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 Posted - June 26 2007 : 10:36:38 PM
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I've been intrigued by Tyco's BN E7 for a while now. Their E7 is a nice piece overall, especially if you swap the trucks from the SD24 onto it. The SHINY chromed Milwaukee Road version is my favorite, but a BN example is perhaps more appropriate for me...
...The BN operated the last fleet of revenue E7's right in my back (er, front) yard, on the famous triple-track Chicago - Aurora commuter "racetrack". While cab units were generally rare, with e-uinits even more so, the smartly-dressed BN / Metra fleet lasted into the early 1990's!
/tyco/forum/uploaded/GoingInCirclez/BN9902.GIF
Of course, Tyco's version looks nothing like the familiar weekday warriors I used to see on my toted jaunts into the suburbs, but I always thought it to be an attractively fanciful "what-if" streamliner scheme...
But imagine my surprise, upon browsing the BN Photo Archives, when I found THIS:
Take note of the rear of the unit, as you can just barely make out the presence of the road number.
The date is unknown but the one-off as-known scheme is generally thought to be a VERY early post-merger experiment. I've often thought that Tyco must have had a dedicated BN fan on staff... but to have knowledge of such a rare one-of-a-kind beast as THAT only seems to prove that maybe - just maybe - Tyco deserved a little more credit than they got...
I'm almost tempted to look for another just so I can paint the roof black... [:p]
(and if you squint just right... those almost look like "vampire" trucks in the top photo... [:O] [:p] )
Edited by - GoingInCirclez on June 26 2007 10:45:37 PM
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 Posted - June 27 2007 : 07:06:04 AM
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They say, "There's a prototype for everything"...and with TYCO that can take some looking...but yes that prototype BN E7 sure smells like TYCO doesn't it?
Tony Cook
HO-Scale Trains Resource
http://ho-scaletrains.net
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 Posted - September 04 2007 : 02:27:43 AM
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I love the Tyco E-7. I used to dream of having those locos (the New Haven and B&N were my favorites) in my collection and I am lucky to own them. My mother used to tell me that I would read the ink off those pages in the Tyco catalog. [:D]
Now, I know I am new to the board but I just have to say this.
TYCO almost ALWAYS got a bad rap. Yes the models weren't as prototypical as some would like and yes, they made many consessions to cut costs and use the often loved and often hated power torque drive system.
But darn it all, no one seems to know how to put a train set together anymore. At least not in HO (or N for that matter). Tyco sets were magical. They carried, at least for me, as much magic as any big Lionel set did under the Christmas Tree. When Santa brought me my Silver Streak in 1979, life was just the best. Tyco had the coolest trains and the coolest race sets a kid could ever love.
I can also say this, if you didn't throw the locos into reverse when running or run the trains hard and simply took care of them, they did and do last. I seem to recall having more trouble with my old Life-Like locos than I did with Tyco. And, if that silly pinion came loose, either a dab of super glue on the shaft or a gentle squeeze with the needle nose plyers did the trick.
Oh, one last thing to a long winded thread. I recall Tyco's customer service being excellent. As a 13 year old, they treated me with the utmost respect and when I sent my Royal Blue off to be repaired, they had a new loco to me in two weeks time. Not bad for 1980 and no internet.
While Tyco products often had their quirks, they will always be tops with me and will hold a special place in my collection.
Roy
Edited by - Chessie4015 on September 04 2007 02:32:44 AM
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Posted - September 04 2007 : 11:40:29 AM
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| Agreed. Even the new Bachmann sets, while infinitely better quality-wise and an excellent value in their own right, lack many of the goofy bonus features and accessories that Tyco added to their sets.
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