I like the aerial shot of the item. I wonder if he hit his head on the ceiling fan when he shot this picture.
Rare... TYCO... Brass...
George
"And the sons of Pullman porters and the sons of engineers ride their father's magic carpet made of steel..."
loathar wrote:http://cgi.ebay.com/Rare-Brass-HO-Scale-Train-by-Tyco_W0QQitemZ190151669167QQihZ009QQcategoryZ78178QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItemIs this true? I'm not aware of Tyco making any brass locos. Or is this just another case of a seller that's going to plead ignorance after the buyer complains?
You have to be kidding??????????????
I like the some assembly required statement. This item is from the 1960 era and is still awaiting assembly?? Must have been a real jewel!!! I believe the old Tyco's all had brass wheels to ensure the model would not make electrical contact with brass rails and not run after a week or so.
If this was imported as a Brass model, it was probably cast brass with all the wonderful detail that the normal Tyco normally ommitted.
Cheers
cacole wrote:I think Tyco made white pot metal boilers, frames, and tender floors back in the early 1960's, and that's probably what this one is. Certainly not brass, except for the tender wheels.
Correct. I knew they made those. I beleive they were actually all made by Mantua. They are not that bad if you can get them for $30-$40. (and not pay $40 S&H!) There's quite a few of these un-built kits on E-Bay every week.
I cannot find any reference, in any of my Tyco or Mantua information (by no means comprehensive), of a 4-8-2 locomotive - brass or otherwise. However, in my information about "Mantua Metals" I do find many brass locomotives and references to the switch from brass to zinc alloys (zamak) in post WWII production. This would be starting in 1947 and getting progressively more zincish as time goes on.
I know that Atlas Tool Company (today Atlas Model Railroad Co., Inc.) either imported or produced some brass locomotives in the 1950s and possibly as late as 1964. Something in the back of my mind has the name "Akaine" associated with this.<?> Any other old timers out there remember if that was the same or a different thing? Anyway many vendors besides the commonly known ones like PFM, Keystone, and Sunset experimented with brass imports during this time period. Post war Japanese labor was cheap. The bottom line is that I don't think it is out of the realm of possibility that Tyco tried this too.
What is keeping me from bidding just out of curiosity to find out what this is all about is the outrageous shipping charge!
I like the C10 mint condition rating.
From the miserable picture it appears this unit has a very poor/damaged paint job or some heavy duty corresion or both.
Enjoy
Paul
I don't think the seller has any idea what he or she is selling. It looks like they got a brass loco with Tyco instructions, and through exhaustive research came to the conclusion that it's a brass Tyco.
You can see the universal plastic cab Mantua used in the illustration. $50 is a good price for brass, but who knows what the condition really is. Why do so many buyers take blurry photos from 20 feet away?
Nelson
Ex-Southern 385 Being Hoisted
SteamFreak wrote: I don't think the seller has any idea what he or she is selling. It looks like they got a brass loco with Tyco instructions, and through exhaustive research came to the conclusion that it's a brass Tyco.
Cox 47 wrote:If I remeber right Mantua did have a Brass engine back in early 50's it was a small engine maybe 2-6-0 or 4-6-0 and i think it was a eastern road maybe B&M but the Ebay engine is not Brass....Cox 47
Mantua did indeed make two brass locos in the late 40s and early 50s. A nice little 4-4-0 they called "Belle of the Eighties", and a 2-6-0 they nnamed the "8-Ball Mogul." They both shared the same basic boiler. There was a neat article in MR back in the mid-Fifties on detailing the 4-4-0.
Far as I know, those were the only brass locos they made. Never as large a locomotive as is on the eBay auction. And Tyco NEVER made brass. The loco may be an old Varney. Varney made some large, cast brass steam, including, I believe, a Consolidation, a Mike, a Mountain and a Northern. Their large tenders looked a lot like the later Mantua die-cast ones.
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Gary M. Collins gmcrailgNOSPAM@gmail.com
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"Common Sense, Ain't!" -- G. M. Collins
http://fhn.site90.net
gmcrail wrote:Mantua did indeed make two brass locos in the late 40s and early 50s. A nice little 4-4-0 they called "Belle of the Eighties", and a 2-6-0 they nnamed the "8-Ball Mogul." They both shared the same basic boiler. There was a neat article in MR back in the mid-Fifties on detailing the 4-4-0.Far as I know, those were the only brass locos they made. Never as large a locomotive as is on the eBay auction. And Tyco NEVER made brass. The loco may be an old Varney. Varney made some large, cast brass steam, including, I believe, a Consolidation, a Mike, a Mountain and a Northern. Their large tenders looked a lot like the later Mantua die-cast ones.
