Pico Whitcomb N scale w & wo sound pre-order

[peteski]

The flanges look to be pretty low (no pizza-cutters).

I'm surprised that the paperwork does not include exploded diagram with a list of part numbers.  Does that mean that Piko will not supply spare parts?!

[brokemoto]

I bought one to-day at the Timonium show.  They are pricey little animals.   I put it onto the test track there.  Usually, the only thing  that you can learn from a train show test track is if the locomotive runs.  I was impressed with this thing.  It crept nicely right out of the box.

Currently I am running it in; I have it down to fifteen SMPH at a steady pace.

It does have traction tires on one of the powered axles.  It has only one powered truck.  I bought a non-DCC/non-sound version.  Still, it has flexing wires soldered to pivotting trucks; not my favourite construction method.  It has substantial weight for its small size..

It has MT couplers or the equivalent.  I purchased a black military version (which I intend to re-paint).  It has footboards.

So far, I am happy with it.

From what I have read, the prototypes had two diesel engines rated at anything from two-hundred-fifty to three-hundred-twenty-five horsepower each for  total of five to six-hundred-fifty horses per locomotive.  From what I have read about the prototypes, the most common rating for each diesel engine was two-hundred-eighty-three horse power.  That is a funny number for  railroad diesel, but there it is.  Does anyone out there know what the tractive effort on the prototype(s) was?

[Cajonpassfan]

Well, the single powered truck is odd, but if it works, it works. There are some European tender-powered steam locos with a similar arrangement and if there is enough weight on the TT wheelset, it can generate a surprising amount of tractive efffort. Also, having both trucks powered may not have left enough room to accommodate DCC sound hardware in this little critter. Still, the TT wheels cut down electrical pickup down to three axles, not the best scenario without some sort of a keep-alive in the circuit.

I may be tempted to buy a DCC/Sound version, as I have an Army Quartermaster depot (Camp Ono) with its own trackage planned on my layout. But first, I'd be very interested to see just how these things perform, and if any of you have a sound version, how much the loco weighs.
Thanks, Otto K.

PS: I just looked at the PIKO video: 20 cars on 3% grade behind two of these...that's impressive...

[Cajonpassfan]

...

Sorry for the crappy shots , even sorrier for mistakenly ordering the black instead of the black and gray ones . My US military freight now has some power .

So there are two military versions, all black and black and grey? I can't seem to be able to find references to them at my usual online dealers... I would prefer the grey version as well, much easier to see details.
Otto K.

[Kentuckian]

I believe that there are currently only two paint schemes: the ACL yellow and blue black and the USATC black.

https://www.piko-america.com/collections/n-scale-locomotives

[Chris333]

I think the blue in the illustration is just a horrible computer animation of black.

Or it is possible from the one prototype photo that they thought it was blue instead of black. Like how some illustrations of Erie locomotives show them blue...
https://imgur.com/RhNenZk
https://army-whitcombs.info/files/large/88c70e9721315653450022e61ece4eda450b41e0.jpg

Although the earlier 3D CAD designs showed these Atlantic Coast Line locomotives to have a blue & yellow paint-scheme, historical research has shown it to be black & yellow. The Atlantic Coast Line inherited these Whitcombs, when they acquired the Franklin & Carolina Railroad in May of 1958.  Both locomotives continued to be used on this branch line until the Atlantic Coast Line, and the Seaboard Air Line merged on July 1ˢᵗ, 1967, to form the fabled Seaboard Coast Line Railroad.

It looks like the paint scheme is left over from the Franklin & Carolina Railroad and not ACL.
https://sites.rootsweb.com/~vaschs/images/Image27.jpg

[Kentuckian]

@Chris333, you are right about the color, I stand corrected. PIKO’s advertising illustration shows blue but the actual color is black, as shown in my own photo! 

[Chris333]

Also interesting that Trovestar took Piko's own Facebook photo of the loco next to a ruler and they photoshopped the ruler out. 

[brokemoto]

I found this:


http://www.csxthsociety.org/modeler/MilitaryRailwayService/EquipmentDataBook1947/usarmyrailroadequipment1947a.pdf

It shows a six hundred fifty HP version with tractive effort at 52.500 pounds at twenty-five per--cent adhesion and thirty nine thousand at thirty per-cent  adhesion.  There re other statistics showing on the sheet.  The sheets come up sideways with the result that it can be difficult to read. Still, there is my answer.  This looks like the version with the highest HP rating but from what I have read, that version was not uncommon.

You must scroll to Page Twenty Two for the sixty five ton Whitcomb.

[up1950s]

When I ordered mine I had a hard time finding part numbers all in one spot . I am sure now that I said that , somebody will find a list of the units offered and the numbers assocated .

[Chris333]

I *think* they only did 2 roadnames with and without sound, so 4 models. I saw their HO scale model had another orange/blue roadname.

[spookshow]

I've never had a Piko model before. Do they make their own stuff in Germany or do they farm it all out to China like everybody else does?

Thanks,
-Mark

[spookshow]

Wikipedia to the rescue - Piko's headquarters factory in Sonneberg Germany makes the G-Scale and some HO-Scale products, while its PIKO China factory in Chashan makes the HO-Scale "Expert", "Hobby", "SmartControl", "SmartControlLight" and "myTrain" lines, as well as the N-Scale and TT-Scale lines.

-Mark

[peteski]

Yes, is is all made in China.  When I was living in Poland in the '70s PIKO was an East German company making H0 and N scale model trains and track.  N scale stuff was very crude, but it ran.  Now it's all different.

Here is an example of a period N scale French electric loco.

[Ed Kapuscinski]

These kinda bum me out. I would've absolutely been in for a MMID one, but don't care enough to go through the work and expense of painting up one.
I've got PLENTY of other projects.