2015 Williams by Bachman

So who is distributor?

Heartland Hobby Wholesale

Try telling that to the dealers who are still trying to sell MTH PS1 engines and Lionel TMCC engines at original list price..

Beautiful pair of AMT F7's, brr.  Very nice condition considering they are around 60 years old.  What do they have for motors and how well do they run?  I've always liked the Santa Fe blue and yellow paint.  Thanks for posting.

Same thoughts here.......love that AT&SF Blue!

Are they anything like WbB units of today chassis wise???

I haven't run them in years. They just sit in their boxes on a display shelf. It has one open frame motor. The gears are a very thick nylon type plastic. Two of the wheels have traction tires, but they are probably 1/8" thick, not like the thin ones used on modern equipment. I think they are just forward and reverse and can be locked in one direction or the other.

 

I remember be suprised at how well it pulled. It compares favorably to my 2343's, perhaps a little quieter. The powered unit is quite heavy.

 

I don't own any Williams F-7's, so I don't know how the chassis compares.

 

I go back and forth on weather I want to sell them. They are so unique it would be nice to see them dispayed/ran where they would be more appreciated than in my basement, but then again they are so unique, especially with the boxes, that I really like them, especially knowing that they run well as well as display nicely.

I got my post about 3 years ago removed from Bachmann williams forum when I asked why they did such a high msrp and 99% of the dealers sell them for anywhere from 30 - 60% less. They didn't like a direct honest question. They even at one time tried to force there sellers to list there msrp in there adds or be dropped as a dealer but for 1 the state of Maryland stepped in and told them they can not do that the price a dealer prints is his business there was actually about 5 states that did that and I believe one was PA also where there out of. 

The only item I really liked that WBB produced but then a few years later discontinued was the scale GG1 other wise I can take or leave them it just depends how I feel that day. 

I finally wired 2 of my Williams locos in series, what an improvement!  They run nicely at 10 volts and the sound works better.  Also they don't slow down when the when the horn or bell is used.  I'm wondering if I wire my RS3 in series if the diesel sound will be louder as it can be operated at a higher voltage.  Does anyone have an idea why Williams wired their locos in parallel and not in series? 

 

Thanks for the response, brr.  I think you should keep those F7s.

I've got 3 Williams F-3's, 2 geeps, an FA, and an NW switcher. I re-wired all to series. They are excellent runners. I have no idea why they come wired in parallel.

 

When I see a set of AMT/KMT set of F-7's come up on e-bay, and see what they sell for, I think I should sell. Prices aren't going to get higher in the future. On the other hand, they were quality-built toys from an era I like, and they are different. I remember a Williams ad in Model Railroader from the early or mid-80's offering these engines with the same Santa Fe paint scheme. Does anyone else remember these ads, and more importantly, has anyone ever seen one?

brr:

 

In the first attachment is a scan of page 15 of the 1984 Williams catalog which shows a Santa Fe F-7 AA in the blue & yellow war bonnet paint scheme.

 

To answer Dave’s and BAR’s question, the second attachment is a scan of two paragraphs from the AMT section of the 1986 “Greenberg’s Guide to Kusan Trains” book.  Note the comments on the motors and the pulling power of those diesels which confirms brr’s operating experience.  

 

It also mentions that the B units like the one shown on the 1953 AMT catalog cover I posted yesterday were never made. 

 

FYI there is a Yahoo Group dedicated to AMT and its “descendents”.  Here’s a link:

 

AMT_Kusan_KMT_Kris_Williams_Trains - Yahoo Groups

 

HTH,

 

Bill

How do you perform the re-wiring to series with the WBB engines I have a few of them and would like to try!!

 

Also I have a F-7 Atlantic Coast Line I picked up in Florida from A a hobby store that was getting rid of its inventory to only sell sets. WBB uses a different Purple paint (a faded look) not the Lionel which is really "rich" purple. I've thought about selling it since Lionel has a LionChief F-3 coming out, but since I still have youngins to run trains I don't mind if they have fun with the ones I didn't pay a lot for. Not to mention I've grown to like that F-7

Take off the shell

Each motor has one blue wire and one yellow wire. The colors may be different, but the technique is the same.

