Feebay Whatzit

[E7]

Sort of reminds me of one of those BIG electric jobs, but no pans.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Brass-O-Scale- ... SwODBdN4UV

[big bad jim]

That's one of the UP gas turbines. 4500 HP, numbered 51-60.

[sleepmac]

No photos of the underside. Wonder what drivetrain it has?

Dan Weinhold

[De Bruin]

Good eye Jim, interesting older brass model of one of the earlier version UP GTELs,
http://www.rr-fallenflags.org/up/up57n.jpg

Maybe Mesozoic-era Sunset, Precision or Oriental? anyone know? (calling Butch)
This should get some love from UP nation, will be interested in seeing how much it closes for.

[bob turner]

I like it! Good thing I have too many locomotives.

[E7]

Thanks Jim! You nailed it. I knew it looked familiar. Be interesting to see what it goes for! The trucks on that thing would probably bring 1 or 2 K!

Rich

Where is ya Butch!

[Rufus T. Firefly]

No photos of the underside. Wonder what drivetrain it has?

Good question! No photo of underside....

[up148]

I think this was a kit offered by LWS back in the 70's. Nicely assembled and the truck side frames are really nice.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Underside photo now there - don't recognize it..... Not what most of what LWS produced that I am familiar with... Up to $500+

[bob turner]

I am with Martin - this one looks like KTM quality. I loved Jan, but his quality control sucked.

Speaking of Martin, he always has some kind of interesting tag line - interesting only the first time read, of course. I am going to assume, subject of course to his denial, that he is describing a current office holder?

[rogruth]

I am with Martin - this one looks like KTM quality. I loved Jan, but his quality control sucked.

Speaking of Martin, he always has some kind of interesting tag line - interesting only the first time read, of course. I am going to assume, subject of course to his denial, that he is describing a current office holder?

You could be right but I think most of his are based on some piece of sometimes obscure literature.

[De Bruin]

Bingo Roger, in this case I would guess the otherwise still very relevant George Orwell, but I digress.

I was truly hoping Butch nailed this, though I must admit I've rarely seen any of Jan's wrapper-with-casting kits as good looking as this.
A GETL car body does appear in one his newsletters (4th quarter 1977 below) another typically fuzzy B&W group photo of his various "catalog offerings" at the time that included all kinds of torment-inducing kits built up to their basic car-body assembly from the limited run box-o-etched sheet and rough castings "recipe." But it appears to be the earlier "Veranda" style car body



The caption also cites a CUT P motor, an SDP-45P (me want one of these so bad) FA-2's, BL2, BLW S-12, also see some S-scale models and a bunch of freight cars.
So the "Feebay Whatsit" mystery continues, given the model's car body sides are some what barren outside of the nicely done soldered intake grates, someone may have adapted the LWS kit to the 50-series turbine car body style and eliminated the vivid agony of fabricating the "veranda", but again, this "whatsit" is a higher plane than most of the true LWS models I've seen as well.

[E7]

Seeing Butch's post and Looking at Pete's image of Jan's stuff (Thanks guys) I think they might be onto something. Giving the Loco a second look, it is really not all that badly done. If UP were within my realm of interest, I would probably bid.

I went to a few of the old EOS meets where Jan attended back when, but never really spoke with him. Sad to think that many who attended (some of whom, good friends) that have passed on. RIP: Walter Anderson, Al Edel, Henry Bultmann, Lee Snover, and though I did not know him, Jan.

[up148]

I only saw Jan's Veranda advertised in an old OSN mag and never in person. I remember there were only a handful available and never saw a complete unit. Although the shell looks like a very early KTM quality build, I know of no KTM/MG produced O scale turbine. OMI was the 1st to import a turbine of any type to my knowledge, so I'm sticking with LWS. When I 1st started chasing O scale turbines in the early 90's, I looked for any alternative to the expensive OMI's and there were none. Few UP people at that time even knew of the LWS kit.

If it was HO, I would definitely think it could be a KTM or ???, but don't think so in O.

[De Bruin]

Well it would certainly be easier to build a kit like that LWS into the 50 series then a Veranda, aside from the issue of fabricating the veranda into the car body side there's also the matter of powering the resulting model; given the all AAR B style truck chassis on floating bolsters, which precludes a tank drive, you're then faced with squishing in a tower and motor into that narrowed car body space, which would not be impossible but you know, still a PITA. The drive in the photo is interesting, it looks rugged, imagine its coffee grinder loud. Glad I'm not a UP fan, I'd covet this, quite a mystery. Thanks for posting this one Rich.