Where can I purchase some FRED's?

Dalee Electronics

http://www.dallee.com/

Nicole, Do you mean FRED's as End-of-Train-Device?? MTH makes them mounted on a 3-Rail RB-Truck as a accessoire. Where do you live in Europe? I live in Switzerland.

Regards,

Golly, you guys are quick. Thanks everyone for the quick replies.  I was hoping that somebody made one that was self-contained, and could be easily swapped from wagon to wagon.  But I shall seriously consider both of these other options.  (I may even try to make one myself if I can find a small enough donor circuit and battery.)

Stefan, I'm in NL, Where 3 rail 'O' is scarcer than hen's teeth. So I have to import almost everything from the US.

Nicole, I beleve we have two of theses MTH FRED's in stock. We have quiet a few costumers from the Netherlands and we ship regularly products to costumers who live there. If you speak by any chance a little bit German, you should check out our homepage; http://www.hermann-rail.ch/ We are also general importer for MTH in Switzerland and if you need anything, let me know, then we can arrange something. Or of corse if you ever plan to come to Switzerland, visit our company! You can also reach me at stefan(at)hermann-rail.ch

I hope I could help you,

Hi Nicole,  Here's what I bought from Lionel.  Their ETD fits in the coupler and looks realistic.  The components are not expensive either.

Google Chrome will guess the language of the page and offer to translate for you.  Mine offered to go from German to English but then it gave me the option to pick another language.  Here is what the first paragraph looks like  in Dutch:

Precision Models 'Zwitserse Made' 
meer dan 50 jaar produceren wij kwalitatief hoogwaardige modellen in kleine hoeveelheden in onze werkplaats in Dällikon in Zürich. Ons programma • Ontwikkeling, productie en verkoop van handgemaakte modellen • De verkoop van spoor 0 modellen en accessoires van verschillende fabrikanten • productie en verkoop van hoge kwaliteit Model kits • Breed scala aan onderdelen voor het model maker • reparaties, aanpassingen, digitaliseren & Sound • spuiten en etikettering dienst

I don't happen to speak Dutch so I can't comment on the quality of the translation.  When I tried this, I got a "server error" but I tried again and it eventually translated. So keep at it.  I hope this helps.

@Nicole,

Are you running European trains?  The MTH trucks won't look right on your wagons.

Thanks again everyone. 

Stefan, I'll probably send you an email with my wish-list. I can shop in most languages, so I'll be checking out your website later on.

Marty, that's great. A coupler mounting unit is what I was hoping to find. Is this an LED unit? If so, I could probably mount a small battery and circuit behind it. (I always keep the circuits from greeting cards etc. that have flashing lights.)

Eric, thanks for the translation, but my German is better than my Dutch .  I'm British, but I love my Lionel trains and so I'm building a Norfolk Southern inspired coal hauling line in my largest guest room. (Once I have acquired enough track and stock to enable me to build it. Until then it's just my double track 15' x 5' loops on boards that were originally intended for an '00' layout. But at least I can sit and watch my trains as I dream of things to come.)

Thanks Don. You do have great weather there though.  Although it's not as scenic as your local steam railway, I do have one only a couple of miles from here where I can go to get my ration of coal dust and steam, and remind myself of the days when I was young, and would get home from school with a blackened face after hanging over the footbridge as the steam trains passed underneath. 

Eric, thanks for the translation, but my German is better than my Dutch .  I'm British, but I love my Lionel trains and so I'm building a Norfolk Southern inspired coal hauling line in my largest guest room. (Once I have acquired enough track and stock to enable me to build it. Until then it's just my double track 15' x 5' loops on boards that were originally intended for an '00' layout. But at least I can sit and watch my trains as I dream of things to come.)

In that case, try the translation to English...    I'm glad you're running trains.  Keep dreaming of what you want to build and keep hoping.

Nicole, just let me know what you want from MTH. Please keep in mind, it is much easier for me if you have an item# of the engine/car you want. If MTH has it in stock we can get it for you. We have frequent shipments from the US to Switzwerland  every 2 to 3 months. We have also many tuning parts for MTH items - mostly for the European line - but I'm working on a few American things too.

Looking forward to hear from you!

The one Dallee sells is just a blinking curcuit, doesn't really look like the FRED unit.  You can do that with a cap, resistor, diode, and blinking LED for a couple of bucks, no need to give Dallee $20 plus shipping.

Nicole, you can buy the 610-6617-050 part from Lionel for $4.00, or probably a bit less from some other vendors.  Then all you have to do is supply the blink.  I'm going to get a couple and put blinking LED's in them, then you just need that battery and a resistor.   You'll have a F.R.E.D. that looks decent, and it'll be a piece of cake to do.

Since you've already gotten some very good answers, you may want to try here

I'd also check eBay.

FREDS..I have no idea what you are talking about. I know some Bill's, Al's, Ed's but no fred's

A town named Bedrock?

A chain on the west coast called fred myer's?

Flashing Rear End Device(S).

John are you going to put it together for her?   Geez..

Regardless Nicole, the Dallee Fred will work just fine for you.

Hard you been reading her previous replies, she mentioned specifically using a circuit that she already had.   Geez...

A coupler mounting unit is what I was hoping to find. Is this an LED unit? If so, I could probably mount a small battery and circuit behind it. (I always keep the circuits from greeting cards etc. that have flashing lights.)

What did I not read?  Clearly states she was considering both options?

But I shall seriously consider both of these other options.  (I may even try to make one myself if I can find a small enough donor circuit and battery.)

Why don't you check with that junk dealer Fred Sanford?

Nicole, I have seen different colors on End-of-Train-Devices but the most common in real live seems to be red or orange (I model the Canadian National in 2-Rail), but the MTH assembly is quiet easy to disassemble with a little "soft force" so if you want yours to be orange, there is no reason not to do so. MTH's are yellow and white, so both are quiet easy to repaint anyway...

Regards,

Here's a real one in Yellow.

How about stripes?

Nicole, I have two white MTH 20-89013 and one yellow 20-89010, if you are still interested. You can contact me offline.

Regards,

Thanks Stefan,

I have sent you an e-mail.