Oriental E1B - The Kumata Holy Grail

[u18b]

Calling everyone who has an E1B  ATSF.

http://www.spookshow.net/files/bolchief.jpg

My research continues on.  Studying every BLW newsletter from the time period, I've made an amazing discovery and already shared it with Spookshow for his site.

The E1 A/B was released in 11/82 by Oriental 1 month after Hallmark released the SD40-2 (the first detailed mass produced brass loco).  The Oriental E1 set was timed with the release of the Super Chief passenger cars.  150 loco sets were made and the B unit was a DUMMY. (I never knew there were dummy B units!!).

Demand was sky-high.  People begged for more...and complained that the single powered A unit could not adequately pull the dummy B and all 8 passenger cars (6 plus 2 car add-on).

So the spring of 84 was busy for KMT.  The Hallmark E3/6 and the E5 were released at the same time-in 4/84

One month later,  5/84, the 2nd run of the Oriental E1s were released - 100 more sets with BOTH locos powered.

But, here is something new I discovered.... One month later 6/84 Oriental released a E1B power chassis- no shell. So people who had dummy E1Bs from the first run could pull the shell, and place it on the new power chassis.

I need to chat with anyone who has an E1B.

1.  Does ANYONE have a B unit that is still a dummy-- or at least the dummy chassis stored somewhere after you placed your shell on the power unit).  The dummy would be VERY rare!

2.  Probably even more rare-  does anyone still have one of these Power B units (esp still in the box).  Wow, that has to be REALLY rare.

3.  Among everyone else with a powered B unit, yours may be from the standard second run.  Or it may be from the FIRST run but has been repowered.

I'm trying desperately to be able to tell these different runs apart.

So please speak up and help figure it all out.
Thanks in advance.
Ron

[bbussey]

I remember that.  Around the same time, Hallmark released a powered chassis for the FT-B.  The first FT sets also came with the A-powered and B-dummy setup.

[sirenwerks]

Ron, could this research on E units mean that Kato's about to release the holes in its E line-up?  Mainly, the E6 and E7?

[spookshow]

I think it's more about my and Ron's extreme cases of OCD 

-Mark

[Philip H]

I think it's more about my and Ron's extreme cases of OCD 

-Mark

And yet, without your and Ron's apparent but undiagnosed neuroses, we'd all be very information poor. 

Ron,
Aside form your work on making the Kumota brass stuff actually run, I'd be interested in whether these power chases were ever used by enterprising modelers for other locos -  since we didn't have the Kato and Tomix lines of power chases to kitbash at the time.

[u18b]

Haha.  Phillip, you're thinking like a kitbasher.

You just know SOMEONE out there used one of these for "other" purposes.

But in reality, according to Spookshow.net, 1984 was also the year that Con Cor/Kato released the E8- which used the old Atlas shell from the late 60s and probably ran better- or at least did not have shorting issues..

I don't know what month the ConCor locos came out..... but if it was summer or after, then I guess someone could buy the power chassis and place an Atlas shell on it.

[u18b]

I think it's more about my and Ron's extreme cases of OCD 

-Mark

Mark has been VERY patient with me.  Lol.