I recently received the Burlington E5A along with the E5B unit locomotive. I use 048 curve track. I was taking a chance purchasing these models as the minimum curve I was told would be 054. However this was the case with most of their other diesel locomotives going back to the FL9s from a few years ago. All of there models including the FP7s and SD7s operate fine on these curves without any modifications. The E5As come with a closed pilot attached to the locomotive body (a open front pilot is enclosed) and no coupler to the front of the body of the E5A which is fine for the 048 curves as long as the coupler that is enclosed separately in the box is not installed. This was just one modification that needs to be made for the A unit to operate on the 048 curves, the metal piece that sits just above the front truck that would hold the coupler assembly if installed has to be bent up just enough to clear the bottom of the locomotive body so that the truck can swing out on the curves. The rear truck of the A unit and both trucks of the B unit operate fine without doing anything to them.
Just one thing regarding the advertising of the Burlington E5s. When first advertised they were listed as having a unique feature, aluminum metal bodies. A few months before I received them the advertising was changed to say aluminum painted bodies. I had ordered them mostly because of the unique feature as having aluminum metal bodies that would match the aluminum passenger cars that most of us have. I decided to keep them on order so that I would stay in good standing with the dealer that I ordered them from. The other reason was that since the manufactures have not been issuing any new locomotive models in recent years and may not anytime soon I decided that these E5s would be somewhat different with the aluminum bodies even though I had purchased a set MTH E6ABAs some years ago.
Edward Gerson (not my original family name back in old Russia, see below)*
Along The New Haven Line of Metro-North and Amtrak in Westchester County, NY
*I knew for many years that I was named for King Edward Vlll of England but in 2003 I found out that I am a sixth cousin to Nicholas Romanov the last Czar of old Russia. Big deal in both cases. My father's family name was changed I was told because at the time (1917) the revolution there was in progress and the enemies of the Czar were looking for any of his relatives to do away with. I had asked one of my cousins if he knew the original family when I last spoke to him a few years ago but he said "just don't ask about it".
