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‘HO’ SCALE MODEL manufacturer Atlas announced a third run of its excellent MP15DC switcher at the same time as the C420 locomotive news was revealed. I was going to rant about the subject then but I didn’t have time.

The first release (June 2005) of the MP15DC saw the following paint schemes: Chicago & North Western (Early Yellow/Green), CSX (Gray/Blue/Yellow), Genesee & Wyoming (Orange/Black), Missouri Pacific (Yellow/Gray/Red), Reading (Dark Green/Yellow), Southern (Black/Imitation Aluminum/Gold)< and Southern Pacific (Gray/Scarlet).

The second run (February 2006), meanwhile, featured: Belt Railway of Chicago (Black/Gray/Yellow), Belt Railway of Chicago (Red/White/Blue), Conrail (Blue/White), Louisville & Nashville (Gray/Yellow), Missouri Pacific (Blue/White ‘Eagle’), Union Pacific (UPY) (Yellow/Gray/Red) and Union Railroad (Blue/White).

Union Pacific MP15DCs Nos. UPY 1292 and UPY 1360 clag up wonderfully at UP’s Centennial Yard, Fort Worth, Texas, on October 18th, 2005.

The latest batch, which are due for shipping in May 2007, are: Alaska Railroad (Blue/Yellow), Amtrak (Silver/Black), BNSF(Orange/Black ‘H3′), Burlington Northern (Green/Black), Kansas City Southern (White/Black/Red), Manufacturers Railway (Green/Gold/Silver) and Southern Rwy. of British Columbia (Blue/Black).

Now all credit to the New Jersey-based firm. This is certainly a fascinating mix of liveries, whose eclecticism, if that is even a word, is to be congratulated. However, I can’t help but note that a certain Class 1 is conspicuous by its absence from the list of liveries that have so far been produced. Can you, in the immortal words of Rolf Harris, tell who it is yet?

Norfolk Southern MP15DC No. NS 2397 at Norris Yard, Irondale, Alabama on October 13th, 2005.

Yes, it’s Norfolk Southern black, the Railroad rostering the former Southern fleet of 80 or so locomotives.

With the quality of Atlas’ paint jobs, unless a livery is extremely unlikely to be produced commercially - and looking at the three runs of the MP15DC outlined above you have to wonder if any railroad colour scheme qualifies for that statement nowadays - I prefer to sit and wait for the manufacturer to produce it. Lazy yes, but I have a hundred other modelling projects on the go and I can’t airbrush and letter as well as a Chinese production line.

Question is, how long must I wait? This feels like some sort of evil plan to make me purchase models that I don’t require. I’m desperate to buy one or two of these excellent models and for every run of MP15DCs so far produced that hasn’t featured Norfolk Southern, I’ve nearly gone out and bought one of the other colour schemes instead as a sort of insane compensation.

Yes, I know, I shouldn’t be trusted with money.

As an aside, two recent purchases which are now winging their way in my direction from the other side of the Atlantic, include an undecorated low nose Athearn R-T-R GP40X and the same firm’s ‘early’ SD38 in Penn Central black. Both models are heavily upgraded from their previous life as part of the Rail Power Products (RPP) range.

More on them when they arrive.