Most of you will not have read this news yet :

Roco announces the S160 of the USATC, called "Rattlesnake", for H0 scale.

look at this link : http://www.flipgorilla.com/p/23023990364...4711720/24

Perhaps the wheels size cloud become a problem and the wheels of the model are not 100% compatible to US wheels size.

We have to wait for more informations.

Rattlesnake? I think a rattlesnake looks a tad better..

That's cool! There are still a few of them around, and a few operating or recently operating on tourist railroads in the USA.

The announcement doesn't say anything about a US version, which of course would not have buffers and would have a pilot/footboards and Janney couplers, as well as a US headlight. These ran on the Alaska Railroad, where one is under restoration, on the Reader Railroad in Arkansas -- I don't know where this one is now -- and remained with the USATC at least through the Golden Spike celebration in 1969, where one was sent to Ogden under steam. Since European and Asian railroads were still using steam at the time, it was probably in the Army's interest to maintain that skill set. I believe an NRHS convention also visited an Army camp where these were used in the 1960s and had a grand fan trip. I don't know what became of any locos that were still with the Army at that time.

With some poking around, the one that was on the Reader Railroad is now on the Great Smoky Mountain Railroad in North Carolina, apparently operating. Twelve of them went to the Alaska Railroad; ARR 557 went to a collector in Washington State, whose family returned it to the ARR in 2011, and it is under restoration for operation. 611 and 612 were at Ft Eustis, VA with the USATC through the 1960s; 612 was at Cass but is now for sale; 611 is in junk condition in Maryland (all of this as best I can find out).

If anyone knows of others in the US, I'd be interested to hear. Naturally, almost all went to Europe, the USSR, and China.

Don't worry about wheels.

Roco to my knowledge has applied finer wheels (compared to other European manufacturers ) since the late '80's early 90's. I clearly recall reading RP25 wheelsets in their catalogs of the time. It was that mention that made me wonder what RP was, and then learned all about the NMRA standards etc. (I was allready aware of the european version of standards, the NEM ).

Roco has always been a manufacturer more geared towards railway modelers than 'toy trains', and used finer details, smaller profiles etc earlier than others. While models from the 70's and early 80's might still have coarser flangeways , and they perhaps remained on models that stayed in production into the 90's (but originally released decades earlier), all their newer releases had great wheel profiles, never an issue. They also had CODE 83 track in their track offerings, moving away from code 100.

In short, this loco should not give you any problems running.

Koos