LIBERTY LINES 600E

I have seen a Blue (Comet) 600E on Ebay, as recently as last year. With the Liberty Lines passenger cars!! Asking $7,000. And no takers at that price, to my knowledge. I own the "State Set" green 600E with the copper trim. Only one I have ever seen, and snapped it up at York around 1992 in the Purple Hall.

Ed

The "Iron Law" of supply and demand rules. Have your credit cards at hand!

Not too many Creswell engines out there in any color ....but they do surface ..when it does best to jump as it could be a long wait till the next one .

Picked this one up sometime ago.

Had to reattach some trim pieces such as window frames that came loose in shipment.

These are pictures that Harlan Creswell sent to me in 1993 when I bought one of his baggage cars:

1) State Green 600E & Blue Comet 600E.

2) 600E Blue Comet Set.

3) Olympian Set.

Many years ago I attended an auction scheduled by the TCA during York.  I'm not sure, but I think it was the first time (and possibly the last time), the TCA held an auction at York.  There were two Harlan Creswell Liberty Lines engines for sale including a black 600E and a green BiPolar.  New to the Standard Gauge hobby and as a Milwaukee Road collector, I really wanted to own the BiPolar but I hadn't a clue as to what it would sell for at auction so I didn't bid on the 600E when it came up for bid first.  That was fortunate as the bidding on the BiPolar nearly cleaned out my cash but when bidding closed I was the owner of the rare Liberty Lines BiPolar locomotive below.

Had I known at the time how rare 600Es were, I would somehow have found the cash to buy the 600E too. 

Bob Nelson

If any of these ever come up for sale I am sure you will have to outbid many folks, myself included.

Bob and Cannonball thank you for posting the photos .....wow a full two tone blue state set,...

Cannonball do you,have any photos of the Creswell freight cars ?

Bob ,,,great,Bipolar

I have a gondola and hopper ..Arno had a gondola ...unknown if there are additional styles out there.

Cheers Carey,

Hi Carey,

I do not have any other pictures from Harlan. The ones he sent me were his way of marketing in 1993.

He made no mention of freight cars at that time to me.

By the way, for those that might be interested, the illuminated State Baggage Car I purchased cost $420 including shipping back in 1993.

Harlan's masterpieces were not inexpensive, but they were truly works of art by a master of his craft.

Ken

I purchased a green and copper #5302  600E at the Purple Hall at York in April 1993. I felt like I had just purchased the Super 381 from the Lionel Archives. I quickly learned about Harlan Creswell and wrote to him, asking for information about the 600E. I had a number of questions to ask him and included a SASE. He wrote on my letter and scratched his brief answers on it and sent it back to me, with little useful information. He also sent me an order form, and 3 photos just like Canonball received from Harlan as well.  I have attached the letter with his reply, and the order form he sent me.

Hey GirderandPanel,

GREAT CRESWELL PICTURES!

I think Harlan had his quirks as we all do in some way or another. You can tell by his curt answers to your inquiry that he was not one for words.

I wish he had sent me a copy of his offerings like the one he sent you.

Below are pictures of a letter Harlan sent me & also his invoice for the Baggage Car I bought from him.

Also a picture of his advertisement in the TCA Interchange for his Baggage Cars.

Hey Bob - navy.seal - how about that Milwaukee Road BiPolar in the picture.....!!!!

Ken

Hello all

Wow great info about Harlan ....yes very talented building trains ......public relations ..not so much .

Here are photos of my 2 Creswell frieght cars ...several of the gondolas have surfaced,..this is the,only hopper I know of ..

Anyone know if Harlan had a layout ?

Cheers Carey

Hi Carey,

Thanks for posting the freight car pictures.

This is the first time I have ever seen these cars. My guess is it will also be a long time before I see others.

It looks like the gondola has Flyer trucks.

I wonder if Harlan would let a car out of his shop with those trucks or if his trucks were replaced somewhere along the way?

In any event I appreciate all the sharing of information on the wonderful creations of Harlan Creswell.

Ken

You can find a little more info and a few pics in Peter Riddle's America's Standard Gauge Trains, IIRC.

Hey Bob - navy.seal - how about that Milwaukee Road BiPolar in the picture.....!!!!

Ken

Ken,

Yes, it's very impressive, and except for my all black LCCA Goliath (Brute) BiPolar, Harlan's BiPolar is the largest and possibly the heaviest locomotive I own.

Bob Nelsonb

@GirderandPanel posted:

I purchased a green and copper #5302  600E at the Purple Hall at York in April 1993. I felt like I had just purchased the Super 381 from the Lionel Archives. I quickly learned about Harlan Creswell and wrote to him, asking for information about the 600E. I had a number of questions to ask him and included a SASE. He wrote on my letter and scratched his brief answers on it and sent it back to me, with little useful information. He also sent me an order form, and 3 photos just like Canonball received from Harlan as well.  I have attached the letter with his reply, and the order form he sent me.

Fantastic!  A tri-color Harlan BiPolar!  I wonder who has it?  Maybe it's me.

Bob Nelson

Can you spell A-W-E-S-O-M-E, boys and girls? LOL!

Have you all seen the one-of-a-kind Liberty Lines brown baggage care for sale on Ebay right now?

eBay item number: 225883321087

411 Baggage Car labeled Railway Express, in a dark brown paint, seems a tad darker than the State Set brown. I have never seen the baggage car in brown, but usually in the 2-tone green that is more common when it surfaces for sale. Guy is asked $2000 !!

I understand a black 600E just sold at auction for $15,000.... not including the fees and shipping.  Harris Auctions. The Facebook group “Modern Standard Gauge Trains” said some guy with deep pockets was bidding high on a lot of items. WOW!

@GirderandPanel posted:

said some guy with deep pockets was bidding high on a lot of items. WOW!

2 guys

(or gals).

WOW, a green 600E is now up for auction on Ebay. Item 395998784746. Only the second green 600E I know of. Should be interesting to see what it brings 4 days (Tuesday night 12-17-2024)  from now until the auction ends. Harlan appears to have numbered his engines from 5300 to ??? 5399?? Some say he made 50, some say 100. I think 50 or less is my guess.

Wow, someone really bubbafied that beauty.

At the April York meet SGMA’s meeting and layout in the Black hall, a member showed up with 3 600e’s restored and in running order, two were upgraded to PS2.

Apart from being a little dusty and dirty, and missing the front lamps on the boiler front, it is in original condition. I wonder if most of these 600e were shelf-queens and rarely run.