Availability: We continue our efforts to acquire the necessary reference material to produce this project and once it is in hand we will be finalizing the production schedule. If you would like to be included in special mailings related to this project, use our contact information to join our mailing list and be sure to specify that this is a project of interest. All current clients will automatically receive information related to our Niagara project.

12/13/19 - This long lingering project has been the victim of production and scheduling issues with available quality builders capable of doing the quality and level of work that our projects require. I am hopeful that changes being made in our working arrangements will make a positive impact on this issue in the coming months and I will be relating relevant information on our General News web page as the situation develops. In the meantime, I was recently advised by a client interested in our Niagara project that another importer had announced an O scale Niagara project, this is unfortunately nothing new in this business. Let it just be said that my planning will not be altered by this eventuality which is the only reason for mentioing the situation. Quite frankly, if I felt that another importer could produce a model of comparable quality, I might give it a second thought.

It has been a goal from the very beginning of my business to be able to produce our models faster without compromise, but the production situation has only become more difficult with time. If I wanted to produce status-quo models the goal of faster production would be very attainable, but that has never been my interest or intention.

1/01/14 - Our Niagara projects remains as a definite and it's only a matter of scheduling it for production. As our projects move ahead this year we will hopefully be able to provide a reasonably firm time line for that production. All of the data has been collected and is ready for development so please stay tuned if this project is of interest to you!

5/24/11 - Although not thoroughly reviewed since I now have so much reference material on hand, I can say that after receiving the last couple of key pieces of reference that I now have enough to proceed with this project. There has been a large collection of material provided by the New York Central System Historical Society through the assistance of Tom Gerbracht and some critical reference has come from private collections, the later making it possible to move forward on the most desired 5500 S2a poppet valve version of the locomotive. A project scheduling determination has not been made as of yet since these recent developments are still being taken into consideration in that regard, more information will be offered in the coming days and weeks. Needless to say, I am personally very excited about all of the effort in researching this project potentially now paying off in the form of new models and being able to securely catalog a thorough base of knowledge related to these fabulous locomotives. Stay tuned as the situation develops further!

3/22/11 - There is good news for those interested in our Niagara project. After many months of searching and begging for information to assist in the further development of this project, I have received two new 'stashes' of information from private collections. All of the new material has not yet been received or reviewed in detail, but it is safe to say at this point that there is a great deal of information that pertains to the poppet-valve version which has been the focus of my most recent efforts. As this situation develops, I will update further. Persistence and effort does pay off on occasion, so I keep digging on all of the projects that have been announced and that have been a struggle research wise.

2/21/11 - It is difficult to believe that it has already been a year since the last update on this project, but that is the fact. There have been a number of inquiries in recent weeks about what was happening or not happening with our plans for a Niagara. Unfortunately I am still struggling with trying to acquire the necessary design data for the poppet valve version which is the model that seemingly everyone interested in this project wants. There has been a continual outreach to try and find what is needed and I have taken to trying to locate general data from the related suppliers hoping that we can piece together what is required to accurately represent our subject in that way. There have been two offers of assistance in recent months that at the outset seemed promising, but I am still waiting and hoping for results. Far from giving up the search continues.

In shaking the bushes so to speak for Niagara data, a good deal of interest has developed in Kohs & Company doing a NYC caboose project. I am actively collecting data for an NYC 'cab' and I will be doing an update on that subject on the general news page in the next couple of weeks.

2/21/10 - An update on this project is long overdue, as a result, there have been numerous inquiries regarding the project status as a result of posting information about other future projects. Unfortunately, with all of the research that is continually in process it is difficult to remember what information has been related on specific projects, so it does help to receive reminders!

A major portion of the interest in this project has been related to the poppet valve version that I have proposed producing and at this point I am still looking for additional reference on that prototype. Due to the level of interest, I would hate to move forward on this project without including all of the proposed versions. I believe that the project will be doable as outlined, but it will require some atypical research. I am encouraged by what has been accomplished thus far.

