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I'm not a fan at all. Some updatees or "improvements" made by manufacturers are actually steps backward. Just like Victor Miranda, I try to eliminate wires as much as possible (especially in places where there is constant movement, like truck-to-chassis contacts). Well-adjusted (properly tensioned), and cleaned pickup strips work very well. That is the most common truck-to-chassis current transfer method on a great majority of my locos, and also locos I service belonging to my NTRAK club members and owners of few layouts I operate on (and I also service many of those locos). In my servicing experiences, that contact area is nowhere as problematic as dirty wheels. Whenever I service a model I polish the contact areas using a metal polishing paste. That seems to protect the contact areas from oxidizing. I've seen others applying a bit of oil or grease there.I also really like the ease of servicing when trucks just drop out (without a need to disconnect any wires). Also, without any strain relief the stripped and terminated wire ends tend to be a weak spot where they will eventually break after being stressed by constant movement. I guess we'll see how these work out over time.
I wonder now if Bachmann is going to produce these locos. Maybe they have had them in the works before this.
... Bachmann produces... what have they contributed to N scale in the last 20 years that's useful?
A relatively decent DDA40X (finally).
products Bachmann produces...what have they contributed to N scale in the last 20 years that's useful?
...what have they contributed to N scale in the last 20 years that's useful?
[...sigh...]I said "relatively". So the walkway is faked/shaded, which doesn't make it a "foobar". Certainly better than the OMI in several respects, and they are good runners, very much unlike the OMI shelf queens. Besides, correcting the walk-through isn't rocket science, either, just a little bit of Dremel time and quick styrene fab. My biggest gripe with 'em is the poor profiling on the trucks and the swivel pilots, a little harder to fix (neatly).
... they (in their infinite wisdom) plopped one of the motors right in the walkway area!! ...
Nope. Just a flywheel. I have a dozen (or more) of these with one becoming a DD35, and have assessed the issue multiple times.Tell you what - in spite of everything else on my platter right now, I will take a few moments this evening and clear the walkway on one, short of the finish bodywork.
My OMI Centennials operated regularly and reliably on the UNR2 N-scale club layout for years...also on my home module-based layout. They ran slow, but they pulled a 45 car trailer flat train for hours around the layout at shows and when permanently set up when we acquired a space large enough to do that. They had the OMI-supplied upgrades in them, and I superdetailed, painted and weathered 'em, but other than installing the OMI drivetrain upgrade, they were dead-stock inside with the exception of a multi-diode constant brightness directional lighting addition. One thing for sure, they LOOKED much better than the Bachmann Centennials, even with OMI's funky handrail arrangement which I never got around to replacing. So, my OMI Centennials were definitely NOT "shelf queens", and were quite the spectator draw at the shows.But, I understand their bad pre-upgrade reputation caused them to not sell, and what's-his-name, who owned OMI, simply threw away most of his N-scale Centennials eventually.Luckily for me, I acquired mine for a GREAT price before the trashing took place!I understand that mine are running well after I sold them and they got DCC-ized in the midwest somewhere a few years back.And...I agree 100% with Peter @peteski about the Bachmann DD-40's. Luckily for me, Centennials don't fit into my chosen era...which is the reason I sold my OMI models...so, disappointing Bachmann DD-40's are no skin off my nose.As for the new Alco FA/FB's... I hope they produce a second run with the A's having the larger nose number boards, instead of the tiny side-mounted ones to fit the prototype roads who had the larger boards, U.P. being my main interest.I was hoping that when a new Alco FA/FB model came out, it would have both updated innards and body detailing, although I have had zero problems with my old LL models with their antiquated chassis. Maybe in the near future other manufacturers will get the message that the Alco FA/FB engines are viable models and deserve to be brought into the 21st century as far as mechanicals and detailing are concerned.Merry Christmas!Bob Gilmore
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Topic: The FA-1 / FB-1 Locomotive is Back (Read 18745 times)
