How many cars will this diesel pull on a 072 curved layout?
Entry price point is what this hobby needs, imagine 10x more newbies like me. Just ordered one. Thanks Menards.
Entry point is awesome. I right away started thinking about one for my young nephew. applaud menards not only for this but their continued building options that are outstanding.
Ordered. I'm rarely an early adopter of anything, but I'm rolling the dice. An early birthday present (very early).
@BwanaBob posted:Ordered. I'm rarely an early adopter of anything, but I'm rolling the dice. An early birthday present (very early).
LOL! 
I'm going to use that with the CEO 
Hopefully I can duck fast enough.....
I ordered mine.
I have some feedback. Would you consider putting e units in these like they do on Lion Chief plus locos. That way you can run them with the remote or conventional transformer control.
I assume this one can only be controlled by the remote and that is fine.
If I were to acquire a bunch of these (believe me I want to) I would prefer the option to operate them conventionally like all of my other locos.
I would be open to a sperate sale plug in/ wire in/ solder in module if you are worried about raising the price by adding an e unit.
Having said all of that, this is so cool. I asked the Menards train guy about engines years ago,
He said they were working on it and asked me to keep quiet about it.
Hope it is OK to talk now.
So looking forward to running my "Menards & Santa Fe All the Way" train.
Glad to see some other options out there for pepole starting in the hobby.
So when are the passenger cars and freight engines coming out? 
Sorry I typed this before reading your post all the way through.
Should I email that e unit conventional control suggestion in?
I have never purchased anything from Menards yet, but understand from posts on the Forum that Menards makes quality products at reasonable prices. That Menards is beginning to manufacture and/or market O Gauge locomotives is great news.
I am not keen on Santa Fe and western railroads, but very interested in similar future diesel locomotives and steamers with Northeastern road names.
More good news for me is the new Menards locomotive runs well on 031 curves and has a handheld remote control that has the basics, which sounds similar to the LionChief Plus remotes.
Such a reasonable price for such a good quality locomotive is terrific.
Other basic features I would like to see for future Menards locomotives is operating electrocouplers that work by pressing 1 button on the remote, and good smoke units for both diesels and steamers.
Arnold
Just placed my order!
Just ordered one! This looks really cool and I'm excited to see how it runs. This is fantastic that you guys are starting on locomotive production.
@EscapeRocks posted:I'm sure the "other big model train manufacturers" are not too worried. This loco does not compete with any of their offerings, and dare I say, it's not designed to. Totally different market.
Conversely, I applaud Menard's for doing this.
My thoughts exactly. Congrats to Menards and I will follow closely. However, I'm far from "in" on this and will wait see how the product line shakes out first.
Ear to the ground, er, rail.
I'm pleasantly surprised but not shocked. If you connected the dots of Menards and trains, the path leads to right where it is today. It looks like Menards figured out a way to build a new line from scratch using existing technology. The consumer wins and this is good for our hobby. Thank you Menards for keeping our hobby alive and well! When are we going to see OGRR do a detailed video of Menards' secret layout with all the highways full of animated cars and trucks?
I ordered one along with a bunch of other stuff. I have ordered several times from Menards. The only thing I don't like are the handling fees ("processing fees"). The "handling" should be built into the price.
As promised I will be giving the rebate to a forum member when I get it because I can't use it living in the Northeast.
John
BIG THUMBS DOWN, they were soooooo close, but for the love of god why do your own control system! Blue tooth, TMCC, DCS dont do a new thing!
Congrats Menards Looks good. Now.............Can We have a reissue of the autoracks with the 6 pickup trucks?
I’ll sit out for now. I wonder what tooling they got? Wbb, weaver, k-line? Let’s see how they run, but if all is well, I’ll likely buy one, especially if it’s in one of my favored road names.
Looking forward to being a beta tester - as I just ordered one.
Me too! Excited to see how it goes.
It looks nice and it sounds nice but I’m going to sit out this test run (My reasons are largely budgetary). I also like the fact that it lacks dual headlights. The NYC, the PRR, the CNJ, the Reading, the B&M and other RR’s didn’t have any. Nor did the Katy’s or the Rock Island’s freight F-3s.
I would consider buying a couple if Menards authorized/released a limited-run in Santa Fe’s blue and yellow “cigar band” freight scheme.
EDIT: I respectfully pass on being a Beta-tester.
Did they sell out yet?
@IRON HORSE posted:I'm pleasantly surprised but not shocked. If you connected the dots of Menards and trains, the path leads to right where it is today. It looks like Menards figured out a way to build a new line from scratch using existing technology. The consumer wins and this is good for our hobby. Thank you Menards for keeping our hobby alive and well! When are we going to see OGRR do a detailed video of Menards' secret layout with all the highways full of animated cars and trucks?
Agree, a pleasant surprise here as well. I have quite a few Menards items and so glad for the products they offer. Just ordered mine and will test it well and give reports, they asked us to. Imagine the units to follow, ABA set, multiple road names, excitement builds. I believe they will listen to the "200" and make any adjustments/advancements for follow on products. This helps so much in the entry point for new kids at a great price. Thanks Menards!
