Scale Trains Rivet Counter series https://www.scaletrains.com/ho-scal...xs_McCZKecEh59I2J7ZxxwOMbDkjC9UgDgpyRKhaaeR3I
I am somewhat amused that they would pick a locomotive that was sequestered to one yard in one geographic location as something to build and offer. How many Tulsa yard modelers are there? It would seem to be a very small number of people (outside of mere collectors) that would buy these.
This is a.... head scratcher. When we initially were told to expect a 6 axle unit for the Frisco, i just assumed it would be an SD45 offering. I kept checking their web site hoping to see an announcement for that, because at this point, Scale Trains makes the best model of anyone at this point. So I'm a little bummed we didn't get the SD45's yet, but we can hope to get them in the future. Like Keith said, the market on these units will be limited for true modelers. Yours truly is more of a collector than anything else at this point so I'll probably sign up for all 4. What really throws a wrench in this is when you consider that Intermountain announced a run of Frisco SD38-2's YEARS ago, and have yet to make them. I checked my inbox, and the announcement was emailed to me in June of 2016! The Intermountain site does list them as confirmed for production, but who knows when or if they'll deliver on that. They have a habit of canceling Frisco projects a long time after announcing them, so if anyone wants an SD38-2, I would put my money on Scale Trains.
http://www.frisco.org/shipit/index.php?threads/sd38-2-298-299.13577/ I added some of my dads pics here. I am sure we have the Tulsa pair also because we saw them and toured the cab of 296 but I think those are slides. I look forward to these models (not as much as the U25). Another advantage of not having a “real” layout. HA
Well, at least they offer both the Tulsa and Memphis versions! The SD38-2 was not a common locomotive, and the Frisco fielded two versions, both good looking, that were unusual in that they were set up for hump work. K
Ohhh! That's very pretty! I would place money on the fact that outside of the "pure" Frisco modeler (who knows that they were only used for hump duty) that they sell a ton of them? - and I hope they do!
Has anyone installed a TSU2 into one of these models? I was wondering because it says something about certain features not working without the ESU installed in there description. Thank you.
In the Product Details, they state: Operating LED ground lights on both sides of locomotive* Operating LED front and rear tricolor flush-mounted with raised gasket class lights** Operating LED Prime PM-8901 Stratolite beacon* Printed and LED lighted number boards* * Lighting features operate when using an ESU decoder with appropriate programming while operating using DCC ** Class lights illuminate in white color only in DC operation. Access and changing colors an ESU decoder with appropriate programming while operating using DCC What they are not saying clearly is that they let ESU Loksound design the DCC motherboard, therefore the lighting functions other than headlights will not work with anyone else's decoder. To make those other lighting functions work, is is necessary to remove the motherboard and rewire the locomotive. Some electronics knowledge and time is necessary to sort out how to do that re-wiring. If someone desires that to be done, I can do it. I would just need the model to sort it all out.
Thanks for the response. I did a lot of research on this and SoundTraxx has the Scaletrains conversion very well documented in their videos. Currently a good route for these models would be to replace the factory board with a Decoder Buddy. They also covered how to make a keep-alive to fit in the original location. So what it comes down to, are these models really worth the time and money?
