1937 SFSC/1948 Broadway Arriving This Week! HO 80' Harrimans/E8&9's Shipping Soon! Allegheny Underway and O Scale Mollie Starting!

March turned out to be a busy month on just about every front. Between the O Scale March Meet in Chicago, time spent in St. Louis, and a quick tour down through Texas including College Station as we evaluate a possible future location for a new headquarters, there’s quite a bit to share this month.

First off, I want to say thank you to everyone who came out to the O Scale March Meet this year. That show continues to be one of the highlights of the year for the O scale community, and it’s always great getting to see so many familiar faces. We had a great time at the show, shared a few announcements, and most importantly spent a lot of time talking trains with many of you.

After the meet wrapped up, I headed down to St. Louis where I had the opportunity to spend some time with the owner of the 14-4 Cimarron River sleeping car, along with several members of the Frisco 1522 crew. Being able to stand next to equipment that is still out there operating and hear the stories from the people who restored and maintained it really puts our hobby into perspective.

As model railroaders, we spend a lot of time studying photos and drawings trying to get the details right. But when you get the opportunity to see the real equipment up close and talk with the people who know it best, it reminds you why we care so much about getting those details correct in the first place.

Experiences like this are a big part of what fuels the work we do. Our goal has always been the same, to capture a piece of real railroad history and bring it to life on your layout.

Now let’s get into the updates for April.

Shipping Updates!

1937 Super Chief/1948 Broadway Limited Arriving THIS WEEK

One of the biggest pieces of news this month is the long awaited arrival of the 1937 Santa Fe Super Chief and the 1948 Pennsylvania Broadway Limited aluminum passenger cars.

The container is currently scheduled to be unloaded from the BNSF facility in Hudson, Colorado on Thursday and will be making its way to our warehouse shortly after. Once the container arrives and we begin processing the shipment, orders that have already been paid for will begin shipping immediately.

We want to thank everyone who has already taken care of their payment. Your support allows us to keep projects like this moving forward and arriving on schedule.

For those who still have an open balance on these cars, now is the time to take care of it. Once the models arrive at the warehouse we will be shipping paid orders first. If you have not yet completed payment, please log in to the payment portal or call Shani and get that squared away so we can get your cars out the door as soon as possible.

As always, you can log into the portal using your website credentials, or give us a call during office hours if you need assistance completing payment.

We are extremely excited to finally see these trains arriving and we look forward to getting them into your hands very soon.

HO Scale 80’ Harriman Passenger Cars Factory Update

We also received new sample photos from the factory of the upcoming HO Scale 80’ Harriman passenger cars, and things are looking great.

The factory is currently finishing up final assembly and corrections, and the project is entering its final stages of production. Based on the latest updates, the cars are expected to finish up and ship from the factory within the next few weeks.

These new photos show the production samples coming together and we’re very happy with how they’re turning out. Once the interiors are fully installed and the final finishing touches are completed, the cars will be packed and prepared for shipment.

If everything continues on the current schedule, these cars will be making their way across the Pacific shortly, and we look forward to getting them into your hands as soon as they arrive.

Be sure to check out the sample photos below.

O Scale EMD E8 & E9 Production Update

We also received NEW SAMPLE MODELS of the O Scale EMD E8 and E9 locomotives, and we’re excited to show you how these are progressing.

No matter the project, we will always have samples shipped stateside for real world "layout" testing...

Mechanically, the locomotives are complete, and the factory has been focusing on the final finishing stages. The remaining step is pad printing, where all of the lettering, numbering and striping will be applied.

Once that process is completed, the locomotives will be ready for final assembly and packaging. The plan right now is for the E8/9s to ship in the same container as the HO Harriman passenger cars, meaning both projects will be making the trip over together once production wraps up.

The samples we’ve received look excellent, and we’re looking forward to sharing the photos with everyone so you can see the progress being made on this long awaited project.

50th Anniversary Allegheny Project Enters Production

We’re also very happy to report that the O Scale Allegheny project has officially entered production at the factory.

Attached below are the latest CAD images for both the Chesapeake & Ohio Allegheny and the Virginian Blue Ridge versions, which represent the final stages of the design process before full manufacturing begins. As many of you know, locomotives of this size and complexity take a considerable amount of engineering work to get right, and the factory has been working through the details to make sure everything comes together properly.

With the CAD phase now finalized, the project has moved into the production stage, where castings are made, chassis are milled, and assembly preparation are underway.

