Tomix track cleaning car now in US

[rogergperkins]

 :)Tomix (blue, yellow)
 Walthers Part # 738-6421
 N scale, $64.98, currently in stock at Walthers

  Hope to see mine with DCC decoder back on the layout on 30 August 2013.

[eric220]

The ones I ordered off eBay for $45 each arrived yesterday.

[rogergperkins]

eric, was the e-bay source an individual or a dealer?

[eric220]

Dealer that goes by plazajapan

[OldEastRR]

Yes, but what kind of car does this thing represent in a transition-era layout?

[rogergperkins]

eric, thanks for dealer name.  I have looked at their items.  I did not buy because of the cost of shipping and handling.

These track cleaning cars are not models as such of any era US rolling stock.  One must take some poetic license if that is their goal for all rolling stock.
In my own use, I have run mine periodically for maintenance.  Now with two that are DCC decoder equipped, I may run them head end in passenger trains or as B-units with some Kato E-A units.  I plan to have mine custom painted in a B&O blue scheme.

[eric220]

Yes, but what kind of car does this thing represent in a transition-era layout?

A functional one. 

eric, thanks for dealer name.  I have looked at their items.  I did not buy because of the cost of shipping and handling.

Yeah, it's a little steep. But even at $20, the cost of shipping plus the car is the same price as just the car from Walthers. I bought a couple of them, so total cost was much lower than buying from Walthers.

[MichaelWinicki]

Hmm...

I just received one from plazajapan and it was $45.80.  The shipping was only $8.80.

[rogergperkins]

I paid full Walther's price, ordered from the LHS.    The decoder install was done locally and I will hire a local painter to do mine in B&O.  Happy for all who got the car at a price they like.

[DKS]

Yeah, it's a little steep. But even at $20, the cost of shipping plus the car is the same price as just the car from Walthers. I bought a couple of them, so total cost was much lower than buying from Walthers.

And there's a chance PlazaJapan might get it delivered before a local dealer.

[rogergperkins]

Yes, but moot point for me. I have mine.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

More than one railroad, and more than one airport, have used jet engines to blow/melt snow.

There's video on Youtube too:

[MichaelWinicki]

Put mine through its paces today.

Luv the vac part.  It sucked up all sort of "stuff" from the track area.

Had one issue...

Something got stuck between the fan and the housing of the unit, and if the fan doesn't turn then the unit doesn't work (go figure!).

I thought it was a motor problem but tried rotating the fan with my finger and found it was offering a lot of resistance so I figured something was stopping the fan from rotating... Sure enough, a large piece of ballast had wedged itself in there.  Once I removed that the fan turned without much effort and I continued cleaning my main.

I run DCC and it didn't seem to have a negative affect on how the unit works.

I left the rapido couplers in place and used one of my Atlas GP7's to push the Tomix car around the layout at a slow speed.  When it picks up something with some density you can hear the piece hit the side of the "garbage" bin area of the track cleaning car.

For the money I'm pretty pleased at the job it did.

[up1950s]

My original intention of the jet blower/melters was to use the other end . If it blows , it needs to suck , as do any vacuum . If a model jet engine was used , and the intake was troughed to rail height , then in the suck direction , a canister , filter , and then the jet intake . Or a Tyson roots cyclone vacuum which looks much like the centrifugal  flow jet blowers shown . On my way to explain this in photos as the thread progressed I was challenged in what I felt was a rhetorical statement . So I removed my post to retain the thread from going elsewhere or worse . Food for thought to increase suck in what has been described as a suckable sucksess already .   

[peteski]

My original intention of the jet blower/melters was to use the other end .

Hmmm, how would the suction on of the intake of a jet engine melt snow? Suck - yes, melt - no.  Just saying... 
But you're right, this is way OT here.