C&O Berkshire Loco

Huh?

Doesn't Birkshire have an "E" in it, like Berkshire ??

Only Lionel knows if and when they'll rerun the FlyerChief Berkshires.

Rusty

So sorry for misspelling Berkshire......I didn't realize that it was so important.

 

I can find them for sale but these people are asking 500.00 for them......no way I'll pay that much for a engine that sold new for as little as 269.00 a year ago.

Last spring at York I was told that there was probably not going to be a remake of the FlyerChief Berks for 3 years.  You may see a scale Berk with Legacy earlier and its prices will be much higher that $500.

For Legacy engine I will gladly pay 500+...................

The Lionel Scale C&O berk is really not what the originals looked like.

If you are dead set on getting a plausible Lionel C&O berk than I would look for  the earlier TMCC release... otherwise I believe MTH made a better match of the Kanawha?

 

 

     Here is what it should have sounded and ran like with TMCC added.

Carl

 

J Daddy posted:

The Lionel Scale C&O berk is really not what the originals looked like.

If you are dead set on getting a plausible Lionel C&O berk than I would look for  the earlier TMCC release... otherwise I believe MTH made a better match of the Kanawha?

 

 

The FlyerChief S Gauge Berkshire is what is being discussed...

Rusty

doh!... sorry... just had O on the brain...

BillyJack:  Would you pay $800 Plus for a scale Legacy version.  Look back to the prices of S steam locomotives and O Legacy Berks.  All were close to $1K

I would!

I would, I likely would be in on any scale steam just to keep the goods flowing.  (Now, if it were as frequent as our O Gauge brothers I might sing a different tune). 

Ben 

roundhouse bill.......I have 2 challengers 2 Ys and a big boy......for Berkshire that has separate hand rails..... tender with steps..... backup lights and operating coupler with lighted number boards with legacy controls...... 800 would be good for me .........

J Daddy posted:

The Lionel Scale C&O berk is really not what the originals looked like.

If you are dead set on getting a plausible Lionel C&O berk than I would look for  the earlier TMCC release... otherwise I believe MTH made a better match of the Kanawha?

 

 

You are right C&O berkshires had a low head light.And numbers on the face.The one lionel are from when the C&O got the PM rr.Those are pm berks with the c&o paint job.

Good Luck my Friend, if Lionel does a Reissue, it's going to be up, Up, UP, more than 1K, and a nice one, nearly new would be near that. I purchased one on the Forum late last year, that was considered good and gave more.  When I received it, I had a Lionel Legacy Service Center completely Bring it up to Like New Status. It's the 2696 Looking Good...

leapinlarry posted:

Good Luck my Friend, if Lionel does a Reissue, it's going to be up, Up, UP, more than 1K, and a nice one, nearly new would be near that. I purchased one on the Forum late last year, that was considered good and gave more.  When I received it, I had a Lionel Legacy Service Center completely Bring it up to Like New Status. It's the 2696 Looking Good...

Once again, it's the American Flyer FlyerChief Berkshire being discussed.

Rusty

Rusty Traque posted:

leapinlarry posted:

Good Luck my Friend, if Lionel does a Reissue, it's going to be up, Up, UP, more than 1K, and a nice one, nearly new would be near that. I purchased one on the Forum late last year, that was considered good and gave more.  When I received it, I had a Lionel Legacy Service Center completely Bring it up to Like New Status. It's the 2696 Looking Good...

Once again, it's the American Flyer FlyerChief Berkshire being discussed.

Rusty

Thanks for always catching these Rusty.  As a neophyte to the hobby, the many O gauge comments made on this S forum were confusing to me.  I am still a newcomer, but I am getting better at spotting misplaced entries since I now have wider knowledge of what products exist for S. Not sure why this continues to happen. It would never occur to me to make an S product comment on an HO forum for example.  Once again, thanks.

Chuck, there are two reasons.  Nothing tragic, but it does happen because Lionel and MTH both make O and S products:

The OP didn't put Flyer, American Flyer, S Gauge, S, etc. in the Subject line

The responder didn't see which forum the subject is posted on.

Rusty

I sent in my C&O Berk on the 18th and Lionel got it on the 23rd.  So I'm waiting for the repair to be done.  If it takes a few weeks, no problem.  In the meantime, I have a LOT of other projects to dig into.  One I have been contemplating is a recreation of a 2014 set that Lionel tempted us with in the catalog of that year: 

I pre-ordered one, but it was never produced.  Since I like to make what I call "phantoms" (items not produced but SHOULD have been), I'll be looking for three current production cars to repaint.  Simple paint scheme, and I am kind of surprised that Lionel didn't make this train.  They have the molds, and all it would have required is paint masks.  But this way, I can make a more unique train.  I have done a couple others in the same vein.

The Berk is a nice looking item, and even though mine is a bit of a lemon, I'll be glad to get it back.  By the way, it was also sent back to the dealer previously for another issue.  The speed control disc on the flywheel fell off and had to be re-attached.

Jerry

The "Continuing Education" process continues...

The C&O never owned any "Berkshires."

They did have a 2-8-4 locomotive that was almost identical to the other Advisory Mechanical Committee Berks (NKP, PM and Erie) but they never called them "Berkshires."

On the C&O they were called a "Kanawha" (pronounced kuh-NAW), named after the Kanawha River which runs through C&O country.

banjoflyer posted:

poniaj posted:

 One I have been contemplating is a recreation of a 2014 set that Lionel tempted us with in the catalog of that year: 

 

Jerry

What was the name on the passenger cars? It's too small to read and I'm too lazy to look it up.

