"...steam is too expensive...everything is diesel..."
Well, as one nice steamer costs about as much as, say, 2 nice diesels, just skip your next 2 diesel purchases and buy that big Pacific that you want...same outlay.
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I actually have lost a lot interest in steamers for the most part. I now like the diesels, it's what I see every day where I live. My grandson likes diesels over steam too, as that is what he sees too, I guess. He has HO and I got him a nice UP steamer for his birthday a few years ago. It stays in the box and he runs his diesels. He has an Army F-unit, that's his favorite. A lot of the stuff I get for my layout is what he likes and really for him when he comes over to visit.
I have been thinking about maybe a small steamer like a camelback or something just to have one. I like shays too, like to watch them run, the gearing, linkage, etc. And then there is the MTH Premier UP Challenger in the greyhound paint scheme at my LHS that they keep dangling in front of me. If I ever get a big steamer (I am just about caught up on diesels) that will be it.
