Kato Penn Central E8 and passenger cars have landed...

[Bob Bufkin]

I got a couple of the Walthers coaches in PRR and NYC to add on.  If I can find some decent PC decals, I want to redo one of them.

[MichaelWinicki]

An image...

[wazzou]

Wow, my first thought was a fade coat.

[Mark5]

The PC looks kinda cool , though squeaky clean. I never saw any PC passenger stuff in real life  - I'd have to say that green was an "interesting" choice.

[Bob Bufkin]

One of the few photos of a PC E unit I've taken.  Note it's kinda clean on this Amtrak train.

[FrankCampagna]

You have to remember. At one time, the Penn Central was new, proud and optimistic. By the mid seventies, it was just trying to make it through the day.

Frank

[MichaelWinicki]

One thing I've noticed about this Kato E8... OK, well two things if you include the cars.

The engine is nice.  Very heavy.  And with the decoder it ran like a champ right out of the jewel case.

However I quickly noticed the the wheels were a bit narrow, which isn't all together unusual since it seems most new locos come through slightly under-gauge.  But with this Kato, the "tread" area of the wheel is much thinner than the wheels Atlas uses.  The result is that the loco has issues with trackwork that I haven't encountered with any other locos on my roster.  It's already taken some finagling to get the gauge set right with the wheels as narrow as they are.

The cars are very nice, all though they seem pretty light.

[MichaelWinicki]

Just get a PRR E-8 and slap a PC decal over the keystones and add some dirt and rust.

Actually I'd like to see IM do FP7's for either PC or PRR.  I would think with all PRR passenger cars being released that a run of FP7's would be a good choice.

[Mark5]

One thing I've noticed about this Kato E8... OK, well two things if you include the cars.

The engine is nice.  Very heavy.  And with the decoder it ran like a champ right out of the jewel case.

However I quickly noticed the the wheels were a bit narrow, which isn't all together unusual since it seems most new locos come through slightly under-gauge.  But with this Kato, the "tread" area of the wheel is much thinner than the wheels Atlas uses.  The result is that the loco has issues with trackwork that I haven't encountered with any other locos on my roster.  It's already taken some finagling to get the gauge set right with the wheels as narrow as they are.

Very interesting on the tread width. Perhaps someone can give us some side by side photos (old vs new)

[MichaelWinicki]

Very interesting on the tread width. Perhaps someone can give us some side by side photos (old vs new)

It's turning out to be a bit of a problem. 

The other issue I'm seeing with the E8, is that the weight distribution is funky.  With much of the weight in the back half and the narrow treads on the wheels, it doesn't take much for this loco to "hop" one of the front axles off the rail.   It will derail at spots that I've never had an issue with before. 

I need to play around more with the gauge of the wheels.

I did order two replacement trucks from Kato last night, just to see if those come through narrow or not.

[Dave Schneider]

These made a visit to Milwaukee in the early days of Amtrak (1972). Here is an eBay slide from a current auction with one of them on the point of what is probably the Hiawatha.
http://www.rp-photos.net/ebay/week302/pc4292.jpg

Best wishes, Dave

[wazzou]

That's more the grime and dusty appearance I would expect.

[MichaelWinicki]

Here are some images that compare the tread width for locomotives from some different suppliers...

The Kato E8 is on the left.

To the immediate right of the E8 is an Atlas SD7

To the right of the SD7 is a Kato RS2

The one furthest to the right is a Bachmann GP7 (this one is not seen in all images)

[GaryHinshaw]

Here's a timely shot:

http://www.railpictures.net/viewphoto.php?id=356640&nseq=15

Is that green supposed to be the same as Kato's green?   :-\

-gfh

[Mark5]

Here are some images that compare the tread width for locomotives from some different suppliers...

The Kato E8 is on the left.

To the immediate right of the E8 is an Atlas SD7

To the right of the SD7 is a Kato RS2

Thanks! Although I must admit that in theory the narrower tread should still be on the rails at all times even through turnouts (assuming all wheels, track, and guard rails are gauged properly within specs).

Mark