Do you ever feel like

[f1_indy2000]

You are the only one that is interested in modeling something? Right now I have been on a memory lane trip thinking about the Uboats I saw as a kid. They were U25B, U33B, U30C, and U33C. My wife bought me two Athearn U30C Southern Pacific which is wonderful, but then I get to wanting more and see that good ole afordable Athearn don't make them anymore and where she got the engines was the store's last ones. I guess I'm glad with what I have but in a way I just wonder who makes these decisions at Athearn? It seemed like you could always order stuff from the hobbyshop and they could get what you wanted until I ran into the discontinue or dis-the-customer. That or it didn't help that I was away from the hobby for nearly ten years and everything sort of changed. Or could it be that I'm the only one that like Uboats?

 

[Larry]

I have all of those loco's in Athearn, Kato & Stewart, but I bought them years ago.
I guess people lose interest in those old engines & the mfgr.'s only make stuff that sells.

larry

 

[jayl1]

Stewart still makes U25Bs. However the price may give you sticker shock when comparing them to the old Athearn units.

 

[CBCNSfan]

Well sure glad I bought mine when I did. I bought 10 33C's and if I recall it was about $16 each. The dealer had 10 and I bought them. However as each gets modified they don't look like GE's any more

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You'd have to look close but the construction of these two is different

Cheers
Willis

 

[UP2CSX]

I know how you feel. Try to find some BLH switchers or road units not in brass. BLI has the C30-7, the last "U-Boat" looking engine, and Bowser has the U25 and U28. As Jay said, they are a tad more expensive than the old Athearn BB line. The big GE's and the SD-40/45's were the high horsepower engines when Athearn started to run down the BB line. Most people seem to want the AC series and more modern engines now. For some reason, you can still get models of just about every EMD engine ever made but the early GE's seem to have faded out of the scene. I think the main reason is prototype sales. Just two models, the C30-7 and the AC series, have accounted for more than two-thirds of GE's total domestic production. By contrast, just the EMD GP-7 and GP-9 series have had more sales than all GE engines combined. Model companies like to make popular engines and, except for the AC series, GE was really a minority builder for a long time.

 

[f1_indy2000]

For some reason, you can still get models of just about every EMD engine ever made but the early GE's seem to have faded out of the scene.

That seems to be so true. Heck I look all over the net to see if some company or anyone for that matter might even sell the old body shells, that I could just swap out when I want to run a differnt engine. Seems to be a never ending cirlce that goes nowhere and I end up feeling like what was I looking for in the first place, HA Ebay isn't a real option. I've looked there and just didn't want to tangle with it. Any suggestions?

 

[f1_indy2000]

Well sure glad I bought mine when I did. I bought 10 33C's and if I recall it was about $16 each. The dealer had 10 and I bought them. However as each gets modified they don't look like GE's any more

Click-->

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You'd have to look close but the construction of these two is different

Cheers
Willis

Those look sweet Willis and I envy you when you had the oportunity to get those while the getting was good.

 

[f1_indy2000]

this past weekend I did have some sucess. The great Train expo was in town at the Indiana State Fairgrounds and I was able to purchase five engine shells. 2-U23B, 2-U28B, and 1-U28C. The only drawback about these is there is no handrails. But in the back of my mind I recalled a company that made a wire that would be the right thickness for the handrails and know I could make them. I have a vice and the tools to do it and have plenty of the vertical posts or stantions or whatever they are called. Any tips on how to make this an easy project? Thanks

 

[vr6Dad]

I know exactly how you feel F1.

My choice to model is the short line Tennessee Southern Railroad, which had several former Conrail GE B23-7's. The last I saw, they still had them sitting in their office yard. Now they have some newly rebuilt GP-10's. So I definitely have my work cut out for me.

 

[UP2CSX]

Smokey Valley (http://www.smokeyvalley.com/) makes stanchions and handrails for most model diesels, including your U-boats.

 

[ICG/SOU]

I've only been back in the hobby for a little bit, but it seems to me, especially with Athearn, is that they are retooling a lot of their locomotives and rolling stock. I got a rtr SD40-2 high nose Norfolk Southern, and it has the great fan detail, the small white lights, the opening windows, MU hoses and coupler bars. It looks a little different from the same type SD40-2 high nose Southern that was out 2 years ago.

I have a Meridian and Bigbee FMC-marked boxcar from when I was a kid. It was a blue box 50' Railbox car, and looks no different from the other boxcars. In the last couple of years, they made 2 more M&B in the ready to run variety, and an FMC 5344 box looks a lot different from the railbox that I got as a kid.

What I'm saying is, don't give up or get down. Things will be made again, with better painting, detail, etc. It's easy to get down if you like fallen flags (ICG and SOU is what I like best), and have to wade through seas of UP, BNSF, CSX to do it.

Also, look for Proto2000 for Uboats. They had a lot last year, and some are still available.