Hiawatha: Like printing money??

[Dave Schneider]

Maybe it is just the rarity of this offering, but it looks like Wathers could make a tidy sum if they brought their HO Hiawatha to N scale. I know that I am just preaching to the choir, but this just seems like a no-brainer. I was going to make a pitch around $350 for this offering but figured I wouldn't be successful.

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250508326010

Best wishes, Dave

[Puddington]

I concur - it would be. That said there are a couple of resin shell options for the super dome and the sky top lounges that are excellent starting places for a model. I have done the skytop in CN colours and am working on the great dome in CN colours.....

Jim Stillman's website will grab your attention if you like these cars - I love his shells.

http://www.nscaleskytops.com/

You might even see a CN skytop there...Tee hee

[bnsf971]

Bidding currently is $425...bidding still ongoing.  While I think it's a very nice car, I don't think it's $425 worth of nice. I shudder to think about a 10-12 car train of these at that price. There definitely seems to be a market for MILW passenger equipment, if this auction is any indication.

[Dave Schneider]

I concur - it would be. That said there are a couple of resin shell options for the super dome and the sky top lounges that are excellent starting places for a model. I have done the skytop in CN colours and am working on the great dome in CN colours.....

Jim Stillman's website will grab your attention if you like these cars - I love his shells.

http://www.nscaleskytops.com/

You might even see a CN skytop there...Tee hee

I appreciate the link. These look like decent shells....its just that when you take a short stroll over to the HO aisle and see the Walthers Superdomes and Skytops, RTR, great detail, accurate trucks, nice paint job, era specific details, interior details in the $50-55 range....I mean it just isn't fair!!! I know that this is MODEL railroading, but...it just isn't fair!! 

BTW Puddington, I very much admire the work you are doing in modeling N scale passenger cars. How many cars do you have? It seems like you crank out a couple of new ones every week.

Best wishes, Dave

[wcfn100]

As I've posted on this topic in other forums, when Kato announced their name-train-a-year program, I couldn't have even imagined that I wouldn't have an EB, NCL or Hiawatha at least on order by now.

I still have hope to see one of those before they follow the PRR drab dud with something like an NYC drab dud.  And I really hope it's before a third ATSF named train.  :


Jason

[wm3798]

None of the money printed would have my face on it, that's for sure.  No need for those nicely appointed cattle cars...  It's fast freight that makes the revenue on my layout!

Lee

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Its not my era. Its not my location. Its not railroad. But the Hiawatha is simply the nicest looking passenger train in history.

[Dave Schneider]

None of the money printed would have my face on it, that's for sure.  No need for those nicely appointed cattle cars...  It's fast freight that makes the revenue on my layout!

Lee

Well that's not surprising....I do seem to remember "somebody" posting that the Hiawatha looked like something that crawled out from under a rock.  ;D  No worries...we can all still get along!

Best wishes, Dave

[Nato]

  And Walthers could do the GN Empire Builder in N the 20TH Limited of 1948 and Union Pacific Cities Domeliners and Streamliners in N as well. Lastly how about the Milwaukee Station and matching Train Shed to go with the Milwaukee train. Nate Goodman (Nato).

[Puddington]

I concur - it would be. That said there are a couple of resin shell options for the super dome and the sky top lounges that are excellent starting places for a model. I have done the skytop in CN colours and am working on the great dome in CN colours.....

Jim Stillman's website will grab your attention if you like these cars - I love his shells.

http://www.nscaleskytops.com/

You might even see a CN skytop there...Tee hee

I appreciate the link. These look like decent shells....its just that when you take a short stroll over to the HO aisle and see the Walthers Superdomes and Skytops, RTR, great detail, accurate trucks, nice paint job, era specific details, interior details in the $50-55 range....I mean it just isn't fair!!! I know that this is MODEL railroading, but...it just isn't fair!! 

BTW Puddington, I very much admire the work you are doing in modeling N scale passenger cars. How many cars do you have? It seems like you crank out a couple of new ones every week.

Best wishes, Dave

Thanks Dave - I'm a "passenger addict"... I have 20 cars for the CPR's Dominion; another half dozen for the "Canadian"; Two full CN Super Continental consists of 14 cars; another dozen or so Great Northerns and about 10 off road sleepers... then there are the foobies; kato BN set, Con Cor Gn... the list gores on.... too many - yep... am I going to stop...nope ! ;D

[Jim Starbuck]

 Its not my era. Its not my location. Its not railroad. But the Hiawatha is simply the nicest looking passenger train in history.

I'll agree with Daniel on this one.
I've got my patchwork foobie kinda sorta close consists and power but if an affordable quality Hiawatha was ever produced (Kato...Are you listening?), I'd be all over it.

[Walkercolt]

Now for me, the 1934 Otto Kuhn Hiawatha with the WHITE Atlantic pulling those Art-Deco Cars would open my ATSF/Frisco wallet in a heartbeat. I almost bought a brass (gasp!) HO set once. :-[ (How come I have a "thing" for a RR I never saw?)
You gotta check-out the new InterMountain ATSF stock cars. $16 at Challenger-N-Scale and worth every penny!

[altohorn25]

One of the problems with doing the Atlantic is that there is no current mechanism that can be used.  The Hiawatha may also be too "regional" for kato or walthers to do.  Not enough national sales to warrant production.  We have to remember that these guys are in this to make money and they're not going to do a train unless they think they can sell it.

If someone was going to do a Hiawatha, my guess is that they would do one of the trains in the 48', 52, or UP paint job.  These were all diesel powered and would be easier to do than come up with a new mechanism for either the 4-4-2 or the 4-6-4.  I'd love to see the 4-4-2 as well, but I don't think it is going to happen.

Just my two cents.

Nate Pierce

[Dave Schneider]

Some good points Nate. I guess I (somewhat) disagree with the limited appeal factor. People are dropping serious amounts of money on brass cars, which is what got me started on this thread. It seems like Walthers is doing very well with their HO Hiawatha  and I bet that an N scale version would do very well. I think that every Cheesehead N scaler would buy one, as well as ex-pats and those from outlying districts  . That said, it is well known that Walthers doesn't really want to commit too many resources to N.  Their reps "claim" that HO sales help guide N scale decisions, but I think that is a corporate line (lie) to shut off uncomfortable discussions since none of us are privy to their sales numbers/profit margins (nor, should we).

As for the version, this is an interesting debate. Some love the classic streamlined steam, which in my opinion are some of the finest looking steam locos ever built. Others like the Superdome and Skytop Lounge/Obs cars (again, one of the coolest passenger cars ever, IMO). But you can't have both of these on the same train. Personally, I would love the later version with the dome and obs cars. In the end, I would settle for anything.

Best wishes, Dave

[Dave Schneider]

Final tally on an N scale brass Hiawatha Superdome.....$480 + $25 shipping.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250508326010

You can buy a 10 car Walthers set in HO for that kind of money!
Maybe I should be working on a shrink ray...or maybe a time machine to see if Walthers ever produces this in N. I let you know what I find out.

Best wishes, Dave