NEW EZ Streets and Intermodal from WbB!!

A significant step in the right direction.  

About time.

Wait til Lee sees this! He will probably redo part of his layout!

Dave,

Do you mean that you finally got to view those items online or did you actually receive them in the mail?

I have had the worst time trying to order anything from Bachmann lately, can't get through to anybody, not even online. I even asked Bachmann on the Ask The Bachmann forum if they took the month off. Because it's been over a week now that I have been trying to get through.

Lee Fritz

That they have an official announcement by Bachmann and a ship date. I know the idea has been batted around, K-line talked about them....but now it seems we will get them.

Not sure I follow......optimism for the intermodal cars coming or that Bachmann is willing to tool 2 new locos???  I am just using Bachamnn's logic THEY have used in the past. They have a 4-4-0 in G, On30, N and now a new one in HO....maybe a O is coming. Just my career as a analyst creeping in....

The intermodal shown are WbB o scale.

That they have an official announcement by Bachmann and a ship date. I know the idea has been batted around, K-line talked about them....but now it seems we will get them.

 

"Don't count your chickens before they hatch!" these cars were announced by K-line, Atlas O, RMT, and Now WBB. I will be lieve it when I see it.

Wait, Lee's book is going to press. How could this happen now? 

That paragraph was about the EZ Streets turnouts.....but it applies to the Intermodal cars as well......Call me 'overly optimistic' I reckon!

...and in the left direction! 

-Dustin

I saw something about this in WBB stuff they announced at York.  good to see it is all true and coming.  Interesting that WBB chose to make D-21 switches - the switches K-Line had listed in their catalogs years ago (but never produced) were going to be D-16.  If you think about the nature of 'Streets, with so many people making two-lane roads, which you make does make a difference to how they can be used.  

Anyway, I am considered - just considering, ripping all my 'Streets out and putting new in, sometime next year, in order to install switches and some control blocks to manage traffic flow automatically  But . . . not for now.  

I'll buy a few of these when they come out just to make sure I have them when and if I need them, though.

When I got the WbB email today I immediately thought of Lee too. My layouts attend to be to full of track to use them myself, but SS is cool. Now to find that tank thread I just noticed.

Now this is something.  Manual or remote! Manual spring switches are essential for a streets layout more than a train layout.  What would really help would be 1/4 curves that allow you to create a lane change or a 90 degree turn. That switch looks like a 1/2 turn.

I hope everybody is happy once they see the turnouts.  Double point model street switches sometimes have large gaps right at the turnout point unlike the prototype. Hopefully the frog will be darkened a bit to match the pavement.

Trainworld is taking reservations already!

This is great news if they actually hit the market! I hope they do! Terry

K-Line planned D16 turnoutss (6-22592) and D21 turnouts (6-22595), so this is a scaling back.  Given the sales of D21 versus D16 I understand their decision.

Looks like a complex, install to make all this work.

     But Bachmann calls it EZ Street, look forward to seeing this on your layout.

Cheers from Michigan

Dave:

Thanks for posting.

When those switches were first shown at York in April, I believe the Bachmann rep they said they would be shipped in the 4^th quarter but they didn’t give the price.  Well the good news is that they are still saying 2014 shipment.  Then there’s the price news with an MSRP of $69.95.  I’m a day late reading this and I can’t believe no one has commented on the price.  I would like to think that price is for a pair but I see this new announcement specifically uses the word “each” when it says “suggested price, $69.95 each”.  Wow, that’s $140 a pair!  Let’s hope the discount dealers mark them down appropriately.  Regardless that will surely decrease the demand.  In fact, I have reduced my demand by 33% from as I figured out how to get by with 4 instead of my originally planned 6 by eliminating a planned passing siding on my streetcar layout.  

As I've already posted in an earlier thread, from the photo the straight branch is much shorter than a full 10” straight in length.  Using a D-21 curved and a 10” straight held in my hand in the same configuration, it looks like the straight section on that switch would be about 7½” long.  That’s good news because it means that an already produced 2½” straight can be used to make up the difference when putting a switch in place of a 10” straight section on an existing layout.  Also it looks like all 3 branches have the wide flange grooves so a curved section of track can be attached to the straight branch of the switch without the need for a straight-to-curved section.

Bill

Until the new E Z Streets switches hit the sales market I will use a pair of Super Streets Y style switches with DZ-1000 switch motors mounted on them. These come with manual lever but I added the DZ Industry switch motors to them.

Lee Fritz

The 7.5" length probably allows for a 2.5" transition piece before you vehicle enters the curves of the turnout.  

One discount dealer is already taking reservations at $42.99 each.  There is a separate item number for right and left turnouts.

You have to order the Intermodal TOFC that you like from a large Williams by Bachmann dealer, ahead of time, to be sure that they make them and you get them.

I like to support local hobby shops, but they can not typically stock much of the new Williams by Bachmann products that were formerly produced for K-Line. The WBB special order has to be checked upon a few times at the Local Hobby Shops.

Andrew

The direct from Bachmann prices are almost always the highest you'll find. Sure they'll sell you one, but I think they want to keep their distributors happy & making money.

I would think you could see minimum of 30% off that anywhere else you look.

Being Bachmann I wouldn't be to surprised if they arrive late. But I bet they get made.