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Post by steveincleve on Oct 4, 2022 5:00:46 GMT -8
In the October 2005 issue of MR, there is a photo of an early production sample of a Tower 55 ES44AC. Tower 55 was supposed to be Overland Models foray into plastic models. They knew the end of brass was coming. I don't believe that the model ever went into production. At least I never saw one. Tower 55 also advertised that they were going to produce a 3-Unit UP "Big Blow" turbine in plastic. How far they got on that I do not know, but my question is: Did these early attempts morph into Scale Trains models, or did they disappear into the modeling ether?
Steve Kay
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cklx
Full Member
Posts: 123
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Post by cklx on Oct 4, 2022 5:08:53 GMT -8
Steve,
The molds of the T55 ES44AC and the EMD SD70 ACe were bought by Athearn.
Cornelius.
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Post by atsf_4 on Oct 4, 2022 5:28:52 GMT -8
Just because you didn't see it doesn't mean it wasn't made. Overland Models did produce and sell them in both regular and fantasy paint schemes. They turn up at train shows.
The ES44AC models had premature failure (cracking) of a small gear that is very easily replaced and available from Northwest Shortline. When that gear splits, the models will NOT run, because it slips around the driveshaft, and the driveshaft can pull out of the gearbox enough that they will not run at all.
Once that gear is replaced, they are fine running engines. I owned 2 of them. The replacement NWS gears do NOT fail.
The body was pretty well detailed, especially for the time.
They could have survived the Tower 55 issues, but the thing that really hurt Overland Models was I believe 2 builders dropping their caboose project, and the next thing you know the costs of that project had escalated such that there was no way the cabeese could get made and sold at a price point that Overland's customers would have been able to live with. The caboose project non-delivery was the final straw that broke the camel's back.
They had also moved some brass production to their own factory in China (bridges mostly, and a couple rolling stock items) but that didn't work out very well for Overland in the end.
So there were a number of issues that hurt them, and I'm very sorry to see them gone.
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cklx
Full Member
Posts: 123
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Post by cklx on Oct 4, 2022 6:16:37 GMT -8
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Post by sd80mac on Oct 4, 2022 7:12:43 GMT -8
The Tower 55 Gevos did indeed get made. You can find them on the used market occasionally, or Ebay. As said above, the tooling for the Gevo and SD70ACe (the latter of which never got made by T55) were sold to Athearn, who continues to produce both as Genesis models.
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Post by atsf_4 on Oct 4, 2022 7:12:55 GMT -8
Yes, that is Brian and Missy Marsh's store, and yes, they sell brass models on consignment including previously owned Overland Models.
But there is no brand-new Overland Models brass.
They still have a website up for Overland Models, but if you look at the fine print, it has not been updated in years. I guess they are leaving the door open to someday begin brass models again, but they have not delivered any for several years now, and Brian himself will admit to you that they are effectively done with brass.
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Post by edwardsutorik on Oct 4, 2022 8:26:35 GMT -8
In the October 2005 issue of MR, there is a photo of an early production sample of a Tower 55 ES44AC. Tower 55 was supposed to be Overland Models foray into plastic models. They knew the end of brass was coming. I don't believe that the model ever went into production. At least I never saw one. Tower 55 also advertised that they were going to produce a 3-Unit UP "Big Blow" turbine in plastic. How far they got on that I do not know, but my question is: Did these early attempts morph into Scale Trains models, or did they disappear into the modeling ether? Steve Kay I don't know what happened to the T55 assets. I do have a T55 catalog right in front of me. It shows and lists (with model numbers) UP ES44AC's with either red or yellow sill stripes, BNSF ES44DC's in H2 or H3 paint (I have 3 of those), and NS ES40DC's. Since I did get mine, I'm assuming all of the above were produced and shipped. They were offered with DCC/sound, or not with. It also shows SD70ACe's in UP, EMD and CSX. Those I don't think got made. But....... And also the 3-unit UP turbines. Definitely not made. By T55/Overland. We all would have remembered those. Just found the 2005 price list: $300 for DCC sound and $260 for without. That's for the UP ES44AC's, BNSF ES44DC's and UP SD70ACe's (so maybe they DID get built?). The NS isn't shown at all, while the rest of the stuff has TBA pricing. So. $300 list for DCC/sound in 2005. That was kind of expensive back then. On t'other hand, I'm not at all sure who else was making and selling such things at that date. Ed
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Tower 55
Oct 4, 2022 8:28:16 GMT -8
via mobile
Post by cera2254 on Oct 4, 2022 8:28:16 GMT -8
Aren’t the Athearn Genesis GEVOs (at least some of them) based on the T55 tooling that they purchased?
