Yes Lee, I know but I would like to see one anyway, the gp doesn’t do it. I do agree with the other person about the availibility of Williams trains, and I had to get mine on e-bay. They are hard for me to get ahold of here in Wisconsin also.
Regarding service, you can’t beat the Willaims lifetime warranty. The E unit on a Hudson cooked itself for some unexplained reason. Since I had kept the box that it came in, I just reboxed the loco, enclosed a note explaining the problem, and sent it to Williams. Received it back within two weeks in good as new condition. All it cost me was shipping to Williams.
Poppyl
I have started to see more Williams for sale at the train shows in Central Ohio. In fact, last fall one dealer had several tables of new Williams. I hope the trend continues.
Bought this Berk to redo for the Pennvalley.
Thank you sir! But unfortunately, on backorder [:(]
Dep
There seem to be a misconception, both in this thread and the recent one about parts suppliers (specifically, about Olsen’s) that these vendors are substantial brick-and-mortar enterprises. A few may be, but many are not. As I recall from my last catalog Williams mentioned that they only have seven employees. I know for a fact that at least one of their dealers has only one. Some of them have “real” jobs and “do trains” as a sideline. In such cases, a given individual may be a critical employee in the sense that if he or she goes off to York, gets sick, takes a vacation, gets backlogged, etc., things take a (temporary) nosedive. Last year, I heard that at one parts source an obviously critical employee had a baby and customer service may have suffered for a while. In addition, many of the actual manufacturers of both trains and parts are now overseas, as we all know; and availability is subject to the vagaries of international trade and shipping.
That said, I don’t see any reason why folks living in Wisconsin* can’t find a dealer who can supply what he and/or Williams has in stock, either at Williams in Columbia, MD, or at one of their dealers. For out-of-stock items there may be a considerable wait. In my experience they answer their phone.
Some items, previously cataloged, may be gone forever. This seems to be true of Lionel, MTH and probably all of the rest. In a sense, some catalogs often seem to be little more than trial balloons in that many quite fetching items are never actually produced. It is my impression that Lionel frequently doesn’t actually make much of what they catalog until they accumulated sufficient “pre-orders.” This can be an extremely disappointing way of doing business.
Some manufacturers have an item-locator function at their website which, while far from perfect, can be helpful. Most such websites also display a list of authorized dealers. If y
TO BF Skinner
Dealers here in Wisconsin can’t (won’t) get me specific Williams engines, I have tried. I think my best bet would be e-bay, unless Williams themselves have an item in stock. It is very true that out of stock items have a major waiting period. I gave up listening to excuses from Wisconsin dealers, and order out of state. One thing about Wisconsin people, I can’t doesn’t necessary mean cannot it usually means will not! Yes I also subscribe when I can afford to with trains, see it now, buy it now, or see it again 10 years down the line!
Dave: I have a similar situation. Only I HAVE NO dealers in my area. So I am pretty much restricted to online dealers or E-Bay. And like you, I have been fairly lucky in getting what I need on E-Bay. Lionel actually made a green JC FM Trainmaster, but it is so expensive on E-Bay for what it is (no Trainsounds and old style motors) , that it’s simply not worth what they charge for them. So i haunt E-Bay in the hopes a Williams FM will eventually pop up. [:)]
Dep
P.S. Here’s a Lionel like what I need…
My recommendation for Williams dealers: MA & Pa (Maryland) and/or JusTrains (Delaware). If it’s available, they’ll get it for you, and their prices are very good, as is their shipping. Not everything Williams (or anyone else) catalogs is available at all times, and some things do sell out rather quickly, but if you exercise some patience, the item will eventually show up. One good thing about Williams: If it’s in their catalog, it will eventually be available.
Allan makes a good point. Williams, more so than the other manufacturers, tends to produce the same locos in just about the same roadnames year in and year out. Examples include the GP-9’s, F’s, NW-2’s, Hudsons, etc. So if you miss out on one year’s delivery, you can usually get what you want the next year. I believe that the new deliveries arrive from overseas in the July/August timeframe and they start filling orders within a month or so after that.
