WFN12
New Member
Posts: 40
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Post by WFN12 on Oct 7, 2016 13:24:27 GMT -8
Hello
I don't know how many if you model or would be interested in an mass produced Hon3 white pass and yukon models. But I did inquire with Blackstone and I got a response back.
If you are interested you can make your voice heard by emailing them.
Be neat to see
Dl-535
Ge shovel noses
Container flats
Caboose etc.
At this time we have not ventured into many models outside of the Colorado Narrow Gauge. The narrow gauge market is a niche of model railroading with most being standard (broad) gauge. This part is growing. Then factor in 75% of all narrow gauge modelers in HO modeling the Colorado scene, the White pass would be a niche of a niche. I would never say never, but at this time, it would be unlikely. We did produce an HOn3 East Broad Top hopper, a car that that particular railroad had hundreds of, and they are still resting nicely on my shelf. By comparison, we offered this car painted in D&RGW ‘fantasy’ scheme since they never actually owned them and those sold out. This makes it a little difficult to justify mass-produced models for less modeled railroads such as the WP&Y.
We do listen to feedback and this will be taken into account, but the more that we are able to hear from multiple WP&Y modelers, the better the chances are.
But honestly, we have not yet discussed any future projects, opting to focus on the 2 locomotives currently in development and production, the D&RGW K28 and K36 locos. Once these are off to tooling, then the ProTraxx turnouts are off to tooling, we will then have the conversations..
I hope this helps..
Thank you!
George A. Bogatiuk III
Sales and Support
970.259.0690 ext. 20
georgeb@soundtraxx.com
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Post by GP40P-2 on Oct 7, 2016 14:17:36 GMT -8
The DL-535 could be a good "portal" to get a new group of modelers into narrow gauge modeling. Do other railroads not have a great following because of a lack or interest, or is there a lack of interest due to no/little equipment being offered. Chicken <==> Egg. I personally would think that you could draw diesel modelers in with a DL-535, people who have ridden the WP&Y while on a cruise, or people who like narrow gauge, just not Colorado narrow gauge. WP&Y, SPNG, EBT and even the Oahu should be able to create a following, but using their example with the EBT, do they have an EBT locomotive to pull those hoppers with?  Sign me up for a pair of DL-535s! |
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Post by edwardsutorik on Oct 7, 2016 15:18:32 GMT -8
For those unfamiliar:  Ridden the train. Uh, wunnerful! Sore tempting, it would be! Ed |
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WFN12
New Member
Posts: 40
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Post by WFN12 on Oct 7, 2016 18:23:08 GMT -8
Well like they said foobies sell. I bet if they ever did release them. They would decorate in DRGW and they would sell. Just use it as an excuse to model a what if later years of the DRGW narrow gauge lines in Colorado and New Mexico.
As widely known the WP&Y is with they ridership number they garner. Bet they would sell better than a defunct east broad top. And like you said just producing a lone coal car is kinda a poor comparison.
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Post by lajrmdlr on Oct 7, 2016 18:42:50 GMT -8
There's a diesel like that that works the narrow gauge RR from Plaster City CA to a gypsum mine NW of there.
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Post by lajrmdlr on Oct 7, 2016 18:47:01 GMT -8
There's an ex WP&Y diesel that works the narrow gauge RR from Plaster City CA to the US Gypsum mine NW of there.
