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Hi everyone. Does anyone know if the new Walthers Mainline locomotive series will have seperatly applied grab irons, molded grab irons, or none? What about other details? I'm very interested in the upcomming Milwaukee Road SW1 as it fits my Railroad, Era, and most importantly budget.
That would be OK. I bought a Bachman S4 diesel that had no grabs - not even those ugly moded on ones. I don't mind adding them but I hate it when you have to scrape off molded on details and spoil the paint.
Bachmann did that on purpose. No grabs = lower cost. People who just buy them to run trains won't miss them, and people who do railroad modeling will put the grabs in themselves.
Yeah exactly. It makes better sense. I wish Athearn Blue Box kits had left the ugly molded ones off -- back in the day. Nobody would have missed them. I used to file them down even on the ends to put real ladders and grab irons on. Photo below.
Kind of harsh don't you think? Trainline is actually pretty good value for the money. They have a nice drive, pull well, and are smooth runners. I bought one for my son when he was still young enough to play trains with dad. Rugged and survivable (they can take abuse from small or unskilled hands), as well as upgradable. Good entry level stuff, which we're short on these days. Too bad all they offer is that low nose Geep and the F-40 PH
I disagree with the borderline junk thing as well. Maybe the detail is not up to scratch with some higher-end locos but I can tell you that when I run my trainline gp9m i can't even hear it moving and it can pull 40+ cars (not all weighted but still) by itself. I really like it, even if it isn't exact. I definitely wouldn't call the drive system crap. It is smooth and pulls very hard.
Thanks for the input. I didn't know Walthers re-named the Proto 1000 line to Mainline. I also agree that I wouldn't call the Trainline series borderline junk.
I would also disagree with borderline junk. I picked up a switcher years ago when they first came out. I added a little detailing and did a little tweaking on the drivetrain and it is a very good running locomotive.
After adding a few grab irons and a little weathering, I'm just fine with it.
I have 2 GP39-2's from their "borderline junk" line and I think they have a pretty nice drive in em. I had em stripped, detailed em right up n then had em painted in my own WP scheme! Just waiting on Soundtraxx decoders for em now...
Besides the Trainline switcher, I also have a couple of Proto 2000 locomotives, and the drive train is not the same. I wouldn't let that scare you off. I was a little apprehensive when I picked up the Trainline, but I wanted the Milwaukee road name and took the chance. It ended up being a good little locomotive.
The drivetrain is not exactly the same, but it uses a quality can motor, the same one used in the Proto 2000 locomotives. Sometimes you can get those trainline locos dirt cheap to scrap them for driveline parts.
