Will you offer the 040 dockside engine again?
Dear Okie,
It's been discussed, but the consensus is that it would require all new tooling, so it is not an active project at this time.
Thanks!
the Bach-man
Not only would the new tooling be necessary, but also B-mann would do well to issue an electrically live caboose or other freight car to go with it. It would be possible to put wires from both locomotive and live car that could be unplugged and plugged as necessary. The small size and footprint of this thing makes it prone to stalling, even on striaght and level or metal frog switches. The enhanced contact provided by a live car would address the problem of the small footprint.
Miranda's Maxim as explained by ke still governs: "The poor performance of many N scale steam locomotives is almost always attributable to poor electrical contact".
If the 0-6-0 works well with an all-wheel-pick-up replacement tender, I don't see why an 0-4-0 would need anther car for additional pick-up. Bachmann already has all-wheel-pick-up in both the slope-backed tender and the shorter-than-"short USRA" tender used with the Spectrum 2-6-0. So, really just an engine retool to do a good 0-4-0. I'm still waiting for a retooled 0-6-0 in "Spectrum" quality level.
The Original Poster stated 0-4-0 dockside, which was based on the B&O 0-4-0T oil burners that worked Pratt Street and the Inner Harbour docks in Baltimore. There were four of them originally, two of which the B&O eventually converted to "conventional" configuration with a tender and as coal burners. The originals burned oil to get around Baltimore's strict smoke abatement laws. Back then, the mere use of an oil burner would get you around the smoke abatement laws in most places.
The B-mann model was a tank engine, thus there was no tender.
B-mann did sell an 0-4-0 with a tender. It was based on a PRR prototype.
Atlas sold an 0-4-0 with a tender that Rivarossi manufactured. It was based on the result of the B&O conversion of two of the 0-4-0Ts to the above mentioned "conventional" configuration.