I found a pair in Southern colors on Ebay and promptly placed a bid, got 6 days till end of auction:thumbs_up:
brokie, I've been timed out on numerous sites last night and today, all around the country. I think it's not a problem with Trainboard. I can usually clear it up by quitting my browser, then restarting it. In my case, the problem has been at my end, not Trainboard. It hasn't always cleared it up. There seems to be some disturbances on the Internet lately.
The Southern had only E8 A units, no B unit, hence there are no Kato B units. All of the photos I have seen show them with roof mounted air tanks... Harold
The Kato E units are some of the best pulling and smoothest locos available. Yes, the LL units are cheaper and slightly heavier, but they don't have the same level of detail and don't run quite as smooth. Plus, they are not DCC decoder drop-in ready. Harold
Pilots Flash - Closed pilots (passenger)were for style on lead A units in cases like an AB set up. If they didn't use the front coupler this set up was fine. When the couplers were used, they were a pain for crews and maintenance alike. The couplers extended when a lever was pulled inside the pilot. It was dangerous and if it didn't work, the pilot had to be removed to fix the problem. The open pilot was the solution. E and F units that were often coupled in reverse had them. They didn't require the extension. The B&O had all their closed pilots removed by the late 50's. Also - Many roads had F units on their passenger runs and used closed pilots on them. The freight units had open pilots. Hope this helps clear things up. RICK
First let me state that I have a lot of respect for the Kato E8. It has been the "state of the art" for E units for two decades. But I would be remiss if I didn't remind you that the Precision Craft E8 will be released in the not too distant future. In doing the project specifications for these units I had the benefit and disadvantage of having the Kato unit as the starting point. Sound and dual mode decoder aside, there is room for improvement even over the well-respected Kato unit. Kato did not have a non-dynamic version of the body shell. The PCM units will have this important variation. The PCM unit will have individual wire grabirons. The grille will come in either the horizontal (fabricated) EMD style or the later vertical Farr Air style, both in stainless steel etchings. While the Kato nose contours are pretty good, IMHO the PCM is slightly better...the Kato has the straight sides running up a little too high on the "cheeks" of the nose. The PCM units will feature plating to represent stainless steel (ATSF and CB&Q) and will come with Trainphone antennas on the PRR version. The units will come with operating Micro-Trains compatible knuckle couplers. Charlie Vlk Railroad Model Resources/ Precision Craft Models
I have E8 A+B sets in UP, SF and Amtrak schemes and they are one of the smoothest and powerful engines made by Kato. I just love them! Cheers, http://cliffordconceicao3310.fotopic.net/c328807.html
Hey Charlie, rather than "operating Micro-trains compatible couplers", just put OPERATING MICROTRAINS COUPLERS on the blasted things. Thus far, NONE of the "compatible" couplers have been as good, so unless y'all have discovered some hitherto unkown source of couplers, stick with the gold standard. Cheaping out on couplers is, well, TACKY. Especially on locos that cost as much as the PCM units.
I did not categorically state that the PCM units will have Micro-Trains couplers, even though the E7s are so equipped, for a couple of reasons: 1) I don't write the purchase orders so don't control how they will come in... 2) The PCM Units have a Special M-T compatible coupler on the pilot end because M-Ts have to be assembled with the uncoupling pin, and it would interfere with the pilot on the E7s (and most likely also the E8s) 3) Production is subject to supply from M-T as an OEM and availability might dictate use of other couplers. 4) Cost of the couplers is not the issue. Mounting conditions and suitability for the product is much more important than material cost. M-T may not be the Gold Standard in all instances because they do not have couplers to meet all mounting conditions. (even M-Ts own FT units are coupled too far apart for good appearance). Charlie Vlk Railroad Model Resources
Charlie, Thanks for replying, and while I will definitely agree with you that there are shortcomings to the MT couplers, including the aformentioned trip pin installation requirement, not to mention their coupler boxes being too thick, etc, nobody else has yet to come up with a consistently equal or better product. BTW, what exactly is PCM's definition of a MT "compatible" coupler, aside from an MT coupler?
Just picked up an A+A PRR set from woo woo woo for less than $100. Now that is a pretty decent deal for some good locomotives. Now to change the numbers to reflect Levin's E8s.
Kato only did matching E8/9 B units for the railroads that had them. Only the MILW, UP, ATSF, RF&P, B&O IC bought E8B or E9B units or had older units rebuilt to the same outward appearance. The rest of the railroads only had A units. Charlie Vlk
