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Pierce
Big Six
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 Posted - August 22 2008 : 11:29:39 AM
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Does anyone know what happened to them? I bought a few kits from them when they were sole to Bear Locomotive Works and now I can not find them at all.
Adam
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Pierce
Big Six
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Posted - August 22 2008 : 11:56:28 AM
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http://home.att.net/~berliner-Ultrasonics/mrr4.html#hobbytwn
I found a anwser with a few hours of looking...
This is a sad story for great kits.
Anyone want to buy it?
Adam
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Posted - August 22 2008 : 12:09:23 PM
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Hi Pierce:
I have several of their kit's going back to the 50's built and unbuilt. All Alco's mine. Don't have one of their FA's yet...
-Gareth
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Pierce
Big Six
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Posted - August 22 2008 : 3:57:23 PM
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Gareth,
I might have one GP-9 built from the 50s, but most of mine are newer flywheel jobs. They have got to be the best pulling engines out there, if I had the money I would own Hobbytown :)
I believe Bowser will probly buy it they did just purchase some other names in the recent years. This would be right down there alley, at least I hope someone buys it because I enjoy building them.
Adam
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ABE
Switcher
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Posted - August 22 2008 : 4:26:13 PM
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Adam,
If my memory serves me right I think you had emailed me a few yrs back about a hobbytown RS-3 painted in the Reading Yellow/Green paint scheme, it was on ebay at the time & you said you were interested in doing some custom paintimg ?....... I live near Hershey, Pa & go to the train meets at Hamburg, Pa, matter of fact my Grandson & I had set up there many times in the past but he is now off in College so I am on my own,
I to am a big fan of hobnbytown engines & have several that I build over the yrs & if put together right they cant be beat for performance as I like the to hear the gears messhing as it sort of gives off the sound of a real engine but in miniture, I talked to Howard at a few meets & he was having trouble selling the old all metal engines & stopped coming to many meets because he said it just didnt pay him to do so anymore, the new plastic unts have much more detail along with the DCC & sound, the Hobbytowns have sort of went the way of the American Muscle cars as my opinion of them is that they were some of the best cars out of Detroit but they to are of the past now as technology has went way beyond the raw horsepower they gave( depending on the car at that time, I had a 66 GTO with the tri-power, 4 -speed & 390 gears, not the fastest but far from the slowest !) one thing was that they were much easier to work on than cars of today & same as the old hobbytowns, not much could go wrong & if it did it was easy to spot & repair, I have a DCC layout with sound but have a oval of track where I run simple DC current just to run my old hobbytowns, Varneys & my older tyco Mikados as I justy like to hear them growl as they pull & run yr after yr, good luck to you in your TDY over there, its for sure not home but I am sure you are getting some life time memories over there, take care of your self & hope to her from you,...........................Abe
Abe Schwartz
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Pierce
Big Six
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Posted - August 22 2008 : 4:47:07 PM
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Abe,
I am not sure if I did or not but it could heve very well been me as a couple of years back I got a airbrush for christmas. I really have only done 2 engines so far that turned out good for a beginer, 2 Athearn GP-30's in CSX Yellow Blue and gray. Wish I had some pictures but I don't, oh well.
I agree 100% with you on the fact that maybe they are now a thing f the wayside. But with my recent purchase of 2 Proto GP-30's I am not impressed with the new stuff on the market. They dont pull, and they are to delicate. I do think they can make a comeback if you market them correctly. Most people want DCC today, I don't but alot of people do. So make them with DCC kits, or without. Also his prices were right from what I remember, but he had no advertisement. I know it is hard to do but people buy what a magazine tells them to, so get a good add and advertise. I am sure the guy tryed, he hung in there for 5 years before he said its over. Also the hobby is like a church, filled with older people and no younger generation to keep it going. When I go to a meet I get free stuff all the time I think this is because the older generation is proud that someone younger is keeping it going. I believe someone can make them marketable again just need the right edge to market them.
Adam
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