Proto 0-8-0 Price!

wilbro47

New Member
I need a steamer for my small Chesapeake & Ohio layout and the only one that really fits that bill prototypically is the Lifelike 0-8-0 but the price almost put me into shock. It's as much as a really nice O gauge engine that has all the bells and whistles like the Railking B6 0-6-0. Either the Chinese wages went from $.30 an hour to $30 an hour or shipping must cost a bundle now. I also hear the Spectrum 2-8-0 does not represent a Chesapeake & Ohio at all. Anyone have an alternative idea?
 

Kanawha

Member
I've seen the C&O 0-8-0 on sale for about $150 at Trainworld and other places which is pretty good. They are also on ebay occasionally. Its a very high quality model. :mrgreen:
 

wilbro47

New Member
Thanks Kanawha. I have seen the Spectrum with sound for $136 and that is a sweet engine. That's a price I can live with but unfortunately it will not work for my C&O.
 
The Proto 0-8-0 is an outstanding locomotive. I think part of the price is that it comes DCC ready and with sound. Mine is from the first release with no DCC or sound and is awesome.

Dave
 

MasonJar

It's not rocket surgery
Wilbro,

What is the price that you found? And is it already DCC and/or sound equipped?

Andrew
 

Squidbait

Recovering ALCO-holic
I usually see a few of the first run 0-8-0's at train shows for $125-$150 (non-DCC/sound). They are an excellent loco, perhaps only slightly overshadowed by the 0-6-0.

If they have a fault, it's that the original run didn't pick up power from the tender. I believe the new run does.
 

wilbro47

New Member
Thanks Squidbait. I could use a BLI 2-8-2 that price out around $160 but they're always sold out. I just recently boxed up my n scale because of lack of cabooses etc. Now I have a Walthers HO C&O 25' wood caboose and plans for HO but I'm still running into problems. I would buy the Spectrum 2-8-0, B&O with sound in a heartbeat but there are no cabooses unless I build my own. I would really rather not. Thanks again. Bill
 

Squidbait

Recovering ALCO-holic
Your best bet is to pick up a loco you like, and re-letter it. Unless your road used USRA steamers, the odds of finding a good prototype match in steam is going to be tough.

No, the Spectrum 2-8-0 isn't exact, but this article tells you how to make it look more like a C&O G7. They turn up at the train shows for about the same price as the 0-8-0's.

The only off-the-shelf steamers that you can prototypically use for the C&O are the USRA heavy Mountains, and 2-6-6-2's. Spectrum also has the 2-8-4 Kanawha, but I don't know how accurate it is.
 

nkp174

Active Member
I picked up my P2K 0-8-0...a first generation one...for $110. Keep yer eyes out!

Johnny's Toys (they have a weak website) here in Cincinnati had their train show a couple weeks ago with an N-scale C&O 2-8-0 (spectrum) for $50, the Nscale P2K Kanawha for $120 IIRC, and the P2K HO Kanawha for $150 IIRC. I don't think they sold the Kanawhas, so they might still be in stock if you email them/really want one.

Also, Bachmann's new 2-8-4 is a C&O prototype (actually AMC, a joint C&O, NKP, Erie, & PM venture).
 

MasonJar

It's not rocket surgery
Well, $245 for a sound equipped 0-8-0 doesn't sound so bad ;). Several years ago, you would have been up over $300 to buy the loco, a Soundtraxx sound decoder, and you would have had to install it yourself.

Considering that the loco is now improved (tender pick-ups) and comes with QSI sound (much improved oer the earlier Soundtraxx), and that it lists at Walthers for $350, I think $245 is not bad.

As mentioned above, you may get lucky finding them on sale even lower at Trainworld.

Andrew
 

wilbro47

New Member
Thanks guys. You 're probabally right Andrew. Right now it's the 6 of one and half dozen of the other thing. Trainworld is advertising Spectrum 2-8-0's with DCC for, I believe $59.95, in their MR add. I do not know if there is a good sound only mod that can be added or for how much. I would want the B&O but the problem is a caboose. It would have to be made from a kit and that kit costs $42 + shipping and other stuff needed. It's a thought. Thanks again.
 

MasonJar

It's not rocket surgery
Well, look at it this way...

