I received a mailer from Williams today and was rather impressed. Almost an entire mid-fifties Lionel catalog on one sheet of paper.
I favor Lionel postwar and these look good. Anyone with experience with the engines?
I like the idea of a brand new GG-1 for $250 or a 773 Hudson for $400.
Only reservation are those “traction tires.” Are they as bad as I have heard?
John Kerklo
TCA 94-39455
www.Three-Rail.com
I have four William’s engines and have never had a problem with any of them. The oldest of mine is about 8 years old and it runs as it did on day one!
I have 2 Williams engines an F M trainmaster an a brand new F7 both run beautifully.
Once you get Williams, you will never go back.[:)][:)]
I have a decent collection of Premier MTH and Lionel newer engines. Guess what I run the most. My beloved Williams scale GG-1 and C&) E-7’s. Great sturdy runners and no hassle. I recommend highly.
Their GP9 is a favorite of mine. Quiet and steady runners, these units will just CREEP along if you want. Reliable, dependable power. Also, they don’t lord over smaller sized 0-27 rolling stock as some of the more modern Williams locos do.
Carl
JOHN,
I’ve been selling WILLIAMS for 10 years, I have YET to have somebody ask for any “spare” traction tires. The “traction tires” you may heard “negative feedback” on may have been the old LIONEL MPC era. They were horrible.
If you like the WIlliams catalog prices, check out MY DISCOUNT prices!!![:0][:D]
Thank you Marty. You do have good prices.
By the way, your website has some cute graphics, but I could use a larger screen area for displaying the product lists.
John Kerklo
TCA 94-38455
www.Three-Rail.com
When I decide (afford) a new engine I will definately be buying Williams. I have not heard one negative complaint about them and they are just what I like, simple, no frills engines that look great.
Dave
Here’s my experience with Williams:
I purchased the Williams scale GG1 about 5 years ago. It has always run like a charm, and I think it could pull out tree stumps. Once, it fell out of my lap onto the floor while I was lubricating it, but it “kept on ticking.”
On the other hand, I’ve had a set of Williams 72’ Madison cars for a few years, and I would consider the quality to be second rate. They came with at least a half-dozen things wrong with them, and, over time, the design, materials and workmanship have always seemed to me to be mediocre–certainly a step below my Lionel passenger cars.
By the way, I joined the Williams “club” and got their Rock Island caboose to run with my Lionel Rock Island GP7. Even if I get no other benefits from joining, I figure it was a pretty decent deal. It’s a nice caboose that lists for $40, and with the club you get it for $25 with no tax or shipping. I left my info for the club on their answering machine on a Tuesday, and was very pleasantly surprised when the UPS man rang the bell on Friday with the caboose. Now that’s good service!
Keith
All of my WILLIAMS since 1988 still run great with no problems at all.They really are a sight to see on Super O track.
…keep the rails polished…[#welcome]
My last four purchases were Williams and I have another on order. They are great runners and really look good. I remove the stock electronics and install TMCC with electrocouplers and (on a couple) sound. No complaints, what-so-ever. They are just solid, attractive toy trains.
Bill
Thanks for the recommendations.
I am encouraged. It sounds like Williams is an unsung hero of the hobby.
Why don’t they get as much press and reviews as the bigger names?
John Kerklo
TCA 94-38455
www.Three-Rail.com
Glad to see Ma & Pa Jct. posting here.
IMO, the Williams diesels are the best value for their money. I have a U-boat, SD-45, and a GP-9, in blue & yellow Santa Fe, of course; all were less than $150, and they are pretty near scale to boot. The SD-45, is even more scale length than the railking version and it has prototype handrails, unlike the others.
All engines come with metal gears, 2 motors, and they really have pulling power.
JOHN,
CTT and OGRR has done several “reviews” on the WILLAMS engines, but not lately. If you think about it, WIlliams has not really made a “NEW” engine lately.
Consequently, no new reviews.
I just joined the club and got a GN caboose. It was delivered pretty fast and NO shipping. I think this is the beginning of a beautiful friendship.
I hadn’t looked at this topic, because I hadn’t gotten the flyer in the mail yet. I swear My post office is so slow.
The stuff looks great, but I caught one minor goof. The Burlington set, has a burlington Northern tank car shown. Where did that come from???[swg]
I too have some older Williams engines, and they ARE great runners, so good in fact, that I’m thinking of converting them to TMCC.
What about the “E Unit?”
My automatic layout uses power to track blocks to control the trains. Engines have to have their e-unit locked in forward, by golly, always has to come up in forward, even after being un-powered for a time.
Can the Williams engines be set to always be in “forward?”
John Kerklo
TCA 94-38455
www.Three-Rail.com
John,
WILLIAMS engines ALWAYS start in forward! No need to lock it in any mode.
The “e-unit” still works like any other e-unit, except when the power is turned off, like in a block, for 7 seconds, it will automatically “reset” to “forward”. When the power comes back on , it will start in forward. When you pu***he direction button quickly each time (say less then a second), it will sequence through the normal nuetral-forward-neutral-reverse, like any other engine.
Hope this helps.
Actually, no.
With a mechanical e-unit, you can turn the e-unit on, set the engine for forward, then turn the e-unit off and it will stay in “forward” … forever (except turning the engine over).
What you describe seems decidedly awkward. A time dependent direction control? Are you sure? What is “forward?” Do I have to run diesels in a certain direction?
With a block power control system, power for a block can be off for any length of time: very short to very long. With such an e-unit, an engine would pause or reverse after a brief power interruption. Pausing is not good; reversing is very bad.
I have a Williams FM Trainmaster I acquired, oh, maybe eight years ago. I have run this engine under block power control. I can’t say it hasn’t been modified, but it works fine.
Has the e-unit changed?
Can the new “e-unit” be easily bypassed in the new engines?
Thanks for your help.
John Kerklo
TCA 94-38455
www.Three-Rail.com