I forgot to mention when I was descibing the locos that neither on exhibited the Rivarossi logo in the usual areas (underside of the leading truck,boiler or firebox). The locomotives themselves match photos of the DM&IR Yellowstones quite nicely even with their sparse detailing. Comparing them to Rivarossi Challengers and Big Boys they sure look like modified Big Boys when you compare cabs, steam and sand domes. The only differences seem to be the lead truck and the cab ladders having the back swept look instead of being perfectly vertical such as the Big Boy. I’m assuming these were made by Rivarossi or it would have to be a massive coincident that two people would modify these locomotives so similarly. [IMG]http://i449.photobucket.com/alb
The more I look at the photos, the less I think that these are original Rivarossi, but a private kitbash of UP Big Boys to resemble a Missabe Yellowstone. Actually, whoever did the kit-bashing did a pretty respectable job, considering that the superstructures of the two prototype locomotives were so vastly different. The Rivarossi locos lended themselves well to kit-bashing, I know. Early on, I kit-bashed the Rivarossi YB-6 into a kinda/sorta Rio Grande 3600 2-8-8-2.
Not sure what the starting point for those models would have been. I did do some snooping around and found that AHM / Rivarossi did a B&O 2-8-8-0. The basis of the model was the N&W 2-8-8-2. They removed the rear truck, modified the front end and used the 2-10-2 Vanderbilt tender on it.
Bottom line is that we need a non-brass, high end 2-8-8-4; I’d prefer the EM-1 but would take either that or a DM&IR Yellowstone. Maybe Walthers / Proto would consider one to go with their updated Steel Mill models. You have to have something to pull those hopper trains around with… [:)]
Seems to me, shortly before AHM released their B&O 2-8-8-0, there was a kitbash article in MR using the 2-8-8-2 and the B&O 2-10-2. MAybe AHM/Rivarossi decided to follow the article?
Did anyone happen to catch that an Akane EM-1 sold on Ebay last night for $510??!? I’m told that in the foodchain of brass locomotives, Akane isn’t very far up the ladder. If one of their brass engines sold for that price, I’d think that it means that there is a demand.
HEY MR. MANUFACTURER, ARE YOU LISTENING??!? [banghead]
Actually, I’m not surprised that the Akane EM-1 sold for that price, since it’s really rare that those particular models show up ANYPLACE anymore. Akane Missabe M3/4 usually shows up for about $400+ on Ebay, but even though it’s the same mechanism as the EM-1 (with a different body and tender, of course), I think that Akane produced more M3/4 models than the B&O prototypes.
And of course, you never know what the final bid on ANYTHING is going to be on E-Bay. I bid on an Akane Yellowstone once, but stopped when the bids went above $450. I think the loco finally sold for close to $700, which IMO is pretty outrageous.
You’re right, detail-wise, the Akane aren’t that high up the ladder, but they were built with a smooth-running mechanism that is virtually indestructable. My 3 Akane Missabe Yellowstones date from 1964 or thereabouts, and they all run like Swiss watches and pull like a team of oxen.
One of my friends who is a custom painter / builder felt the Akane EM-1 was superior to the later Westside EM-1 in detail, running and overall construction.
Funny… the one brass model I bought was an Akane USRA 2-6-6-2 (complete with a water scoop on the tender) that only had the rear engine powered; the front one just coasted along, and I don’t think it could pull itself very far on a downhill track! [(-D] Of course, my timing was perfect and I bought it about 6 months before Bachmann announced their version of the same loco.
Hopefully, someone out there is listening… there does seem to be a demand.
You, too, LOL? Yes, I have one of those old Akane 2-6-6-2’s with the ‘coasting’ front drivers. Evidently Akane did that with their USRA mallets (2-6-6-2 and 2-8-8-2), but their other big articulateds had both sets of drivers powered. I think that the old 2-6-6-2 can be made to have both sets powered, but it means re-motoring and re-gearing everything with some NWSL parts and I’m not very talented that way, LOL! But I got the old Akane for a song, and even though it has a FEARSOME top speed, I drag it out for short hops and ‘turns’ . It does pull okay, but certainly not like the Spectrum. I gave the old motor a good cleaning, and it improved its slow-speed capabilities somewhat. But compared to the Spectrum, it’s still a little race-horse, LOL!
I think the very early (late 'fifties) Akane imports had only one set of drivers powered, but the later 'sixties runs incorporated both sets. I know that my LHS in Roseville had an Akane Allegheny on consignment a couple of years ago, and it had both sets powered, PLUS sprung drivers. The owner said it was one of the last runs–I don’t know whether the former owner had added details or not, but the locomotive was beautifully detailed and ran like a Swiss watch. The former owner was asking $1100 for it, which I thought was a little steep for an Akane, but the locomotive only sat on the consignment shelf for about a week before it was snapped up. Really a beautiful piece of work.
I know that my 3 Akane Yellowstones have always been very smooth runners and very powerful pullers. The detail is a little sparse by contemporary standards, but thanks to Cal-Scale and PSC, I’ve been able to improve their appearance considerably with newer brass castings.
I tried to respond to this posting eight times using IE8 and eight times I had to boot out of a hangup; yesterday I uninstalled IE8 and went back to IE7.
Leave us see if this crazy thing works now!!!
Occasionally–note that I said OCCASIONALLY–the manufacturers do listen; at least it appears as if they are responding to consumer requests. As a case in point I draw your attention to this years offering in N-Scale.
Pennsy fans now have a GG1 and a Broadway; UP fans have a Challenger and Big Boy from Athearn and there is scuttlebutt–I’m not exactly sure where WAG and scuttlebutt part company with one another–that an FEF is in the offing; Kato has given us a GS4 and a Daylight set to go along with it. Intermountain is promising their AC-12 by the end of the year–at least that’s what has been promised; reality may be something else. Hopefully–but not expectantly–these offerings will shut up the Pennsy fans–and the Onion Specific fans–and the Espee fans–at least for the time being.
Apparently these fan groups screamed louder than the others and got heard above the din. Where, I may ask, are the Santa Fe fans–I have not seen anything about any 5001 or 5011 Class 2-10-4s in the offing; neither, I
I don’t know… seriously, I’ve had some conversations with some manufacturers at the NMRA shows and in general, they tell me that a lot of factors go into their decisions for model making of all kinds.
First, I hear that even the larger companies don’t have very large R&D staffs. This means that they depend a lot on outside groups to do a lot of their R&D for them. So if you see a large variety of a particular road’s paint schemes, etc. on a particular manufacturer’s products, it may mean that group’s historical society has been assisting that manufacturer with much of the info that they need to produce the models that you see on the shelves.
Next comes proximity… I heard that Irv Athearn didn’t go very far to see what was on the rails. So a lot of his early offerings were dominated by western roads because that’s where his factory was located. This may also explain why Bowser started of being very heavy towards Pennsy… they are right in the middle of the state, deep in Pennsy country.
In the case of a locomotive, the manufacturers I’ve talked to, say that it really helps if one of the to be modeled beasts still is around somewhere. This way, they can get all of the photos & measurements that they want/need to complete the project. I’d guess that the access to well- detailed drawings, blueprints & other, similar information about a particular loco helps as well.
Maybe our best effort might be to nicely write to the manufacturer that you would like to see build the model in question. Point out these advantages IF they exist. Tell them if you know where one still e
[IMG]http://i449.photobucket.com/alb