Yes, it has been beaten to death but I run my brass. I have about twelve steam and diesel engines along with brass passenger cars from NYC,Pennsy, Great Northern, Southern; even painted my brass and applied my own road names. One of my passenger cars was just plain brass, but after several coats of grey spray pain, (nice finish), hand painted interior, decals and diaphragms it is a nice looking coach.
I weather all the stock, tweek the engines, change the tubing, grease the gears, add diaphragms then run trains. I even have a Franklin Mint NYC Hudson and run it with my rolling stock. But I admit they don’t run as well, in some cases, as my Atlas, Athearn, Bachman, Spectrum etc. The detail on the steam is magnificent but the new detail on the plastic is really good.
When I hookup a few Rapido passenger cars or the Walther’s passenger cars it is a good looking train being pulled by a beautifly detailed brass engine.
But I can understand why he had to post this because I known a number of model railroaders who had brass engines and as pretty as they were, they came with all kinds of challenges and hurdles to getting them to run and operate on layouts. Everything from running qualities to minimum radii etc.
The only brass I have ever owned are passenger cars and cabooses, never any loco’s since Rio Grande modelers have been blessed with a plastic that covers nearly every major roster item in the diesel era. I sold my brass California Zephyr and replaced it with a BLI set. Got 6 Rio Grande cabooses and two Palace Car Company Prospector combines (for Rio Grande Zephyr service.
My first US Brass was a HO-scale Ajin H10-44 in Milwaukee road scheme, and it took a whole lot of tinkering to make it work smooth on the layout I had back then with th small 18" curves.
I have also built a few (EUropean) brass kits over the years, and they have been very satisfying to operate! (why aren´t there any US brass kits?)
Even the DJH multimedia-kits require some “adjustments” before they function properly.
I admit to owning brass too. I own 4 OMI SD70ACe because those are my favorite models that were new to the market last year and I got mine in 2007 before anyone had them. So I have them and I RUN them too. They are not collectibles! I also own MTH versions now. not Athearn Genesis super light, bad sounding, and worse lighting ones though!!!
Yep’ it would be a shame not to run your brass, heres my DM&IR Yellowstone a older Akane…1961 or 62 vintage painted and Tsunami equipped on a break in run several months ago.
I agree. I love to see my brass locos in action! besides, you can’t buy a plastic version of a B&O steam loco that is very accurate. Here’s a pair of my brass engines..
My brass locos have been running ever since I assembled the kits - and most of them are old enough to run for President (i.e., 35+.) Of course, I didn’t have much choice. In the 1960s, if you wanted Japanese prototype locos it was brass or fuggeddaboudit.
OTOH, I’ve been taken to task by a Brass Collector' for, "Ruining that Max Grey Baldwin i need to complete my collection." I updated the built in 1897’ 0-8-0T model with air brakes, electric headlights and a turbogenerator, plus a directional lighting circuit and improved power pickup. I rather doubt that the hot dog was aware that the model was 1:80 scale, or that its 1067mm gauge prototype had been built for the Imperial Government Railways…
I’m with you. I’d run my brass if I had any (and it ran up to my standards). I drive my 1968 Plymouth, I write on my 1925 desk with my 1940 fountain pen and I set coffee cups on my 1960 coffee table. I like classic and quality things, but I’m not going to just look at 'em, I’m going to use 'em! I’d love to have those B&O steamers.
Yup, me too. If I didn’t have brass, I wouldn’t have much of a steam loco roster for the two railroads I model (Rio Grande/Southern Pacific). In plastic, all I’d have would be USRA-clone 2-8-8-2’s, which were originally designed as helper locomotives, or the infamous UP-clone 4-6-6-4’s that Rio Grande didn’t want and got rid of as fast as they could. And my SP roster would consist of nothing but mostly GS-4’s and various classes of AC 4-8-8-2’s.
With brass I can have models of just about every Rio Grande and SP steamer there ever was. And yes, I ‘tinker’ with them–several have had drive line and motor replacements–, and yes, they all run quite nicely, thank you, Expensive? Well, I’ve found used brass for less than current plastic.
No, running brass isn’t ‘Snob Appeal’ for me–it’s pretty essential if I want to have a representative loco roster. And I don’t regret the ‘tinkering’ at all. After all, REAL steam had to go into the shop for adjustment pretty frequently (far more frequently in some cases than my models), so for me it 's all part of the hobby. And brass is very, VERY forgiving to work with.
This thread seems to have an anti-collector undertone to it, implying that those who display their brass instead of running it are somehow not quite as good as those who run their brass locomotives.
Falling into neither camp, I have an appreciation for both. Most collectors I know spend a lot of time researching thier actual or intended collections. They know the prototype and the details of the models they collect. They spend their hobby time searching for specific models in specific condition for their collections. And they treasure their “finds”, much as the operators treasure their deals on good-running locomotives.
I have all of two brass locomotives, both low end. Both need remotoring and painting at the least to be placed on the layout. Regearing, and certainly redetailing are further in the future. But in the meantime, I can display them and do.
my salute to both operators and collectors of fine locomotives
I will take some updated pictures with the trains. I have been working on a new section. I will take pictures of the various engines and rolling stock on their boxes as well as set them up on the layout.
I haven’t used the Photobucket web site in along time so I am not sure if these images from my album will appear, but I will keep on working on it.
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