I was sent to this forum from Nelson at Tyco forum, because he said someone here would know what I’m looking for. I have a solid brass presumably working steam engine (never played with). Purchased by my grandfather in 1963 for $400 (price tag still on it). It’s an Akane U.S.R.A. 2-10-2 Heavy. I have a friend that hassles me to buy it, but I’d like to know a little more about it’s history, quality, reputation, value, and anything else you know about it. I’ve looked at the box for 20 years and I know nothing about it. It’s intrigued me for a long time and I’m not really wanting to part with it since it’s all I have from my grandfather. Any information would be really appreciated. Thanks,
Jessica
$400?? Is this an O scale model?? In 1963 an HO brass engine wouldn’t cost that much, maybe $100-200 tops I’d think.
Anyway, this forum is for classic “real” trains, you might get more help posting this over on one of the Kalmbach Model Railroader forums.
It’s an HO. The price tag is still on it. I’ve looked around and was told I would find what I was looking for here. Guess not.
I can not find this particular train anywhere on the internet. I’ve spent hours trying to find it. I can’t say much more about it other then it’s unpainted. I’m interrested in the actual train’s history as well. Believe it’s modeled from the Erie line???
Jessica, this branch of the Kalmbach forums is designed to discuss full size trains.
You can find helpful discussions on model trains on this branch-
http://cs.trains.com/forums/88/ShowForum.aspx
The Dan’s Train Depot brass price and data guide indicates a current value of $300 for that model.
That sounds right, I still can’t believe it cost $400 in 1963; when I started in the hobby in the early seventies HO brass wasn’t near that expensive. Unfortunately from a value standpoint, brass made before about 1990 often didn’t run that well. You were buying brass for the detailing, and often had to work on the engine to get it to run as well as cheaper kit or RTR engines…and then you had to paint it, or hire someone to paint it for you.
USRA 2-10-2s (or copies of USRA 2-10-2s) were used by many railroads. The USRA operated the US railroads during WW1, and made several standard locomotive designs during that time as a way to encourage the use of interchangeable parts etc. Many of the designs were popular, and USRA-clones continued being built into the early 1950’s. So unless it’s marked on the box, this engine could be a model of an engine used by any number of railroads.
That was a well-built model, and remains so even today, although the detail level is not up to today’s standards. If yours is still in its original box, it will show when it was built, and by whom, and also the name of the person who tested it.
I recently rebuilt one of these locos for a good friend - we had talked about this project for a long time but hadn’t been able to find a suitable loco to use as the starting point. I came across it one day at a hobby shop in the area - it had been remotored with a large, good-quality can motor, and other than some very minor damage, was in very good condition. It ran great. My friend bought it and I rebuilt it to match a particular prototype.
Below are a few photos, but if you’d like to check out the complete rebuild, look HERE (be forewarned, there are a lot of pictures) [swg]
Here’s the loco pretty much as I found it (the original tender is not shown - it was a USRA long-type):
Here’s the prototype which we were trying to replicate (the photo is out of Mainline Modeler, from the Charles T. Felstead Collection) :
This is the unmodified chassis:
The partially stripped-down loco (with a new wheelset in the lead truck)
And a “builder’s photo”:
Finally, a couple of “in service” shots:
[IM
Welcome to the forum.
We are an informative group but we are not soothsayers and we really wish to help you if we can. Queries like yours automatically generates–sometimes heated–discussion within the forum; what is prime rib to one may be undercooked pot roast to someone else.
I have to ask: are you absolutely positutely sure that your grandpappy purchased this model in 1963? Akane attempted a quasi-mass production of steam engines in the early '60s and their models were perhaps a little cheaper than some others but $400 sounds suspiciously high for a new Akane anything circa 1963. I may be wrong–and I’m sure someone will correct me if I am and that will be to my enlightenment–but I don’t recall any Crown or Tenshodo models costing more than about 249 smackers in that distant era.
What may have happened is that your grandpappy made a vanity purchase of a model that was out of production and had been inflated in price by a merchant who had a rare item in his inventory.
This thread is in the Model Railroader section though, which is where your link points… Maybe a moderator moved it…
[#welcome] to the forums!
Docter Wayne has pretty much answered your question for you. Good luck!
Hmmm…My Brass Guide, Spring 2008 volume states that this 1963 Akane issue had an MSRP of (only) $75. Most HO brass locomotive models of the era had retail prices in the $40 to $50 range. The guide gives it a current value of $300. I can’t imagine why your grandfather’s model has a $400 price tag.
Mark
Those 1963 $75 are equal to $528 now.
Mark
$400.00 beans for a locomotive in 1963??? YIKES, A new house was $20,000, gas was 30¢ a gallon, dozen eggs 55¢, chocolate bar 5¢. $400 in 1963 was a LOT of money, something’s wrong with the price tag.
Around that time as a teenage modeler I bought a brass Shay for $60.00 from a freindly LHS. Owner let me pay for it $3.00 a week from my paper route. Later I bought a brass 2-6-0 with a Vanderbilt tender for $35.00. $400.00 does seem to be a little steep for those days!
The Akane locomotives were some of the best built and quietest locomotives ever built… They pulled exceptionally well. I purchased an Akane SP AC12 cab forward for a friend of mine in the earyl 70’s for $125.00. This is long after Akane had gone out of business. A good price, because you could not find them at the train shows for under $200.00. As stated, the details were not up to todays standards, but darn good then and pretty good now.
In my opinion that answers the question. Don’t sell it. What difference do any of those other things make? Even if it by modeling standards it was junk or if it was a high craftsmanship rare valuable piece, it would be “worth” more to you.
Get a nice covered display box for it and put it on the shelf over the fireplace or in the trophy case or something.
My guess is that is not the 1963 price tag. He may have bought it years later from a dealer. Caboose Hobbies routinely prices their vintage brass in the $400 and higher range; I offer them as an example. Before I knew the ways of the vintage brass world, I paid $365 to Caboose Hobbies for a brass shay, I later sold it on eBay for $180.
Regardless, I imagine that the sentimental value is greater than the price you could get. I suggest looking at display cases and keeping it out where you can use it as a reminder of the things your grandfather valued. I have a radio controlled Douglas DC-3 airplane that I could “part out” or sell entirely for a couple of grand, but my dad built it it - it’s a lot about of who he was. It makes a nice ceiling decoration (8 foot span and all).
Micro-Mark (micromark.com) is one option for display cases.
Jessica, of the 175 heavy 2-10-2s built, 25 went to the Erie. The rest went to the B&LE, CB&Q, C&S and the PRR.
Cheers,
Mark.
And what a nice job you did, Wayne. As always, I’m impressed with your work! Thanks for sharing it.
All the best,
Mark.
Thank you for the kind words, Mark. The CNR prototypes were actually USRA Light 2-10-2s, puchased second hand from the Boston & Albany: we both felt that the Akane Heavy version looked like a good starting point, though. It took some time to gather sufficient photos and the detail parts to be used, and, true to form, Bachmann released their USRA 2-10-2 not too long after the conversion work started. [banghead] She’s a good runner and a great puller - I cast a new boiler weight for her, as that big can motor made her back-heavy, and the loco, sans tender, weighs a balanced 32 oz. [:-^]
Wayne