On my lunch hour i went to a hobby shop not to far from work. Every so often i check in to see if he has any good stuff. Well on his shelf sat an Ho Walthers Bascule bridge (with the plastic wraping all gone). I have been looking for one for years. I have seen them on ebay but i am not willing to pay over $200.00 for it. When i looked at the sticker it said $50.00. Could this be right? When i went up to the owner he explained that an n scaler bought it while ago to make something out of it. The project never happened so he was selling it through the shop.I have know the show owner for a couple of years so when he said that all the parts are there i trust him. I felt so lucky because it sat in the shop all week before i picked it up. All i have to do is get home after work an get a good look at it.
Always great to find a bargain, especially if it’s something you’ve been looking for. Make sure you put it to use and not on your shelf [:D]. I have too many thing I’ve never “gotten around to”
I am building a layout inspired by chicago for a fall train show. This type of bridge can be seen from downtown chicago so its the perfect fit for the layout. Now i will have to kitbash or custom build 4 more bridges for the layout. 1 rail,1road,and 2 road with viaduct support.
Lucky you!! I have acquired the walthers blast furnace that way. Odd thing about that was it was marked at $75 (unwrapped and unassembled) sitting no further than 10’ from the wrapped models priced at $175. I would love to find the bascule bridge in HO, but those hopes fade as time marches on. I too just cannot see the costs on ebay. Too many people buying stuff up for resale at big profit.
I figured my only hope was if walther rereleased the bridge and that i thought was a slip chance.
I ran into the same issue with the Walthers Car Float and Apron kits. I couldn’t use one until I started work on Phase 2 of my layout, so I was patient while they announced the “un-retirement” of these kits. I got the Apron when they went on sale, and then waited for the Car Float itself to come back in stock. One day, I checked and it had been “retired,” again. I Googled for it, and asked at train shows. (“Sold the last one this morning.”) I contacted shops, and even had one guy laugh at me when I asked about it. (He’s an N-scaler, and wasn’t aware they had un-retired the kit prior to re-retiring it.) Then, I applied some thought. Where does Walthers send their inventory when they’re tired of carrying it? Trainworld, of course. Yup, there it was, and it arrived at my door a few days later.
Yes, there is always hope.
I model a fictional Great Lakes industrial harbor scene, so I bought one of those bridges back in 2000. Was going to use it as an aisle gateway, until somebody warned me of the impracticality of that idea. So its been sitting in its shrinkwrapped box to this day, I’m hoping I’ll find use for it on a future layout.
I view those WKW Hulett Unloaders the same way. Haven’t bought any yet because they’re too pricey for something I can’t use on my existing layout. But I’m hoping Walthers eventually puts them on sale for ~1/2 their original price, then I’ll get a few for possible future use. I’m watching their monthly sale flyers closely.
CSX,
Same here. Saw one on eBay, brand new, shrink wrap still around it.
Bought it about three years ago for $85 and have yet to open it. Simply wanted one for possible future use and figured Walthers would never re-release it.
Rich
In this hobby you will learn it is always available and usually for less than the MSRP. I have bought a number of kits that way that have not been available for 40 years, patience is all it takes.
Well, there’s one on ebay right now, the only one. It’s going for a buy it now price of $400. Golly geez, my hopes are dashed.
I have been looking for one for a while now too. I always planned to get one when they were everywhere but never got around to it. Never thought they would dissappear.
Walther’s dose this all the time, kinda like Disney’s DVD, makes one purchase now rather than later as unless you are an insider you never know when they will reissue or at what price.
I know, right before the string of reissued models i bought an model on ebay. Payed more than i realy wanted to but got in a bidding war. Then a couple months later walthser started rereleasing some kits and low and behold it was one of them. I wish walthers would do anouther round of kits because there are kits i wanted but they were not in the rereleases.
I know, right before the string of reissued models i bought an model on ebay. Payed more than i realy wanted to but got in a bidding war. Then a couple months later walthser started rereleasing some kits and low and behold it was one of them. I wish walthers would do anouther round of kits because there are kits i wanted but they were not in the rereleases.
Just in case someone besides me did not know what a Bascule Bridge looked like. [:D]
Cuda Ken
Cuda Ken posted a nice photo of a bascule bridge while I was searching for an old link to a web site on historic bridges that includes the bascule bridge at 18th Street in Chicago.
Here is the link. Be sure to click on View Photos on that link to see a number of photos and drawings.
http://www.historicbridges.org/illinois/sbrr/index.htm
Rich