I am a three rail o-gauger, but came across this engine in a box of train material I received from my father.
It has never been run, as evidenced by the lack of any wear on teh wheels.
The label on teh box reads:
SAMHONGSA
1050 Class
2-6-2 Praire
There are no documents in teh box, but the box is complete with the foam and it appears to have been stored for quite some time.
Any information someone could provide regarding value and/or market for these will be greatly appreciated.
thank you
The data on the box pretty well fully identifies it – what more are you asking for, a price? Sorry, but you’re not allowed to advertise items for sale here. Someone might be able to give you a guesstimate on the possible price that it could fetch on e-Bay, but if you want to sell it, try a local hobby shop that takes consignments or list it on e-Bay.
Samhongsa is a Korean manufacturer that is still in business, so the locomotive doesn’t appear to be that old and not a rarety. The brass would have turned a darker, dull color if it was old.
The fact that it’s unpainted makes it worth more than it would be if your father had decorated it for some road name.
Good luck.
I don’t have much direct experience (have a look where I am from)… believe that it is a Santa Fe engine but I am not familiar with Samhongsas runs of engines except to say I believe the prototype has been done a few times over the years by different manufacturers. Hope this helps.
A quick easy point of reference that may be helpful is to go on ebay, type Samhongsa in the Search box and check out the various brass models there that are up for bidding. I just looked and there are quite a few of them for sale, currently.
It’s the old game of what is the book value vs. what customers are willing to pay for it.
Santa Fe alright… Had one of these engines many years ago. Sweet runners. Put some extra weight in the boiler, rebalanced it, and it would pull about 30 cars on the flats. Not a bad engine at all.
who said it was for sale?
Don’t sweat it. He doesn’t know you as well as I do. I didn’t figure you wanted to sell it.[;)]
It may be older than it looks. My understanding is that the brass manufacturers have been putting a clear sealant on their unpainted pieces to keep them from tarnishing. This has been common practice for many years.
Isn’t there any more info on the box? Did you look under the foam insert?
Elliot’s wisdom has once again prevailed. I have a Samhongsa which is about 25 years if not older and yes Elliot is right they don’t tarnish. That is sure a smart looker!
This was taken two weeks ago before I painted it. The lighting is much better in your photo.
Fergie
thanks bb.
no paper work, nothign under the foam. On teh label it says Key Limited Imports.
That’s all I know.
It’s a Santa Fe 1050 class 2-6-2 and you can probably get $325 to $375 for it on eBay. Being a Santa Fe loco, it should sell pretty well.
Andre
thank you to the majority of the folks who took the time to respond with helpful and constructive information. Your responses are very much appreciated.
Now I’m curious as to when it was made. Must be a 3 rail thing, eh Frank? [swg]
The fact that you pulled the name Key out of the deal will help narrow it down in a search. No other numbers on the label? Again it’s a 3 rail thing, we live and die by the numbers.[;)]
It’s brass and a steamer.
I just looked it up in The Brown Book. It was made in 1975 and is one of 420 imported to the US. According to the book it is the first model ever imported by Key Imports and it was reviewed in 1976 by the NMRA. As of 1994 (the last year that the book was updated), it is worth $220 in mint condition. Of course the Brown Book prices are way out of date.
It is a very nice model.
Well done Kevin!! That piece is actually quite old and rare. As for value and price guides, Ebay has gone a long way toward rendering then useless. Ebay sales represent a “spot market”, in which anything can happen. Price guides can’t keep up with those changes, nor should they. This leaves every buyer to decide what he is willing to pay.
I suspect from Frank’s original post, that he has a sentimental attachment to this piece, and rather doubt that it would find it’s way to Ebay .
Whoever published the book back in 1994, has probably given up since then, figuring the hassle wasn’t worth the sales. Do the last 11 years of the brass market have any documentation, even a simple checklist?
Kevin is spot on in his research. I took it to the local hobby shop today, as they are heavy HO and they identified it as a 1975 model. One of the fellows there collects brass engines and offered to buy it. He used the reference book you folks just discussed as a guide, offering $200.00. He didn’t mention the book is eleven years old.
I told him I was going to hang on to it.
Thanks again for the very informative responses and research you folks took the time to post.