GUEST BLOGGER John Ryan - New Products From Sunset Models - 3rd Rail Division
Sunset Models - 3rd Rail Division has announced two new products that are both new interpretations of "old standards" in O Gauge.
Pennsylvania Railroad GG-1 4800 "Old Rivets"
Brass / $799.00
Of the dozens of different GG-1 models offered in brass, plastic, and dice-cast, this is the first model of the original GG-1 prototype. The model is offered in four paint schemes, including the original Pennsylvania Railroad 5-Stripe scheme, Conrail blue, Bicentennial Celebration, and the "today" paint scheme that reproduces the look of the locomotive as it is preserved in the State Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. Production is limited to 25 copies per paint scheme.
New York Central 1938 20th Century Limited
Streamlined Dreyfuss Hudson / $1199.95
12 Scale 85′ Passenger Cars / $1799.85
Click on the link below to read on
With both Lionel and MTH recently offering re-run die-cast Dreyfuss Hudsons, Sunset is looking to distinguish their offering by building in as much detail as possible. The locomotive will be the most affordable detailed Dreyfuss Hudson ever offered. A total of 80 3-Rail and 70 2-Rail locomotives will be produced.
More important than the locomotive is the train they are offering through their affiliate, Golden Gate Depot. Most mainstream train importers offer matching "train sets" to go with their locomotives. This means they get together some standard one-size-fits-all cars and throw them together as a train. The resulting offering rarely matches the actual prototype. One large importer is famous for offering a Milwaukee Road Super-Dome in nearly every paint scheme.
Golden Gate Depot is taking a different approach, in that they are working from the original blueprints, actual train rosters, and interior photographs. They are offering three different sets of four cars, a flexible approach that lets a modeler build up a train based on space and budget limitations. The eight different car types used throughout the train will have correct window arrangements, full interiors, flush-fitting tinted windows, and comprehensive under body detail. The cars will also premier a new talgo coupling system that allows the full-width diaphragms to touch when the cars are on straight track, but increases the distance between cars as they go around curves. This innovation will forever end the large distances between passenger cars found on most 3-Rail equipment.
Because of the way Golden Gate Depot’s sets are structured, a modeler can buy one set and still have a "representative" train, in that they have their baggage car, sleeper, diner, and observation. This is an affordable option for those who don’t have large layouts, but still want to run scale-length equipment. Combining two sets produces an eight-car train, and all three sets produce a twelve-car train. Because the Century was a luxury, all-room train, it carried two full dining cars. Sunset’s model includes both cars. The entire 12-car train and locomotive are 23 feet long. This is the longest full-prototype train offered in several years.
Given the similarities between the Sunset train and Lionel’s recently-announced 20th Century Limited, it’s only natural to make comparisons. Lionel’s locomotive has a MSRP lower than the 3rd Rail locomotive and it comes equipped with Legacy control. Lionel is also offering seven 18" passenger cars to match their locomotive. These seven cars have an average MSRP of $182, which exceeds the $150 price for the 21" Golden Gate Depot cars. Lionel’s sets include one baggage car and three coaches, none of which ever ran on the Century. The Golden Gate Depot cars will be replicas of the actual train, because they are created with all-new tooling from original blueprints. Not only is the 3rd Rail / Golden Gate Depot train the only accurate model, but it manages to be accurate and detailed while also being price-competitive.
The full description of both announcements is available at: http://www.3rdrail.com/reservation.html
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