |
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Post by calzephyr on Nov 7, 2014 6:33:19 GMT -8
For some reason I decided to get the IAIS 513 too... Probably because of the cool scheme. It arrived yesterday. The original plan was to also get a pair of NS and a pair of CSX (boxcar logo) in the coming weeks on a follow up order. I have Intermountain Gevos from prior runs and were very pleased with them. The motors in the new run are nowhere as good as the prior runs. After seeing the lack of power in the new run, and reading reviews on TO about how weak they are at pulling (including those from Bruce - a person I trust to be correct on reviews) the plans to buy the other 4 have ended and I'm considering returning the one I got. IM needs to offer replacement motors for them... As for now I'm done buying IM engines until they go back to a motor with adequate torque to pull... PS. As a side note on these units, the IAIS ES44ACs were built to CSX specs (500-511 like CSX 800-949, and 512-513 like first CSX 950). IAIS #512 actually wore CSX paint (as first CSX #950) and was test/demo unit for GE (new nose with engineer side door). #513 was also GE demo unit originally. Yeah God forbid we'd actually want a model to pull a train or just sit and look pretty on a layout. Make a statement send them back. If no one complains things won't change and this will be the new norm. Price hasn't changed yet the quality is less. I'm waiting to see MTH(without protosound). The motor situation is the same reason I'm gobbling up older Atlas Dash 8's. The newer ones have a motor half the size. There is no way that IM's can keep up with Athearns,Kato's or the earlier Atlas's for that matter. It is amazing to me that the motor issue keeps coming up with the latest models. Maybe IM used the remaining motors from the AC 12 Cab Forwards in these latest units. The motor in the first two runs was very poor. I am told the latest run has a motor that is much better and the models will actually run on a layout. Larry |
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coy
Junior Member
Posts: 58
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Post by coy on Nov 11, 2014 13:53:57 GMT -8
Thanks for the review. Ordered a couple BNSF ES44ACs.
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Post by bigb6flyer on Nov 11, 2014 18:51:16 GMT -8
I've been running my CSX from this run (ESU sound equipped) with another IM Gevo (from the 2nd run w tsunami) and an Atlas Dash8-40C (non sound decoder equipped) as a pusher moving a 30 walthers bethgon coal train up and down a 2% grade layout with zero issues. They all run great together at various speeds.
Brad
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