At the hobby shop recently someone brought in a NJ internation HO scale brass CB&Q 0-5 4-8-4 for $200 painted and weatherd. Does this seem like a reasonable price? It’s been really tempting me.
EDIT: Found one on caboose hobbies, unpainted for $550 http://www.caboosehobbies.com/catalog/product_info.php?manufacturers_id=&products_id=87727
Do it for only $200!
Well, if Caboose has it for 550 unpainted, and you can get a painted and weathered for 200, then yes. Although be careful because it may not run.
If it fits your railroad, I can’t imagine how you could go wrong unless some key parts are missing. Even it the motor is trash, and the paint lousy, those things can be fixed and you’d still have a handsome locomotive.
Matthew:
First of all, a question–what is your minimum radius? Reason I ask is that most NJ International brass steamers are built to VERY close tolerances. For a 4-8-4 you may need a minimum 26-28" radius, or possibly even a 30". I have a couple of NJ International Rio Grande 4-8-2’s, and even a 28" radius is asking for trouble unless the track is practically perfect. I’ve even had to adjust the front truck on one of mine on my 34" minimum. Frankly, IMO, they are not the best running brass locos ever produced, even though their detail is of a very high order.
Another complaint I have about their brass steamers is that they are underweight and underpowered. I’ve had to re-weight and re-balance both of my steamers, and drop new motors in them to get them to run well.
I would check with the seller with these questions, and if he has re-worked the model, and you’ve got the radius to handle it, then I’d say $200 is a very fair price. But if it’s ‘as is’ out of the box, save the paint-job, then I personally think you’ve got some work ahead of you.
Just my opinion, understand. But of my large brass fleet, the NJ Internationals have been the ones that have needed the most work.
Tom
I just quickly ran through a list of 4-8-4’s and they varied from $400.00 to $2,000.00 Sounds like a good deal especially if you can actually touch it, try it on a track and see if it has not been abused.