Nice work, Jeff.  I'm with you 100% on the Fort Wilderness RR locos.  And I had the same thought about Disney royalties.  There was a live steam model of the Fort Wilderness locos a couple of years back, and they designed their own logo, presumably to avoid the royalty situation.


More info here:
http://www.ironhorse129.com/Projects/Engines/Olomana/olomana.htm

Hi James, I like the way Polly S Oxide Red looks for loco roofs.  It looks pretty close to what I've seen in photos of real locos, and it's nice with a light overspray of grimy black.  And I also liked how the new roof color looks on the Forney.  I also added white striping along the walkways, and on the trim edge under the cab and fuel bunker.

Gary

Hi Rod, the sound works fine on DC track.  The only downside is that you don't have control over the whistle and bell functions.  But, the whistle does blow automatically, before the loco begins to move forward or reverse.

If it helps at all, here is an excellent article on how to install DCC and a Tsunami in the 2-6-0.  Thanks Harold!  The conversion is not for the faint of heart, and it would be great to have an upgraded Mogul with DCC.

http://www.pacificcoastairlinerr.com/mogul_tsunami/

Thanks guys, that gives me a good start.

Gary

I am getting more serious with airbrushing, and besides a new airbrush, I need to find a better source of compressed air than the cans of Propel. 

I seem to recall someone on this board mentioning a $50 air storage tank from Wal-mart, used with, I think, a moisture trap and a pressure regulator.  We have a local convenience store that graciously provides free compressed air, for auto tires, but it would sure be great to be able to use this resounce to power my airbrush.

Thanks...

If it's at all a possibility for you, I would suggest you call the service department at Bachmann.

I can't give you an exact answer, but I do recall that the height of an On30 coupler on Bachmann trains is at HO height, which is lower than the standard On3 height.  The Grandt Line caboose is built to On3 standards, so the coupler pocket that is built in to the kit is too high for On30.  On my caboose, I ended up mounting a new Kadee coupler pocket to the bottom of the existing coupler pocket.  I think you will need to test fit it, to see what works best.

That's some pretty good detective work, David. 

The Roaring Ridge is all On30, that is, 1:48 trains that run on HO track.  And Jayl1 is right, the track won't survive the direct sunlight for long.  I do believe that Peco track is UV resistant, and they make On30 track.

If you don't have a local hobby shop, consider supporting one of the larger train shops that has an online store, like Trainworld, Wholesale Trains, or Caboose Hobbies.  I checked Trainworld's site, and they sell this set for $144.95, plus shipping, of course.  No bidding.

I read somewhere that MMI does not necessarily build things in the order they are announced.  If they sense a demand for the 4-4-0, for example, it might get bumped up the list.

Still, I think I prefer Bachmann's new approach, announcing a few months in advance.  It keeps the anticipation to a reasonable level!  My guess is that in late summer we will hear about the next major On30 loco, if they are planning to ship it at the typical pre-Christmas timeslot.  There is a probably a pilot model of something On30 running around the Bachmann factory even now.

Harold, it's hard enough to figure out how to do this sort of thing.  To photograph the whole process and then publish it to the web is a real effort, and we really appreciate it.

I would like to see the On30 4-4-0 use the same prototype as the LS 4-4-0.  I'm not sure if the prototype is the Eureka, or some catalog loco, but the lines are great.  Presumably the drawings are already done, and "just" need to be re-engineered for 1:48.  And wouldn't the Eureka look great in On30, even if we had to pay extra for the paint scheme.

Still, as pretty as a 4-4-0 would be, it wouldn't look good on 18" curves.

The only thing I worry about here is that if MMI builds a 4-4-0, Bachmann might delay their own 4-4-0, thinking that the market is diminished.  I'm no expert in this market, but I would think that any On3/On30 guy who would be willing to spend $400 on an MMI 4-4-0, would be more than willing to purchase another, slightly different 4-4-0 from Bachmann, if the price were in the $120-150 range.

This isn't a surprise, really.  There was an interview in the On30 Annual with the head honcho of MMI, and he mentioned a 4-4-0 there.  MMI does nice work, but their 4-4-0 will probably cost 2-3 times more than a Bachmann version.  I just don't think I can get this past the C.P.R.R. accounting department.