Poppyl
Keep in mind fellas that RMT, Williams, and Weaver only produce engines and rolling stock… Lionel and MTH do those as well as accessories… so their production facilities are tooled for both, and most likely that impacts what they can produce. Not that I agree with this, but I would venture to guess that would be the ‘excuse’ floated if one were to REALLY press for answers and those answering were to slip up and answer…
This is why I have pretty much given up purchasing ONLY Lionel items. I have found that I can get what I like by other manufacturers, run them with my Lionel items, and guess what… you really can’t tell the difference (at least I can’t). Most of my engines are Lionel (I have 1 MTH Diesel set and 1 MTH Steamer), so as the livery expands that may change. I really want the Lionel B&O F7s, mostly because they come with the Legacy control equiped and will wait till they are released to get the F7s. But Williams also manufactures the B&O Baldwin Sharks (which I have always liked the look of), so I will get those in a few months as I doubt highly that Lionel will ever manufacture them… one thing that bothers me about Lionel is they seem to release EVERYTHING in NYC and PRR, but any other roadname is a crap shoot… MTH seems to do the same as well… Did the PRR run everything under the Sun? (I’m not old enough to remember the golden age of railroading, and haven’t the time to research as much as I would like)
Davidvd59, Deputy,
I symphathize with both of you. If I had a local dealer who would not order for me I’d let Jerry Williams know about it. It is frustrating to get a big shiny catalog only to find that the item you want is not available. (By the way, I haven’t received my new catalog yet…)
Some of the terminology is confusing. At their not-necessarily-current website (is anybody’s?) Williams uses the terms “In Stock,” “Back Order” and “Out of Stock.” As I read it, Back Order means that Williams has ordered the item from it’s Chinese supplier but when it will arrive remains a mystery; Out of Stock means that there are none even in the works and there may never be any more. You are welcome to your own interpretation, but that’s mine.
In addition, the stock of a given dealer is subject to similar “rules.” I’ve found that I have to ask whether Out of Stock refers to the dealer’s stock only, or to the dealer and Williams central, or the entire Williams dealer network. If you really want something you may have to badger them, so to speak.
While we’re at it, will someone explain the difference between “pre-order” and “order”?
I personally love Williams, although much of their rolling stock is too large for my needs. I prefer the size of Industrial Rail, for example. I doubt that many fanatical “Hi-Rail rivet counters” would be happy with a lot of Williams; and those who are looking for “prototypical horns” or elaborate sound systems will have to do without or make some modifications. For example, I pull a stand-alone RailSounds diecast tender behind my Williams steamer, and a RailSounds boxcar behind my Williams diesel. (I installed a microswitch to temporarily cutoff the built-in Williams horn and bell.)
Since the bulk of my “collection” is old Lionel postwar stuff I am delighted with the Williams "Golden
I run my williams trains outside in snow, rain, sleet and sunshine
and my loco below is williams gp9
JusTrains offers very fast, FREE shipping on Williams products. They also have the lowest prices I’ve found. I’ve bought from them and highly recommend!
Jim
BF wrote: “While we’re at it, will someone explain the difference between “pre-order” and “order”?” -------------
Sure thing, BF (even though you apparently don’t often agree with me). Ouch! [B)]
“Pre-order,” as the term is applied in the hobby, generally refers to ordering an item that has not yet been made. “Order” applies to anything else that is not sitting on the dealer’s shelf or in the stockroom.
Allan,
Although the question about “pre-order” was intended to be rhetorical, you get full marks for the answer, which (alas) agrees with many dictionaries, both online and off. I can almost accept it as a noun or in an adjectival form, but I balk at using it as a verb. I don’t “pre-order” anything. Either order it or I don’t; and I refuse to “pre-board” an airplane, as in “We will now pre-board people in wheelchairs.” Does that mean ushering them onto a plane that hasn’t been built yet? Whenever anyone tries to “pre-board” me, I take the train instead. Just try to imagine a self-respecting conductor crying “All pre-board?” [;)]
David,
Have you tried either Ma & Pa Junction or the Williams website? May be easier to order Williams over the internet from a reliable source. I get most of my Williams from an independant dealer in Stuart FL that I met at a train show in Port St. Lucie FL.
I personally don’t trust ebay anymore!!
Lee F.