Williams Brass GS4- Any Info/photos?

Wow, something non DT&I for once? 

From the pictures I've seen it's not a bad looking engine, but as I'm sure you know.  I don't have one myself

If I recall right, I've read the later Williams brass locos were good runners and the price is attractive too for a decent model.  As you said, not up to the standards of the newer models, but not bad for something under $700.

Lucas,

 Its a pretty nice engine I have a SP Daylight brass one, Ive got to go to work the railroad calls. If your in no hurry Ill send you some pics when I get back. If you like it ill let go for a reasonable price.  Ed

As you might know, I'm a Milwaukee person but I grew up in southern California and saw and liked SP and Pacific Electric. My first train ride was in 1953 on the Daylight from LA to San Francisco with a GS-4 pulling. I bought two Williams brass engines just to sit on a self and admire. The GS-4 Daylight and SP's Cab forward. I have run the cab forward but not the GS-4. I paid less than $400 for the Daylight, a great deal in my book. If you need pics I will take some tomorrow for you. I think they are way underpriced and a really nice engine. There might be some small detail that's been improved on the newer engines but I really like my GS-4. Don

I think you will be well pleased. Back in the days of Williams brass, Williams took some flak for the glossy finish on his steamers. While I agreed for the most part, I think the gloss was a plus on the GS-4, having seen the real thing up close several times. Then too, the lack of detail by today’s expectations might not be as disappointing on a streamlined engine. Mine was a smooth runner, and a tad quieter than the N&W J made the following year because of its “floating” motor mount. That was a potential engineering weakness, however, but you should be OK if you don’t intend to drop the loco on its side from some height. The GS-4 didn’t include a lead weight in the boiler, but I had no difficulty adding one. It then pulled very well. Bottom line, when I walk past the shelf, this engine pleases me more than the more detailed ones that followed.

While not a bad engine I would not pay no more then $350.00 for it in new or like new condition.

It was a sufficiently hot item when it originally came out that $1200 was not unheard of. It should do what you want, but I concur - 350 max.  The Weaver might be a better choice in the same price ballpark.  I have one of those, and it parks well next to my scale Max Gray.  The tender is incorrect, but not objectionably so.

Lucas, here you go. Not great pictures but you can get a idea. I think you can't go wrong if you get a good deal with this engine. I think lots of people like me bought this engine just for show so there's lots of them out there that are new or like new.  Don

The Williams brass engines were probally made about ten years ago, back when Jerry Williams still had the Williams name. As far as I know Bachmann doesn't make any brass engines in O gauge and probally will not! The new owners of Williams are very much cost watchers.

Lee F.

Lee, these engines were made way over ten years ago. They were the second try for Williams with brass engines. The first were terrible, and I mean terrible. Later they came out with the cabforward, Daylight, and four or five other brass engines. These were good. Many people had them reworked to run smoother but they were good locomotives right out of the box. I paid a little over a thousand dollars for my cabforward about the time Williams was running into money troubles. With brass they got in over their heads. They blew out the cabforwards for about $500 not making the early buyers very happy. Now you know the rest of the story. Don

FTR, 1989 and 1990 were the "Big Bang" years for Williams Brass. Their 1989 catalog offered a Pacific in several roads, Atlantic, UP Big Boy, and the SP GS-4 Daylight. The 1990 catalog included the Camelback, Mikado,  Niagara, SP Cab Forward, and the N&W J. In hind sight, perhaps too much too soon for a market that hadn't seen anything like it in three rail. 

I took delivery of my GS-4 as modified by Scale Tin Rail in November of 1989. 

Richard, you and I forgot this one. I bought an unpainted brass version from Williams and forgot tell you mentioned the engines they made that I still have it. Never ran it though.  "T1". Don

 The GS-4 was about the last streamlined steam loco I HAD to have in my collection. The Williams was just too small and the tender is so wrong.....The MTH was a little better but wrong tender again in the RK line. I waited long enough and got this Williams brass unit w/o box for under $200. I am VERY happy with it....only run on my test set up....but I am a conventional runner and it seems fine. Detail is great and correct tender is a plus. 

There are many more pics in link below......thanks

http://public.fotki.com/DaveVan51/my-trains/

Thanks for the photos.  The drivers look a bit small, but the boiler and tender look accurate.  I have a "J" and am very pleased - and my hobby is 2-rail scale, with no undersize models allowed.  I also have the Williams PRR T1, and am really pleased with that speedster.  I think we 2- railed 20 of them.

The two models pictured are NOT "scale size" models! Look at the cross head guides on the 4449, and you will see that they bear no relation to the real 4449.

The "scale" model produced by Williams, way back in the '80s was VERY accurate. That Williams model is what the original poster is enquiring about. 

Hot water, your right. Mine doesn't look anything like the above one in the picture. Everything in that picture is out of scale from the marker lights to the drivers. Don

The two models pictured are NOT "scale size" models!

Sorry....I never tried to imply the MTH RK J 611 was scale in any way. The photo was from an old post comparing the two locos.  I did not know there were two different 'scale' Williams SP GS-4 locos either......For that matter I don't care. I was happy with mine....and thought it was asked about.  Don's loco does look different than mine....so what do I have???? It is Williams for sure......

Dave,  my guess is that it could be the very nice semi-scale version produced by K-Line; larger than the MPC  Lionel model and subsequent Williams 4-8-4.  Can't tell for certain from the abbreviated photo however....

Thanks C.Sam.....it don't really matter....I got it on a deal, it runs great, I LIKE it......so all good here....wasn't trying to scam anyone!!!!

Just wanted to ID it correctly in the future.....here is a overall pic

PS....you are correct...K-Line....I dug it out and corrected my BAD recollections!!!

I suspected as such..   Lots of nice detail that wouldn't be found on the 'traditional-sized' Williams.

You have a beauty there Dave!

Here's one on eBay right now.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Willia...;hash=item2572e76c5b

Yea, 15 DT&I EMD diesels gets kind of boring after a while 

Thanks everyone for the info, you all have convinced me. It's a slippery slope now, I also like the Williams brass N&W 611....

Well, at least it's orange

That's what I was thinking.  Any excuse to paint a diesel or tank car orange is good enough for me.

Lucas, Your engine just came on E-bay. $499.00. Not a bad price. Don

You are absolutely right. But a Sunset/3rd Rail MT-4 or MT-5 will cost you about $1000, IF you can even find one.

Here is the Weaver - with added tender deck.  There are a number of things that are good about this one, including the factthat it can easily be parked next to the full scale US Hobbies model, and receive high ratings for size and detail.  Colors are a bit toy-like, but I like them.

I was chatting with Lucas the other day about this and he snapped one up during the discussion for an incredible price. Almost would've gone for it myself but my new scale B6 saw to that