Tom View my layout photos! http://s299.photobucket.com/albums/mm310/TWhite-014/Rio%20Grande%20Yuba%20River%20Sub One can NEVER have too many Articulateds!
QUOTE: Originally posted by twhite And if they run a little rough, well, there's no cure like a $25 NWSL can motor to perk them up and get them running just as nice as the newer locos.
I too would like to know about the availability of PFM equipment. Where to look?
There are used brass dealers with websites such as Dan Glasures Brass Trains or the Caboose in Wolcott Ct. or caboose hobbies in Denver just to mention 3 that have nice inventorys of brass. most still advertise in MR.
Check out this Key H8 Allegheny I purchased wayyy reasonably from CHs just a few mos. ago
My how times flies. I have found a couple more on ebay and am still looking for a Yellowstone. My Sierra now has DCC and runs regularly. There are really a lot of things on Ebay that I look at weekly. Good hunting.
ARTHILLThanks. Its been 25 years and its good to be back. I did find and Old Sierra 2-6-6-2 that I drooled over when I was too poor to own it. It doesn't run all that good but it looks nice. I found some old cataloges in my magizines, Good stuff.
There was another discussion on the Sierra 2-6-6-2 some time back and NWSL will be developing a total regearing kit for this locomotive.
I was in touch with NWSL as I also have a Sierra 2-6-6-2 and while it runs fine it sure is noisy and I contacted NWSL about regrearing and I was told to hold on til the end of the year and the kit for the 2-6-6-2 Sierra should be ready.
Bob Hayes. You didn't mention Westside Models or Balboa. *** Truesdale retired, but still has a model railroad in California.
Bob,
Dick's layout has been gone for several years now. He sold his house in Central CA and moved to Southern CA. There was an article on Dick in the gazette a couple of years agp.
Guy
see stuff at: the Willoughby Line Site
Search under "HO brass" on the famous auction site (usual caveats apply), presuming you're looking for an HO engine. Note that not all PFM engines are listed as such, so it's worth looking through carefully if you know what you're looking for.
Mike Lehman
Urbana, IL
Tenshodo, United, Fujiyama are possible additional search terms
Ed
I am probably not alone in associating Pacific Fast Mail with the back cover of Model Railroader magazine. Their ad was always there back in the day.
Some of us remember when PFM also marketed switch machines (Tenshodo I believe) and a line of very high quality books. And while they did not exactly advertise it, they also carried a line of spare parts and castings. Sometimes even spare tenders would be imported and quietly offered for sale.
Dave Nelson
No one is stuck in a time warp. I've been into the hobby for some 3 or 4 years now, am only 28, and would love to have some brass engines. Nothing large either. Atlantic's, Mogul's, Hudson's, Prairie's, Con's, Mikado's, I think the biggest would be Berk's and Mohawk's. I could never afford one though. If I had the money there is a small list of non-train related items. The cheapest i have notices was at the hobby store I partisan, a pair of brass GP30's painted for Milwaukee with DCC already installed. They were $900.
Out of curiosity has there ever been a company that made brass engines in N scale?
Some nice chap whose name I forgot has compiled an on-line N Scale Locomotive Encyclopedia, which you may find here
Keep checking around with different dealers and auction sites. The market can be pretty soft for many brass models, depending on prototype, and I've seen some real steals come up on that famous auction site.
Part of this market softness is due to DCC, as the vast majority of brass is not decoder-ready. It's not that big a deal to convert -- at least I hope not, as I'm getting ready to finish my first brass steam loco decoder install as soon as I can get my hands on a needed backup light casting.
Hi all,
Pacific Fast Mail remained in minimal operation until just a few years ago when owner Don Drew passed away. For most of it's last decade PFM focused on publishing railroad related books. Don owned a small office building in Edmonds, WA, on the shores of Puget Sound, that served as PFM's headquarters. The BNSF (former GN) mainline from Seattle to Stevens Pass runs right next to the building. The building has remained in the Drew family, who are now renting out the space to other businesses. Anyone who ever visited the PFM offices may remember their display layout in the third floor conference room.
The layout featured HO and HOn3 trackage, including a short section of dual gauge. All track work was hand laid using nickle silver rail. PFM was one of the first to offer NS rail back in the late 50's. Most of the turnouts used Tenshodo switch machines. The scenery and structure models were beautifully crafted from scratch. All in all it was an exceptional display of what was possible in model railroading when the layout was built in the late 60's.
Oddly enough, none of the new building tenants were interested in having a model railroad in their office. The Drew family contacted the Edmonds Historical Museum last year to see if they would be interested in the layout. Naturally, all parties were very enthused with the prospect. The Drews could see a piece of family history preserved, and the museum could have a ready made display with local historical significance. The hitch... How do you get a layout built in place out of the room?... down three floors?... and across town?... without destroying it???
That's where my crew of model railroad builders and I came in. We devised a play to segment the layout into two pieces...
crate it, lower it by ropes and pulleys,
and move it to the museum on a trailer.
We took our time restoring the layout as close to it's original condition as possible. We saved and re-used the cabinets that supported the layout, the backdrop, and replaced all loose items to the locations where we found them.
On June 25 the museum opened the display to the public. More than 300 visitors came to see the layout back in operation. Numerous museum volunteers put in many hours to help with the move and prepare the new space in the museum for it's installation. My crew and I all hope that museum visitors will appreciate their efforts and ours to preserve this piece of Edmonds and model railroading history.
Please forgive the quality of some of the pictures posted here. I'm saving the best photos for possible publication in an article about the move.
Dave,
Great post. Thanks for taking the time to put it all up on the forum.
Wow, neat to see a piece of model railroad history that was seen by relatively few people preserved in a way that gives many more people access to see it. Thanks to the family, the museum, to you and all those who donated and volunteered to make this possible.
One more reason to visit a part of the country that is still unfamiliar to me.
Thanks guys,
Glad you like seeing the PFM layout. It was a fun project for everyone involved.
Miehman, the great Northwest awaits! There's a LOT of great railfaning locations around Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, and particularly up in the Cascades and along the Columbia Gorge. I don't think there's any better way to come into town than on the Empire Builder across Stevens Pass and along the shores of Puget Sound. You pass right by the PFM building! If you get off the train in Edmonds you're within walking distance of the Historical Museum where the layout now resides.
There. That's my good deed for the Chamber of Commerce.