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Williams Ten Wheeler

LW Lee WillisOGR Forum Member
I got a Williams UP 4-6-0 today from modeltrainstuff. This is the first Williams steamer I've bought. I understand it is a new model for them. I had never seen it before. It's very nice.



It is a very basic locomotive - not a lot of detail cast in or added on, but I am more than satisfied considering the cost. The loco is die cast metal and nice and heavy but the tender is quite light weight -- I wonder if it won't stringline around sharp curves when pulling a heavy train behind it. I'll add some weight to it. The paint is first class and it looks to me like it is scale size or close.

Anyway, this is a VERY good runner, extremely smooth at very slow speeds - I realize Williams is known for this but it is impressive all the same. It navigates around my all-36" loops nicely and looks good doing it. I have not tried to have it pull more than five rolling stock but will test it with more later. The smoke unit does not puff but is quite volumous. I am very pleased.
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fisch330fisch330OGR Forum Member MEMORIALIZED MEMBER
I wonder if they will offer it in variations that would make it a bit more modern? These turn-of-the-century engines were often modernized and some made it right to the end of steam. One of these, so modernized, would make a wonderful addition to my 1950's era layout. Now, if I can convince then to offer a modernized Milwaukee Road ten wheeler, I would be right at home!

Paul Fischer
Dave AllenDave AllenOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
quote:
Originally posted by fisch330:
I wonder if they will offer it in variations that would make it a bit more modern? These turn-of-the-century engines were often modernized and some made it right to the end of steam. One of these, so modernized, would make a wonderful addition to my 1950's era layout. Now, if I can convince then to offer a modernized Milwaukee Road ten wheeler, I would be right at home!

Paul Fischer
I think you can justify running these in any era, as a rail fan special from a museum.
J. MottsJ. MottsOGR Forum Member SUPPORTING MEMBERDIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
Thanks for posting those shots, I had seen the add for them but wasn't really sure how good they would be. Now I'm looking at them very seriously and will probably pick one up after Christmas.
Thanks for the great information about them. I noticed that they gave a very good review on the Penn Central Keystone Express set. I'm giving that set some serious consideration too.

J. Motts
sptrainnut
RoyBoyRoyBoyOGR Forum Member MEMORIALIZED MEMBER
My thinking is that this is an 1890's locomotive with a 1920's tender on it. That was a common practice, upgrading the tenders on older locos. This combination would look good from the 20's 30's and newer. Maybe it's already a modernized version.

I think the loco is new tooling, scaled up and inspired from Bachmann's smaller lines, which are models of narrow gauge engines, I think.

Bachmann probably used this 1920's tender because they had the tooling already. It looks like the tender from the last versions of the old K-Line 0-27 locos, and Bachmann was one of the recipients of the K-Line tooling.

For mine, I am looking into kit bashing an 1890's era tender. The front runners so far are the AHM casey Jones tender, and maybe a modified tender from a Lionel general.

I plan to run the loco with my RailKing 19th century cars freight, or the MTH premier 64' open vestibule wood planked passenger cars.
R rogruthOGR Forum Member
Several have mentioned the lack of detail but most locos from that period did not have a lot of extra "detail".Check some photos of locos from that period.
The B&O ran very similar locos into the early 1950s along the Ohio River In West Virginia.
Williams has had quite a few locos painted in interesting schemes that may not have been prototypical.Sometimes the colors that were used were too bright.
All of my Williams locos are pre Bachmann and I have never had any problems with them.If Bachmann is still producing trains the way that Williams did,this should be a very good loco.
A AMCDaveOGR Forum Member
quote:
My thinking is that this is an 1890's locomotive with a 1920's tender on it. That was a common practice, upgrading the tenders on older locos. This combination would look good from the 20's 30's and newer. Maybe it's already a modernized version.

I think the loco is new tooling, scaled up and inspired from Bachmann's smaller lines, which are models of narrow gauge engines, I think.

Bachmann probably used this 1920's tender because they had the tooling already. It looks like the tender from the last versions of the old K-Line 0-27 locos, and Bachmann was one of the recipients of the K-Line tooling.

For mine, I am looking into kit bashing an 1890's era tender. The front runners so far are the AHM casey Jones tender, and maybe a modified tender from a Lionel general.


