@Trinity River Bottoms Boomer posted:The late Bobbye Hall, owner of Hall's Hobby House in Dallas,TX, also created Hallmark Models. She imported brass trains in O, HO and N scale. She became known by the builders in Japan and Korea as The Dragon Lady because she took the bull by the horns and demanded Quality. If it was inferior she would flat out Refuse a model!
This occured with the HO scale brass Cotton Belt 4-4-2 she intended to import in the 70s. It just wouldn't run, period. When she refused it, NorthWest Short Line purchased the entire run and advertised them for $89.98, if memory serves me well. They were offered As Is, No Return! Avid SSW fans either remotored or made static models out of them.
Model trains could still be manufactured in the U.S. of America. Just look at the number of dedicated manufacturers that still do, both large and small. They deserve a tip of an engineer's cap or conductor's hat, or both, for believing in putting America First! Respect to each of you!
If you wanna get sentimental, watch the late great Kate Smith as she sings God Bless America, on YouTube. It'll Make Your Day!
My Hallmark Burlington O5b 4-8-4 was a piece of junk. The front steps were falling apart out of the box, the pilot was the wrong shape and didn't even attempt to simulate the prototype's drop coupler, my Tyco 4-6-2 ran better and you had to practice yoga to get the boiler off. I never bothered to try and paint it, I fixed it up as best I could and sold it.
Never had any issues with PFM or Westside.
Rusty
