2014 Trackmaster redesign

this video shows on the of the steepest grades in new zealand. its a 1 in 35 grade, and almost every train struggles. its called westmere bank and is just outside my town. all locos heading north to the milk plant must tackle it.

this isnt my video. i was filming from one of the carriages, but it didnt come out too well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I979Sy-f1So

(06-11-2014, 05:29 PM)sunhuntin Wrote: this video shows on the of the steepest grades in new zealand. its a 1 in 35 grade, and almost every train struggles. its called westmere bank and is just outside my town. all locos heading north to the milk plant must tackle it.

this isnt my video. i was filming from one of the carriages, but it didnt come out too well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I979Sy-f1So

Wow; seeing that locomotive struggle was remarkable. Makes me wonder about some of the locomotives we had built here in the States; some of our steepest inclines are in the Northeast and out west in California. California's infamous Cajon Pass is certainly very steep, as are some of the lines in Pennsylvania.

I did notice the new Thomas had a 25% taller funnel and a black underframe, maybe thats how they can say more realistic by focusing on these points and nothing else, any you guys are right its not a great change and the the community seems to be divided I think they will riot in the streets once they have seen the new trains for themselves haha

Toys_Trains-Things it was in the Thomas collectables group, why do I continue to be in that group? haha Its the most feral, bullying, smartass bunch of kids/kidults ever to get on facebook all seeming to be in the one group, a group who cannot have a civil discussion if they do not agree with your point of view. but I have said enough on that.

(06-11-2014, 05:29 PM)sunhuntin Wrote: this video shows on the of the steepest grades in new zealand. its a 1 in 35 grade, and almost every train struggles. its called westmere bank and is just outside my town. all locos heading north to the milk plant must tackle it.

this isnt my video. i was filming from one of the carriages, but it didnt come out too well.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I979Sy-f1So

Fantastic, thank you Sunhuntin for posting this. That Ab663 is beautiful. Love her lines and colors, she is awesome. And her whistle sounds super. Every time I heard it she sounded like she was screaming in pain as she struggled up the hill. That is until the last whistle when she seemed to be cheering "I made it". Also loved those red and white coaches and they were all the same design. Many times you see a mixed variety on the old steam trains. And that tender, very cool with both a water tank and coal storage. It looks to be part of the engine as it seems too close for any coupling articulation to occur. I have watched the video several times as she sure is so beautiful.

thanks for the comments guys. we are lucky and have a few preserved steam locos. the AB and another, JA1271, visit every year or so. i think the tender is fixed, never occured to me to look that close! LOL. steamrail, another club which im thinking of joining, runs security when theres excursion trains staying overnight. i usually go down for a couple of hours if its on a friday or saturday.

theres more photos of the AB here
http://sunsthomasandfriends.weebly.com/a...n-lee.html

and this link takes you to my landing page of other train events ive attended in the last few years.
http://sunsthomasandfriends.weebly.com/t...sions.html

hank, id love to visit some american and canadian railways one day. both fully functional and private owned.

(06-12-2014, 05:37 AM)sunhuntin Wrote: thanks for the comments guys. we are lucky and have a few preserved steam locos. the AB and another, JA1271, visit every year or so. i think the tender is fixed, never occured to me to look that close! LOL. steamrail, another club which im thinking of joining, runs security when theres excursion trains staying overnight. i usually go down for a couple of hours if its on a friday or saturday.

theres more photos of the AB here
http://sunsthomasandfriends.weebly.com/a...n-lee.html

and this link takes you to my landing page of other train events ive attended in the last few years.
http://sunsthomasandfriends.weebly.com/t...sions.html

hank, id love to visit some american and canadian railways one day. both fully functional and private owned.

The feelings are mutual sunhuntin; there are lots of railways here in North America that I can only dream of visiting someday.

This is just Disgusting! (the performance of the new engine) Mattel and Fisher price should be absolutely ashamed of themselves.

I am not defending nor condemning Trackmasters new design because I don't really care one way or another but I do like to watch testings of all kinds of things. In this case I am not sure this test can give one a true view of the new train. What the test needs and to be fair is the same test on the new style tracks that go with the redesigned Thomas. With the new aggressively grooved tractor rubbers tires they are bound to slip on the old Trackamster tracks and I believe they also would slip on the blue Tomy tracks as they have minimal depth grooves that accommodate the thinner grooved rubber traction tires we are used to. I don't have any of these new type tracks but as you can see from the pictures it looks as if the new tracks have much deeper and wider grooves that would accommodate those new aggressive traction tires and probably giving them much better traction. Heck...the old Thomas may even slip on the newer tracks. See for yourself and you be the judge. So in conclusion this test is incomplete unless he does the same test with the same new track configuration. What do you think? Personally I like the old design better but I am prejudice.

I feel sorry for the people who have invested heavily in the current Trackmaster track and accessories all new releases will no longer be compatible and vice versa, All they had to do was fit a slightly upgraded motor and add a bit more weight that would provide the speed and grip without the horrid tractor like redesign. And with this switch to new track I just have to wonder how long will this new track be around? the current Trackmaster track has been around for about 10 years or so. Plarail is the way to go these days I think. Overall the community for the most part is not happy with the changes judging by the comments on the videos.

The way I see it is that his test was slightly valid on the old track; children who want the new engines may not want the new track. This lack of compatibility will decrease the play value, as the prices of these new sets and engines may also drive away potential consumers; paying nearly $20.00 U.S. for an engine, two trucks, and no track is absolutely absurd for me. To compare it, I spent $15.00 U.S. getting a HiT Toys TrackMaster Hector; granted it came with a stock standard Thomas, it was the engine, Hector, a coach, and three half-straights of track. My parents were both thoroughly pleased with the deal, as TOMY USA was something of the same in competition. Fisher-Price simply sells engines by themselves for a whopping $13.88 + tax, and the "Greatest Moments" for $16.99 + tax with no track in sight.