My thinking exactly.....a older loco with a more modern tender....and there are lots of photos out there to support that. It is a perfect fit for my rural West Virginia lines.

I pulled out the Casey Jones AHM tender and it's REALLY small....but probably correct for 1890-1900 era. The Lionel General is so big I didn't like it's tender behind the WBB ten wheeler.
Jerry NolanJerry NolanOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
The Williams engine looks like it was inspired by Bachmann's "Big Hauler" large scale 10-wheeler, but the Williams version has larger-diameter drivers more like a passenger loco. I like it, nice generic motive power for any time frame in the first half of the 20th century. Betcha if the tender was available for separate sale it would be a popular item.
D500D500OGR Forum Member
The 4-6-0 tender is a nice, scale USRA tender. It matches exactly, in overall dimensions, my Samhongsa 8-wheel, brass USRA tender. I presume that this tender was slated to follow the dead Williams USRA 2-8-2? Of course, I have a Williams USRA
2-8-2. By Samhongsa; it's brass. There's almost always one on auction.

I was around a couple of "traditional" die-cast Williams steamers last week (the Lionel-clone Berk and 027 Hudson),
and, after seeing my new 4-6-0 run, was even more put off by those two locos and their awful gearing and
running characteristics. Terrible. Maybe Bachmann can fix them - it's just gearing.

Bachmann is the reason that the new low-priced 4-6-0 is so well-engineered. (But about the cheesy main rod...)
Dewey TrogdonDewey TrogdonOGR Forum Member MEMORIALIZED MEMBER
Southern's Ten Wheelers in the road number range shown, when compared to the model, were not that far off on tender or engine length. The Southern's engineered schematic drawings show 70" drivers and without using a micrometer I measure 69" on the model.

Of course if one wishes to model one of Southern's Green' n Gold Ten Wheelers such a #949 out of Mobile,Alabama; you need to paint the smokebox, firebox and cylinder fronts in imitation aluminum. Paint the roof green and tender deck a muted red.

Then to equip it "Southern[Shops]Style"[in this case Finley Shops]: remove the headlight [unscrews]and cut off the bell. Mount the headlight front center of the smokebox on a shelf [Precision Scale] and mount the new brass bell[Cal Scale or Precision] top front of the smokebox. Then paint it Southern's Sylvan Green[replaced "Virginia Green"],trimmed/lettered in yelow gold.


Good Model--I hope W/B follows up with an American 4-4-0 and Baldwin 2-8-0.
Dave AllenDave AllenOGR Forum Member DIGITAL SUBSCRIBER
Well,
I've just had all my Baldwins on the test rollers to ensure good operation before they go to customers, and the thing I noticed immediately, is their fantastic coasting action. With all previous Williams locos, they have always claimed good coasting, but it's never been very noticeable to me. But this little loco keeps rolling for a few seconds after power is cut. Very nice, very smooth. I love these little locos, and I'll be keeping a C&O and a Southern for myself.
LW Lee WillisOGR Forum Member

Sounds like a great project.  You might as well add a scale height cab, too, but either raising the cab roof or lowering its floor, or both.  It has a 1:48 scale five and a half feet of headroom at the center. My Premier 999 and 2-8-0, the only scale late-19th century locos I have, each are closer to seven than six and a half scale feet, and my Lincoln funeral train loco, a scale 1865 loco, has a full 6.5 feet at the center.  

 

Post pictures as you go about the project, projects like those are always fun to watch.  Good luck.

L 49LionelOGR Forum Member

You're right, something about the cab has to change.  I think one of the big problems is the roof lacks overhang on the front, but I'll have to get dimensions of similar Baldwin 4-6-0s and go from there.  It won't be soon, but I'll definitely start a post here when I do it.  I've ended up with some spare drive wheels from this engine for another project (long story) that I plan to post on the For Sale board soon.

AP Alan POGR Forum Member

While I get that 1890-era engines did have stacks, domes and headlights like this, the effect seems distractingly toy-like to me. Still, it sounds like the mechanism is excellent and the price is right. I hope they'll use the same basic drivetrain to support a light 4-6-2, with a larger boiler, smaller domes and stacks, and centered headlight, from the 1910-1930 period.

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/alcomike/6894932797/

 

 

 

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