Williams Trains WoW!

100% agree too! The customer can upgrade it if they wish at a later date. The only thing I do with a Williams engine when I get it is rewire the motors and add my own LED lighting. They are bullet proof stump pullers!

I wouldn't worry about Williams being badgered into adding command control to its locomotives. 

Lionel isn't licensing TMCC (much less Legacy) to anyone else other than the companies who signed on initially*...ask the guy who runs SMR Trains (they make Civil-War-era brass models), and we all know how many licensees DCS has.

*(Jerry Calabrese. was quoted as saying that was a mistake)

Williams is in pretty much the only spot they can occupy given the market conditions, and their units can be fitted with either command system thanks to similar motor/powertrain setups.

---PCJ

Matt I sent you pics. I can't remember for sure, but I think I paid only 25.00 for the smoke unit from Boxcar Bill.

Rob

Add me as a Williams fan.  I have a GP38 and an O27 Alco FA set, and both are great runners with heavy-duty construction.  I series-wired the Geep, but the Alcos seemed to be geared a bit differently (?) and didn't need rewiring.  There will definitely be more WBB units added to my roster, especially if/when the GP30 is offered in Conrail and/or PRR. 

I love my williams engines. I have gp-38 and gp-9 and nw-2. They all run great and pull great and also i have several williams cars they are durable to  

Hello chessie1971......

I hope to find a Williams S.F. NW-2 as that is my favorite switcher for like 99 dollars when trainworld online has the S.F. version for that price but they have other road names for that price and not the S.F. oh well.  Is your NW-2 an good runner ?

the woman who loves the S.F.#5021

Tiffany

Yes my nw-2 engine is very good runner. I pulled 11 coal hoppers loaded with coal for two hours at the mall show. The motors only got luke warm and we was using a mth z-4000 transformer. I run it at 10 volts it pulled 1.9 to 2.2 amps the whole time.  

Tiffany i hope u find one i been looking to for yeah

Hello chessie1971........

I am impressed with the performance of your NW-2.  I think the Williams S.F. version is #21698.  Is yours a chessie version by chance ?

the woman who loves the S.F.#5021

Tiffany

I have 2 WBB GG-1s semi-scale (space is a problem). One in PC and one in green Pennsy 5 stripe. For anyone who is dipping their toe in the O Scale waters, and came from a smaller (and less expensive scale) WBB is a good buy to get you started, although it will appeal to many experienced O Scalers who don't mind conventional nor copious amounts of detail.

Tiffany my NW-2 Switcher Engine is in B&O paint scheme when C&O took over B&O

hello chessie1971........

Oh that is a handsome engine, love the dark blue and yellow colors .   Did you get yours for 99 dollars at the trainworld online ?

the woman who loves the S.F.#5021

Tiffany

no i didn't. I got this one for 121.78 plus 10.00 shipping off a dealer wasn't bad price but after i got it i seen it on trainworld site for 99.99. I said darn could have got it cheaper LOL. Thanks for the compliment on the engine Tiffany.

Nice switcher Chessie. Enjoy. 

Williams and WbB are the mainstay of my pulling power.  70% of my locomotives are by Williams.  I love the reliability and value of these products.   E7, F3, Genesis, GG1, Metroliner's, and steam locomotives are my favorites.  Generally my layout will host long MTH & Lionel consists pulled by Williams locomotives. 

Once in a while I am in the mood to run sound equipped locomotives by MTH, but mostly I enjoy the smooth quiet reliable running of trains with Williams power on the front. 

Here's a Williams NW-2 pulling 21 cars, effortlessly:

---PCJ

Great video. When I'm running conventional, I only run my Williams and WBB engines. Any one of my WBB engines (BL-2, FA1, Sharks, etc) will pull as many cars as my MTH engines. I'm hoping get a GP-30 in UP colors because I like the look of the new engine.

Thanks Jeff

My thoughts as well. I am enjoying this thread on Williams and conventional operations. Keep them coming. Great thread.

I too love my Williams engines, price cannot be beat and the quality is certainly there.

