FWIW The new Bachmann Catalog is up

[Dave V]

How exciting can a sound equipped GG1 be..."Mmmmmmmmmmmmm" Ding, Ding, Ding, Hooonnnnk, Hooonnnnk, Honk, Hoooooonnnnnnkkkkk.  "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm"   

LOL!  Exactly.

But then again, there's nothing like a GG1 horn.  I think Warner Brothers used it for their token diesel horn any time Wile E. Coyote found himself in a train tunnel.

[peteski]

LOL!  Exactly.

But then again, there's nothing like a GG1 horn.  I think Warner Brothers used it for their token diesel horn any time Wile E. Coyote found himself in a train tunnel.

Feeling Horny, eh? 

[Bob Bufkin]

/>
For those who have never heard one.

[sirenwerks]

last night I read that the PRR owned 10 to 15 percent of the rolling stock in the U.S.
as far as I am concerned... us SPF _are_ giving you a chance.

Pfft.  You don't see neary one Pennsy car in a grain train made up of 40-footers on the prairie.

And the steam Hiawatha doesn't do it for me.  I'm happy it's out for other Milwaukee modelers, but I need a later diesel era Hiawatha (hence the post-50s mention).

[sirenwerks]

They can keep on asking for whatever they want as long as Bachmann is the one who makes it.   

Jason

Trus that, it frees up Kato to do more Burlington, and the Hiawatha and Eb and NCL.

[sirenwerks]

True that.  It frees up Kato to do the Hiawatha and EB and NCL, and mayke a Denver Zephyr or General Pershing.

[dougnelson]

How exciting can a sound equipped GG1 be..."Mmmmmmmmmmmmm" Ding, Ding, Ding, Hooonnnnk, Hooonnnnk, Honk, Hoooooonnnnnnkkkkk.  "Mmmmmmmmmmmmmm"   

They should have plenty of steam sounds - they were honorary steam locomotives:

[peteski]

Ok, the street-price (BLW) of a DC version of Bachmann GG1 (with a photo of H0 model for reference  ) is $147.  MSRP $239
Kato GG1s have street price (the most recent release, at BLW) of $98.  MAP price is $145.

Hmmm... Will the $147 Bachman model look and perform better than a $98 Kato? Interesting, very interesting.  I know which model (sight unseen) I would choose if I needed another GG1.  But mayybe if I eventually see the Bachmann model, it will have something on it that is worth $49 (the price difference between the models).  It would have to be quite impressive...

I just had another thought - maybe Bachmann prices give much more markup for themselves and for the dealers to make more profit?

I hope that since we are very touchy lately, this is not mistaken for Bachmann-bashing. I'm simply pondering the value for the price.

[VonRyan]

Those 72' coaches do look nice, though...but they are not PRR prototype.  I need to get off my butt and finish the P70 upgrade I started with the Model Power coach some years ago.

Actually, if they are the same as the trailing coaches that come with the latest doodlebugs, then they are P70s.
I sat with one and NJ international's PRR heavyweight book and other than the trucks, they are dead ringers for P70s.

[Dave V]

Actually, if they are the same as the trailing coaches that come with the latest doodlebugs, then they are P70s.
I sat with one and NJ international's PRR heavyweight book and other than the trucks, they are dead ringers for P70s.

Hm...you may very well be right.  I don't own one but I thought I remembered this coming up in conversation before where someone proclaimed that the trailer coach wasn't a P70.

However, I looked closely at the blown-up picture from the ad on Chuck's site, and I looked at my PRR coach reference book.  So far the general proportions, window count, vestibules, and blind ends match pretty well for a P70 in the late 40s/early 50s.  The roof looks a bit different to me, but the quality of the photo of the model isn't such that I trust my instincts on that one.  I think with a proper pair of 2D-P5 trucks it would be a suitable P70.  At least by my standards...which may not be as high as others'.

[thomasjmdavis]

According to Bachmann, the car is 72'.  Granted, the real railroads often classified their own cars by length less vestibules (a 70' car might have an overall length of around 78' once vestibules were included).  But I think Bachmann means 72 scale feet overall length. 

