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Yeah I want one, Of course I interested in all Frisco products. Wow , what memories that brings back. I grew up on the Frisco property in a small town in southwest Missouri. I believe the caption to the first pic; says it was taken in Monett. That's where I lived. I spent many hours down at the tracks. Monett was a junction and service center, round house, icing station, etc.. Most gone or reduced to rubble by the time hung out down at the tracks. I seen the 1522 back in the 70's at the museum , before I was in my teens. Then read that it had been restored, finally got to see it in Springfield, Mo in the late 80's or 90's. Anything with steam railroading is very rare in this area. We had tourist steam railroad here for a few years with a coupe of moguls, but they are gone now. Most equipment still there, but in need of lots of work. There is another Frisco engine in Fort Smith, It is in very good condition. It had just been outshopped when put on display in the park; It now resides at the Trolley museum. Report was if it was restored they have no where to run it.  Here's a idea, We have a local tourist line that runs on the old Frisco right of way from Springdale to Van Burin, that's right across the river from Fort Smith. This 2-8-2 should be restored and put back to doing what she did on the very tracks it worked when she was new. The Trolley museum, The Eureka Springs Steam Rail Road , The Arkansas and Missouri, should some how work out a deal to see that these historic steam locomotives are restored. The 2-6-0 mogul in Eureka Springs, worked on the construction of the Panama Canal. I think that qualifies it for historical significance. I would like to see the A&M some how become the owners or keepers of the engines before they are beyond repair. Yes I would by #1522,#4001 2-8-2, and The #201 2-6-0 this was the Steam engine that I road ad much as I could. It was a short drive from my town to Eureka Springs. Took a lot of dates there, and road the trains there, sure miss those trains.    

Beautiful locomotive, and nice restoration.

Before you commit, consider that the Texas class will be just shy of two grand, and this one will not have as many purchasers, driving the price up.

Consider that this is very close to a USRA Mountain, and a little scratchbuilding effort could put you in the ballpark for maybe $500 ?

Many years ago when 1522 was still operating I contacted Sunset 3rd rail about making a model of it.  I spoke to Scott Mann directly.  He was very nice but he said that there wasn't enough of a market for it at that time.  Now that it doesn't run I suspect there's likely even less of a market for it.

A couple years ago Lionel did offer their 4-8-2 lettered for Frisco and numbered 1501 (I think).  It has quite a bit of differences, but it's the closest that's been offered.

@Tom D. posted:

Many years ago when 1522 was still operating I contacted Sunset 3rd rail about making a model of it.  I spoke to Scott Mann directly.  He was very nice but he said that there wasn't enough of a market for it at that time.  Now that it doesn't run I suspect there's likely even less of a market for it.

A couple years ago Lionel did offer their 4-8-2 lettered for Frisco and numbered 1501 (I think).  It has quite a bit of differences, but it's the closest that's been offered.

Please note that the Frisco #1501 is NOT the same as Frisco #1522!

@Hot Water posted:

Please note that the Frisco #1501 is NOT the same as Frisco #1522!

Well they are in the same class. 1522 was a later build and there were modifications. 1501 is hard to photograph in profile today because of fencing to compare with 1522. There are differences but still Very Similar.
(see “Frisco Power” by Joe Collias - a key Frisco reference).
Here’s what a have available for a quick reference - comparison  / 1501 in Rolla Mo and 1522 in Kirkwood Mo - both my “neighborhoods”.                                     Cheers !!! 🙂

Rolla, Mo.

BF4FCE9F-6654-49B5-B867-4569D1184FEBKirkwood Mo.

637B43E7-5E72-42B3-9E9B-CE2BE9F74946

Attachments

Images (2)
  • BF4FCE9F-6654-49B5-B867-4569D1184FEB: Rolla, Mo.
  • 637B43E7-5E72-42B3-9E9B-CE2BE9F74946: Kirkwood Mo.
Last edited by TrainBub

I doubt that. When speaking to Scott Mann a month ago about some prospective steam, it appears that brass steamers target price is $2500.00 and he doubts anyone will pay that much for small to medium size steam locomotives.

Maybe brass steam is dead - maybe not. Depends on Which Road, Which Engine. What will drive it will be number of reservations. Perhaps the key will be is the ability to offer multiple roads with differences in details from the same basic model.  Sometimes possible, sometimes not.  Let’s not give up. 😜

A subject very dear to my heart.  I longed for 1522 or, even better, 1501 (I live near Rolla).  What we got was a USRA Lt. Mike painted for a Frisco 1500, but, with all due respect to bob2, they are not close enough, not by a long shot.

I'm no rivet counter:  I collect Marx and Standard Gauge fercryinoutloud.  But, if I am going to lay out north of $1500 for a 1500-class loco, it will only be for a bona fide 1500-class.

Not one faithful replica of a Frisco engine of any kind has been produced in O 3 rail (and precious few in 2).  An unfortunate consequence of too many people demanding yet another Hudson, Big Boy, or Allegheny and too few appreciating one of the classiest and sassiest RRs in N. America, Frisco engines just won't pay.  Truly, I wish I had the time, resources, and skills to scratchbuild. . . . .



(Related:  the Lionel Frisco 1501 was a major disappointment to me, but the same engine, painted as a MoPac Mike, offered with the Sunshine special cars, was a real delight.  I just wish I could have mustered the $4500 price tag at the time.  *That* offering was a winner!)

A friend of mine worked on the 1522 restoration.  Early on they discovered the pistons were missing on 1522.  So they went to Rolla and got the ok to look at 1501 and sure enough it still had the pistons and they were able to remove them and use them on 1522. I think they used a couple other parts of it too, but I don’t remember what they were.

I bought the earlier release of the Lionel 4-8-2 and converted it to 2 rail. I still plan to make a few other cosmetic changes to it to make it look more like the 1522, but it will always have a few things wrong.  Moving the domes is beyond anything I want to try on a die cast boiler.

@feet posted:

I'd like one but in H O.

Get on board Frisco.0rg.  A few hundred of them were imported back in the '70s (I think), and Don Wirth, one of the 1522's engineers, used to do a business of modifying the imports to his exacting standards.  He doesn't do it anymore, but he is likely to know where one might be found.  They do show up on eBay, both stock and (rarely) his upgrades.

@palallin posted:

Get on board Frisco.0rg.  A few hundred of them were imported back in the '70s (I think), and Don Wirth, one of the 1522's engineers, used to do a business of modifying the imports to his exacting standards.  He doesn't do it anymore, but he is likely to know where one might be found.  They do show up on eBay, both stock and (rarely) his upgrades.

Thanks for the info, I'll check it into it.

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