Been working most of the evening on one of my PE cars, the 1360 Combine on the left side of the pic, and decided a family photo was in order. The middle two I just purchased from brasstrains thru their website. Great dealer, excellent customer service and perfect/safe packing of models. All of my models are later runs done by Orion Models in Japan and imported by Ed Suydam. These have nickel silver wheels where as many earlier imports from Suydam have brass wheels. I am slowly collecting all the Orion built PE cars done for Suydam. Enjoy! Mike the Aspie.
Silly NT's, I have Asperger's Syndrome
Hi Mike,
That's a nice fleet!
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Those are beautiful I've always liked the nickname "Blimp". PE was a huge operation. I sure wish I was able to get to see some of those Big Red Cars before it was all destroyed, except for a few museum pieces.
Thanks for posting those great cars. Can we get some close-ups?
I have some Orion New York Central S class electrics. They are quality models, indeed.
Regards, Ed
I'm a fan of traction and the PE was right there at the top. Your Suydam models are just terrific!
Russ
Modeling the early '50s Erie in Paterson, NJ. Here's the link to my railroad postcard collection: https://railroadpostcards.blogspot.com/
Thanks guys, I will get some close ups of each car a little later today. I grew up in Indiana and still live there other than a 9 year stint living in Erie, PA. So have only see the PE on video and my models. Of coarse Indiana itself is a hot bed for interurban activity back in the day. Just not much out there in HO scale for brass cars. I am not a "kit builder" by nature. Most all of my locomotives and cars have been brass since my late teens. Almost all are traction now, only 3 remain that are not. Not a huge collection by any means. I have ten pieces total, about the most I have owned at any one time. Here is a family pic, only the two North Shore cars are nolonger in the collection, replaced with the two new PE cars as I have chosen to concentrate on that line. If you want close ups of any of the other pieces, let me know! Oh yeah, I also have a 1/2 piece, I picked up the drive chassis for a PFM/United Heisler at a show for 5 bucks, got it running, waiting for one of these guys that parts out brass on ebay to post up the cab/boiler/bunker assembly to make it whole again. Mike the Aspie.
Missing in the pic is my Tenshodo Missabe caboose
I'm a fan of the PE Long Beach Twelve cars. I had them painted by a guy many years ago on thew West Coast. I have them on display in my train room. Just loe to look at them.
Neal
I love riding the TECO Electric trolleys in downtown Tampa.
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Nice fleet Mike.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Nice. That was from back when hobby shops kept brass models in stock and on the shelves - relatively little brass back then was limited run/advance reservation required stuff. I don't know how many Pacific Electric fans there really were in the Milwaukee area but there must have been some because the hobby shops sold the stuff.
That was also from back when there seemed to be a lot more traction layouts in HO and O than I see now.
Keith Wills wrote about Suydam and his Pacific Electric imports in his Heritage Fleet column, December 2015 MR. I seem to recall a member of the Suydam family wrote in with some corrections to that column a few months later.
Dave Nelson
If someone ever invents a "way back" maching. I want to go back and ride the PE in the final years, visit with Ed Suydam and so forth. i can just remember a couple shops in Indianapolis that stocked brass in the late 70s and early 80s when I was a small boy. I was memorized by the golden models in the display case right at my eye level many times. Being able to afford those models today, is one reason I deal with the difficulties of working in a factory while being on the autism spectrum. I miss those days of the hobby, before all the electronic nonsense we have now, along with plastic models that rival vintage brass in price. Estate tables are my favorite place to spend $$ and many times, if you take the time to talk to the family or widow, some of the back stories of the late modeler and his trains come out. And that is what makes this hobby a bit more special than others. More pics coming soon. Mike the Aspie
emdmikeIf someone ever invents a "way back" maching.
I would spend a day in a busy steam engine terminal and learn everything I could from the people that keep them running.
Very nice pics EMDMike! Thanks for sharing!