E. P. Ripley N-scale - First photo!

CP173 · **Joined:** Sun Jul 18, 2004 2:06 am **Posts:** 1648

[img]http://www.carolwood.com/Ripley%20N.jpg[/img]

Here is the first photo of the N-scale E. P. Ripley. This is not a production sample, but should be representative of what it will look like.

There are a few things we know are "wrong":

1. The stack is too high;
2. The headlamp (or "nozzel" to Chris) is square instead of circular;
3. The coaches sit too high up on the trucks (I understand this is some sort of clearance issue related to tight radii curves);
4. It reads "Disneyland Railroad" instead of "Santa Fe and Disneyland R. R." (Don't even get me started on that);
5. It's got a coal load;
6. The coaches don't have individual names;
7. Bell bracket isn't right.

And one or two other things that I would have preferred to change.

But, even with these differences, I think it's a nice looking model. If it sells well, we may be able to convince Disney or Bachmann to invest in the tooling to make the Holiday or Excursion coaches, and address some of these issues for the C. K. Holliday and subsequent engines.

Comments?

Michael

FreakOuter84 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 24, 2005 7:03 pm

i have to agree it still looks good however the coaches are the biggest complaint from me;the height that is. it would be nice if the other stuff you mention was fixed. i would also like to see the engine stack shortened (as you mentioned) if it's not fixed then i will just have to chop some off myself.

the coal would be the only thing that (consumers) wont be able to fix......... i think.

Edited By FreakOuter84 on 1111713191

Tracks N Slabs · **Posted:** Thu Mar 24, 2005 7:14 pm

Is the set going to be the engine & just 3 coaches or will it have the prototypical car count? Not that it would stop me from buying one, it was juist my biggest frustration with the HO Walter to not have all 5 cars come with.

CP173 · **Joined:** Sun Jul 18, 2004 2:06 am **Posts:** 1648

Tracks N Slabs wrote:

Is the set going to be the engine & just 3 coaches or will it have the prototypical car count?

The set comes with just the three coaches. There is "talk" about offering the coaches separately so that an additional two could be purchased. But it's just talk at this point.

I've been told that this will have a new N motor in it. I can say with certainty that the old motor would not have pulled five coaches; I tried, and the drivers kept slipping. The loco just didn't have enough weight in it to provide the necessary traction. I hope this new version does.

Also, in response to FO's comment, this is the final sample. We can't make any changes at this point apart from minor cosmetic details. Each of the items that I listed were identified by me very early on in the prototyping. But no one wanted to commit to funding the additional tooling to correct them, so what you see is what we get!

Thanks,

Michael

Steve DeGaetano · **Posted:** Thu Mar 24, 2005 7:30 pm

We're talking N scale here, so, to me, complaining about the height of the cars is sort of like stating that the couplers are all wrong!:p

Michael, I think you "chose wisely" with regards to the boiler jacket color.

Overall, I think it's a very nice set. Your biggest hurdle may be trying to explain things to neophytes who ask, "why does this train come with cars that look nothing like the ones I see on the real Disneyland train?"

T&S, the real consist was six cars long. Just buy two sets, and keep the second engine as a spare, or sell it on e-bay!

This may be the first scale trainset modeled on the Disneyland Railroad, since the 1960s Tyco set. Anyone want to guess how much that set is selling for today? (Hint: to quote Michael from another thread, "$$$").

Michael, here's a story: My very first attempt at modifying a locomotive was performed in 1983, when I was 17 years old. I would look at old ads in Model Railroader, and, using a black felt-tip pen, I would "modify" the Bachmann 4-4-0 ads, until I had a recognizable silhouette of the Ripley. When I thought the project could be accomplished, I saved my dough, and bought an HO scale version of the UP 119. I removed the roof, raised the cab front and rear into a curved shape, and added a curved roof, which had the effect of making the cab look larger. I sanded down the dome flutes, and used an arc lamp from an old Mantua 2-6-0. The cap stack was the door lock from a 1966 Oldsmobile Delta 88 that I chucked in a drill and turned to shape (remember those old car door locks?--they looked like golf tees. My mom never knew what happened to the one from her car). A couple paint job attempts later, and I had my first model of the E.P. Ripley, following very much the same procedure you did!

Anyway, I think it looks great, and I bet it will look great in front of the Main Street Station.

Nice work!

CP173 · **Joined:** Sun Jul 18, 2004 2:06 am **Posts:** 1648

Thanks, Steve. That's a great story! (I especially like the door lock part.)

We've anticipated the question about "why doesn't it look like.." We are addressing it in two ways:

1) The box features a very nice photo (by Roger Broggie, Sr.) of the Ripley at Main Street Station circa 1959. It clearly shows the original colors, and the yellow coaches. This helps explain the historical significance.

2) We really do plan to make the other trains sets to go with the other engines. So, each engine can have a unique set of cars. We started with the original coaches to help celebrate the 50th anniversary.

This justification is probably a moot point because once most DLRR fans see it, they're going to want to buy it. It looks killer in front of Bob's Main Street Station.

Michael

Chris · **Posted:** Thu Mar 24, 2005 8:25 pm

Wow! That is a nice looking set. I will buy that set for sure.

I will leave the stack alone, leave the coaches alone, but change the lamp nozzel, remove the coal load, but the problem is the top of the cab. Its peaked and it should be round but other than that its a great model. Not to mention that the price is good too.

Locoboy5150 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 24, 2005 10:39 pm

Quote:

This may be the first scale trainset modeled on the Disneyland Railroad, since the 1960s Tyco set. Anyone want to guess how much that set is selling for today?

I've seen them on eBay and the prices are insane, especially for a *Tyco* train! :p

The N scale prototype looks neat, but I'm *really* anxious to see what people kitbash it into!

Edited By Locoboy5150 on 1111722195

FreakOuter84 · **Posted:** Thu Mar 24, 2005 11:06 pm

Steve DeGaetano wrote:

T&S, the real consist was six cars long. Just buy two sets, and keep the second engine as a spare, or sell it on e-bay!

Technically you would have to buy 3.... cause you would end up with 2 combines and only 5 cars.... just a thought..... :p

No. 4 Fan · **Posted:** Thu Mar 24, 2005 11:57 pm

Really nice set, I think considering the small scale, they did a much nicer job with this than the HO Walter. I do have a couple of questions about it, though. First, what's the price point on this set, and what's included? I may have missed that info, since I'm still a bit new here. I know this set is coming out this summer. I'll be making one of my annual trips in May, and I know that's a bit early for it to be on sale. I live in Orlando, so is there any possibility that these will be sold at WDW? I plan to make another trip out in either October or January, so if not, I can wait, unless this is going to be a pretty limited run. I'm hoping not, if you're looking at making additional trainsets, but if it is, please let us know! Thanks so much for sharing this with the board!

E. P. Ripley N-scale - First photo!

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