The Allegheny is one of the most impressive steam locomotives ever built, and it has been exciting to watch this project move from concept and drawings into the production phase.

Reservations are STILL OPEN during this intial starting phase and will be for a few more weeks!

We’re looking forward to sharing more updates as the factory progresses through the build.

Take a look at the CAD images below for both the C&O Allegheny and the Virginian Blue Ridge versions. If interested in reserving, click on the photos below.

VGN Rendering

C&O Rendering

The Lark & 20th Century Limited Enter Production

We’re also excited to report that production officially began last week on both the Southern Pacific Lark and the 1938/1940 New York Central 20th Century Limited aluminum passenger car projects.

Reservations for both of these trains are now officially closed, and the factory has begun work on the production runs. These trains represent two of the most iconic passenger trains in American railroad history, and we’re excited to see them moving forward into the manufacturing phase.

While reservations have closed, we are still accepting standby reservations. From time to time additional production slots become available due to dealer adjustments or reservation changes, and the standby list is the best way to secure a set if one becomes available.

If you missed the reservation window but are still interested in either train, we encourage you to place a standby reservation through the website or reach out to us directly.

We look forward to sharing more production updates as these two beautiful trains begin to take shape at the factory.

Upcoming Projects Beginning Production

We also have several projects scheduled to begin production in the coming weeks, and reservation windows for these are approaching their final stretch.

First up are the O Scale Norfolk & Western “Mollies”, which are currently scheduled to begin production around April 22nd. This has been a very popular project and reservations will be closing in about three weeks, so if you’ve been considering adding one to your roster, now is the time to get that reservation in. Click the photo above to be directed to the reservation page.

Shortly after that, the O Scale EMD F7 A & B Units are scheduled to enter production

around April 30th. These have also

seen strong interest, especially with the expanded road names and road specific tooling variations like the Norfolk Southern OCS units that were added to this run. Reservations for the F7s will also be closing in roughly three weeks. Click the photo above to be directed to the reservation page.

Rounding out the group are the O Scale 80’ Plastic Heavyweight passenger cars, which are likewise scheduled to begin production around April 30th. These cars will make an excellent addition behind many of the steam and early diesel locomotives we’ve offered over the years, and we’re looking forward to finally seeing them move into the production phase. Click the photo above to be directed to the reservation page.

As always with our projects, production quantities are determined by reservations, so once the reservation window closes we move forward with the final production numbers.

If any of these projects are on your list, we encourage you to make sure your reservation is in before the window closes.

Looking Ahead – Summer Production Schedule

Looking a little further down the calendar, we also wanted to share a rough look at several projects currently scheduled for production this summer. As always, these timelines can shift slightly depending on factory workload and final design work, but this gives everyone a general idea of what is coming down the line.

On the diesel side, the EMD GP30 project is currently expected to enter production around June, followed by the NextGen Acela trainsets, which are tentatively scheduled to begin production around August.

For steam, the HO Scale Norfolk & Western “Mollies” are currently planned to enter production around August.

On the passenger car side, the Union Pacific Heritage Cars along with the D&RGW Yampa Valley Mail project are currently expected to begin production around June.

Following that, the HOn3 D&RGW Closed Vestibule passenger cars are tentatively scheduled to enter production around July. The design work on these cars is progressing well, and we expect to have CAD drawings available to share within the next month or so.

We always enjoy sharing these schedules with everyone because it really shows how many projects are moving forward at once. Between locomotives, passenger cars, and freight equipment, it’s shaping up to be a very busy summer at the factory.

Closing Thoughts

As always, I want to take a moment to thank all of you for the continued support. This hobby is built on community, and it’s always a great reminder of that when we get the chance to spend time with everyone in person.

Between the March Meet in Chicago, time spent in St. Louis, and traveling through Texas while evaluating a possible future location for a home base, it’s been a busy few weeks but also a very rewarding one. Getting to see the real equipment, meet with preservation groups, and talk trains with so many of you continues to fuel the passion behind what we do.

Next up we’ll be heading to the Rocky Mountain Train Show next weekend, and we’re looking forward to seeing many of you there as well. If you’re attending the show, be sure to stop by and say hello.

None of the projects, announcements, or models we produce would be possible without the support of this community. Whether you’ve been with us for decades or you’re just joining the Sunset and Golden Gate Depot family, we truly appreciate it.

We have a lot of exciting things moving through the pipeline right now, and we look forward to sharing more with you in the months ahead.

Thank you again for being part of the journey.

See you down the line.

Jay