Williams Brass

Williams brass varied over the years. Their very first offerings were pretty crude but most of their engines are well made and run well if lacking detail. They did make at least two engines that rival any three rail brass engine for detail including 3rd Rail.

All are conventional.

Pete

I have 3 MTH RK Hudson versions.....all run like a clock.....if size is not an issue save money and buy RK unit.

Most Williams brass goes for about half original retail on eBay...that would be about $200.

I am not 100% positive on this, but I heard that Samhonsa in Korea made some of the Williams brass engines, probably the later run. However all brass by Williams has been stopped when Bachmann took over, or right before Bachmann take over.

If you are an operator stay away from brass engines as they will set you back a of of money. Just buy the Williams by Bachmann and save money.

With fleabay it is buyer beware! You never what what you get.

Lee Fritz

I acquired a Williams brass USRA 2-8-2 on Ebay a few months ago.  By itself it was a nice, conventional engine, but when I added PS2 to it (in addition to making mods to turn it into a Seaboard Q3 Mike) it has become my favorite runner.  I paid less then $190 delivered for it.  Well built and has a motor twice the size of the MTH motors in my Railking engines.

I probably have $500 total in the engine, with the engine, PS2, brass detail parts to change it from a USRA to a Q3, paint, and decals, but I now have THE engine I've been wanting.  If I ever run across another at that price I'd like to get it too as Seaboard owned a few USRA Mikes.

Oh, this engine was a Williams/Samhongsa engine.

Thanks, the ones I saw on Fleabay had asking prices of 400,which is why I asked the question. They are a nice unit, but I don't want to overpay, either, prob typical ebay, someone with delusions of price or something. I may just go with the current Williams Hudsons, have seen them used for reasomable prices.

There are at least two different versions of the Williams Dreyfuss Hudson, possibly three or four. The earliest versions look OK but do not have a great deal of detail. The drive systems incorporate a plastic universal joint that is somewhat weak and can break if it is overstressed. Later versions have a lot of fine detail and a much more robust drive system. I currently have one early and one late version. Both of them have flywheels, but I have been told that there was yet an earlier one that did not have a flywheel. This is hearsay; I cannot confirm it of my own knowledge. 

The late version of the Williams Dreyfuss is worth much more than the early one, probably about double. I'd say a late one in perfect condition might be worth the $400; an early one more like half that. You really need to know what you are getting before you let go of your money. One quick way to tell from a photo is to look at the valve gear. The late version has a complete scale valve gear; the earlier one a simplified version. 

Both of mine are currently under repair and will be on the Buy/Sell Board when I am satisfied that they are as good mechanically as I can make them.