Mark

Hi Mark,

The letter board area says "THE GEORGE WASHINGTON" and the coaches are numbered 735 and 462, while the observation, instead of numbers, has "COMMANDER in CHIEF".  Pullman green with a black roof and yellow lettering.  Easy to do.  Anyone out there with surplus cars I can strip and repaint?  Or even ones that have been slightly damaged?  Yeah, like I NEED another project!  know I can use American Models cars, but I'd like to make this one like Lionel SHOULD have done.

By the way, I just received notice from Lionel Warranty that they shipped my Berk back to me.  I'll be holding a track open for its return.

And Rich, thanks for the info on C&O's nomenclature.  They sometimes had their own way of doing things.  For example, their 4-8-4s were not called Northerns, but Greenbriars.  Either way, a nice looking locomotive. 

 

 

banjoflyer posted:

....Those S gauge heavyweights will be tough to track down at a reasonable price.

Mark

I've seen the add-on PE coach for around $50.  It's a start...   Then, there's always the upcoming Spring S Spree.

Jerry

Guys,

 

I got my Berk (read Kanawha- thanks, Rich ) via UPS today.  Since it's a busy day, I couldn't open it to test it out right away, but I just got up from the train room, and it's running, and smoking great.  The tech's note was "Board damaged.  Replaced.  Tested 1 hour no issues".  So thanks Tony B., the gent who did the work.  But I ran it for one loop, shut it down, and when I went to start up again, I got the beeping that signals no connection to the remote.  I ran it conventionally, and it was fine.  Threw the switch to remote again, and it's running OK.  Gremlins?  For now, I'm happy.  BTW, when I got it back, the remote was void of batteries.  Small price to pay, other than the $18 to send it back to Lionel.  At first I couldn't see that they did anything, it was packaged exactly the way I sent it, that is, in original packaging, wrapping and foam pieces keeping the trucks from flopping around.  Nice job. 

I have been adding a few things to detail it out a bit more.  Years ago I made up a backhead kit for the American Models Northerns, but sold very few of them.  But the seats and platforms fit the Berk nicely.  I just need to get two figures to populate the cab.

If anybody is interested in the seats, I'll have a few at the upcoming Spring S Spree.  I'll be there with my club's layout... and the train.

I really like your backhead, but those are diesel seats, all the steamers I've seen have seats built on boxes with backrests on the back wall of the cab (and this cab has no back wall--oh well. . . .

AmFlyer posted:

I would!

 +1!

Bob

traindavid posted:

I really like your backhead, but those are diesel seats, all the steamers I've seen have seats built on boxes with backrests on the back wall of the cab (and this cab has no back wall--oh well. . . .

Yeah, David, I know.  But you're right in that there's no back wall, so I had to do something else.  BTW, the seats are modified ones from the American Models' Budd interiors.  I made the modification, and used it as a mold for resin copies. 

The backhead itself is meant to be a generalized one.  A more faithful copy is WAY more complicated!

See what I mean?

My C&O is running great and looks good at the head of either a freight or passenger consist:

I like the amount of detail you were able to cast into the backhead; just enough to give the illusion (what, no separately applied water glasses, or throttle?? OH, and no miniature cab lights on the gauges??? ). Of course, you have enough detail there to know it's for a coal burning engine! I'm used to older cabs, I notice the one in your photograph does have floor-mounted seats with backs. Speaking of backs, a backwall for the cab would be interesting--it would need to be an open cab type, not a closed cab, of course. But gee, does anyone look that closely at our trains? This IS a neat detail piece, will you be selling them?

traindavid posted:

I like the amount of detail you were able to cast into the backhead; just enough to give the illusion (what, no separately applied water glasses, or throttle??

Thanks.  With the amount of space in the cab, ILLUSION is what I was going for.  

OH, and no miniature cab lights on the gauges??? ).

Sorry...  Maybe next time... (again )

Of course, you have enough detail there to know it's for a coal burning engine! I'm used to older cabs, I notice the one in your photograph does have floor-mounted seats with backs. Speaking of backs, a backwall for the cab would be interesting--it would need to be an open cab type, not a closed cab, of course. But gee, does anyone look that closely at our trains?

Believe it or not, there are some people to whom the number of rivets is important...  But when I showed the installation to Ron B. of American Models,  he liked it.

This IS a neat detail piece, will you be selling them?

I cast 18 kits and took a dozen to a Spree a few years ago.  I sold one and the others were stolen.  I installed a couple in my AM locos and MAY have one or two left.  I promised two to a friend, so they're somewhere in the Great Stash of Junque.  I ran out of casting supplies, and may cast some more.  Word of warning: the installation requires a bit of cutting and modification that makes it i possible to return to originality.  The AM Northern has a jack panel in the back of the cab, for example.  Contact me offline and I'll give more details.

 

Looks like a good 3-D printer project?

Could be scaled up or down depending on loco?

Carl

Carl Tuveson posted:

Looks like a good 3-D printer project?

Could be scaled up or down depending on loco?

Carl

Hi Carl,

It could possibly be scaled up or down, but the master was made specifically for the AM Northern.  It's a one-of-a-kind item made to fit only one locomotive as an insert.  Take a look at the mold.  But the seats can be used on any steamer, and I've done it to a couple others, including my PE loco.