Most of my mainline power is W/WBB.  Most of Houston Tinplate mainline power on the large portable layout is W/WBB.  The stuff is like Timex watches or Pink Bunny batteries.  The only week point I can see is where the wire from the hot 3rd rail shoe goes to the motor.  That connection has torn off on one truck.  But stuff from the Shack can fix that here at home.

What I like about W is you can hear a sound system nobody thinks about.  The sound of a train on the rails going through joints, switches and crossings is a nice sound to hear.  And if the locos are far enough from you, that is the only sound you are going to hear except for brakes and car springs.

Allen Miller:

Is that GP30 you are getting by any chance be in yellow and blue?

It will be if/when they produce one in that livery.  Until then, I'll just have to sit on the sidelines and hope they make one.  I won't be buying one in the first round because I've stopped buying anything other than in my chosen road names.

I like the scale sized Williams (WBB) locos. I add crew figures from MTH, and LED headlights from Evan Designs for added realism.

Here are the Williams (WBB) I own:

-B&O E7 ABA

-PRR GG1 in Tuscan and Green

-PRR EP5 in Tuscan and Green

-BLW Shark demonstrator ABA

-Santa Fe F3 ABBA

-Southern 4-6-0

-Baltimore Transit Co. Peter Witt Street Car

At York, I bought my second WBB EP5 brand new, for $120, unbelievable!

I like pulling long trains and have upgraded the dummy units on all my covered wagon sets, so they have four motored pulling goodness.

FYI, simply putting my two GG-1s together, or my two EP5s, makes for an easy lashup with four motored pulling power.

Or better yet, I can lash up my 2 GG1s and 2 EP5s for 8 motored pulling greatness.

See below:

Myself, I have just the B&M BL-2 and the AMTRAK Genesis as far as engines.  I love 'em.  I also have several cars.  They seem as rugged and well-built as postwar Lionel.

Is that black, white and yellow KCS?

My nephew is into John Deere.  He likes trains.  I want all the UP heritage.  Guess what is next:  CNW

After seeing  the NKP 765 in Lewistown, Harrisburg and going around Horseshoe Curve this summer my 4 year old son and I decided we had to get a NKP 765. We bought a Williams at York and wow, what great detail, smooth operation and a great self-quilling whistle for $235. I will be buying a lot more Williams in the future.

I have a couple of Williams engines and they can’t be beat for the money, and they were easy to upgrade to TMCC.  But I have one small complaint for Bachmann. They dropped most of their B-units from their catalog.

Rob

 Williams used to offer a decent sound system. It was add on,easy to install and optional and they could do it again without changing the cost or design of their existing locomotives.

I would also like it if they offered interiors for their passenger cars.

I think they would sell a lot of these as well as sound systems. RS4 is available for an upgrade but competition and variety of offerings benefits customers.

Dale H

Does anyone have more pictures of that Christmas set?  The single picture published everywhere is lacking because it doesn't show each car well with the train going around the tree. 

towdog

I do not have any pictures but what I can read in the catalog it comes with a gondola, refrigerated box car, caboose, engine and tender. I really like the looks of this set and just might get it for our Christmas tree train this year.

For under $200. I brought home from York a GP30 NYC the detail level is considerably better than any Williams before it. The volume of the engine is not very loud though. You may not even hear it while pulling a train...Jim

The only thing I dont care for is the dorky whistle on those steamers..that would be the first thing that goes..second like you did is put a good fan driven smoke unit..Id moded all my smoke units and man they put out the smoke..Liam checkout my 4 new videos of my smoke units mods..hope in a day I'll get a video of my S2 running and smoking..

I only have 1 Williams engine, an E7, but am very pleased with it.  The one thing I noticed that puts it above all others is that I can remove the shell by taking out only 4 screws that are easy to get to.

I installed the ERR Cruise Commander and a LED headlight, with plug so it would still be easy to remove the shell, and added wire handrails and grabs.  The result is a very nice-looking engine that is a solid performer.  Next mod is to add the ERR Railsounds kit.

I see they have a "scale" F3 AA set, how are those?  Anybody know what "phase" the unit is?  I need a F3 for Seaboard Air Line, but they only had certain phases of the F3 and I'm not in the mood at present to take on anymore projects.