Scaletrains game changer

[bbussey]

Could that be a DCC operated coupler?    Looks like a pull wire inside the spring...

Interesting theory. I will find out later this morning.

[tom mann]

I agree - 350 is a decent price considering all you get.  Have they released any N scale products yet? 

[mu26aeh]

I agree - 350 is a decent price considering all you get.  Have they released any N scale products yet?

The turbine and containers are only N products announced so far.

[djconway]

For me a game changer would have been a 2-8-0 with interchangeable boilers -- like the old HO Roundhouse kits.
But for the folks that want really unique one RR locos the turbine fills the bill.

[nscaler711]

Anyone else think the grab irons look way out of proportion?
No? Just me?
 

It doesn't look bad though but I couldn't justify a $500 price tag... Well not on my budget anyway...
But those are definitely McHenry couplers.... (makes sense, since they came from Athearn :p )
What would be cool is if they brought those boxcars that they have in ho to N, I wouldn't mind a few kits...

[unittrain]

Nice to see them bringing higher end detail to N  but unfortunately I have no use for these modeling Chessie and soms Conrail, the upside to that is it saves the wallet a huge hit! Hope they do some early EMD's or yes the SD40-2!! Intermountain is so questionable as if we'll see anything materialize in the near future. Nothing has been delivered from them in eons. 

[bbussey]

The couplers are NOT McHenry couplers. They are a new design that is NOT magnet-compliant. They require a Rix or similar stick tool to uncouple. Fortunately, the coupler box is MTL1015-compliant and will accept MTL, AccuMate, MTL clone and McHenry couplers.

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[wmcbride]

My first thought, too  -- regarding the grab irons.

The grabs do look huge in certain of the photos but then what appears in photos of any of engines regarding handrails or grabs always seems larger than what our eyes perceive.

The video Scale Trains released of Shane showing the engines, didn't make the grabs look too big (3-foot rule?)

I don't need one in terms of modeling area and interests but I want one...

[peteski]

Anyone else think the grab irons look way out of proportion?
No? Just me?
 

No they do (especially compared to the H0 scale model).  I think this problem will always exist with mass-produced models.  The problem is that to have correct (or close to) scale grabs (especially with a coat of paint on them) they would have to be very delicate/fragile. But manufacturers don't want to sell a model and have bunch of customers complaining that they broke off or bent those delicate grabs.  So the compromise is to make them free-standing, but yet robust enough to withstand handling.  At least this is how I see it.

[mdeberg]

If you preorder by July 28th and enter promotional code NTurbine5 during checkout you receive an additional 5% discount off their already discounted prices below

I also noticed that Scaletrains has two versions available

DCC & Sound Equipped	499.99
DCC & Sound Ready	349.99

[reinhardtjh]

No preorder info listed at places like BLW yet.  I wonder if Scaletrains will boycott BLW like Athearns does because they don't have a "brick and mortar" shop?  Just a thought. I realize that the lack of pre-order info at various online sites in general could just be that Scaletrains hasn't sent out actual dealer information yet.

[jagged ben]

I don't think Scale Trains is planning to use the typical dealer channels at all, really, at least not for pre-orders.  You can pre-order on their website and not anywhere else, as far as I can tell.  It has nothing to do with brick-and-mortar.  They seem to be mostly taking the Exactrail strategy and cutting out dealers more or less entirely.  MBK has some of the HO stuff for the same prices you find at Scaletrains.com, but MBK doesn't do pre-orders either.

[wmcbride]

For the HO turbines, they solicited dealers and I checked a few once they announced them (or the dealers mentioned their affiliation in a newsletter, etc.).

I think the price through the dealers was discounted from the MSRP but in the same amount as a preorder directly through Scale Trains.

[reinhardtjh]

I heard back privately from a local hobby shop that is a ScaleTrains dealer that they haven't gotten any dealer info as of yet on the N scale Turbine, so I suppose it's just that most places haven't gotten it yet.

[scaletrains]

We sell direct as well as through Select Retailers.  Here's a link to find a Select Retailer.
http://scaletrains.com/apps/store-locator/

We e-mailed retailers information about the Turbines and new Dry & Reefer Container roadnames last Friday morning.  With the Holiday weekend, some retailers may need extra time to add the models to their system.

We have a retail price and a selling price.  Most retailers offer our models at the selling price.  We're offering a 5% incentive to place preorders by 7/29 by using Discount Code 2016NSE5 during checkout (we've made it easier to order the Turbine and Containers together with one code; the original discount codes work as well).  This offer is available for direct customers and retailers.  The decision to offer the extra savings is at the retailers discretion. 

Shane


Shane Wilson
President
ScaleTrains.com, Inc.