N-scale Silver Streak Zephyr.

[Iron Horseman]

I just saw the advertisement to pre-order the Kato Silver Streak Zephyr. Once again N-scale beats HO to the punch for a much needed and wanted model. I've been waiting for the EMD E5s in something other than brass for decades.

http://www.katousa.com/N/SilverStreak/index.html

I am not into the pre-order frame of mind, but is anyone else planning on getting this set or loco.

[railfan]

Wow! Those are pretty cool. N scale has arrived.....all aboard the Silver Streak! Better wear sunglasses to protect from the glare. I'll have to wait a while to order.




Mike

[montanan]

It is amazing what is coming onto the market in N scale. If items to this degree of detail that ran well were available twenty some years ago, I would still be in N scale.

[TrinityJayOne]

I'm not interested in the cars themselves as I already have the CZ set, but I pre-ordered a pair of the E5 units the day Kato announced them.

[Iron Horseman]

Anyone who models the Texas Zephyr or the Denver - Pueblo freight traffic in the late 1960s will have to get a set of these!

For those that don't know, when the E5s were removed from Texas Zephyr service the C&S hooked them in 4 to 6 unit sets and tried to use them in drag freight service over Monument Hill. The creeping along at 20 mph fried their high speed traction motors. Only 1 E5 escaped the scraping torch. It is in the Illinois Railroad Museum.

[TrinityJayOne]

Got an email from Kato with a new picture.



Also, I spotted this comment from Kato on a Youtube video they uploaded-

The model itself will be based on our standard E unit mechanism

[Iron Horseman]

Originally Posted by TrinityJayOne

Got an email from Kato with a new picture.

Funny how Kato pictures always have Japanese look to the scenery regardless of the nationality of the equipment being shown.

[railfan]

Kato rules! I need a warehouse full of kato!


Mike

[Burlington Bob]

I saw a flyer at a LHS for the E-5's and it looks pretty nice. However, it did seem to lack the luster of the polished stainless steel of the real E-5's. I do hope it runs better than my F-3's as they are kind of noisy and second rate compared to my Atlas GP-7 and SD-9 and my LifeLike GP-20. Anybody have the same or different experience? My Kato's look great, but look better than they run.

[TrinityJayOne]

I have some F7s that were quite noisy when I first ran them (not vibrations, just very loud motors), but since running them in they've quietened down a bit.

I agree with the sentiments on the finish, but I think it's hard to make plastic look like metal without also making it a fingerprint magnet.