Here's the Mantua literature page from HOSeeker, which shows everything from the early 50's to the present day Mantua Classics. There was never any large brass produced, and certainly no brass under the Tyco name.
Gandy Dancer wrote:--snip--Atlas Tool Company (today Atlas Model Railroad Co., Inc.) either imported or produced some brass locomotives in the 1950s and possibly as late as 1964. Something in the back of my mind has the name "Akaine" associated with this.<?> Any other old timers out there remember if that was the same or a different thing?
--snip--
Atlas Tool Company (today Atlas Model Railroad Co., Inc.) either imported or produced some brass locomotives in the 1950s and possibly as late as 1964. Something in the back of my mind has the name "Akaine" associated with this.<?> Any other old timers out there remember if that was the same or a different thing?
I'm not sure who the US importer was, but "Akane" was the brainchild of a single Japanese modeler who decided that there was a niche for brass USRA locomotives and set out to produce them. They were of excellent quality (I have fond memories of a 2-6-6-2 Mallet that I sold to a Chessie fan when I decided to go to Japanese prototype.) IIRC, Akane found itself acting as a training ground for workers who were then snapped up by the Japanese electronic industry. I don't know what eventually happened to the company.
Agree!! The shipping charge is almost certainly more than the original LHS price of a pristine kit.
Chuck (modeling Central Japan in September, 1964)
Why are you guys ridiculing this poor ebayer?
"This is a rare HO scale train piece made by Tyco. Made in the 1960's this piece is now a rare collectible, and can be yours (for a price of course)."
If it was made in the 60s then it must be a rare "piece". We all know that.
But wait theirs more!
" Included a brass Missouri Pacific Line Mountain 4-8-2 Locomotive. There are also blue prints and some assembly is required."
Those blue prints are a valuable addition; as I am still looking for blue prints to go with my engines. Here they are included! And people want to know why its called idiotbay.
We need to get her together with the 1.2K Athearn BB engine guy.
Jim
I'm just wondering, how many, if any, of you bothered to ask the seller for more information?,
a more detailed description?,
a clearer, close-up picture of the loco and/or the paperwork?,
or the reason for the high shipping fee with included insurance?,
before passing judgement on the seller as a crook, or as to the quality, condition, and identification, of what is being offered for sale.
doesn't that just make you proud.
Anybody?.....Nobody?.... Bueller?.....Bueller?....Bueller?
loathar wrote:River-Eagle- I sent the seller an E-Mail asking for more details before I started this thread this mourning. I asked how they knew it was a brass Tyco since none where made let alone with that wheel configuration. No responce yet.
I sent her a message after reading this advising her to relist it with clear, closeup photos of the entire loco, including the underside so that any manufacturers name will be visible. No response either. I guess she figures we're trying to cheat her out of her rare Tyco.
somethings gone wrong with shipping calculator!!!
from Dover, DE
to NYC ZIP 10001 $14.25
ST LOUIS ZIP 63101 $40.15
CALIFORNIA ZIP 92328 $69.10
insc included priority mail, the price difference east coast vs west coast, should be only a dollar or so
_________________________________________________________________
river_eagle wrote:I'm just wondering, how many, if any, of you bothered to ask the seller for more information?,a more detailed description?,a clearer, close-up picture of the loco and/or the paperwork?, or the reason for the high shipping fee with included insurance?, before passing judgement on the seller as a crook, or as to the quality, condition, and identification, of what is being offered for sale.
I sent an eMail also stating that some people were discussing this engine. No response yet.
I downloaded and enhanced the photo and it looks like there are driver rods. Trying to sharpen the photo starts to cause some distortion. Not 100% sure though.
I know some people who sell on eBay and many sellers use terms that may not b e correct but will show up in an eBay search. A example I have seen more than once, a steam engine is "engine train car or "engine train tender coal car". Throw in "rare" or some other term.
Rich
If you ever fall over in public, pick yourself up and say “sorry it’s been a while since I inhabited a body.” And just walk away.