New HO Bay Window Caboose

[FriscoFriend]

Athearn has just announced production of the Bay Window caboose that the Frisco built 10 of in their shops in November and December of 1979. These were built by the railroad in the Springfield shops. Since these cars were custom designed and built by the railroad the only way to get an exact model would be to get a brass import. Comparing the model to the prototype on page 128 of Molo's color guide the glaring difference is the placement of the windows. Having said that, the Athearn model is intriguing in the fact that the artist rendering shows they did a reasonably good job of replicating details including the small coonskin saying "BUILT BY FRISCO" on the side sill. Since they say this model is for small railroads it my or may not have separtely applied grag irons, etc. There will be 3 road numbers.

Below are the details:

74761 SLSF-Frisco #1726
74762 SLSF-Frisco #1730
74763 SLSF-Frisco #1735

MSRP on these cars is $29.98.

For a closer look:

PDF (more detailed)

http://www.athearn.com/newsletter/08...cab_082311.pdf

JPEG (less detailed)

http://www.athearn.com/newsletter/08...cab_082311.jpg


As I said in the post about the Airslides the credit for getting these lies with all of you who evidently have been impressing Athearn with your recent purchasing level. We have gotten 3 items (2 HO & 1 N) on this introduction which is unprecedented in my opinion!

[Iantha_Branch]

I am very excited about this. I am with out a doubt adding one of these to my roster.

Ethan

[meteor910]

Bob - Neat! Certainly looks closer to the prototype than the Walthers model.

Nice to see Athearn continuing to add new Frisco models.

Ken

[klrwhizkid]

More neat stuff to order; GREAT JOB Athearn! Once again outside either of my eras, but we gotta support the people that are recognizing our buying potential, so I will be ordering from my pusher.

[Steve40cal]

You would think if they can go to the trouble to make a model of a caboose that only ten were ever made they could make a 1200 series caboose with the split cupola windows and fancy trucks. Frisco had a lot more of those and they were loved by crew and fans.

[meteor910]

For reference - for what it's worth - the attached pics show what I did with the Walthers HO Frisco bay window caboose introduced a decade or so ago, as SLSF 1726. It is too red, and many details differ from the Frisco prototype as built in Springfield, but it looks decent behind a train.

It looks OK when paired with my Walthers GP15-1, SLSF 105, which is equally too red but runs as well as any locomotive I have!

The new Athearn will be much closer to the prototype, and hopefully, Athearn has now figured out the correct shade of red/orange for the Frisco after their successful SD45 and GP15-1.

Ken

ps - Ouch! Looks like we are on the ground in that one side view. I think the PR Department has been hitting the scotch again!

[gjslsffan]

Oh No! Man, the "House" has a wheel in the dirt for sure Ken. That will turn the conductor into a grouch pretty quick, especially if you run it very long and shake up his coffee or lunch, and get his switch list all out of whack, you know its gonna be a bad day better get some more Scotch, Oak wedges and track jacks and get to work before the Trainmaster finds out
Tom Holley

[FriscoFriend]

Wow! Several people have beat me to the punch in pre-ordering their models! Having said that, I should have mentioned in my initial post that the pre-order deadline for dealers is 09/16/11. I have already received a couple of emails from ones that I deal with announcing the cars and their corresponding pre-order discount level. Unlike others, I have never known Athearn to pull the plug on an offering but I assume that they will base their production levels on the number of pre-orders that they receive.

[meteor910]

Bob - In your opinion, where are the best places to order the bay window cabs? My main pusher (HObbiesUSA) does not handle Athearn.

Ken

[Iantha_Branch]

I checked a couple sites. Whole sale trains did not have them listed, but toy train heaven did. They are here:

http://www.toytrainheaven.com/.sc/ms...es%20%28RTR%29

You will need to scroll down some to find them. They do not have a picture of them yet.

Looks like its TTH or your LHS for these.

Ethan

[Joseph Toth]

Ken and all,

I am just getting my railroad library re-organized and need to order the Frisco books from Morning Sun. Where were the bay window cabs assigned? Into the 70s when I was employed with the Santa Fe in the old East Dallas yard the daily Frisco interchange from Irving was still using GP7s and wood hacks with kerosene markers! The coal trains ran the extended vision cabooses. I assume the SD45s and cabs ran through from Oklahoma to Dallas? Dummy here never thought to ask. You may kick me in my caboose if you so desire! Perhaps operation specialists can confirm the traffic patterns of the coal trains from the Sooner State to the Lone Star State at this late date?

