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When the 2012 Signature catalog came out one loco I ordered was the Union Pacific conventional 0-4-0 "shifter" (6-11385).  I picked it up at my LHS today.  

 

WHAT AN ABSOLUTELY SPLENDID LITTLE LOCO!!!!  This is perhaps the best $450 I have ever spent on a model loco.  Yes that's a lot ot pay for a small - or at least, short (17 inches including tender) locomotive.  But it's tall in the saddle, so to speak - scale or close to it - with a cab roof nearly 1/4 inch taller than my scale Atlantic's.  And yes, it's conventional only, but wow!  Nothing else I own - steam or diesel, will run slower, smoother, in conventional mode -- this little guy is better than the WBB Baldwin 10-wheelers which are fantastic in that regard.  Sound is surprisingly good, too, rich with lots of "detail" - dpeth, complexity, whatever you call it, to the chuffing, and quite a lot of volume, too, particularly considering the tiny tender and its limited speaker room.  Cast metal loco and tender, with good detail, although this is a simple, 4-wheeler loco so there is not a whole lot there to look at.  But it has two figures and some cab detail, etc, (no window glass - easily fixed), very good paint and lettering, a real coal load, etc.  What's not to love?  I wanted a small, high quality loco, and got it!

 

Given the problems I had with my remote Thomi, I decided to run this in and it's been upstairs orbiting my big loop at a steady 13 volts -- maybe 40 mph scale -- which seems to be a nice sweet spot for it, pulling a half dozen cars for nearly three hours now.  My infra red temp gun says the loco's body rose in temperature during the first hour and then stabilized at 5 degrees above ambient, while the tender rose by 7 deg F.  Increases of 6 and 8, respectively, are about average for smaller locos in good order so this looks to be in fine condition (and yes, most locos, and least smaller ones with sound, have a tender that rises more in temp than the loco).  

 

This is an example of what I like about having to wait for a pre-order: whatever one says about the wait and the occasional disappointment, the prospect that the next loco might be an absolute jewel, like this puppy, makes the whole process a lot of fun !

Nifty Shifter

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EVeryone, I did not post this four times.  When I hit send, it went into a loop, hung up with the little picture of gears turning,  and froze my computer.  So it copied itself four times i guess.  Wow - neat site.  Anyway I had to shut down at that moment and forgot to check if it even posted right - a very nice lady I like was breathing down my neck about an offer to take her out to dinner, and it seemed best to hope it all worked out best andnot tempt fat . . . .  Lesser of two evils and all . . . 

 

Anyway, yes, its a really nice loco.  I gotta get a second one . . . 

Last edited by Lee Willis
Originally Posted by Jerry Nolan:

$400+ for a conventional 0-4-0??? Lee, I hope you get a LOT of enjoyment from that little loco.

I'm with you, Jerry. I can't understand this one. $450 for a tiny engine with conventional railsounds, transformer control....and magnetic couplers!?

 

I think if I wanted a little 0-4-0, I'd think about just getting one of those little diecast jobs Lionel makes with the slopeback tender (can find them for $100-125 easily). They have a can motor and run very smoothly, with operating backup light on the tender, etc. You could add an ERR cruise commander and it would still be only half the cost of a Shifter. 

Last edited by breezinup
Originally Posted by breezinup:
Originally Posted by Jerry Nolan:

$400+ for a conventional 0-4-0??? Lee, I hope you get a LOT of enjoyment from that little loco.

I'm with you, Jerry. I can't understand this one. $450 for a tiny engine with conventional railsounds, transformer control....and magnetic couplers!?

 

I think if I wanted a little 0-4-0, I'd think about just getting one of those little diecast jobs Lionel makes with the slopeback tender (can find them for $100-125 easily). They have a can motor and run very smoothly, with operating backup light on the tender, etc. You could add an ERR cruise commander and it would still be only half the cost of a Shifter. 

That's exactly what I was thinking but if Lee is happy with his new shifter then I happy for him. 

I ordered the Rio Grand version from my LHS late today. Nice, fun colors.  I will pay list price, as I did for this latest puppy.  

 

I understand shopping around for bargains.  I do it myself sometimes.  

 

But mMy LHS is there every day, any day I need them, with scratch supplies and advice and good ideas and whatever.  I know everyone who works there and enjoy every visit to the store.  And they busted their butt to get me more than 400 feet of Atlas track recently - exactly the curves and straights and flex sections I needed -  in a hurry, at a good price.  So whenever I order from a Lionel or MTH catalog, I order from them and pay list.  I consider it a good bargain, overall . . . 

 

Lee, I'm also with you. I have the Bethlehem Steel & the Christmas switcher I have not operated them yet, so I'm pleased with your report. I also have the Bethlehem Steel 0-4-0 from a few years ago, and I tried using it on a loop with a slight elevation and I just took it off the tracks because it didn't want to pull hardly anything. 

 

When I took the new ones out of their boxes they i was very impressed with their looks. I paid $370 for each.

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