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Thanks to my posting on another topic of what Mfg's should bring to the market, I was contacted by an individual who is influential in getting items developed and  built to market. His interests were serious regarding the Ace 3000 that I stated in my post.  Now I will not say who it is but I am a real believer if this "locomotive" was built in O scale/O gauge and modelers saw this "model of a prototype" in action, the buyers would come. 

NOW being realistic, I believe this will be made in brass so the production run would be limited- unlike the "SD60E" that two other mfg's importers are jumping on the proverbial "band wagon".  Judging by today's market pricing I expect the price to be in the 4 figure range.  And for that I would hope this model will have the following features:

  • Smoke - With some volume control
  • Sound - Steam sounds in the Locomotive and including fan sounds in the tender for the condenser fans
  • Some sort of command control
  • Operating couplers
  • Directional lighting
  • Cab interiors on both ends
  • Optional opening doors and coal hatches
  • And since this is a "Fantasy Island" loco- show off the unique drive train with ground lights! [a la NYC ESE]

So for those that are serious, [And for you "lurkers" out there who want to see this loco get done- it's a great opportunity to break the ice], Please say YEAH [or ney] and what road name/ Paint scheme you would like to see it in.

I will start of by requesting one in the "Demo Scheme"

And in the Conrail "white face" scheme of the AC diesels [Sd80's, Sd70Mac's].  Now lets here it from the rest of you forumites out there!

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As big fan of Chapelon, Porta and all his disciples, Wardale in particular, i would love to have this locomotive.  Alas I would never be able to afford one new.  Lately I have been concentrating on updating some of my older equipment and scooping up some good looking ps1 engines o be updated later.  

As to paint scheme I think it would be wide open.  Given the timeframe the C&O 614 trials were done in, I am thinking of the current class ones along with Conrail, (maybe bnsf if you could make it run on powder river basin coal).  If you just want to go with whatever strikes you than I would say Erie, P&WV, or Milwaukee would all look good.  I could also see a WM fireball scheme on the flanks.  

This locomotive would have stood a half decent chance at production if oil prices had remained sky-high.  In the current market it would be doubtful at best.  When you factor in the stress load on the track from big drivers its almost a guaranteed no-go for the real thing, but as for a model I still think it would be pretty cool. Interestingly enough it would be a loco that you could easily change to run off liquefied natural gas by hooking up a tank car for a tender, or switch back to coal, simply based on lowest dollar fuel availability.

Yes - the final decision would be based on the price. I don't expect it to be cheap, but.

Now, if I may comment upon the above statement, and others like it:

"Nay! 

It was never a real locomotive. Pure fantasy." 

That is factually incorrect - it was never built, but it was designed by people who were qualified to do so and was in no way "fantasy". But, as it never had a Warbonnet paint scheme or some such thing, I guess there's no reason to build it, huh?

Last edited by D500
D500 posted:

Yes - the final decision would be based on the price. I don't expect it to be cheap, but.

Now, if I may comment upon the above statement, and others like it:

"Nay! 

It was never a real locomotive. Pure fantasy." 

That is factually incorrect - it was never built, but it was designed by people who were qualified to do so and was in no way "fantasy". But, as it never had a Warbonnet paint scheme or some such thing, I guess there's no reason to build it, huh?

Add in it is also a 34+ year old concept.

Rusty

Last edited by Rusty Traque
prrhorseshoecurve posted:
and too big for any layout I could build.

Really ?it's only a 4-4+4-2. IF you run a 4-8-4 you can run this.

Technically, the Ace 3000 would've still have been a 4-8-2.  The second and third drivers were to be inside connected, which would keep the two engine sets in sync.  The arrangement was supposed to reduce pounding.

Rusty

It looks like a brute and I like that. What really makes it such a great eye catcher is the cross  between steam and diesel.

That said my big but is before I would ever shell out six figures for a toy it better have the pull to match the look.  I'm talking a hefty motor in  the prime and two in the tender.

 

My guess would be that you need to add, at least, a "1" before the "700" estimate. After all, this is potentially a handmade brass item.

Although I'm not interested in the item, I hope to see it made. If the person the OP knows is not currently in the model train business, the project would be like SGL Reading project in the early 2000's.

Jim

jd-train posted:

My guess would be that you need to add, at least, a "1" before the "700" estimate. After all, this is potentially a handmade brass item.

Although I'm not interested in the item, I hope to see it made. If the person the OP knows is not currently in the model train business, the project would be like SGL Reading project in the early 2000's.

Jim

This project has exactly the same chance as any other.  It depends on the reservations.  Lobbying for something you want is a good thing if people are willing to contact Scott and reserve one as a result.  If Scott sees 20+ reservations (not necessarily individual persons)  then there is a reasonable chance it will be offered.  But if after 6 months to a year of offering if the number of reservations is still below some minimum it will still be cancelled.

But, it will be brass, and yes $1700 is a reasonable price and it will take probably 100 firm reservations to become a go.

Also,

As far as any sound system it must be realized this would never have sounded anything like a traditional steam locomotive, i.e., it would have no chuffing sound.  It would actually sound more like one of the UP turbines, albeit a LOT quieter.  Like a steam ship the exhaust steam from the traction pistons is then expanded through a turbogenerator and then to a condenser to be reused.  That is what the heat exchangers in the tender are for.

jd-train posted:

My guess would be that you need to add, at least, a "1" before the "700" estimate. After all, this is potentially a handmade brass item.

Although I'm not interested in the item, I hope to see it made. If the person the OP knows is not currently in the model train business, the project would be like SGL Reading project in the early 2000's.

Jim

Jim,

Your guess is right on regarding pricing. The person the OP knows IS in the model train business and is actively involved in representing an O scale importer at 2 rail shows and the TCA York shows as well as assisting with product selection.

On a different topic, some Reading 2 rail modelers have given me detailed information regarding the Reading 2-10-2 locomotives. We'll see where that goes but keep in mind that the minimum production run for brass steam is 120 pieces which is getting to be a very difficult number of sales to achieve.

Rheil,

I am definitely in for a 3R Reading 2-10-2, if Scott makes them! 

As I missed a couple of pre-order dates for some other items, I currently have nothing on order!

Man, I hope these get made.  Aside from Weaver/SGL Pacifics and some T-1's, there seems to be very little Reading scale steam previously made.

Jim

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