When I broke into railroading after my three year hitch with the US Army Transportation Corps I hired out on the Cotton Belt in Dallas. An old switchman, C.Y. Dale, taught me more about railroading when I made my student trips with him than you could learn from any of the fancy new RR schools today! He a l w a y s had a pint stuck inside his jeans jacket that he always wore. It was good stuff! Rule G was in effect but what the heck, I was a greenhorn railroader. I never asked him what brand it was, but it was smooooooth!

Thanks to Athearn for thinking about the Frisco Folks! Manufacturing costs probably prohibit prototypical correct models when a railroad built their own cars and with only ten on the roster it just wouldn´t be cost effective. My concern with locomotives is quality up front but when it comes to equipment if the paint job and even minor details capture the spirit of the Frisco or Katy or any other carrier I think model railroaders can be satisfied to purchase and operate these models. The price of current brass imports is just too far over the rainbow to justify me investing in them in any scale.

Joe Toth
The Trinity River Bottoms Boomer

[FriscoFriend]

Adding to this discussion, Wholesale Trains has probably the lowest price out there and they are good to deal with. Having said that, several of us have been buying freight cars lately from Spring Creek Model Trains located in the tiny town of Deshler, NB. They are a full service hobby shop but make the majority of their sales at train shows and by word of mouth. They are always at the Oklahoma City Train Show and Turkey Creek for example. I suggest you check their website to see if their coming to a show near you.

Their normal walk-up discount is 20% but they do offer a bigger one of up to 30% for pre-orders placed before the manufacturer cut-off date and they don't require a deposit or charge a cancellation fee. They can't set the exact discount until the product is shipped because the amount they receive from the manufacturers varies.

The cut-off date for the Athearn Bay Window Caboose and Airslide Hopper is next Friday 09/16/11 but thy have informed me they will probably place the order a day or two earlier. I plan to place my order on Monday.

The owners are David and Debby Zucker. They do have a website http://www.springcreekmodeltrains.com/ but if you want to place an order you will need to either call (preferred method) or send them an email. Here are the specifics:

Contact Information
You can contact us via:
Snail Mail: Spring Creek Model Trains, P.O. Box 304, Deshler, NE 68340
Telephone: 402-365-7628.
E-Mail: customerservice@springcreekmodeltrains.com

In conclusion please understand that I am only posting this information because others have asked in the past as to where some of us buy from.

[Iantha_Branch]

does anyone have the news on these? According to the Athearn website they are available. But Whole Sale Trains says Advanced Reservations now (last weekend it said estimated 2/23/12). Toy train heaven also says Advanced reservation. Anyone know what is going on?

Ethan

[meteor910]

Ethan - TTH told me via e-mail two-three weeks ago that the Athearn Frisco bay window cab would be available to ship late March/early April.

We'll see.

Ken

[Iantha_Branch]

http://www.athearn.com/Search/Defaul...RTR&CatID=THRF

This is a mystery

Ethan

[Steve40cal]

I think dates given for new model releases are just like weather forecasts. Rarely correct and highly optimistic.

[FriscoFriend]

To All:

Horizon Hobbies which is the wholesale arm of Athearn is showing these 3 SKU's as being Out of Stock. That in reality means one of three things. (1) They haven't received them yet (likely), (2) they received them and sold out the quantity built (highly unlikely), or (3) they received a partial shipment (possible).

[klrwhizkid]

This statement may shed some light upon the whole availability issue: http://www.trainmaster.ch/Y-807.htm

[renapper]

I looked up the PDF ad, and the color on the sample is way way to orange. I sure hope that is not the final color for this otherwise very nice model.

[Rick McClellan]

This statement may shed some light upon the whole availability issue: http://www.trainmaster.ch/Y-807.htm

Wow this is rotten for those just starting out and those adding to their layouts and collections. This may make existing models more valuable.

[Iantha_Branch]

This statement may shed some light upon the whole availability issue: http://www.trainmaster.ch/Y-807.htm

Is this a sign that its time to learn how to scratch build and paint?

[gjslsffan]

I am afraid we are really going to start paying (in more ways than one) for sending so much our MRR MFG base, talent and ideas out of the country or even continent.
I had better stop selling so much stuff on ebay. looks like it may be a good idea to hang on to this stuff huh?
Tom Holley

[Rick McClellan]

I wonder if we will see the return of the "kit."

[tmfrisco]

Wholesale Trains called me to inform me that the Athearn bay window caboose price was going up about $3.00. They were confirming my reservation. They said that the caboose is now projected to be here about Sept. We'll see.

Terry Jankowski