I now own a scale Dreyfuss and a few questions.....

You have a Williams Masterpiece Dreyfuss. They came out right after Lionel's Smithsonian Hudson. I have not seen the Lionel engine in person but from the pics they appear identical. Electronics differ though. Williams also made a Masterpiece unstreamlined J3a. These are both fine engines.

 

Pete

Norton,

Thanks that explains the detail difference. I was still in HO during that era. Thanks for that info.

This may be of interest to you:

1938 NYC Streamlining

 

Dave

great looking locomotive. Might not be prototypical, but I have always liked the heavyweights better myself.

Dave: 

 

That is a great looking locomotive.  I am a huge fan of William's later steam offerings and to yours looks better than any other Dreyfus Hudson's I have seen.

 

Happy railroading,

Don

Dave -

 

I have this loco myself, as well as the un-streamlined J3a that they offered at the same time. 

Williams Masterpiece Series also included a N&W A-class 2-6-6-4; I seem to recall a Cab-forward, too. They were well-made and well-dfetailed; they remind me of 3rd Rail locos,

but more solidly built.

 

"Williams Brass" has a long and interesting past, and has yielded good to excellent product

down to some interesting but flawed items early on. I like them all. The subject could

almost make for a small book on the matter! 

 

Good grab. Oh, and locomotives were used to pull all sorts of consists, especially later

in life. The real railroads were often far less prototypical in practice than are many modelers.

 

Thanks all.....great info!!!

Dave,

that's truly beautiful.

The only one, IMHO, that is nicer is the Accucraft 1:29 Live Steam Dreyfuss.

 

Dave

Gorgeous!

I know have to keep my eyes out for one.

This is indeed a beautiful locomotive!  I picked up one last fall.  I have a 3rd Rail Empire State Express, and the overall detail of the Williams seems better (IMHO).  The electronics in mine are not working well, which is ok since I want to upgrade it to Lionel Legacy or MTH PS3.  I am content to wait until those parts are available.  Hopefully by then, Lionel will release 21" 20th Century Limited cars using their new tooling.

 

Were these locomotives made by Kohs?

I believe Lionel contacted Koh's to have their Smithsonian engines and cars made. Its not clear if Koh's was involved with the Williams engines or if Williams dealt directly with the manufacturer. They do appear to be identical though even down to the same cab number. Hard to imagine two different manufacturers made these.

 

Pete

 

I owned one of those some years back. It is the same as the Lionel except for the electronics. They are pretty outstanding models, the electronics not so much. The story I heard is the builder made extras and offered them to Williams.

 

At the time Williams shop was right up the road from where I live. I'm not sure if they are still in Columbia.

 

 

Purdy!  

 

I have intentionally avoided spreading out to non-N&W streamlined steamers. That is a slippery slope for me. IF I ever "go over the edge" this would definitely be on the list!!

 

Gilly

Thanks all!!! When I saw this Dreyfuss I knew it was something 'different' than other Williams I had missed getting. All the info you all have given me makes me more happy I own her. Thanks

I have both the Smithsonian version and the later version made by Lionel again. They are pictured here on my layout.

 

AMCDave, what I can tell you about the Smithsonian model is that it is very, very impatient with curves anything less than a full O-72, and that it simply will not traverse Lionel O-72 switches, esp. not backing through, as I tried to have mine do um-teen irritating times.

 

Eventually, I observed that what was preventing the derailments was not the engine's wheels but the trucks on the tender. The trucks swivel only the slightest amount (a 1/2" [?] swing, left or right) due to the shrouding.

 

So, when I bought the newer, also-scale version, I made sure I moved the trucks back-n-forth. They moved far more. Thus, this engine (whose horn/whistle/bell feature is fabulous!) and its 10 car consist are my favorite on the layout, having not been off for a decade.

 

If yours is related to the Smithsonian model, I'm offering you my experience so you can be aware of those trucks if you get derailments and wonder why.

 

Both models at the station...

The non-Smithsonian scale Lionel version zipping through town...

FrankM.

Good info Frank. My mainline is all O-72 or greater.....so I hope it not be an issue.

I see  Moon Twp on your layout......I had a boss back in the day that lived most his life in Moon!!

My family lived near there, in McKeesport and Duquesne, PA, but I named the layout after a nickname my father's friends and co-workers at the USSteel National Tube Works gave him, "Moon." I have no idea why they did so, but I do recall that even my mother called him "Moon" at times. Since he was the one who got me interested in trains, naming my layout after him was a natural.

FrankM, Moon's son

My old boss came from the steel industry. I can't recall the company name for sure but I know it had 'tube' in it!!! He started in a sand room....and when things cut back in the early 90's he came south. Small world.