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Post by mlehman on Oct 8, 2016 0:30:47 GMT -8
The DL-535 looks good in Rio Grande colors.  I built mine from PSC kits and they run almost daily, but very old school vs what Blackstone might come up with. cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/p/210285/2588859.aspx Some high-tech handrails would be nice. Mine are a bit battered. They also don't rally need a sound decoder, the emit a very satisfying growl that some might find unprototypical, but that how old school brass tends to be. These were first sold in 1977 IIRC, but that vintage. I've already expressed my interest in these to Durango, so maybe it's good they heard from others. It is a bit of a niche, but much as some scoff at the idea of foobies, most narrowgaugers know exactly the difference between strictly prototype and strictly fun -- and we are not afraid to do both without making too big a deal of either. Yes, Blackstone could sell a bunch, even in non-White Pass decoration, maybe even more than in White Pass, but there's a lot of other things on their plates likely more popular in the eyes of consumers. Doesn't mean that someone else couldn't do it. Europeans get decent narrowgauge diesels for ~$150 from Bachmann's various companies, which also build Blackstone, so don't know where this might go in the future. HOn3 is more popular than ever and people are hungry for what's on deck. cs.trains.com/mrr/f/88/p/215880/2433855.aspxAfter you build the first one, they just get easier. I also think that diesels are less of a touchy subject with the NG crowd than they used to be. Modern narrowgauges all over the world use diesels. The real problem is settling on just one to produce, but IMO it is the DL-535. It's got a natural market here in North America and the mechanism could serve as the basis for some international models beyond, especially. But there's a surprising amount that can be done |
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Post by Christian on Oct 8, 2016 2:32:06 GMT -8
There's an ex WP&Y diesel that works the narrow gauge RR from Plaster City CA to the US Gypsum mine NW of there. Almost. They were built by MLW. But the railroad closed down before delivery. They sat for many years unsold. USG got a deal from Bombardier. |
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Post by mlehman on Oct 8, 2016 7:21:56 GMT -8
The gypsum line actually bought two. The first one was destroyed in an accident, so they bought a second one. The third one was eventually delivered to the White Pass as #114: www.whitepassfan.net/whitepass/engines/diesel-engines/111---114-bombardier/index.htmlAnother way to make this project more feasible occurred to me. If Blackstone built their chassis so the PSC shells are a drop-in fit, they could sell a bunch of them to folks wanting to repower their brass with a modern, silent drive. |
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Post by GP40P-2 on Oct 8, 2016 7:26:49 GMT -8
Mike, the fourth one went to WP&Y. Gypsum has two and destroyed one.
These are the four MLW safety cab units built later than the original DL-535 "standard cab" units.
I suspect Blackstone could consider a standard DL-535, but the safety cabs are a long shot!!!!
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Post by TBird1958 on Oct 8, 2016 12:23:04 GMT -8
NF210 maybe - Something Rapido could take on............  |
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Post by mlehman on Oct 8, 2016 16:18:55 GMT -8
I always thought if you do a NF210, you can pretty much skip detailing the trucks...
And it's about half Geep, but not sure how much existing molds could help here.
[still kicking himself for not hitting the road to see the Newfie when he was young and footloose and the NG still ran in that fabled land, still hoping to make it there]
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Post by mlehman on Oct 8, 2016 16:33:38 GMT -8
Mike, the fourth one went to WP&Y. Gypsum has two and destroyed one. These are the four MLW safety cab units built later than the original DL-535 "standard cab" units. I suspect Blackstone could consider a standard DL-535, but the safety cabs are a long shot!!!! You know, I still don't think we have the Gypsum acquisition quite right. I think maybe they bought 2, trashed the one and then bought the spare so they'd still have two?... with 114 going North? Or have I totally confused myself. Anyway, that seems to be backed up by the roster info in Narrow Gauge RRs of Canada (Omar Lavalle, 2005 revised ed). You know, on the safety cab, if that was the main difference, wouldn't be hard to just do that, but IRRC the long hood saw enough other changes it's not that simple...but once the drive is available, resin or Shapeways can solve the rest these days. It also pays to remember that the fan base/customer demand is much, much larger than North America for the WP&Y, just as it is for the Rio Grande/RGS lines. The belief that NG is pretty scarce/niche is somewhat misleading if you're looking over your shoulder to the next 'burb here in the US. There are LOTS of foreign fans -- and model railroaders -- out there, something I'm sure Blackstone takes account of when forecasting demand. |
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Post by mlehman on Oct 8, 2016 16:56:35 GMT -8
Before it completely slips my mind, somewhere I just saw where someone is working on a WP&Y caboose...maybe MR? or the Gaz?....it's a pain getting old, but beats the alternative...it'll come to me eventually...maybe someone else recalls?
