Fan's of PRR brass, hide your wallet.

[SkipGear]

This group of auctions just popped up and I believe there may be more to come....

http://www.ebay.com/sch/Model-RR-Trains-/479/i.html?frommaketrack=true&item=221043874285&_sac=1&viewitem=&sspagename=VIP%3Awatchlink%3Atop%3Aen&_ssn=livehorn

[ljudice]

Hide your wallets??  More like run down to your bank and take out a second mortgage! 

[Dave V]

Me gusta.

But too rich for my blood...

[pedro]

Man, for such a prime $$ brass collection you'd think they could do better than to lay them on their sides so unceremoniously for the mug-shot photos. Come on.
But seriously, that's all very tempting stuff.

[Bsklarski]

Nope, PRR steam does not sell. I cant see how someone would even think about a manufacturer doing some in plastic, they would loose their shirt!

[C855B]

I saw that stuff listed earlier this week and thought of you SPF's. Sadly, as good as all of it looks I have secondhand reports (including Spookshow's reviews) that with 24" the minimum practical running radius, for most of us they're shelf queens. Mark's is not the only thumbs-down I've heard on the Centipedes, either. I have a friend who has (or had) a T-1, and he complained that he was never able to successfully complete a lap on his layout because the tender trucks shorted against the skirts.

Sad commentary because it's the overlap where scale fidelity and operation become mutually exclusive. 

[towl1996]

Plastic versions of these models would be gobbled up faster than a bag of Cheetos after smoking choom with the prez. 

If plastic versions were out there, I wonder how many would model the PRR. Heck, the Pennsy might even lose it's fifth tier status. 

[bbussey]

Except that the manufacturer would have to sell 50x of what the brass importer has to sell in order to recoup the investment.

Don't you think that, if the numbers actually did work out, that a manufacturer would have jumped on Pennsy steam already?  Selling a couple thousand units won't cut it.

[u18b]

I very very roughly calculated that if these go for the top dollar they sometimes do...

This guy has about $10,000 worth of stuff on ebay.

I bookmarked them under the popcorn category- just to watch and see what happens.

[MichaelWinicki]

By the looks of the bids others can see investing in something they won't be able run (well or often) but I can't. 

[Dave V]

I think collecting and running are two different hobbies.  It's very obvious I don't understand collecting just for the sake of having, but it obviously has appeal to a good many folks, including some on this board.

[robert3985]

I have a friend who has (or had) a T-1, and he complained that he was never able to successfully complete a lap on his layout because the tender trucks shorted against the skirts.

Sad commentary because it's the overlap where scale fidelity and operation become mutually exclusive. 

What's really the sad commentary is that your friend couldn't figure out how to fix that dinky little problem.

Cheers!
Bob Gilmore

[altohorn25]

I had one of the Key T-1's for a while and it actually ran quite well.  I even got it to run on N-Trak layouts (worked on both the red and yellow lines).  Got rid of it a while back (7 years?) because it didn't really go with my Milw stuff.  Best running brass engine I've had with the exception of the DMIR Yellowstone.

Nate

[mmagliaro]

I've seen those brass T1's run.  I thought they ran superbly.  Granted, it was on Todd Treaster's quite large layout with 30" minimum radius curves.
But honestly, it has swiveling engine trucks, so it can negotiate curves pretty darn well for such a long-wheelbase engine.
If the pilot truck shorts against the body on sharper curves,  a little filing or any of a number of fixes can be used to remedy that (insulate a wheel, change a wheelset so it's insulated, insulate the inside of the body with a little tape or thing styrene, etc).

It was such a nice running engine... not at all a "brass horror story".

[Iain]

Do rather wish I had the money for one of those Centipedes.