I don’t Believe that the NS T55 units were ever produced.
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Post by atsf_4 on Oct 4, 2022 8:45:05 GMT -8
Yes, as was stated above, the Athearn Genesis Gevos are using the T55 shells.
Brian and Missy Marsh sold off all Tower 55 Assets to Athearn. Then they sold off ALL Overland Models parts inventory, but I forget to whom. All I know is they have no, zero, parts for anything Overland Models at the present time.
If you ask for Overland Models' or Tower 55 parts Brian will politely explain that he cannot help you.
They do a good job of staying on top of all the new announcements on behalf of their plastic customers, and they have always treated me very well, sometimes going the extra mile.
Also the brass market is not "done"; there are still models being imported by Union Terminal Imports and a few others. They just are uber expensive now.
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Post by edwardsutorik on Oct 4, 2022 8:57:14 GMT -8
Just because you didn't see it doesn't mean it wasn't made. Overland Models did produce and sell them in both regular and fantasy paint schemes. A real surprise to me! Weren't listed in the catalog or price sheet, but: Ed
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Post by atsf_4 on Oct 4, 2022 8:59:44 GMT -8
There's blue and yellow warbonnet Santa Fe versions out there too!
They all will need the new gears from NWS; it's only a matter of time.
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Post by hudsonyard on Oct 4, 2022 9:05:01 GMT -8
A fellow club member years ago must've spent thousands on them when they came out, he was modeling up-to-date era stuff at the time, one by one the aforementioned cracked gear problem arose, i remember not being impressed with the onboard sound which I believe was QSI.
Brass imports continue to be going strong, just less of them and more expensive. The Division Point RS3/2s from a couple years back might be some of the nicest factory painted brass i've ever seen.
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Post by edwardsutorik on Oct 4, 2022 9:17:19 GMT -8
Most on-board sound STILL sucks.
The only ones I've been impressed with were my latest batch of Athearn GP9's (and likely their later stuff too-but these were the ones that got my attention). I wrote them and asked to buy some of their speakers. Not available, I was told. Go to Scale Sound.
Thanks! I did. Scale Sound is very good, and I will someday be installing more.
My three T55's still run fine. But I've only run them maybe 3 times, probably only a couple of scale miles. I DO have the gears (NWSL 2274-6). Along with some Shay and Climax gears, if you recall the olden days.
With sound, I am convinced the failings in our models are in the speakers. I can play the sound files for Loksound and Tsunami over "real" speakers, and the sound quality is there. Don't know about QSI. I bought 3 Scale Sound speakers, and changed one out (an older Athearn GP9, of course). MUCH better.
Ed
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Post by cemr5396 on Oct 4, 2022 9:23:27 GMT -8
The only ones I've been impressed with were my latest batch of Athearn GP9's (and likely their later stuff too-but these were the ones that got my attention). I wrote them and asked to buy some of their speakers. Not available, I was told. IMHO the dual cube box speaker Athearn is putting in their models now is the best factory installed speaker in the market right now, PERIOD. The clarity, tone, range, and volume are all very good. For a while they were available in the 'parts' section of their website, until they ran out of stock. I bought a whole bunch of them to put in models I was adding sound to, and for upgrades in existing sound equipped models. Once they are available again (which is supposed to be soon), I will be getting another pile of them.
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Post by edwardsutorik on Oct 4, 2022 9:32:16 GMT -8
Good to know. Me too, as the saying goes.
Ed
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Post by NS4122 on Oct 4, 2022 11:41:33 GMT -8
The Tower 55 GEVOs came with Digitrax sound. A fellow club member years ago must've spent thousands on them when they came out, he was modeling up-to-date era stuff at the time, one by one the aforementioned cracked gear problem arose, i remember not being impressed with the onboard sound which I believe was QSI. Brass imports continue to be going strong, just less of them and more expensive. The Division Point RS3/2s from a couple years back might be some of the nicest factory painted brass i've ever seen.
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Post by ncrc5315 on Oct 4, 2022 12:57:06 GMT -8
On Saturday, I was going through one of my storage units, there was one box I opened, and much to my surprise, there were two Tower 55 ES44AC's. I'm going to get the gears ordered, I assume I need two per locomotive?
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Post by atsf_4 on Oct 4, 2022 13:36:26 GMT -8
Yes, two per locomotive. They might come in pairs, but I forget?
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Post by wmrdgfan on Oct 4, 2022 15:03:49 GMT -8
Yes, two per locomotive. They might come in pairs, but I forget? So you are saying this gear is on the end of a driveshaft, not in the gearbox? I have 3 of the ATSF stashed away somewhere. I looked on the NWSL site and the gear looks like it has a short shaft on it.