You can have the 2-8-0, add sound (look for sound-only decoders, or even replace the existing decoder), and get the caboose kit all for less than the 0-8-0. Sounds like a plan...! :D

Andrew
 

wilbro47

New Member
I'm not too crazy about building the kit. My airbrush started giving me problems about 20 yrs ago and I haven't had it out since. Time to start looking for it and see if I can get it to work. I hear the Spectrum 2-8-0 is a sweet runner and for the price difference vs proto 0-8-0, that makes it quite a bargain. Hopefully things will start coming together. Thanks Again
"Where is that airbrush"
 

nkp174

Active Member
The 0-8-0 and the 2-8-0 are both beautiful and wonderful runners. The 0-8-0 has better detail, the 2-8-0 is a better puller.

The 0-8-0 is a heavy switch engine. It is appropriate for a large yards.
The 2-8-0 is a branchline/local engine. It is ideal for most layouts.

Btw, in your first post you compared them to the Railking 0-6-0. There is no comparison. These are far better detailed...and hence required more chinese worker hours to build.

Perhaps you should consider the Spectrum 4-8-2? It is an nice C&O engine. Or maybe the Spectrum 2-6-6-2? The 2-6-6-2s were the standard coal branch power of the C&O. If I was to build a small C&O line, it would probably be a coal branch and be powered by a 2-6-6-2.
 

wilbro47

New Member
Thanks nkp174. I really appreciate your input and the comparisons. The layout I'm building will probably only be 4X8 and bigger engines are out of the question. I have considered a BLI 2-8-2 or even their NW2 but availability is an issue with BLI. Thanks again for your help and any further suggestions will be appreciated.
 

nkp174

Active Member
What sort of layout? switching? branchline? mainline?

If it is switching, the 0-8-0 is great. If it is a coal branch, the 2-6-6-2 is great. If it is a general branchline, a 2-8-0 is appropriate. If it is a mainline, the 2-8-2, 2-8-4 or 4-8-2 would be fine (even if only 4x8). The 2-6-6-6s are definitely too big, but the 2-6-6-2s would be fine on such a coal mine layout.

Btw, 0-8-0=NW2. 2-8-0=GP/RS. 2-8-2/2-8-4=GP/SD/F-unit. 4-8-2=F/E/PA1 unit. 2-6-6-2=GP/SD 2-6-6-6=SD.
 
N

nachoman

I suspect assembly labor costs are only a small portion of the price of a model. Economics is complicated. In our hobby, there are other things that contribute to price:

1) Supply and demand. See ebay for examples. Basically, if someone is willing to buy it at a certain price, they will sell it at that price.

2) Lack of competition. In this case - how many other 0-8-0 choices do you have? If you want an 0-8-0, fork over the money for the proto, or go find a brass model for even more money.

3) Shelf-time. If items don't move very fast, the cost of having them in a warehouse or a store shelf somewhere costs money.

4) small volume problem #1 - if a manufacturer doen't sell very many of a particular item due to lack of demand, he/she must price according to what money they need to support their career. People need to earn a salary, and they will charge whatever it takes in order to earn that salary.

5) small volume problem #2 -tooling and engineering costs, and tooling and engineering labor costs. Making injection molds is a very costly endeavor that requires expensive machinery, expertise, training, and software. The more items that are produced, the more these costs can be divided and reduced per unit. If a manufaturer makes 100 of an item, these costs get divided by 100. If 10,000 are sold, the cost gets divided by 10,000. I suspect most of these costs are also passed along to the consumer for the first few runs of a particular item. Why? Because the manufaturer has to pay off its lenders. Once the tooling is paid for, the item can be produced for the cost of labor plus the cost of materials.

6) shipping costs

Kevin
 

wilbro47

New Member
nkp174, Single mainline with some switching. Gateway NMRA has some great small layouts. The 4X8 for the Missouri hs is fantastic for a small layout. Thanks again. Bill
 

nkp174

Active Member
Okay. A 2-8-0 would be an excellent locomotive for that layout. A 2-8-2, 2-8-4, or 4-8-2 might be ok for the mainline, but not necessary.

The switching is heavy enough that I'd look at it as an industrial branch/local switching near an off-layout yards. An 0-6-0 would be outstanding. The 0-8-0 could work.

I actually think a 1910's railroad would be much better for that type of trackplan...although that's purely preference! I'd pick up the Spectrum 4-6-0 and 4-4-0...and a ton of MDC freight cars. There aren't any really good passenger cars for that era...as the unrealistically long (but beautiful!) MDC palace cars and the harriman cars (SP, UP, and IC only) are the only appropriate passenger cars for the era. 1890's could work with the overton passenger cars and MDC engines.

I guess I've digressed...
 
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