Williams Brass Steam?

[Cheese]

Hey All,

I recently had the change (still do) to purchase a Williams Brass NYC Dreyfuss Hudson from a friend of my father's who is selling some of his train collection off. I fell in love with the looks of the engine and he is giving me a remarkably good price.

I am holding off though for a few reasons. 1. I am a poor college student who has just recently gotten back into o gauge trains (prime time with the holiday season approaching), and 2. I have been saving to buy another engine to add to my roster, and probably won't be able to afford another for a long time. I am an operator, having built a decent floor layout in the attic, so I don't want to buy something which will end up gracing my bookshelf (no matter how pretty), rather than running on the layout.

If anyone on here has had any experience with Williams Brass Steam, could you tell me a bit about them? I've since looked at other pieces on ebay and such and have liked what I've seen. And I know Williams has a good reputation, so I would expect this would apply to the Brass models as well.

Let me know!

Cheese

[SantaFe158]

I don't have any Williams brass, but I do know that the early Dreyfuss hudsons had a reputation of being rough running engines.  If I recall right, the later ones were better but you might want to test it out before buying if possible.

[wrmcclellan]

Cheese,

I have both the Williams brass Dreyfuss and the regular unshrouded Hudson. The Dreyfuss is nice but not as detailed as later versions from MTH and Lionel. Like many brass locos these untis need a little tinkering to make them run well. There is no TMCC/DCS in them and the sound is very rudimentary. The regular unshrouded Hudson is a beauty due to all the details/lost wax castings.

If you like tinkering and upgrading a loco(i.e. add TMCC or DCS) then proceed. If you are cash strapped as you say and do not wish t make further investment in them then I would pass or find one the MTH or Lionel units already equipped with good sound and control.

Good luck!

[phillyreading]

Unfortunately only the older Williams, when Jerry Williams ran the Williams Company, engines are offered in brass. Was on the Williams by Bachmann site and Bachmann is not offering any brass engines for sale, was in the "Ask the Bachmann" section under Williams trains.

Lee F.

[wrmcclellan]

Lee,

Williams offered their Crown Edition Line from around 1989 to about 1995 from my records. The CEL was a pretty broad offering with quite a few brass steam locos and development of quite a few scale diesels and passenger cars. At some point in the late 90's Williams almost went ot of business, dropped the brass offerings, and they retreated back into the traditional toy train arena and the scale items they had molds for. When I looked back into my files I was surprised at the offerings and realized with all the trips I make to York I have not seen any of the brass steam locos for sale there.

[Joe Hohmann]

I have both of the PRR K4s, streamlined and not. They are smooth runners, awful smoke units, no whistle or bell, and cannot be set in "forward only". Be aware that Williams brass of the late 1980s was detailed FOR THE TIME, but today, there are diecast engines with more details. I have also heard that the Hudsons were NOT smooth runners. Although they now sell for half the origional $400. price, I'd avoid buying one for a "runner".

[Cheese]

I don't plan on upgrading it to TMCC or DCS, I'm conventional all the way. I also prefer more traditional trains rather than scale pieces. While the Williams Brass engines are, I assume, scale, they have a traditional esque quality that attracts me.

I bought the engine and I love it. I runs smoothly and was a great investment. If  I ever had the chance to, I'd aquire other Williams Brass pieces.