2/28/09 - A good news update, we have an agreement with the New York Central System Historical Society for using the mechanical drawings they have in their archives for the 'Niagara'. The drawings are being ordered  and we'll see what is actually in the collection. There is a chance that despite the large number of drawings, all of the necessary drawings may not be part of the collection. We will advise further what we determine once we are able to review exactly what is in the collection. There is additional NYC information and that is included in our update presented on the general news update page. Our thanks to the NYCSS for their cooperation in our research effort.

1/13/09 - Just a brief update to advise that we are still awaiting further 'word' from the New York Central System Historical Society directors regarding what the restrictions or requirements will be for the use of drawings purchased from the society for use in developing our model projects. We remain hopeful that the directors' thinking will fall in line with what other societies have done in terms of helping to promote their respective interests. We will update further as we learn more.

12/14/08 - It has been a long time since our last update regarding this project and we do have news to report. Our effort to collect design reference material has continued and with some success, we have also received confirmation of the existence of several hundred drawings held by the New York Central System Historical Society. We are awaiting further word from the society regarding their stipulations for the commercial use (designing model trains) of the drawing files once copies have been purchased. Once we know the societies position we will make a final determination regarding if or how we will proceed with the Niagara and other possible NYC projects. We will update you just as soon as we have further information.

1/28/08 - As we have explained on numerous occasions here and in personal conversations, we have been having an extremely difficult time acquiring the necessary reference drawings necessary to develop this project, even though we know that they exist and are held by the New York Central Historical Society. We very recently received a very pleasant surprise, in the course of finalizing the acquisition of a large block of C&O drawings it turns out that several thousand of the drawings are actually NYC related. We have hired an individual to catalog the material based on the numbering guidelines that our great supporter Lans Vail, the 'father' of our Hudson projects, provided prior to his death and we should know shortly exactly what we have to work with and we have our fingers crossed! I should also mention that we will make all of the drawings available for copying on a cost basis for interested modelers, we understand and appreciate the shortage of reference material available for NYC modelers. Stay tuned if you care about this project or NYC modeling in general.

7/06/07 - Unfortunately, the situation with this project has not improved at all, we continue to struggle with locating enough data to move forward with the project. We have not been able to get any information from the New York Central System Historical Society and the material from private collections has not amounted to what we require to produce one of our models. As a result this project and all other New York Central subjects will remain in a holding pattern until further notice. Our hopes of producing a number of other subjects including the Mohawks are in serious doubt, but there are certainly enough other significant prototypes from other roads to model!

3/14/06 - We have been making an ongoing effort to advance this project, but it has been very difficult since the death of H. Lansing Vail. Lans was a great friend of our modeling efforts and made our previous New York Central projects possible. We have two of the best authorities available lined up to help with this project, but it all boils down to having the necessary reference materials available for the development. We will continue our efforts on our Niagara project and hopefully we will find success in the near term, needless to say we will try our best to keep you informed if this project is of interest to you.

2/25/04 - If the Niagara is a project of interest to you, please take the time to let us know what configurations are important to you and also whether you would like to see 'as built' or 'modernized' versions. This project is becoming active at this point and now is the time to let us know what you want. Your input is critical!

2/15/04 - An agreement has been reached with the finest source possible to assist in the development of this project, we are very excited about the type and quality of input we expect to receive as a result. This does not diminish the importance of the contributions that can be made by individual modelers, so please do not hesitate to offer any input you feel may be of assistance.

4/3/02 - This project has a new position in our schedule. A further update will be posted in the next few days.

5/3/00 - We have had a number of inquiries from interested people questioning whether we will continue with this project considering that Precision Scale has now announcement that they plan on also producing the New York Central Niagara, we certainly will.  As we have indicated on several occasions, once we announce a project we will follow through regardless of other considerations.  Our best response to those that jump on the same band-wagon is to make certain that we produce the best model we possibly can and then let the customer decide which model they would like to own.  Competition in the market place usually treats the customer very well.