Any idea why?
Well, the short answer is “they didn’t sell or they’d still be out there.” I wonder if the more detailed models mean that more of the manufacturing costs goes to the body rather than the drive these days.
Why do you want a dummy locomotive?
Just make one by removing the motor drive.
Broadway Limited offered dummy B units with their A-B sets of recently released Baldwin Sharks. I would have much prefered a powered unit.
I believe Jason Shron of Rapido once commented that the motor and drive components add only a fraction to the production cost but trying to inventory the additional SKUs for dummys was not worth the effort.
Regards, Ed
Correct, Jason Shron did say that recently too. The difference in his costs between a powered unit and one without the motor and gear train isn’t a lot, so the final retail price will not change much.
Since there won’t be a dramatic difference in price between a dummy unit and a powered one, most customers would opt for a powered unit anyway. So why bother stocking two units?
Jason’s correct. Unfortunately it’s no longer worth it for scale model locomotive manufacturers to produce non-powered units.
Ironcically this subject has come up in DCC discussions before. A number of DCC-Sound modelers have performed excellent work in utilizing unmotored locomotives as “sound only” units. With the generous amount of space inside of a dummy unit, there’s room for larger or multiple speakers. If the DCC-Sound system is properly installed and baffled, the resulting sound is amazingly crisp and clear, especially at low volume. I was amazed when I heard a modeler’s sound only F-7B in an MU lashup. It was like listening to a G Scale unit!
Check ebay regularly and you’ll still find dummy units from Life Like Proto 2000 and Athearn (old Blue Box).
Below is my dummy P2K E6B in the ACL scheme. Plan is the installation of a LokSound V4 decoder with QSI Hi-Bass speakers.
They don’t sell - actually they never sold well. When I ran a train department in a hobby shop, many years ago, very few people bought dummy units.
Think about it this way, if you are modeling a large Class I line, and you have the room and the resources, you are going to build a larger layout and pull longer trains. As your trains get longer, to justify muli unit lashups, you are more likely to actually need more power.
Sure most of the diesel trains on my layout that have three or four powered uints could do with just two powered units, but by having them all powered the loco fleet becomes more versatile.
AND, as more modelers became interested in prototype operations as opposed to just display running in circles, that versatility became more important.
I’ve been doing this since 1968 - never owned a dummy unit…I have never even considered the idea.
The “sound car” idea might be the best argument for dummy units - but I don’t do sound…
Sheldon
Nor have I. Even my Athearn SW7 calf was powered. I used a powered SW7/powered Calf consist for years at one club I was a member of…Like the prototype I had the power to pull cars-in my case around 30 on most freight trains plus the long cuts when I was building outbound trains.
I think in the era of motors that drew 1 amp or more, there was a place for dummies. One of the problems with Athearn dummies was that they were the same number as the powered units; not a huge problem to overcome, but still an issue. I had a customer who exclusively bought dummies to make custom pen & pencil sets. I have plans to make an old blue box F7B a sound unit, but I am so far behind my dcc decoder projects; that may never get done…
I still see unpowered for B units, some with sound. Of course not all diesel types have a B unit.
Enjoy
Paul
For starters there are non-powered units being sold still, so the statement in the title is false. Here is an example.
http://www.athearn.com/Search/Default.aspx?SearchTerm=F7A+RND&CatID=THLD
The B units are dummies (non-powered).
Bowser also still sells unpowered B units:
http://www.bowser-trains.com/history/emdf7loco.html
As others have commented, non-powered units are not very profitable so very few are sold anymore.
My thoughts were not on B units but more on road engines like the SD series, GP50’s and the like.
It’s been ages since non-powered geeps or SD’s or U-boats have been manufactured new, probably the 1980’s or 1990’s at the latest.
Again the reason are lack of sales. Back in “the day” dummies of geeps and SD’s were offered probably because at that time, people could buy a few to allow them to simulate MU consists and afford it. In the past 20 years or so, buying dummies has largely fallen out of favor since modelers prefer to buy all powered units. Market demand is what the companies are responding to.
LION still gets dummies. Him buys SUBWAY TRAINS. Set has one power car and 3 unpowered cars. LION IS STILL WAITING (Anthony Bianco) for new MTH subways. Him pre-ordered one set P-D-D-D with two more D-D units for a six car train, the standard of the Route of the BroadwayLION. LION has had (or is) replacing all of the motors in the Walthers/Life-Like units, him has high hopes for the MTH units, but will have no qualms about yanking the boards and motors if him has to.
ROAR
Subways are a very different genre; different beast.
Ditto with the Con-Cor, Pennsylvania railroad MP54 electric MU cars. The powered units were more than capable of hauling 3 to 4 unpowered units. So in that case Con-Cor was selling quite a few unpowered MP54s.
They were something like $80 less than the motorized ones…
Ed
And they still show up on e-Bay usually missing the railings and they still don’t seem to sell.
Back in the day you needed all the power you could get to pull long strings of wheeled bricks. With newer cars being much better at rolling down the rail you do not need all those power sucking electric motors.
I have a ABA set of Athearn bluebox F 45 locos with the B being a dummy unit. It contains the decoders and one large speaker. Both A units have a speaker. Even with the volumn turned way down you know there is some serious power coming at you.
Oh about the F-45s, they still use the original big ol gray motors but with modern machined brass flywhells.
Hello all,
I recall reading the reason dummy units were produced in the DC era was because of the poor tolerances of early motors and gears. The same locomotives produced by the same manufacturer might not speed match at the same voltage.
By using a dummy a consist or MU could be replicated without the bucking of two or more speed mismatched units.
I can attest to this. When I ran my pike DC I had two GP40s from the same manufacturer that fought so hard against each other that they would break apart unless the “slower” unit was the lead unit to corral the “faster” unit.
With the advent of DCC and the ability to speed match through the manipulation of CV’s the “need” for dummy units waned. That’s not to say that they completely disappeared; as has been noted by other posts.
As has been noted, there has been a resurgence of dummy units as sound platforms.
To say that *"*no diesel non- powered units anymore" is not quite true.
Hope this helps.
As I have said before, the only dummy on my layout is me.