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Post by stevewagner on Jul 13, 2020 17:51:34 GMT -8
I'd welcome more emphasis from Walthers on individual cars that might have wide appeal to those of us who either already have considerable rosters of passenger and head end equipment and/or can't afford to buy full "name trains" financially and/or for reasons of space. I've been eager for years for the firm to decorate their "Chessie" Club car for the matching ex-D&RGW car that went to the Delaware & Hudson, preferably with decals both for the ex-Rio Grande name it wore for a while and for "Champlain" as it was renamed. The car was announced as part of the "Fallen Flags" series announced but quickly cancelled by Walthers a few years back.
In January of this year I lobbied a Walthers rep at the big show in West Springfield, Mass. for two car types I think would attract many modelers, even quite a few whose primary interest isn't the New York Central: a heavyweight NYC 60' baggage car, and a 50' or so wood NYC/Rutland milk car. Many of the latter ended up in express service after milk shipments diminished. Many head end cars traveled very widely away from their home roads -- RPO cars less so. And I think the Walthers models of comparable PRR standard baggage cars and express reefers have sold well.
My own main modeling interests are the D&H and Boston & Maine, though I also have quite a few Canadian National passenger cars and some others. The closest thing to a "name train" I've bought was a five-car set of MTH's excellent Empire State Express cars plus one more car, plus a bunch of AHM/Rivarossi cars that follow the same design or are reasonably close to make a longer train if I ever retire or join a club. Several members of my father's family worked for Budd in the 1930's and 1940's.
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Post by westerntrains on Jul 13, 2020 18:26:51 GMT -8
I'd welcome more emphasis from Walthers on individual cars that might have wide appeal to those of us who either already have considerable rosters of passenger and head end equipment and/or can't afford to buy full "name trains" financially and/or for reasons of space. I've been eager for years for the firm to decorate their "Chessie" Club car for the matching ex-D&RGW car that went to the Delaware & Hudson, preferably with decals both for the ex-Rio Grande name it wore for a while and for "Champlain" as it was renamed. The car was announced as part of the "Fallen Flags" series announced but quickly cancelled by Walthers a few years back. In January of this year I lobbied a Walthers rep at the big show in West Springfield, Mass. for two car types I think would attract many modelers, even quite a few whose primary interest isn't the New York Central: a heavyweight NYC 60' baggage car, and a 50' or so wood NYC/Rutland milk car. Many of the latter ended up in express service after milk shipments diminished. Many head end cars traveled very widely away from their home roads -- RPO cars less so. And I think the Walthers models of comparable PRR standard baggage cars and express reefers have sold well. My own main modeling interests are the D&H and Boston & Maine, though I also have quite a few Canadian National passenger cars and some others. The closest thing to a "name train" I've bought was a five-car set of MTH's excellent Empire State Express cars plus one more car, plus a bunch of AHM/Rivarossi cars that follow the same design or are reasonably close to make a longer train if I ever retire or join a club. Several members of my father's family worked for Budd in the 1930's and 1940's. The NYC milk car and express reefers. Great choice. They found their way on many trains. I have photo's of them on Santa Fe's Fast Mail and Express, as well as the Grand Canyon Limited. |
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Post by edwardsutorik on Jul 13, 2020 19:53:09 GMT -8
You're right about a 60' NYC baggage. They showed up so often on the SP&S that I bought a brass one.
Ed
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Post by godzilla on Jul 13, 2020 20:01:51 GMT -8
No name trains, I'm sick and tired of seeing so many passenger sets.
Number one,they are too expensive, number two,not another passenger set.
Dave
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Post by slowfreight on Jul 13, 2020 20:55:11 GMT -8
Something different to consider, how about a Ringling circus train? Hmmm, kind of an upgraded version of the "Great Circus Train" series they did back in the 70s or 80s? Slow down, there, partner. I'm still trying to finish my original Circus train...and that's 90s-vintage, thank you. Only got 5 more flats to load. |
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Post by slowfreight on Jul 13, 2020 20:57:05 GMT -8
I agree that Walthers has plenty of opportunity with individual cars, but they will never do it because it requires an actual modeler to be involved in new product planning. Much as I want to believe, I'm preparing myself to be disappointed.
