The Alco PA

Well, I for one would rather see a price increase than not getting the quality or not getting the model at all.

But you can have quality without having journals move up and down.  If you need all that, Key has done the definitive PA, and I bet you can still buy one.

I'm not in any way claiming this as an absolute "apples to apples" comparison, but GGD offered its lightweight passenger cars with trucks with real but non-functioning springs. Nobody at the time seemed to have a problem with it and I've never heard that this created an operations problem.  And they actually looked good.  Just mentioning it as another angle.

 

OGR GGD sleeper thread

 

I've often wondered about the dedication to sprung trucks in O scale.  They are rare in HO and N.  My intuitive reaction is that the if the smaller scales can function with a smaller margin for error and especially with less mass, than why is it mandatory to have sprung trucks - at an added cost- in O scale.  And especially since most of the springs used usually fail miserably to reasonably represent the prototype.

 

I should start another thread to discuss the phenomenon of sprung and equalized trucks.

 

Jim

 

If you are OK with the fixed 3 axle trucks them you should be lobbying Atlas.  They already have PA trucks they used under their FM Erie Builts.  I thought they sucked.

Sucked because of appearance, or because the journals did not move?  I think the CLW trucks are the best (except maybe for Key) but we were talking about producing a plastic PA for 2-rail at a price where it would sell.

 

I actually don't care, because I have more than enough PAs, and two pairs of sprung CLW trucks just waiting to replace those sand-cast beauties.

It seems to me that there isn't that much difference in perceived value between a $700.00  Alco PA and an $800.00 Alco PA...

 

If I wanted two Sunset quality D&H PA-1 models I'd be a buyer at either price point, specifically because there is nothing else that compares in that price neighborhood.

 

Jeff C

bob2,  Too bad someone can't get the CLW patterns and have castings made.  Beautiful trucks, doing it that way project cost would be very low.  Escapes me why someone would buy CLW and not make the stuff available.

They looked great, IMO, it's why I bought several Erie Builts to reconfigure their chassis under Lionel PA shells.  But the only thing they were good at was derailing over track imperfections and through turnouts.

I feel the same way, but we are in the minority.

Bear in mind most buyers are looking at 2 to 3 units and these sell at strickly list price, A set of the new E8/9s ABA powered is listing at 2007.00 [the approximate going price of a single Key PA from the last run] another 100 per unit adds 300 to the set price' I believe Scott is walking a fine line as prices keep rising although a PA set from Sunset in the future is a good posibility.JMO

I wonder what kind of market would exist for a model NKP PA-1, given that Doyle's PA... 'hybrid restoration' in Portland is painted as 190? I've seen that PA several times, from a gutted carbody shell sitting on a siding in the middle of Oregon, to a show piece in the enginehouse next to SP 4449 and SP&S 700: http://www.nkp190.com/

I'm guessing once this locomotive is finally running (when last I heard, they'd only fired up the engine but have never tried to move it under its own power), people will start wanting a model of it?

That's because the traction motor cabling has not yet been installed between the electrical cabinet and the traction motors.

To each his own.  That one is not for me, although I am delighted that a real PA now exists.  I hope the Smithsonian gets that Warbonnet done before I check out.

The Smithsonian dos not have an ALCO PA. After many years of inactivity on behalf of the Smithsonian, they finally gave it away, some years ago, to the Museum down in Frisco, Texas. They are already working on cosmetically restoring it to AT&SF.

I note that the Right-of-Way units are back on eBay - I assume they are the ones Erik shows above.  I have always wondered if these things were full scale - if so, this set would seem a bargain.  My impression has always been that they are smaller, like the Williams plastic units.

There's 2 intact PAs in Mexico on display, the NKP restoration going on in Oregon, the carcass that the Smithsonian moved on to the Museum of the American Railroad in Frisco, TX, and at least one/possibly 2 broad gauge PAs in Brazil:  http://www.railpictures.net/vi...id=481617&nseq=1

And best of all, the Mexican units have the Alco trucks!

 

I like the FNM unit paint scheme.  The Daylight unit seems a bit overdone, or maybe the wrong colors.

 

The Brazilian unit has its original trucks as well.  The restoration seems to have stopped on that quite awhile ago, but at least it's under cover.

For Fathers Day I received the Phoebe snow ERI Lackawanna Pa1 with six cars

the most beautiful train I have seen see first You Tube.They will get better

Laing NT4TS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ZM9pDsa7lk

       
       


Very nice bob. The color is great

       
       


Nice work ! That's a process to detail these like this.

very very nice my skills are in running and  display not modeling

Noses:  left is MTH silicon bronze, middle is the very first model of the PA in any scale (CLW all-cast) and right is the modern one-piece CLW PA nose.  The cuts are from an attempt - moderately successful- to make it sort of look like a PA nose.

 

Here is the modified nose, with an attempt at fixing the windshield.  It really isn't worth it, because even the distance from windshield to headlight is way off.

 

Thanks, Erik.  I need your photography skills.  For some reason,the pics are darker than I expected.  Had a white background, plenty of light and flash.  What happened?  Maybe wife can lighten them - like to learn how to do the pics better.  For instance, sun visors did not show?  Also, two different maroons hard to discern.  Thanks again!

Harmon let me capture this one for my files - arguably the best etched CLW PA in existence:

 

 

Ifnore the background - all the detail shows up!

That GM&O scheme is simply stunning!

bob2,  Thanks so much for the compliment!  I wonder where that picture was taken?  I must be losing it.  When I was in the Army, I saw a lot of F units on the GM&O along Route 66 but never any PAs.  Those Fs were pretty faded, almost orange and pink.  Old 66 still parallels the old GM&O, unfortunately no Fs or PAs.  If they were running, it would be OK if the paint was faded!  Looking back, I really was fortunate to have seen them.  Fond memories.  I guess that is why the transition period is still so popular even today.  Amtrak doesn't cut it.

The PA's and FA's on the GM&O were used south of St. Louis, and EMD F's and E's handled traffic north of St. Louis. 

 

Jeff C

Thanks Jeff.  That explains why I never saw PAs and FAs since most of the trains I saw were on the flats of Illinois , especially from Springfield and north of Bloomington where Route 66 paralleled the GM&O mainline for many miles.