Not quite, Butch, and you should know that. There HAVE been good-quality,
well-detailed, decent-running O scale diesels at affordable prices, although
currently that is up in the air. The original Weaver RS-3's, FA-2's, and
GP-38's all sold for $200 list (discounts routine); although P&D still makes
the drive components, Weaver itself later went with the hideous twin vertical
motors. Red Caboose produced a very nice GP-9, designed to use the older
Atlas F-9 drive, but P&D offered and offers a high-quality replacement drive.
Atlas began O scale this time with SW-8/9's that use essentially the same
drive as the SHS EMD switchers; sadly, I think for the first time in around the
fifteen years Atlas has been back in O scale, this year they are not cataloguing
their switchers (SW-8/9, SW-1200, MP-15) with the good drive.
The bad news is that none of these excellent diesels are currently being
offered new; the good news is that there are large numbers of them around on the
resale market and a good supply of parts for the Weaver drive.
Incidentally, although I don't own one and so far never have, I think the
Lionel Alco S-2/4 had a decent horizontal-motor drive, once one pulled out the
three-rail electronic
gadgetry and replaced the wheels. A good candidate for conversion if one can
find one reasonably-priced (and that it the problem).
Jace Kahn
General Manager
Ceres & Canisteo RR Co./Champlain County Traction Co.
But, two things to think about.
>
> The O scale E7's haven't been delivered yet and the juries still out on
> whether they'll be well received or not.
>
> Also, O scale doesn't have SHS and AM producing quality plastic 2R diesels.
> All O scale has is Atlas, MTH and Lionel, who all use the infamous vertical
> motored CHINA DRIVE with external gears in the gearboxes like old Lionel toy
> trains. The 3R guys don't seem to mind this, but the majority of the 2R guys
> loath it.
>
> This is the main reason Sunset is jumping in the O scale plastic diesel
> market with a new HORIZONTAL DRIVE and I hope they do really, really well.
> Atlas would never listen to the 2R market. Everything they built was geared
> for the 3R crowd and the 2R guys got what was left over. I hope Sunset breaks
> it off in them.
>
> So, the current dynammics in the "S" and "O" markets are a lot different.
> Personlly, I'd rather see SHS offer an E7 than Sunset.
>
> Butch
[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
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