Milwaukee Road Hiawatha


otiscnj said:
Several years ago, there was a book out on MILW passenger trains. Don't know if its still in print or not.

If I want to run the Olympian Hiawatha, the Skytop Lounge is wrong-configured by Walthers as a parlor or coach car. If I recall right, Overland came out with one of the Hi's in brass-not sure if they had some factory painted or not. I didn't get my Walther's train as it first came out-I waited a while, then got the cars in 1-2's. As I recall, Walthers had several different types of baggage/express cars to the set.

My Erie Builts are an AB set in orange and maroon.
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Hi can you post a photo of your Hiawatha?
 
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There's still one Skytop in service on the Napa Valley Wine Train, and apparently one or more others as PVs. I rode a Skytop about 1967 on a Hiawatha, and now several times on the NVWT.
 
A bit pricey but nice cars. Sure would like to have them, but can't justify having them on the layout. Just can't see spending the money to have them in a display case.
 
I think I'll post this one again, with steam power.

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Well CRAP! I was gonna get the entire Hiawatha set. But in the past week. There were two sets of 10 car Hiawatha sets on ebay for $400. Now those are gone.
And there is another 10 car set, but the dumb pricks want like $660 for them.

Then I found the E7s AA DCC/Sound set on ebay. The auction just ended, and somebody swiped it from me. Son of a...#%$#%$#$@##@$!!! There were no bids, it started at $190. So I waited until 3min before it ended, I bid $190. Then like 10 seconds before it ended some A$$ H*(&%^& bid and won it for $192.50.

So I'm over it at this point, I'm not getting the Hiawatha.
 
LOL! Sorry Michael, not laughing at you but at the situation. If I had a dime for every auction that got sniped away from me! I must have lost a dozen brass SP 2-8-2's before I found one for sale off line and bought it. There have been others as well.
 
Motley!! You need to note how many watchers there are, the 10 second (or less) bidder will get you every time. Just because no-one has bid is no indication of interest and bidding the starting bid will lose it virtually every time. As far as the set now priced at $660, that seller was probably one of the watchers.
 
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My thought- and you have to be very careful if you do this- is that if you want an item bad enough, set your maximum bid high. That way if you get sniped the sniper PAYS. Make sure the maximum bid you set is something you are willing and can afford to pay. Otherwise, it could backfire on you.
 
Oh I've been swiped before on ebay, and it sucks. I should have known it was going to happen, to good to be true.

The thing that really pisses me off, is the guy has a high seller rating, so he isn't even interested in it, he just wants to resell it to make money.

Why all sudden the Hiawatha is so popular is beyond me. I mean come on, its been out like what 5-6 years now. Now that I want one, everybody else wants one.
 
Motley said:
Why all sudden the Hiawatha is so popular is beyond me. I mean come on, its been out like what 5-6 years now. Now that I want one, everybody else wants one.
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Try MRL then, anything that's OOP (e.g. E&C/LBF woodchip hoppers) are going for prices the OEM manufacturers would've died for (or been able to stay in business)
 
Motley said:
Iron Horseman, SHAME ON YOU!! Get them Hiawatha locos and cars out of the boxes and on your layout.
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The museum is only open for volunteers equipment twice a month. So even if I could get a set of equipment up to specs and up there twice a month, it would take me over 4 years to rotate through my major equipment sets. I can move the Hiawatha up on the list, but I've got others waiting for the 1970 combined El Capitan - Superchief.
 
Motley said:
Why all sudden the Hiawatha is so popular is beyond me. I mean come on, its been out like what 5-6 years now. Now that I want one, everybody else wants one.
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That is actually a standard open market phenomena. High prices of first release, prices drop slowly until clearance, then when gone all those that had been waiting come back in and the prices go up and availability goes down.
 
Iron Horseman said:
The museum is only open for volunteers equipment twice a month. So even if I could get a set of equipment up to specs and up there twice a month, it would take me over 4 years to rotate through my major equipment sets. I can move the Hiawatha up on the list, but I've got others waiting for the 1970 combined El Capitan - Superchief.
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I don't understand? What museum? I thought you had your own layout?
 
Motley said:
Serious? I had no idea MRL was that popular. Interesting.
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It depends. Some of the newer stuff is still sitting on shelves. Blue box, box cars are patchy. Any Genesis cars on the other hand are fought over. I recently got an Athearn DCC/ready RTR SD40-2 #250 (the only true -2 rostered) without a fight in NIB cond. A few weeks ago the same loco done by Bev-Bel was contested. MRL's model market doesn't appear to be huge, but there's 3 IM/PWS cement hoppers on auction at the moment, each with an opening bid on them, 4-1/2 days to go. Not very keen on IM stuff any more, prefer Athearn's new RTR line. Watching out of interest. Genesis SD70ACe's pull the bids, MTH's do too, but not as well, unless they are the DCC/ready versions. The woodchip hoppers, only E&C/LBF made the specific model rostered. Atlas extended vision cabooses do much better than Athearns 'cause of separate handrails and detail, but they are all in the original style and lettering not the modern remote control conversions. Ironically, Walthers has released them with this correct lettering, but only in their cheap line with a moulded on roof walkway that the modern ones don't have. Think they're being ignored.
 
I did a bit of searching for HO scale Milwaukee Road passenger cars and they are a hard to find as hens teeth, right up there with unobtainium. Maybe I should have forked out the bucks and then clean up on ebay.
 
Motley said:
I don't understand? What museum? I thought you had your own layout?
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No, unfortunately all the places I used to run have been dwindling away. The Platte Valley Club layout was taken down. A flood took out the modular units. The Colorado Gulf & Santa Fe was dismantled 2 years ago. My big "toy train" layout and other modular units are in storage. the only places I have left to run my equipment is on the Wind River (it has 24" radius so much of mine won't fit there) and the Greeley Freight Station Museum. Oh I guess I also have the Laramie River Route - but the owner only has invitational sessions 1 or 2 times a year.
 
Sirfoldalot said:
TRAINZ has a 10 car set up for bidding on bay.
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Just remember there's a 15% buyer's premium, charged on top of what you bid. :mad:

All listings sold via Auction are subject to a 15% Buyer's Premium which will be collected at checkout. Please consider this extra charge before you confirm your bid. Fixed price and Buy It Now sales are not subject to a Buyer's Premium. [copied from listing]
 
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