I had a lucky haul at the Columbus train show today! Picked up some not pictured items such as various track and rolling stock pieces that caught my interest, as well as a 1948 Lionel VW transformer, but the find I’m most proud of is this Williams FM Trainmaster for a cool $110. I’ve mostly been more into the postwar Lionel 0-27 realm of things and collected more of those kinds of engines, but I’ve been getting more into some closer-to-scale stuff lately and investing in some fastrack, so I figured it’s time I’d step up my locomotive game a notch. From what I do know, Williams made some nice Lionel Repros (the original Lionel FM’s are way out of my strict one locomotive-a-year budget) and I’d place this one in roughly the 80s, even though it looks practically new. I’m not as knowledgeable about Williams, but I do know this one runs nice and smooth and is a real beast of an engine. If anyone has any info about this engine, what “Crown Edition” means, basic care and feeding advice, or anything about Williams, any information is greatly appreciated!