-Follow the blue wire from one motor back to the board

-cut that wire at the board

-Follow the yellow wire from the other motor to the board

-cut that wire at the board

-Take the two wires, one from each motor that you disconnected from the board, and hook these two wires to each other. Solder them and insulate with heat shrink, or use a wire nut instead.

-It does not matter which wire from which motor, as long as you take a different color from each motor.

-test run the loco before putting the shell back on

Thank You Thank You Roy Boy

 

You make it sound easy

 

I will try it this weekend!!

I would leave a little wire of each at the board encase you ever want to switch it back just tape the loose wires with some electrical tape or wire nuts

Excellent idea.

It is that easy. Go for it!

Will do

And I'll post back over the weekend!!

 

Thanks everybody!!

No cutting, no soldering, totally reversible:

- remove both 4 pin connectors from the main board

- remove the blue wire from one connector, the yellow wire from the other

- replace the four pin connectors on the main board, each now has three wires

- slide a piece of heat shrink tubing over either the yellow or the blue wire

- cut a 3/4" piece of bare #20 solid wire

- insert the #20 wire into each of the metal connectors of the blue and yellow wires

- the blue and yellow wires are now connected

- (optional) put your loco on the track to test the connection

- slide the heat shrink tubing over the blue / yellow wire connection

- hold lighted match under the heat shrink tubing for a couple of seconds

 

Allan

Done a number with the cut and solder method.....this is great outside the box thinking!

Thanks. Regards, Allan

On Fri, Feb 20, 2015 at 1:32 PM, O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum <
alerts@hoop.la> wrote:

Bachmann has to bring back the K-Line F-7 and the K-Line GP38-2 because they were made in few railroad schemes.

 

Andrew

Bachmann has to bring back the K-Line Evans Products Covered Steel Coil Car, since they never got to produce very many railroad names and paint schemes.

 

Andrew

I have a Williams brass class J, absolutely beautiful and runs really well especially with the MTH PS2 upgrade. The new stuff just doesnt compare

Bachmann has to bring back the K-Line ACF Center Flow 2-bay covered hopper that has a low height because it matches railroads that never got put on it when K-Line was making it.

 

Southern Pacific, SL-SF Frisco, BN, Denver & Rio Grande Western, SP/Union Pacific, D&RGW Union Pacific are the ones that were missed during the K-Line years.

 

They could make it from plastic instead of aluminum this time.

 

Andrew

Well...? How did it go?

I like the Amtrak Genesis with the Blue and Silver scheme we see 99% of the time when the Crescent rolls through town.  Are they the only ones putting out a Genesis in that color scheme?

 

Matt - If memory serves me correctly, the Williams Crown Edition brass locomotives of that era were built by Samhongsa brass in Korea who then produced most of the same steamers for Weaver and later in die cast for MTH. The J, the PRR T1, and the GS4 Daylight were especially beautiful. All of them had too many shiny parts however and would benefit greatly from some selected light weathering or blackening of wheels at the minimum. The addition of PS2 or ERR with sound will certainly give you a fine runner!

Matt M,

   The Williams Brass J Class, with a P2 upgrade is probably the best stuff that you are going to get, IMO nothing today is going to come close to it's quality wise.  Man that is some serious train stuff.  Not fair comparing it to any of the WBB stuff, two completely different quality worlds there.

PCRR/Dave

The one thing I hope is the Southern 44-tonner does not use the 1957 number as advertised. They always show engine 1951, but say it will be numbered 1957. Southern did not own any 44-tonners with that number. They went from 1950 - 1953 for those bought by Southern. Those brought in by merger had different number series.

 

I wish the ACI label shown in their ads does not appear either. Ran more years without in the same scheme.

 

Either way, I will probably repaint mine into either the Southern green scheme or renumber the black for the old A&EC units obtained by merger.

Have you checked the MTH Website? He may have made them in that scheme. You can do a product search then check for a dealer who has them in stock.

I'll probably buy the Phase one Genesis

What you say is correct, to my recollection. These were Samhongsa items, and were pretty shiny-looking. Also, compared to today's offerings, I remember them being a bit plain and devoid of detail parts.

Matt,

I was told to search the Forum that someone had a video on doing the conversion.  Was it you, or do you know who it was?  Thanks