Now, many railroads did have cars that size (M/L) in their commuter pools (and as trailers for motor cars), but I think it falls several feet short of a P70. doesn't it?   Whatever it is, if the price falls below $20, it will at least be a big improvement over the existing Bachmann 60' shorty cars. (Which I know are arguably based on C&NW cars that actually existed, but lousy detail, and dimensionally questionable, and never issued in CNW paint AFAIK)

[jmlaboda]

Actually, if they are the same as the trailing coaches that come with the latest doodlebugs, then they are P70s.
I sat with one and NJ international's PRR heavyweight book and other than the trucks, they are dead ringers for P70s.

Hm...you may very well be right.  I don't own one but I thought I remembered this coming up in conversation before where someone proclaimed that the trailer coach wasn't a P70.

I know for fact and for sure that the Bachmann coach is no PRR P70.  While it shares the prototypes window spacing (as does the MT coach) the letterboard is too deep to represent any known prototype, especially so a P70.  Don't believe me?  You can check it for yourself at the Passenger Car Photo Index, the PRR and PC pages.  It should obvious to any who would view many of the images on-line of prototype coaches that the Bachmann "thing" is not even close.

[Dave V]

Hm...you may very well be right.  I don't own one but I thought I remembered this coming up in conversation before where someone proclaimed that the trailer coach wasn't a P70.

I know for fact and for sure that the Bachmann coach is no PRR P70.  While it shares the prototypes window spacing (as does the MT coach) the letterboard is too deep to represent any known prototype, especially so a P70.  Don't believe me?  You can check it for yourself at the Passenger Car Photo Index, the PRR and PC pages.  It should obvious to any who would view many of the images on-line of prototype coaches that the Bachmann "thing" is not even close.

I guess I don't have as keen an eye for that sort of thing as you, but given your expertise in the subject of passenger cars, I will most certainly take your word for it.  As it is, I have a mostly-finished Model Power upgrade that will save me from dropping what I think is an excessive amount of cash for a passenger car.

[basementcalling]

Ok, the street-price (BLW) of a DC version of Bachmann GG1 (with a photo of H0 model for reference  ) is $147.  MSRP $239
Kato GG1s have street price (the most recent release, at BLW) of $98.  MAP price is $145.

Hmmm... Will the $147 Bachman model look and perform better than a $98 Kato? Interesting, very interesting.  I know which model (sight unseen) I would choose if I needed another GG1.  But mayybe if I eventually see the Bachmann model, it will have something on it that is worth $49 (the price difference between the models).  It would have to be quite impressive...

I just had another thought - maybe Bachmann prices give much more markup for themselves and for the dealers to make more profit?

I hope that since we are very touchy lately, this is not mistaken for Bachmann-bashing. I'm simply pondering the value for the price.

If you can wait long enough, the Bachmann items usually show up on heavy "sale" level discounts as shops try to move inventory that doesn't immediately sell out. I know I bought my 44 tonner and 70 tonner (eBay) long after versions from other companies probably would have been out of stock.

Glad to see Bachmann is putting out so much PRR product. Two advantages to Bachmann making what they list in their catalog: I am not worried about their listings preventing other companies making a better quality, less expensive version of the same model, ala GG1. And it leaves hope that my needs for an AC6000 and other similar modern rolling stock and engines will be taken up by Atlas, Kato, FVM, and others.

PRR is so last century.    Those who model the past are condemned to repeat it.

[nkalanaga]

I wonder if the Bachmann pantographs will be sold separately?  If so, I can see them ending up on Kato motors, not just the GG1s, on a lot of layouts.

Probably wouldn't work for my MILW branch, as the wire is higher than the PRR standard.

I'm still waiting for a MILW Boxcab.  That one wouldn't need much of a sound unit, just the horn.  The DC motor and gear sounds from our trains aren't too different.  After all, the MILW motors were basically a motor-rheostat system, with large resistors used to make a basic notched "rheostat", and the substation replacing the transformer/rectifier in a power pack.  Just like our trains, only bigger and higher voltage.