Well well well... Athearn is re-releasing the big UP steam

[up1950s]

How about taking the Challenger drive and putting a shell on it that looks like a WM or Clinchfield Challenger. 
Lee

Yes that should have been done with this run .

Here is the MTH 4-12-2 video , note the odd chuffs of a 3 cylinder loco .

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Here are the real sounds the loco made .http://utahrails.net/up/up-4-12-2-sounds.php

[towl1996]

Wake me if they release a T1. Thanks

[James Costello]

The "modern fan trip" version will be hard to resist to go with a future heritage fleet....

[Mark5]

I thought Athearn had gone into N scale loco hibernation ... so this is cool.

Perhaps Athearn will one day muster UP enough gumption to maybe release some steam that isn't UP there ...

[GaryHinshaw]

Good news.  I might nibble on a Challenger.  I hope this means that they'll continue to release their newer freight cars too.  I want some more LPG tankers, for example.

[JSL]

I sure hope they release more tanks. I am waiting for the green procors.

[Nato]

       "Wozzers !" What a suprise. Yes they pull good,but some had mechanical problems,also the crappy MRC decoder with the cute gimmikey RC Remote was universally disliked,and replaced by some modelers. The reasion for the price increases are the use of high quality Tsanaumie (spell check word) decoders with better sound. I wonder how many of us will be dumping our originals and getting new versions, hey buy em cheap and replace the decoders. I do hope that they change the oil bunker detail in the tenders of the non 3985 versions. The modern bunker with it's pipeing was also used on my oil burning gray 1940's loco. Wrongo. Original bunkers wer like on 844 no pipes and a single fill hatch. Nate Goodman (Nato).

[TiVoPrince]

Athearn  
appears to be intent on eventually wearing down my resistance with improved releases.  Mr. Wallet is not made of stone after all...

[Wardie]

If they released a Delaware and Hudson version of the Challenger I would buy one, even though my D&H modeling is for the most part limited to a few locomotives for Guilford area consists. I would still buy a Challenger in D&H just because I like big steam.

[kelticsylk]

You have to understand that those "big" articulated loco's handle those tight curves much better than any Mountain or Northern.

The issue I have is not so much whether the loco's will handle the curves, it's more esthetic. The big articulateds look better on the wider curves like 18" radius or better. I've seen O scale Erie Triplexes that can handle tight 027 curves, but the overhang makes them look ridiculous. Many modelers can't model Class 1 railroading because of space limitations so they model branchlines or short lines. Such railroads used 2-8-2, 2-8-0 and similar wheel arrangements. I'm pretty sure those modelers have no interest in 2-8-8-2 or 2-6-6-2 wheel arrangements.

If we are going to have these beasts available I do agree that we should have more then just UP. SP, Seaboard, Iron Range, B&O and the D&H ran these big engines and all were very distinctive. I'm thinking that since the shells are plastic and manufactured RIDICULOUSLY cheap in China they should use the same chassis under a variety of bodies. I think the same is true for all the other steamers. I refuse to believe that tooling costs are a problem with the suppliers in China. I am of the opinion that the markup on this stuff is outlandish. You can't convince me that the materials and engineering on anything N scale makes them worth hundreds of dollars. For that price they better burn real coal and produce real steam.

So musch for the ranting...

On the Pennsylvania, which I model, there were a handful of articulateds. The first 2-8-8-2 (H1) units were too large for their time and relegated to helpers before they were scrapped. While the Pennsy ran a few ex Norfolk & Western A class (H2), I believe they were relegated to hump yard service in Ohio.

There was a A class lettered for Pennsy at a local hobby shop here, but it took a while to sell. I think the owner thought I might buy it, but it was beyond my budget. I wasn't interested even if I could have afforded it. I would rather have a T1 or any of the Pennsy G, I, M, L, or J class loco's instead.

Frank Musick

[SkipGear]

Frank,
 I agree that they don't look their best on tight radius stuff. That is not why people buy them though. They are big and big sells. It doesn't hurt that they pull like a freight train and handle the tight radius better than many smaller loco's. Our shop in Ohio has already gotten 4 pre-orders for them, and not from anybody that actually runs UP layouts. There is just something about massive steam loco's that tug at the heart strings of many a steam modeler.

[Hyperion]

There is just something about massive steam loco's that tug at the heart strings of many a steam modeler.

Plus non-steam modelers too.

You won't convince any modern diesel modelers to put down a couple hundred bucks on any 2-6-2 or something.  But make it a massive Big Boy or Challenger and even more than a few guys who'd never buy a piece of steam-era stuff will buy one for display or to run as 'excursion' or simply because it's just pretty cool looking/sounding.

It's the same reason why you get Schnabels, Auto-Maxes, SD90s, DD40s, the 'bright'/'cool' schemes in lieu of exponentially more common items, and so on and so forth.  And far more often than not, running on trackwork/layouts that they have no real place being on.  Big, odd, unique, bright, fancy, cool -- it all sells more than "boring and commonplace".

[robert3985]

Went down to my LHS (Warren's Trains at Ogden Union Station) to place an advance order for three Big Boy and two Challengers, and much to my disappointment saw that the release date is now December and January...three months later than originally announced.  I was hoping to run them at the October SLC NMRA show, but looks like I'll just be running my others (which mean I'll be installing Tsunami decoders to replace the POS MRC decoders) instead.

Anybody have any word why the change in delivery date?

Cheers!
Bob Gilmore

[squirrelhunter]

The UP challengers are good for UP, D&RGW and Clinchfield. D&RGW got 6 or so UP design engines during WWII rather than their regular Baldwin design. They turned around after the war and sold them to the Clinchfield.

With a different shell, these would be good for the pre war engines for D&H, Clinchfield and UP. Actually, if the domes were/are removable, they could just tool new domes and smokebox fronts for the early engines and call it good enough.

I don't know enough about NP and BLW designed Challengers (D&RGW, WP, WM) to know if the running gear really looks like what those roads had.

Bottom line, as far as big steam goes, this one can fit in a wide variety or roads and eras.

[SkipGear]

Anybody have any word why the change in delivery date?

Cheers!
Bob Gilmore

I hope it is because they have already gotten more pre-orders than they planned on only a week or so after announcing them. I hope the sucess of these proves to Athearn, when you make a good product that N scalers want, we will buy them.