Is it true? I’m hearing that Mike’s Train House is going to release an O scale model of the UAC Turbotrain. That’s pretty cool. Anybody know anything more about this release, when, how much, paint schemes, etc.? Anyone have any early pre-production photos…?
I’m pretty excited about it, if true. The UAC Turbo has always been one of my favorite trains.
A Turbo train is listed in their 2010 volume one catalog. More than one paint scheme listed too.
Check their web site.
From some Web surfing, the when is supposed to be March 2010, the how much is supposed to be $799.
I am curious (am I 800 dollars worth of curious?) how they do the single-axle trucks. O-gauge should give room for a more realistic version of the linkage steering that is hard to do in HO.
What would be really interesting is if the model tilts into curves in the manner of the prototype. One problem with pendulum tilt in the model is that the model needs to really whip around sharp curves to get the same centrifugal force as the full-scale version. The Hornsby Pendolino model, however, tilts, and it seems to use cams of some sort. That is when the train goes around a curve, the trucks pivot and make the train car body lean into the curve. The cam system is a kind of mechanical superelevation in that you get the same tilt regardless of what speed you go, so if you stop on a curve, you are still leaning into the curve. Any manner of speed-sensitive tilt would be more prototypical for a tilting train.
At $799 list for the set there won’t be any tilting of the cars. Lionel did the tilting cars with the Acela but that was a $2,000 set. There will be 3 paint versions of the Turbo Train, AmTrak, Canadian National, and Penn Central.
To add:
The United Aircraft Corporation ( now known as United Technologies, market symbol UTX ) built the trains starting in 1967. It was a new approach to high speed rail 43 years ago and used multiple helicopter jet engines. ( UTX owns Pratt & Whitney Jet Engines and Sikorsky Helicopters )
The MTH model is to be full 1:48th scale and offered in there “Premier” line, The set has at each end a powered locomotive (the Turbo locomotives carried Passengers as well as having a “Vista Doom”), and includes one coach between them. $799
Extra Coaches are $99
Yes, die-cast 2 wheel trucks between the units, 12 passenger figures in each unit, BUT it only operates on O-72 Track. That should limit sales.
Anyone have any idea when this is to be released? Is it still in the plans? What’s up with this?
The latest date that I saw on the MTH web site was April 2011. I guess the folks at MTH don’t really know when the Turbo will show up, if it does.
Check the MTH Facebook page where they will post updates about the Turbotrain.
Andrew
Ship date now October 2011