Dustin, I wish I could have talked to some of the old heads about this, because this is a big issue when someone is modeling the green era!! Only the color films exist of thes and even the tenders look black even when we "know" they are green. You can make out the gold strips though. Barely. I have looked at ALOT of pictures, and when they were freshly painted they had a lighter tint to the domes. On the new book by John Waite, the green was simulated on the cover and it "looks" right. Will we ever Know???    Dwayne Calloway

Johnny Greybeal in his books on the et&wnc said that all of the ten wheelers had an unpainted russian iron boiler jacket, but he also says that the domes were black when the engines were green and some of the historical members I have spoken with say they were green when the engines were green.Hmmm I think they were green to. even in the color films that exist, the green paint was very dark!!  One trip through the mountains,and every thing behind the stack would be dirty. ?? once again, this seems to be a hot topic in the ET&WNC groups. Does anyone else have any input??? D Calloway

Dustin, That is my question too.I live thirty mins. from the park, and the whistle sound s MUCH  better than it did. The sound traxx decoder I added has the old "broken" sound,so I hope they have fixed this problem.That high pitch was famous around these hills!!! Thankfully, it still is.

These are fun projects! I built some 32ft and37ft cars for the ET&WNC. (tweetise) I used balsa wood for the sides and decking. Stained the deck. The side pockets and detail came from Grandt Line. These are easy to do and they look great with my ten wheelers. I will soon be starting some 37ft boxcars to go with them. Micro mark makes the siding. Bachmann has made it easy and fun to model narrow minded!! good luck on your project!! Dwayne Calloway, North Carolina

Thanks for checkin" Bach Man!!   I have asked SoundTraxx but have not heard  from them yet. I live close to the locomotive and it now sounds like it did in the old films from years ago.(correct)  D. Calloway

Will the new sound decoders have the same sound as the current tsunami decoders for the Tweetsie#12??? These have the sound of a few years ago when the whistle was broken!!!  It has since been fixed,and sounds MUCH better!!!!! It now has that famous high pitch it used to have.  Thanks, D Calloway