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Post by alexandrianick on Jul 14, 2020 7:41:34 GMT -8
Eastern Amtrak. Athearn already has Genesis P42s in the pipeline for them to use. Retooled Viewliner Is and new Viewliner IIs, but they can leverage existing Amfleets.
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Post by mdvle on Jul 14, 2020 8:06:15 GMT -8
Eastern Amtrak. Athearn already has Genesis P42s in the pipeline for them to use. Retooled Viewliner Is and new Viewliner IIs, but they can leverage existing Amfleets.
Won't say it would never happen, but much more likely that they will want something where they sell the entire train with their own products.
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Post by lackawanna1223 on Jul 14, 2020 8:28:19 GMT -8
I’d love a Phoebe Snow (DL&W flavoured) but I doubt it’ll happen.
Having said that: I’m betting something like a Southern Crescent.
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Post by Paul Cutler III on Jul 14, 2020 8:33:26 GMT -8
I'm just trying to imagine someone saying, "No freight trains, I'm sick and tired of seeing so many freight cars. Number one, they are too expensive, number two, not another freight car."
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Post by ssw on Jul 14, 2020 11:04:52 GMT -8
They're giving hints - "birthday" of the train is January 12, and it's same age as Alec Baldwin... Quick google indicates that 1/12/58 was the beginning of the combined Super Chief/El Capitan - I bet they're announcing a combined El Capitan/Super Chief.
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Post by jonklein611 on Jul 14, 2020 11:07:34 GMT -8
Eastern Amtrak. Athearn already has Genesis P42s in the pipeline for them to use. Retooled Viewliner Is and new Viewliner IIs, but they can leverage existing Amfleets.
Won't say it would never happen, but much more likely that they will want something where they sell the entire train with their own products.
No the Amsleds need some work. Someone needs to make a retrofit truck using the same solution that Rapido did on their LRC cars. |
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Post by riogrande on Jul 14, 2020 11:11:38 GMT -8
Moar Santa Fe? Santa Fe sells. Lower risk for Walthers.
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Post by slowfreight on Jul 14, 2020 11:18:57 GMT -8
It's a swing....
AND A MISS!!
YAWN!!!
Rehashed...warmed over...no guts to tool up anything new.
Hilevel cars in a useable Amtrak scheme? Amtrak baggage? Amtrak Pines sleeper? Proto Viewliner? Phase IVb anything? Plated converted baggage cars? More straight coaches in a variety of railroad and transit agency schemes. I could go on for a page or two of the things Walthers has already tooled that could sell at least a short run without doing repeats. I could give a similar list of things that could be tooled up to compliment existing tooled models.
I'd have been happier if Walthers finished the stillborn P70 project. I would be up for P70 FAR and FBR coaches. But since they have no modelers on staff they can't understand that those sales weren't cannibalized by BLI's vintage P70 design.
This shouldn't bug me. It's not my company or my money. Usually, I hate rants about products that don't interest the poster in question. But if Walthers swings and misses enough, it'll never leverage that great modular tooling to do things that we'd like to purchase.
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Post by jonklein611 on Jul 14, 2020 11:23:17 GMT -8
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Post by mdvle on Jul 14, 2020 11:23:57 GMT -8
So actually 2 train - the combined Super Chief El Capitan as well as the smaller Denver Connection
2 newly tooled items I believe - the steam generator and the 11 double-bedroom sleeper.
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Post by Christian on Jul 14, 2020 11:37:12 GMT -8
Pricy, but there are Santa Fe folks out there who will snap them up. Probably not a good investment for a hobby shop owner unless he has someone standing by.
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Post by nsc39d8 on Jul 14, 2020 11:41:23 GMT -8
So actually 2 train - the combined Super Chief El Capitan as well as the smaller Denver Connection 2 newly tooled items I believe - the steam generator and the 11 double-bedroom sleeper.
The 11 double bedroom sleeper has been tooled before. I used one to do my Southern 11 bedroom sleeper. Used the Walthers car as a base model and added correct Unionn Station Products sides for the Southern car. There should be pictures of the car I did in a past SPF. |
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Post by gevohogger on Jul 14, 2020 11:41:38 GMT -8
It's a swing.... AND A MISS!!
