Model Railroading > KM Inspection Train At CMRS Crockett, California Layout 4/2/24

Boiling Man was kind enough to complete my long boxed KATO SP 150 Sunset private car
so I took it for a spin behind my new PIKO SP KM #9002,
I have yet tested the 9002 with a longer train but so far it runs and sounds great, however, friends 
who have the slightly different 9000 unit, have reported problems operating the various prototypical
SP lights provided on the locomotive.
Regards, Jim Evans

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Neat.
From memory there would always be another car in an officer's special train.
It simply would not do to have a mere brakeman or conductor riding on the Chairman's car so there was a chair car or something.
I was once directed to ride it with Mr. Biaganni when I was an Assistant Division Engineer, people told me that I might have been the lowest form of life ever admitted to that car.
Normally the Division Engineer rode but at that time he was out in West Texas, walking track where the Chairman told him to, the ride was a bit too rough.
Decades later, after the UP merger, I rode on it down the coast as a guest when there was talk of the sale of that line to the State of CA.  
For quite a while the host, someone high in the UP management, rode up in the dining area conducting a staff meeting/ass chewing and I ended up riding at the rear right seat and desk, the Chairman's seat.
 

Thanks for your comments. Yea, I know my little train would of never happened.
I'd seen the Sunset at the end of freight trains a few times, but mostly on the end of passenger specials with several
other special cars.
That personality stuff that of course was (is) part of the hierarchy in many businesses and sounds unpleasant.
I saw some of it working for an agency that did business with the SP to provide special passenger service.
An assistant TM would be on board and make a causual observation causing the lower person to start barking out 
information like a private responding to a DI in the military.
Regards, Jim Evans

Nice photos.

I wish there were more prototypical SP passenger cars in plastic.

As MDO has stated in his chronicles, there was lots of blood on the Sunset's carpet over the years

I don't think I have ever heard of one of those trips being enjoyable.  and, you know some of it was not necessary.  Seems big shots had to always chew ass.

That looks great!

Looks really nice.  I recall Sunset being shoved downtown to Union Station from the Amtrak 14th St. Coach Yard in Chicago.  This would have been in the mid to late 90s.
I think the car had come in on a special by way of the old GM&O the day before.

At the time temporary scaffolding was erected just prior to entering the shed, which created a limited clearance situation.

Unfortunately, the side mirrors that afforded the business car occupants the ability to adjust them for better viewing were extended, which caused one mirror to slap against the steel scaffolding.
Splat!  The mirror glass broke.  Had we only realized!

Origin of the "mourner's bench" name on the Sunset?

TIA,
Oliver Barrett

WAF Wrote:
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> As MDO has stated in his chronicles, there was
> lots of blood on the Sunset's carpet over the
> years

Back sofa of the observation area was where the junior officers sat and target for all the criticism of the room

Hi.

You'll probably find my posts, but I have two of the DC Versions, which have had Lokpilot 5 decoders (non sound added). Sadly, the lights only occasionally go (and this only includes the headlight, gyralight, number boards and cab instruments). I've got no control over them via any functions, nor can I get any of other lights to light up (marker, cab, rear light and engine room lights). 

Some of these ran on DC when testing, but none run (other than noted above).

Sadly Piko USA other than one phone call, where the tech guy almost admitted to rushing the electronics pack out the door, and admitting that some of the lighting boards had issues. I've taken the top of my locos for installing the DCC Decoder, and man the lighting board (LED's and resistors is comprehensive to say the least)!!!!

So as of today, Piko USA, I'm still waitng on answers.

Dissapointing for what is a very well detailed and very smooth operating locomotive.

Live and hope.

Allister
New Zealand.

PIKO has their own electronics department and engineers their proprietary decoders in-house. The development team in the U.S. provided a full measure of input on U.S. expectations as far back as February and March of last year.

A lot of folks bought the DC versions intending to use their choice of decoder. This choice has apparently been incompatible with PIKO's light board architecture. (The SP light schema was developed to replicate full SP rules and practices. Not every one of those particulars made it to this round of PIKO's proprietary DCC decoder.)

PIKO Sonneberg (Germany) is a giant in Europe, and has its proven ways of doing things. The U.S. market for the unique German-American hybrid KMs (the most accurate way to look at the Prototypes) was approached with awareness and caution. But the learning curve was a bit steeper than expected. (Somewhat of an echo of the actual Prototypes, although no one has anything but praise for how the 1:87 KMs run, which is astoundingly smooth, strong, and reliably.)

The PIKO America tech branch is one person, aided by the tech-and-operations-savvy boss. That's it. PIKO Sonneberg air-shipped the models with priority to the U.S. believing that development was complete. Turns out there's a bit more fiddle necessary. But if people have their own decoders installed, it's the consequence of an assumption made that the PIKO DC product would automatically behave like a U.S. DCC-ready model, and because of how PIKO does lights, that turned out not to be true. It's good to keep the stories straight: are the problems people are posting actually problems with third-party boards and compatibility, or brand-specific problems with PIKO decoders or instructions?

The latter are being worked on in San Diego, and I would have to say: tirelessly, while regular business continues, including trade shows like Denver this last weekend! I'm not an apologist for a product that still needed some development, it seems... I'm just sympathetic to the desire of staff at PIKO America to get things right. In the scope of PIKO's worldwide business, the KMs are currently one set of items in a 450-page HO PDF catalog. That's not an excuse, but hopefully a perspective. Things will improve, I have no doubt. Meanwhile, people do seem to love the models overall, and that's good news for PIKO's future offerings in the U.S.

~ BZ

To Notch 16. Thank you for your comments. Other than the information gained during that phone call, your response provides a host more information than had been provided by Piko USA and or Piko Europe (to date). I guess what Piko didn't make clear (and perhaps assumed incorrectly) is that you needed "Their" decoders to work on "Their" products. 

So perhaps, I may go in search of either a non sound decoder, or a sound decoder that is produced by Piko specific for the locomotive (thus gaining control over the lights etc).

Again, thanks for your input, it was very informative.

Regards,

Allister 
New Zealand.

I am told (he says) that PIKO does sell a compatible decoder. I don't know more than that. But I hope it works out! And thanks for your comments as well!

~ BZ