Kato September Announcements

[Dave V]

Could you see the porthole outline or did they smooth it over completely?

Not usually...  Looks like the whole panel was replaced on the ones without portholes.  I suspect with the amount of vandalism going on in the 70s, it was easier than replacing glass.  I'm going to make a broad sweeping generalization here, but it looks to me like the units got this treatment when they went from PRR Tuscan to PC black.  Not all PC units had it done, but most appear to have had some or all covered over with sheet steel.

[Mark5]

(see photo link in my preceding post)

[davefoxx]

Well, if you want a correct AMTK #419, you're going to have to patch portholes, too, but at least not all of them (on the port side anyway, as evidenced by the link below).  Note that the second unit in the storage line is the locomotive at issue:

http://www.rrpicturearchives.net/showPicture.aspx?id=1931797

DFF

[sundowner]

Speaking of Chessie locos, the GPwhatever local freight switcher in Ft Lauderdale was an old Chessie unit in the colorful livery, brandished by a healthy supply of rust.  It has just been replaced by an old surplus CSX GP unit.  I think they're 38's because they have the 3 fans on top of the hood.

Ken "FloridaBoy" Willaman

Its a GP39-2 now, before that it was a GP39. The Chessie unit has not been seen in over ten years.

[Bob Bufkin]

Almost forgot this - the Kato E8 has dynamic brakes.  If it's the same one used for PC I don't think this would be prototypical correct, unless NYC units had it which I doubt. 

[CBQ Fan]

Almost forgot this - the Kato E8 has dynamic brakes.  If it's the same one used for PC I don't think this would be prototypical correct, unless NYC units had it which I doubt. 

Bob,

Good news is that Kato corrected that error with the last release of of PRR E units.  That is why I hold out hope for a correct E unit for the CB&Q:

http://www.katousa.com/N/E8/index.html

"Roadname specific details

• Single Headlight
• Non-Dynamic Brakes
• Straight Pilot
• Updated Broadway Limited Paint deco

About the Pennsylvania EMD E8A Units"

[mplsjct]

My understanding is railroads routinely plated over the portholes as they ran out of replacement glass, I'm sure as a cost cutting move.

Those of us modeling the 1970's are getting some cool stuff our way.

[Dave V]

Kato...  Wow.  They do say to be careful what you wish for.  All of our whining about Kato ignoring the East Coast and the 1980s, and BAM.  Now I'm worried I won't be able to program all of these into the modeling budget!

Thanks, Kato!

By the way, by 1978 the E8 Kato's offering in PC paint looked like this:

http://rr-fallenflags.org/pc/pc4285ags.jpg

[sizemore]

Could you see the porthole outline or did they smooth it over completely?

From what I've seen most are complete panel replacements when I was researching E-8 units. Kinda odd to put all that work into what a 10" diameter circle when I can just cut sheet to match and rivet it home. Additionally they are not consistent and often random, sometimes you'd see 3 of 4 portholes blanked on one unit 2 of 4 on another. I've even found pictures where a panel has been flipped so the portholes are close together. You'd really have to research your road specifically. 

The S.

[James Costello]

The Maxi-I news really got me thinking today how I wished Kato improved on their Maxi-IV by:
a) engineering their articulated coupling better
b) allowed for body mounted couplers in their design
c) offered the cars without containers (I know why they do, but not all of us want the trainset approach and you have to at least acknowledge that there are other containers in existence and it does limit their appeal to the prototypical modelers).

Now, I don't believe anything I read on the internet and I certainly don't trust sites that can't do enough research to accurately "portray" the model until the manufacturer provides you with artwork or their marketing, but this on the BLW site is just further frustrating me
 "10 40' containers will be available in each set, all with same road #"

http://www.blwnscale.com/Kato%20Maxi-I%20Stack%20Train%20Cars.htm

WTF? The Maxi-IVs had 6 containers with different numbers..... why not do the same for this release?
Even Kato's 2-pack of containers contain different numbers.
I understand that Kato wouldn't want to deal with 10x SKUs for the loads.... but if you can't do it right, why not sell them without the loads and keep regularly releasing multi-unit packs of containers separately like they are now?

I see a bunch of APL containers being flogged off on eBay or making nice background container stacks in intermodal yards.

Hopefully Kato gets their artwork out to the dealers soon....

PS to BLW - that's not a Maxi-I.

[daniel_leavitt2000]

Will these be the newer blue/red APL containers? I really want some Maxi-Is but those containers are too new for me.

[ljudice]

The repeated road numbers on containers doesn't bother me (since I can't see them anyway), but it would be nice to do 10 containers in say 5 paint schemes - although I guess if you're going to do one scheme, APL is a good one.

[Mark5]

By the way, by 1978 the E8 Kato's offering in PC paint looked like this:

http://rr-fallenflags.org/pc/pc4285ags.jpg

Nice! I posted a pic of the other side much earlier in this thread.

Mark

[Mark5]

I wonder what hoppers and gondolas are in this "freight train" set:



Interesting that the Amtrak train has no coach.

[Bob Bufkin]

Not too  many PC passenger cars ever produced in any scale.  I believe Minitrix did one many years ago, the streamlined shorty set which also had a PC obs and dome.  I did ride a PC passenger train from Harrisburg to Chicago in 1969.  They were Roach Coaches and the train was 2 hours late.  A far cry from taking the same train on the PRR 4 years earlier.