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Post by GP40P-2 on Oct 8, 2016 18:01:16 GMT -8
Looks like 112 and 113 went to USG. They then destroyed 113 in the crusher incident, and picked up 111. BBD then sold 114 to WP&Y
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Post by mlehman on Oct 9, 2016 0:19:09 GMT -8
Found the news item I was trying to remember earlier. It's in the Sept. 2016 MRH, page 34 of the News section. Randy Lee has acquired the PFM name and plans to rebuild on its rep and is producing kits for the Kettle Valley passenger cars (which would be Canadian SG models IIRC.) For this thread, he was planning on showing samples of a laser-cut kit for WP&Y cabooses at the Nat'l NG Convention that recently concluded. An email is provided in the article, so I won't reproduce it here. Also some discussion of future brass, but did not specify if WP&Y or not on that.
Will keep my eyes open for news on this on other such offerings, as there are several items from the White Pass that could serve well on my modern Colorado NG lines besides the DL-535Es and a WP&Y DP flat I already operate. I do have NG piggyback service available, but it makes for a rather tall load relative to most other rolling stock and requires an equally tall tale to justify its entirely unprototypical presence. A nice string of container flats would be worth considering here. IIRC some of the container flats started as C&S steel underframes and M-T does have some idle tooling for the original C&S cars , but not sure how big a deal such a conversion would be. M-T seemed to permanently ready to quit HOn3 a few years back, but I don't know current status on that is.
PSC could always produce more DL-535 kits, although I suspect getting them built offshore is a bit taller order than it used to be. They are not that difficult, except for the corner steps, several of which cry out for a rework on my pair. Basic soldering skills and 15w and 40 w irons are most of what you need
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Post by slowfreight on Oct 9, 2016 14:40:08 GMT -8
Mike, the fourth one went to WP&Y. Gypsum has two and destroyed one. These are the four MLW safety cab units built later than the original DL-535 "standard cab" units. I suspect Blackstone could consider a standard DL-535, but the safety cabs are a long shot!!!! You know, I still don't think we have the Gypsum acquisition quite right. I think maybe they bought 2, trashed the one and then bought the spare so they'd still have two?... with 114 going North? Or have I totally confused myself. Anyway, that seems to be backed up by the roster info in Narrow Gauge RRs of Canada (Omar Lavalle, 2005 revised ed). That is correct. With 4WD, chasing the train is worth the trip.   |
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Post by The Ferro Kid on Oct 9, 2016 15:29:32 GMT -8
So how many paint schemes could an Alco DL535 be done in? Two WP&Y and one US Gypsum?
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Post by slowfreight on Oct 9, 2016 16:40:42 GMT -8
So how many paint schemes could an Alco DL535 be done in? Two WP&Y and one US Gypsum? Plus one South American scheme that I can't remember at the moment. |
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Post by edwardsutorik on Oct 9, 2016 16:46:46 GMT -8
Skagway being a significantly touristy town, a person could suspect sales of these diesels would be significant there. Especially if it/they came with some of those passenger coaches I rode on.
