Proto 1000 Quality?

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mike8693

mike8693

Member
I am looking on ebay at a new Walthers Proto 1000. I was wondering about its quality and a good price to pay for a new powered a and b unit.
 
Is it an Erie Built pair? The Proto 1000 UP Eries I run have excellent paint quality (pretty much P2K quality). Chassis details are good but things like railings are molded on, not separate like on a P2K. Running and pulling power are awesome.

The only problem I had was with power transfer on the side frames. Went through all different things to fix it, ended up using conductive grease and now it works perfectly. (I have a thread about it somewhere here).

Mark
 
Most Proto 1000's are a great value. As Mark said, the detail level is less than the P2K models but the mechanism and paint quality are about equal to the more expensive models. I have an A-B set of Southern F-3's and, with sme fine painting of the cast on handrails and adding a few grab irons here and there, they make a very presentable lashup. Since you didn't say exactly what model you're loooking at, it's hard to give a price reference but I paid about $55 for my powered A-B units on e-bay and I think that's probably in the price range for Erie Builts also.
 


P1Ks are pretty good, but price-wise, that's a little trickier. Some of us long-timers who bought P1K when Life Like was an independent company remember when these locos were around $40ea.

Then, after Walthers bought them out, the price went up to $100ea. There was a loud hue and cry over the way Walthers overpriced these locos. So, you need to be aware of this and bid accordingly.

Kennedy
 
Mike, that sounds like one of the later Walters production models. Mine are earlier models that still had the Life-Like name on the box and are not DCC ready. Walthers did some upgrades to the later models including adding a DCC plug. $80 for a pair is not the cheapest price you could pay but it's not out of line either. Your call if you wnat to pay the money or see if a cheaper pair shows up, remembering Kennedy's caveat about the changes in the P1K line over the years.
 
Congrats, fellow Fairbanks Morse operator! You'll love the paint job, and really the only drawback (so to speak) of the detail is the molded on handrails, but I don't really think that much of a big deal anyway. The Protos crawl smooth as silk too.

Let's see some pics when you get them. :)

Mark
 
:D
CanuckMark said:
Congrats, fellow Fairbanks Morse operator! You'll love the paint job, and really the only drawback (so to speak) of the detail is the molded on handrails, but I don't really think that much of a big deal anyway. The Protos crawl smooth as silk too.

Let's see some pics when you get them. :)

Mark
Click to expand...
I'm in model railroading for fun so little things like handrails don't bug me. I will definitely get pics.Thanks!
 
I took a look at the auction, and it's probably OK. Some folks consider shipping a cost, some offset it with the local sales tax rate. Here in MI, it's 6%, so if it was me, the premium paid would be about $6. Still probably a good deal, so I think you made out OK.

Kennedy
 


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