YAWN!!!Rehashed...warmed over...no guts to tool up anything new. I agree. With last week's groundbreaking Railgon gondola, this announcement from Walthers smacks of "let's shake the catalog and see what falls out". A very half-hearted effort. People here were predicting "Santa Fe" and Walthers lived up to our very modest expectations. They set the bar extremely low and they lived up to it. |
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Post by bdhicks on Jul 14, 2020 11:49:19 GMT -8
Did they announce anything beyond to the name train? The announcement notice sounded like there might be some other stuff as well.
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Post by riogrande on Jul 14, 2020 11:53:13 GMT -8
I hope Walthers offers the ex-El Capitan bi-level step down car finally in phase III paint as used on the Amtrak California Zephyr. A 73' Budd Baggage in Phase III paint would be nice too since they seem to be hard to find and sell for nutty high prices on fleabay.
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Post by mdvle on Jul 14, 2020 12:07:39 GMT -8
Did they announce anything beyond to the name train? The announcement notice sounded like there might be some other stuff as well.
Didn't pay attention to closely - the whole thing was very cheesy with the host having conversations with a short freight train (like Mr. Rogers I think and his trolley) - but they seemed to indicate new to the Cornerstone line as a post-war-kit-built-house and a modern concrete long span railway bridge (joins a short span version released last(?) year).
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Post by cp6027 on Jul 14, 2020 12:20:38 GMT -8
Did they announce anything beyond to the name train? The announcement notice sounded like there might be some other stuff as well. Only other rolling stock announcement was the second run of their Mainline Railgon in six schemes. |
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Post by amtrakfl9 on Jul 14, 2020 12:21:53 GMT -8
Wow! I called it!
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Post by edgecrusher on Jul 14, 2020 12:28:47 GMT -8
The only thing that's kinda tempting about this release is that Atlas announced the SF U28CG's earlier this year. That would make a pretty neat looking train. (Not that I have that kind of money floating around.)
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Post by stevewagner on Jul 14, 2020 12:51:38 GMT -8
The best Walthers HO news today (July 14 -- Bastille Day) for this D&H fan is this: a newly posted photo of one of the actual forthcoming Walthers Mainline "Railgon"-type gons decorated for the Delaware & Hudson shows a proper "solid" white D&H shield herald, not the kind with an outline shown in the previously posted drawings (which are still up). No, this model isn't nearly as finely detailed,let alone innovative and state-of-the-art as the one Arrowhead Models has very recently announced. But that one is of a car built by Greenville. The D&H's came from Bethlehem. And, since they were among the last cars built new for the D&H, one or two of them will be among the newest D&H cars I'll be running, and very light if any weathering will be enough for me. If our moderator wants to move this to the thread about the Arrowhead announcement I won't object.
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Post by trainguy99 on Jul 14, 2020 12:56:37 GMT -8
The only thing that's kinda tempting about this release is that Atlas announced the SF U28CG's earlier this year. That would make a pretty neat looking train. (Not that I have that kind of money floating around.) Depending on your perspective, you might be safe. I'm not familiar with any photos showing U28s on the Super Chief, though perhaps another member knows of some. From what I've read they were mostly on the Texas Chief. Now if a person had some Genesis FP45s, those would look very cool on this train, and there are plenty of photos of that combination. |
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Post by slowfreight on Jul 14, 2020 13:03:17 GMT -8
I hope Walthers offers the ex-El Capitan bi-level step down car finally in phase III paint as used on the Amtrak California Zephyr. A 73' Budd Baggage in Phase III paint would be nice too since they seem to be hard to find and sell for nutty high prices on fleabay. That's my whole point. They won't. Because they don't get it. And may never. |
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Post by riogrande on Jul 14, 2020 13:39:25 GMT -8
Someone reported Walthers was going to do the step down coach in Phase III but yeah, no sign of it. T
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Post by thebessemerkid on Jul 14, 2020 14:19:08 GMT -8
The only thing that's kinda tempting about this release is that Atlas announced the SF U28CG's earlier this year. That would make a pretty neat looking train. (Not that I have that kind of money floating around.) I was hoping MTH would introduce an HO ATSF U30CG with Proto-Fire™ belching from the exhaust stack...  |
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