It was nice to see detailed images of the recently announced RMT BEEF (Pennsy version) in the current issue of CTT, along with a description of the various features.
What a neat looking little locomotive–just right for small and whimsical layouts that are designed for relaxation and fun! The A-B lashup looks especially inviting, and I’ll definitely be wanting to acquire the B&O version to give it a try until such time as RMT (hopefully) comes out with these models in Bethlehem Steel livery, probably through Emery Distributors.
I realize these models are not for the rivet-counting crowd, and that they have no real-life prototype, but they sure are attention-getters for the “let’s have fun” crowd, and if they’re anywhere near as reliable as the previously produced BEEPs, they’ll perform just fine.
One small reminder to Walter, though: Make sure that coupler swing will negotiate O27 curves! [;)]
Good job, Walter, and good thinking! You’re doing a splendid job of devoting attention to an area of the hobby that has been overlooked in recent years with all the increased emphasis on high-end, highly detailed, scale-size, and costly models.
And thanks to CTT for providing a close-up look at what these neat little models will offer.
Allan, I want to get a Pennsy set as well as a B&O set for around the Christmas tree. I disassembled the old layout, and cannot put it back up because two of the three tables that I had the layout on broke. I agree with you, they are attention getters, and I might convert mine to TMCC.
I agree with you Allen. I think these little BEEF’s are going to be good sellers. I’ve got to say CTT did a real nice job covering these locos in their product review section. I’m going to wait on a pair of BEEF’s until some New England roads are produced. Walter has done a great job making a variety of roadnames on the BEEP’s so I’m hoping he’ll do the same with the BEEF’s. I really like these RMT trains Walter is making.
Couldn’t agree more with your comments. One thing that I’d ask Walter to do, besides issuing a WM BEEF, is put out a dummy A unit so we could run the A-B-A MU.
You can run powered BEEFs together. There is a switch to synchronize the directions. It also works better with two or three powered units together from what I have read. Contact Ready-Made-Toys to see how to operate the BEEFs in a full powered consist.
I guess that I’d better get a hold of Walter. I currently MU up to four BEEPs in conventional operation but they are either all long nose or short nose forward which is not necessarily prototypical. In other words, they all operate in forward or reverse at the same time. That wouldn’t work for an A-B-A setup. So, unless he has come up with something new, I stand by my comment but I will talk to him.
I just flipped the Beep bodies around (they fit either way) so that some run short hood forward and others run long hood forward. My BAR Beeps both came set up to run long hood forward. I like them mixed up. Maybe the Beef shells will fit on in either direction so you will be able to make an A-B-A set.
I suspect that Douellet may well be right. It’s easy enough to install the BEEP shells so they face in either direction (I love how there’s not even a single screw to remove when one wants to switch shells), and it’s entirely possible that the same will work for the BEEFs, although I don’t know that for certain.
Perhaps at some point Walter will chime in here with some input.
All I know is I’m anxiously awaiting the release of the BEEFs, and am looking forward to having some of them operating on my layout. An A-B combo looks especially attractive, in my opinion.
Thanks for correcting me. As soon as I read your post, I knew that there was something that I had forgotten to do with my BEEPs and that was to flip the shells. It had completely slipped my mind. Oh well, all is well with the world now. Assuming that Walter hasn’t changed his approach with the BEEFs, we should be able to do the same with them. No need for a “dummy” as I am already filling that order.
I agree with you fellows who would like a set of blue and yellow Santa Fe BEEFs. Even up here in Maine I have a soft spot for that road’s colors. I think the Santa Fe freight colors are often overlooked. I never could understand why K-Line and Lionel didn’t use it on their FA-2’s in recent years. I also hope Walter makes B&M and BAR (blue and yellow) BEEFs to go with the BEEPs I have in those road names.
I’ve said it before and will happily say it again: I think RMT is the best thing to have happened for the 3-rail hobby in the last five years. One might think Walter Matuch is something of an Einstein for the difficulty that others seem to have with doing what he has done. I mean, what a novel idea: reasonable looking approximations of real trains, that have an acceptable dtail level, run well and are exceptionally affordable when compared to what comes in the now copyrighted orange and blue box.
