After all of these post about building shays i think i would like to buy a kit. And not even my dad has a shay (he has over 10 boxes of trains) even a bigboy. Anyone know a good website to get one from?
Are you thinking of a Shay kit, or a more basic steam engine? I would recommend building a basic steam engine first since the Shays are so complex.
Currently, there are no USA manufacturers making steam engine kits. Bowser brings out small runs every once in a while (currently, the T-1 4-4-4-4 is the only one available), but that’s about all you’ll find for a brand new kit that’s semi-affordable.
If you look around eBay or train shows, you can often find unbuilt kits by Mantua/Tyco, MDC/Roundhouse, and maybe a couple others like Varney and Bowser for pretty good deals. At the last train show I went to, I got an MDC 2-8-0 kit for around $50, and I also saw a Mantua 4-6-0 for about the same. MDC and Mantua made some of the best starter kits around, and since they were so common, they can be found for not too much $$$.