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Post by edwardsutorik on Oct 4, 2022 15:33:18 GMT -8
For NWSL 2274-6, there is one gear per pack. There IS a short "shaft" out of one end, a little under a tenth of an inch long. It's not really a shaft, but a shoulder. You can check out this video to see how things work in that area: Note that he's not replacing a cracked gear, but sliding the universal cup back down the shaft. THAT could be another problem. Ed
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Post by atsf_4 on Oct 4, 2022 16:28:44 GMT -8
The "temporary fix" of sliding things on the shaft may not last more than a couple minutes, as it may slide again as soon as you run the engine. I tried that...it likely will not work or won't for long ie maybe one lap around the layout, then it is going to slide again. Been there and done that several times before getting the replacement gears.
Because the shouldered gear is most likely split on the shaft, that allows the shaft to slide through the gear once any torque is applied. Once the offending shouldered gear is replaced, then the shaft won't slide anymore, and will stay where it needs to be, and then the model can run as intended. I think the shoulder is partly for adjustment purposes--there is a little bit of adjustment regarding how the shaft sits in the bearings, but it is maybe 1/16".
I sold my T55 units in favor of other power, but once repaired with the new gear I am told they do not fail again.
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Post by wmrdgfan on Oct 4, 2022 16:44:20 GMT -8
Thanks for the info guys!
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Post by edwardsutorik on Oct 4, 2022 17:05:16 GMT -8
Looking at the video again, it DOES seem that the shaft is moving inside the gear, and not the universal coupling. To find out for sure, remove the assembly from the drive, and pull one direction on the gear, the other on the coupling. The loose one will be the one that slides.
There is no shaft with the NWSL part. Just a gear with a 1mm hole through it. The designer's use of such a small shaft makes the problem worse, because the torque is increased on the connecting surface.
Ed
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Post by atsf_4 on Oct 4, 2022 19:49:07 GMT -8
It takes a bit of hand strength to slide the new gear onto the shaft. I tried using a small hammer on one and ended up damaging the gear. It's a tight press fit by hand.
The new gears are made of a better grade of plastic that is not going to crack.
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Post by stevef45 on Oct 10, 2022 4:13:51 GMT -8
T55/Overland were sued for the use of the name "Tower 55" and subsequently they dropped T55 and stopped making the plastic models. The molds were bought by Athearn.
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Post by surlyknuckle on Oct 10, 2022 9:12:12 GMT -8
The Tower55 Gevos were quite nicely tooled models for 2005. I'm quite pleased with my late-era Overland models that I own, and Overland's current incarnation as a distributor/store is my favorite place to pre-order new stock from. Had a shipping issue a couple years ago, and Brian called me before I even realized there was issue to make sure it got sorted out. I really appreciated that. Good people!
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Post by cemr5396 on Oct 10, 2022 10:13:46 GMT -8
After they got the T55 GEVOs Athearn made a few tweaks to them, and I might go as far as to say they are still the best all around GEVO model out there. Some others beat it in certain aspects but not everywhere all at once. Too bad they never made the late model versions from right before the ET44 production took off, but now that there are so many other models of those units out there (SXT, IMRC, Walthers, MTH, BLI, Bachmann and maybe more) it will probably never happen.
I am glad they revised the tooling to at least make the mid production units, I am looking forward to adding some of those to the fleet when they come out next year.
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Post by ncrc5315 on Oct 10, 2022 15:30:18 GMT -8
Yes, two per locomotive. They might come in pairs, but I forget? Got mine on Saturday, one per package.
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Post by craigz on Oct 13, 2022 4:42:11 GMT -8
A fellow club member years ago must've spent thousands on them when they came out, he was modeling up-to-date era stuff at the time, one by one the aforementioned cracked gear problem arose, i remember not being impressed with the onboard sound which I believe was QSI. Brass imports continue to be going strong, just less of them and more expensive. The Division Point RS3/2s from a couple years back might be some of the nicest factory painted brass i've ever seen. The onboard sound was Digitrax. It was awful even back then, and a poopshow of quirky incompatibilities with other DCC systems. I still have one of the factory sound units in the GEVO demonstrator livery and a non sound Santa Fe. Both suffered split gears; I bought replacement gears from a hobby shop in California.
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Post by fr8kar on Oct 13, 2022 4:50:00 GMT -8
T55/Overland were sued for the use of the name "Tower 55" and subsequently they dropped T55 and stopped making the plastic models. The molds were bought by Athearn. Who sued them for using the name Tower 55?
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