Paul Kallus posted:How does the Vision Line 700e Hudson compare to the recent Legacy J3A Hudson? I don't have either one. Does either one have the fully-rounded underside boiler or are they both the U-shaped casting?
The VL 700E shares tooling/ parts with the Legacy ESE Hudsons, and perhaps as far back as CenturyII ESE...The VL 700E ( 11209 ) has a U shaped boiler for the most part, I think you’ll find the very front part, under the smoke box will be completely round, then open up to the bathtub....my guess on the new Legacy J3a’s ( I haven’t had one apart yet) is those have a chassis similar too if not exact to the VL 700E....this is a hunch based on the differences I see when you look at these locomotives from upside down comparing casting features....I don’t think chassis wise, the newest J3s share much in common with the Korean built 28072, 28084, & 38041...when comparing Asian built Hudsons, I think there’s two distinctly different frames.....I’d bet they’ve narrowed it down to one now........Pat