Ed
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Post by bnsf971 on Oct 10, 2016 7:22:53 GMT -8
Found the news item I was trying to remember earlier. It's in the Sept. 2016 MRH, page 34 of the News section. Randy Lee has acquired the PFM name and plans to rebuild on its rep and is producing kits for the Kettle Valley passenger cars (which would be Canadian SG models IIRC.) For this thread, he was planning on showing samples of a laser-cut kit for WP&Y cabooses at the Nat'l NG Convention that recently concluded. An email is provided in the article, so I won't reproduce it here. Also some discussion of future brass, but did not specify if WP&Y or not on that. Will keep my eyes open for news on this on other such offerings, as there are several items from the White Pass that could serve well on my modern Colorado NG lines besides the DL-535Es and a WP&Y DP flat I already operate. I do have NG piggyback service available, but it makes for a rather tall load relative to most other rolling stock and requires an equally tall tale to justify its entirely unprototypical presence. A nice string of container flats would be worth considering here. IIRC some of the container flats started as C&S steel underframes and M-T does have some idle tooling for the original C&S cars , but not sure how big a deal such a conversion would be. M-T seemed to permanently ready to quit HOn3 a few years back, but I don't know current status on that is. PSC could always produce more DL-535 kits, although I suspect getting them built offshore is a bit taller order than it used to be. They are not that difficult, except for the corner steps, several of which cry out for a rework on my pair. Basic soldering skills and 15w and 40 w irons are most of what you need Mike, for your TOFC scenario, the most plausible would be a handful of the cars to transport flatbed trailers loaded with pipe. Empty flatbeds would be ineresting as loads, and loaded flatbeds would not by as tall as a standard highway dry van trailer. |
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mecu18b
Full Member
My doctor gave me six months to live, but when I couldn't pay the bill he gave me six months more.
Posts: 146
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Post by mecu18b on Oct 10, 2016 7:26:33 GMT -8
Thats a great idea, but you could also do just like the WP&Y did and put the containers right on the flats.
COO Norfolk Terminal
Modern Narrow Gauge
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Post by railthunder on Oct 10, 2016 19:48:58 GMT -8
It would be a very interesting railroad to model. Especially if both freight and passenger equipment was produced. For layout purposes there are sharp curves and 3.9% grades so one could do it in a smaller space. It has all the scenic elements combined with interesting wharf area back in the day. I've read the history of the WP& Y and also ridden it.
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Post by mlehman on Oct 11, 2016 0:31:55 GMT -8
Mike, for your TOFC scenario, the most plausible would be a handful of the cars to transport flatbed trailers loaded with pipe. Empty flatbeds would be ineresting as loads, and loaded flatbeds would not by as tall as a standard highway dry van trailer. I do move lots of pipe, but in lengths that are going to make piggybacking it tough. That could work for shorter stuff, as I have a few flatbeds and loads of rail, etc to fit them. It's not that they don't run well, they do. But they tend to loom over other equipment, so it's more about the proportions than their performance. |
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WFN12
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Posts: 40
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Post by WFN12 on Jul 1, 2018 17:28:11 GMT -8
Well it’s been a few years. Emailed black stone again. Hopefully more encouraging results
If they ran them in drgw I know they would sell plus the tourism in Skagway they could probably sell a lot there
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Post by 12bridge on Jul 1, 2018 17:38:23 GMT -8
I would just be happy if Blackstone would rerun ANYTHING...or make the promised switches. Some of that stuff is going for crazy money!
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Post by grahamline on Jul 2, 2018 15:25:25 GMT -8
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WFN12
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Posts: 40
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Post by WFN12 on Jul 7, 2018 13:27:25 GMT -8
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Post by railthunder on Jul 8, 2018 19:03:04 GMT -8
I wrote them and asked them to consider WP&Y models. The WP&Y is one of the engineering marvels of the world and I'm comfortable in saying that if these were produced I would heartily purchase enough to make a nice layout. The railroad has incredibly interesting history with freight and passenger operations with unique engineering. The exposure it gets from several cruise ships a day with thousands of passengers 8 months out of the year is much higher than the existing narrow gauge operations in Colorado and for diversity sake it would help the HOn3 modeling group as a whole.
To be fair we should also write Rapido as the train operated half in Canada as well. I plan to write Jason in the near future.
I've been watching the WP&Y stuff come and go on Ebay for a very pretty penny on the locomotive side. While not narrow gauge Alaska Railroad stuff also commands a high price, especially on some of the passenger cars.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Jul 9, 2018 1:35:01 GMT -8
Division Point says they are going to release some of the WP&Y diesels and cars. Including the cabooses. They got all of PSC's stuff. There is no release date, but it was announced in April that some point in the near future they will be remaking these models that PSC once did a long time ago. So start saving your money now if you want WP&Y stuff.
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