Over the years I have pretty much turned my attention to the scale end of the hobby and divested myself of PW, MPC, and more recent production items. Somehow certain PW era pieces had kept my interest and remained favorites. Thus I find I have picked up several engines and locomotives over the last year or two of that era. This weekend our regional show in Asheville was very well attended and I came across another of my holdovers for the PW era - a handsome 2245 Texas Special AB pair. It was one of my favorites as boy although I had Gilbert Flyer. When I got back into trains in 1987 while having a hobby shop, I did acquire a repainted 2245 that was only so-so. Have been tempted from time to time to buy one from an auction site but always hesitated, wanting to see it in person if possible. Today, there were 3 of them at the show priced from $275 to $300. Oddly, the $300 set had been repainted and there were visible flaws in the paint although overall it presented well. I liked the lower priced one the best and the seller came down $45 so I bought it.
Other recent acquisitions are a very nice 726 Berkshire, A blue & yellow Virginian FM (actually the K-Line version with better detail and TMCC), an AA pair of the 2032 Erie FA's, and from several years ago, the PW Celebration 2356 Southern ABA. This all started with a pair of 2343 Santa Fe's bought from a Forum member that ran well but the shells were poor. Somewhere I picked up a pair of the Lionel replacement cabs for them as well as a modern era 2343C B unit w/Railsounds. Now I have a modest 'PW-themed' corner in my collection. Next will be a PRR Turbine and the 3 Green 027 passenger cars...
