Atlas Shays, Precision Craft PRR M1 super sale at the Train Heaven

[DKS]

Maybe I should start taking advance reservations for my couplers... 

[up1950s]

Maybe PCM is holding off for the waiting list to grow to a count that they feel is sufficient for a run , which they imply by disallowing hobby shops to allow customer orders to be canceled . Also by claiming intent to build it , and only out of professional curtsy , other manufacturers will not produce their own M1 , as if there was a chance of that . If so , there are many orders pending for dead modelers , and the undead will remember this pre-order method from them and only place PCM pre-orders over their dead body's .

[Dave V]

Maybe PCM is holding off for the waiting list to grow to a count that they feel is sufficient for a run , which they imply by disallowing hobby shops to allow customer orders to be canceled . Also by claiming intent to build it , and only out of professional curtsy , other manufacturers will not produce their own M1 , as if there was a chance of that . If so , there are many orders pending for dead modelers , and the undead will remember this pre-order method from them and only place PCM pre-orders over their dead body's .

This row has been hoed many times...  By my recollection the locomotive was introduced in 2004, not 2005 or 2006.  They made this "waiting for more pre-orders" argument at various times in the sordid history.  For a while they had an "excuse-o-meter" where they showed something like a fuel gauge showing that more pre-orders were needed, although they would never say how many.

Other excuses included issues with tooling, other priorities, etc.  Some were told there was a pilot model, others were told there was not...  There have been no known photographs of one if it did exist.  For a while, PCM had a forum, but it shut down probably in no small part due to the flack they've taken for their overall commitment to N scale.  Nothing they made in N was on schedule.  What they made was nice enough, and so I had faith that the M1 would be a good model.  But they constantly delayed, delayed, delayed, with none of the honesty of a company like Atlas or Rapido.

I'm sure PCM is waiting for more pre-orders, but I don't think there's a magic threshold at which they'll commit.  I no longer have a pre-order because the company I ordered with went out of business.  In the meantime, I'm convinced that PCM/BLI is holding the entire N scale PRR steam market hostage.  No company will wade into the waters when PCM has already appeared to have tried to make a go at it.  The problem is that PCM/BLI's threshold for marketability may not match, say, Bachmann's, but without full disclosure of tooling costs, profit per unit, and pre-order information, the other manufacturers won't know.

I had very high hopes for BLI/PCM, and I swear I went through all the stages including anger, denial, bargaining, and acceptance (if begrudging).  Imagine; I model the PRR Middle Division in 1956, whose flagship locomotive (to the tune of 300 built) was the PRR M1a/b.  Along comes a company, who has already done an amazing one in HO, offering to do it in N with sound!  Imagine this were your must-have loco that nobody made!  Then imagine the wait, the excuses, the jokes, and the frustration.

Finally I said piss on it and built one myself:



Just for fun I posted how I did it...  on PCM's own forum!

[mike_lawyer]

Dave's summary of the sordid history of this vaporware is spot on.  This thing has been on the PCM/BLI website for about 8 years, with no apparent date by which the model would be produced.  I agree that this project has really soured N scalers to BLI, and it is a shame.  BLI makes some great PRR models in HO scale, I just wish they could transfer that over to N scale.

[sizemore]

Your eccentric crank is off by a few degrees. It should be just off center on the other side (to the left) of the axle. When the loco is in motion it should appear to be chasing the main rod.

HTH,
The S.

[Dave V]

Yes, that's actually been a problem with this mech.  In spite of my best efforts the valve gear has blown itself to bits more than once, and that eccentric crank likes to find its way out of synch.  This loco runs like crap, and some day I may end up replacing the mech with a Bachmann heavy 4-8-2.

[Ian MacMillan]

Maybe I should start taking advance reservations for my couplers... 

I have credit card ready...

[Cajonpassfan]

Yes, that's actually been a problem with this mech.  In spite of my best efforts the valve gear has blown itself to bits more than once, and that eccentric crank likes to find its way out of synch.  This loco runs like crap, and some day I may end up replacing the mech with a Bachmann heavy 4-8-2.

Dave, I must have missed it, but what mech did you use? I agree the Heavy Bach is a great runner.
And I wouldn't worry too much about the the crank....some of my best friends in the hobby are eccentric cranks who are off by more than a few degrees...
Regards, Otto K.

[victor miranda]

medium loc-tite.
max says green loc-tite.

I pull the crank, add a weee little blue loc-tite and pop it back.
wick any extra you see with a corner of a napkin.
add a drop of oil.
wait about 10 minutes and give it a run.

it is not tough to remove when needed.

victpr

[Dave V]

Dave, I must have missed it, but what mech did you use? I agree the Heavy Bach is a great runner.
And I wouldn't worry too much about the the crank....some of my best friends in the hobby are eccentric cranks who are off by more than a few degrees...
Regards, Otto K.

Bachmann light 4-8-2.