I have little dobut that the BEEP alone has sold better in just a couple years than TMCC has in over a decade. Outside of the very basic 4 bottom Lionel sets of recent years, the starter set cars and FasTrack, Lionel seems to be doing scant little product / promotional wise to address the very “funnel” that Calabrese talked about in his OGR interview (also on the Lionel web site). Also ironic that according to Lionel’s own statements, these are the very products that make up the bulk of their sales - not the thin margined, expensive to tool up, new scale items and high technology items - which seem to be the bulk of the recent catalogs. By reading these train forums, you’d think the whole hobby operates with TMCC. Not even CLOSE - even by Lionel’s own admission.
RMT has the right idea, and I dare say that after someone buys their first Lionel set, their next engine purchase could very well be one from RMT: affordable, well running and in a roadname other than NYC or PRR. Compared to Lionel’s offerings, RMT begins to look a lot more like Einstein. Stick RMT’s products in an orange and blue box, boy, becha he wouldn’t be able to keep up with sales… it’s funny how that box and name is so synonymous with this hobby.
I do wonder though, why Walter doesn’t post here also. There may be fewer posters, but I think he has more of an audience with the folks here.
And I wish RMT had gotten access to some of the early K-Line tooling and dies. Leave it Lionel to take something that was a
A VERY good question, Brian–and one I plan to ask the man himself at an early date. After all, CTT gave his newest product a big boost in its current issue and there are likely as many or more potential BEEP, BEEP, BUDDY, and PEEP customers here than there are on any of the other forums (even if everyone who reads here doesn’t register or post regularly). Indeed, that is the reason I initiated this thread here and not elsewhere.
He’s offering great–and affordable–products, and the questions folks may have here have deserve to get them answered here, at least in my opinion.
I have more of his products running now on my layout (several BEEPs and a BUDDY) now than I do locomotives from any other manufacturer, with K-Line Plymouths coming in second. They are great on a small layout, which I assume is still what the majority of hobbyists have, even if they wish for something larger.
Truth is, I guess I have about a dozen BEEPs now (and several BUDDYs), some of which are not currently being used because I’ve been known to change themes from time to time. But all will stay with me because I like them and they were very affordable buys.
I agree with you brianelo27. I also wish that RMT could have gotten acess to some of the early K-Line tooling. Can you imagine what Walter could have done with their little Alco S-2s and FA-2’s, Marx style Pacific, and older rolling stock that K-Line managed to purchase over the years? Just look what RMT did with the old Marx Budd cars that K-Line used to make. It is a very nice upgrade. You know Lionel will do little with the tooling and if they do use it prices will be too high. Look what Lionel is asking for some of the former K-Line items in their new catalog.
I love my beeps. The only problem i have had is there “E-unit” dons’t want to work unless I have something else on the track to draw power also (lighted bumper, Lighted caboose, another beep) SO i just double head everything. I have already taken the BEEF picture and tacked it to the fridge with the note “what to get daddy for christmas” I am hoping for some Southern green and white units myself. Just cant wait to see what RMT comes out with next.
You can flip the shell around on a Beep because it has a headlight on each end. I don’t think that’s true with the Beefs. Also, no dummies are being offered. All A and B units are powered by twin motors. Jim
Good point (about the headlight), Jim! I hadn’t thought about that. But, depending on how the A units are designed, it still might be possible to do the shell switch thing, and simply disconnect the bulb in the backwards-facing unit, which normlly wouldn’t be lighted anyhow. Don’t know for sure because it depends on how the “innards” of the A units are designed, I suppose.
Glad to see there are other RMT fans out there. I have acquired quite a fleet of them. It doesn’t matter to me at all that they aren’t prototypical, to me they look good!
I did a lot of experimentation with mine before I thought to reverse the shells to make a lashup. Sometimes the simplest fix is the best. I don’t know how the BEEFs will run yet, or if the shell will swap on it, if I want to reverse one I will reverse the motor wires and see what happens.
On RMTs web site they mentioned a Milwaukee Road BEEF on the home page but I couldn’t find it anywhere else on the site. Did anyone else find it?
I thought it said something about a Millwaukee beef too at first. But its just two sentances that kinda run together. It just says that the Millwauke beeps are back in stock.