New run Scale Trains C39-8

[wmcbride]

I just received my new, latest-run C39-8 from Scale Trains (CSX). It's beautifully executed but ST still has the holes in the bottom of the fuel tank to let all of that ferocious N-scale sound out.

The idealist in me had hoped they might retool and stop this but the realist in me knew they would not go to the expense since they seem to not recognize it as a problem. It's easily fixed as I have done with my other ST engines.

Mine is a straight DC engine since I had not won any lottery to pay for a sound-equipped version. Now I will have to wait the arrival of the E24 decoder for it or add sound later.

Despite my whining about the fuel tank holes, I will say -- again -- that it is a really nicely built and painted.

[Rossford Yard]

I have two from their first run and the "toasters" are among my favorite locos - proto, or model.  The ST locos are my best runners (by a hair) with sound equipped.

[Englewood]

Are you modeling a derailment with the power laying on it's side? Maybe I'm crazy buy I don't understand why it would bother someone.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Are you modeling a derailment with the power laying on it's side? Maybe I'm crazy buy I don't understand why it would bother someone.

Scale Trains make the speakers push against the frame from the fuel tank area. If the tank had no speaker holes, it would act as a sealed baffle and produce much more robust sound. As it is, the speaker does not push against much and sounds flat. This was a major issue with their AC4400. It may be an issue with the C39-8. I thought they had sealed one side of the speaker after the AC4400. It does not have a baffle to produce lower frequencies but sounds better than a non-sealed speaker.

I got my C39-8 yesterday. Thank god the SD40-2s are a few months away.

[lock4244]

Does the new run of these come with the boxing glove coupler?

[jagged ben]

...This was a major issue with their AC4400. It may be an issue with the C39-8. I thought they had sealed one side of the speaker after the AC4400. ...

You mean ET44? Or maybe Dash 9?
Scale Trains has announced an AC4400 but they're still a few months away.

[peteski]

Does the new run of these come with the boxing glove coupler?

I was wondering that too since the ad I saw in a magazine seems to show Scale Trains "rivet-counter-true-scaled" coupler. I thought in one of their other recent locos they went with MTL couplers (which I thought was an excellent development), but it seems that the improvement didn't last long.

[wmcbride]

Does the new run of these come with the boxing glove coupler?

ST website product info for the C39-8s says:

"Body mounted ScaleTrains.com plastic semi-scale E Type knuckle coupler."

Mine has ginormous brown couplers that looks like all the other ST engines I have (when they arrived). So I guess they are the same boxing gloves.

[Jbub]

ST website product info for the C39-8s says:

"Body mounted ScaleTrains.com plastic semi-scale E Type knuckle coupler."

Mine has ginormous brown couplers that looks like all the other ST engines I have (when they arrived). So I guess they are the same boxing gloves.

That is marketing fluff.

Any n scale coupler can be considered "semi-scale" except for maybe rapido couplers.

[peteski]

ST website product info for the C39-8s says:

"Body mounted ScaleTrains.com plastic semi-scale E Type knuckle coupler."

Mine has ginormous brown couplers that looks like all the other ST engines I have (when they arrived). So I guess they are the same boxing gloves.

Yes, we had previous discussions here about their own "semi-scale" McHenry lookalike large couplers. For a company that prides itself in producing highly detailed models with prototypical accuracy, their coupler is laughably non-prototypical size-wise. Even a brown MTL couplers look a lot better than that "boxing glove jr."  When couplers are concerned, to me the overall size is more important than the details molded on the coupler's body.  These also don't work well for magnetic uncoupling (their whiskers are too stiff)

Hopefully the coupler boxes in these models have the slots molded in the correct locations for drop-in MTL coupler replacement.  On the Standard Turbine models the slots were there but molded on the wrong sides, so you couldnt' just drop the MTL coupler in there.

[lock4244]

Yes, we had previous discussions here about their own "semi-scale" McHenry lookalike large couplers. For a company that prides itself in producing highly detailed models with prototypical accuracy, their coupler is laughably non-prototypical size-wise. Even a brown MTL couplers look a lot better than that "boxing glove jr."  When couplers are concerned, to me the overall size is more important than the details molded on the coupler's body.  These also don't work well for magnetic uncoupling (their whiskers are too stiff)

Hopefully the coupler boxes in these models have the slots molded in the correct locations for drop-in MTL coupler replacement.  On the Standard Turbine models the slots were there but molded on the wrong sides, so you couldnt' just drop the MTL coupler in there.

My experience with them is a coupling issue (the gigantism, too), that they resist attempts to couple at anything under what may be termed a 'heavy coupling' speed. For my purposes, operation edges out looks in importance... assuming the looks fall within the range of acceptability (I would not want to revert to Rapido couplers for example).

[peteski]

My experience with them is a coupling issue (the gigantism, too), that they resist attempts to couple at anything under what may be termed a 'heavy coupling' speed. For my purposes, operation edges out looks in importance... assuming the looks fall within the range of acceptability (I would not want to revert to Rapido couplers for example).

I agree, that is why it would be nice if Scale Trains made all of their coupler boxes accept drop-in MTL coupler shanks.  Like they did in their Big Blow Turbine models.  It was a really easy procedure to make them "gentle coupling friendly".

[GM50 4164]

The only reason their new SD40-2's have the MT look a like coupler is because the rear of the coupler box of their own designed coupler, would hit the truck, not sure which end, so they went with this design on this model. This is what Shane mentioned to me at Amherst last Jan.