ho, b unit lead cast

[Anonymous]

i have reciently acquired a non-powered "b" unit grand trunk western. it is about 1.18 lbs and the shell and base are lead? the local train shop said it is 10-20 years old.there is no name stamped inside or out.One suggestion was that it was built by (carry?). it is a well detailed engine and actually weights more than the "a" unit. any comments please forward to [e-mail] thank you very much. or to here .

[CNJ831]

Your description is far too vague to identify the item. Is it an EMD E or F subclass unit, or something more exotic? Various diecast EMD E and F "b" units were offered by quite a number of manufacturers in HO from the late 1940's through 1960 and companies like Carry continued to produce them up until very recently.

A detailed photo/image of the item is the only hope for making a definite ID and, should the item be quite old, that might not be possible.

John

[Anonymous]

Rod;..as John says, it's hard to identify easily by your description. The metal is more likely to be a bronze alloy, or a "white metal" zinc alloy than it is to be a lead cast.It's also more likely to be 30-40 years old than 10 or 20..sounds interesting.Hope we find out more.
regards/ Mike

[dknelson]

Two guesses would be Varney -- not cast lead but rather heavy -- and Cary. Cary was not lead as I recall but some Bowser/Penn Line bodies were.
Some of the Cary bodies are still available from Bowser. The Bowser catalog is a good investment and interesting read because contrary to what many believe, it has tons of stuff NOT to be found in the Walthers catalog, which does not include everything.
Dave Nelson

[Anonymous]

THANLKYOU ALL FOR THE REDPONCE. I HAVE PICTURES HOWEVER I DONT KNOW HOW TO POST THEM.IF YOU SEND YOUR REPLY'S TO [e-mail] THEN I CAN SEND YOU PICTURES. ON THE BACK OF ONE IT IS WRITTEN WALTHERS BUT THEY DON'T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT IT. THE COLOURS ARE KAKIE AND GREEN AND GOLD STRIPES AND LETTERING(GRAND TRUNK WESTERN) AND IS PULLED BY A CANADIAN NATIONAL RAILROAD EMD F7 FREGHT OF THE SAME COLOURING. IT ALSO MATCHES THE SAME COLOUR OF MY PASSENGER CARS. AS FOR THE MATERIAL IT IS COMPOSED OF, THERE IS NO PLASTIC SHELL OVER A FRAME. iT IS COMPLETELY THE SAME MATERIAL INSIDE AND OUTSIDE. THE PART THAT THE TRUCKS ATTACH TO ARE ALSO THE SAME. THE b UNIT HAS NO FRONT OR BACK AS I WOULD EXPECT FROM A CONVENTIONAL DUMMY BUT ABOUT 2/3'S OF THE WAY UP IS A COMPARTMENT OF SOME SORTS. THERE IS A PORT HOLE DIRECTLY UNDER THIS COMPARTMENT AND GOING BACK THERE ARE TWO MORE FOR A TOTAL OF THREE EVENLY SPACED PORTHOLES. THERE IS A LARGE FAN ON TOP AND 4 SMALLER FANS.THE REASON I BELIEVE IT TO BE LEAD IS BECAUSE OF THE WEIGHT 1.18 LBS AND THE F7 WEIGHTS IN AT ABOUT 1.06 LBS THANK YOU ALL FOR ANSWERING. THERE ARE NO ID. MARKS AT ALL,SO IT REALLY IS A MYSTERY.
ROD PAYSON, VERNON,BC CANADA