I know nothing about this site....I just have some Frisco HO stuff I am considering selling. I have several HO rolling stock and Locos never used still in the box. I lived in Springfield, MO for 25 years...had several friends that worked at Frisco before having to move to KC or find another job. I purchased several items from a man named Hart who had written several articles for a train magazine. When I left Springfield I gave him back a custom train set he had made he named Ozark railroad lines or something like that. My email is mike509@centurytel.net if anyone is interested in more info.
Show us a pic and a price, I mail ordered one of those out of the Mantua catalog, 1982 I think. It was a high dollar item, $79. It was numbered 1617, it would not run on 18 degree curves, only 22 or broader. I still have it. I also ordered the Frisco f7 from them but they sent me a Rio Grande and said the Frisco would not be ready for another 6 months ! haha
Paul, thanks for a quick reply. My ex-wife bought this loco for me in 1991 at a hobby shop in Springfield, MO for $81.86...the receipt was still in the box. I had built a new house and a special room in the basement for a major layout. I started purchasing HO model train stuff to start my layout but before I got started we ended up divorced and sold the house. All the train stuff has been boxed up since. I never had a space in any of my residence's since then...and probably never will...this is why I have made a decision to sell it. It will take me some time to photo all of it and price it. I have no idea what it is worth so I will have to do some research. Attached is a pic of this loco and the box it came in....I have no idea what it is worth today so I guess if anyone is interested in buying it make me an offer and I will consider it. Also, after researching the history of the Decopod loco's I find it very interesting how they were not used that much because of a lot of reason's. I would like to know how many the Frisco actually purchased. Is your's a Frisco or another line? I contacted this site because of the Frisco connection. If anyone has any history about this particular Decapod #1617 I would like to here it.
Mantua made that engine only one year, it is hard to find, but rarity and value don't always go hand in hand. There is one on ebay right now, and its for sale at a buy it now price of $95.00 or a buyer can make an offer. It has been for sale for a few months. they don't show up often though, I watched almost 2 years for an original new and unrun example to show up on ebay, and last summer one did and it was sold in the standard auction format and I bought it for a final price of $70 plus shipping, and there was only one other bidder. Mantua engines run fairly well with a little tweaking, but they lack a lot of details and most model railroaders go for newer models with flywheel drives and excellent detail. In the early 80s Mantua made a boat load of steamers in almost every road name, some are very hard to find but there does not seem to be a very big collector market for these engines for some reason. I bet if you put it on ebay and listed it in the standard auction format , it would sell somewhere in the 60 to 80 dollar range, you could possibly get a bit more at a train show in Frisco country where the road name is familiar. That's my two cents ! By the way Mantua diesels from that era are very popular and collectible, they made a plethora of road names in the F units and the GP-20 units. They made an orange and white Frisco F unit and I have only seen it two times on ebay in the last several years, both new in the box examples I saw brought north of $150 !!
Thanks, again for a quick reply. I do agree that rarity and value don't always work together. Maybe the reason they only made this model for one year it didn't sell very well because it took such a large layout with long curves for the loco to run properly. I don't know that much about layout's since I was not able to build one but most seem to be in smaller area's with sharper curves. I do appreciate all the information...saved me a lot of research. I would like to see a picture of your layout if possible. Did you happen to know or ever hear of a man named Vernon Hart of Springfield, MO. He had a nice layout and wrote several articles for Model Railroader magazine. I have some of those editions. When he upgraded from HO scale to a G scale I purchased several of his HO pieces including a custom train set he built and titled Ozark rail lines or something like that. The only other loco I have is a Bachmann EMD GP 30 Diesel Chessie System black orange yellow still in the box never used...probably not worth much. Thanks, again for the info.
Just noticed that the Mantua decapod has 3 blind driver sets. I imagine that it could negotiate some very tight curves. The only concen would be keeping the blind driver sets above the rails. That is, while the front and rear driver are in contact with the rail,s the main driver might be suspended in air. I remember Vernon Hart, a Frisco Hoghead, and the article in MR about his layout. I was able to visit it during one of the NMRA Open House events during the 80's. The layout featured geared locomotives.
Yeah those wheels hang way over on an 18 degree curve ! Mine enters tight curves okay, but when it goes back to straight track it always knocks the tender truck off the rails from being in a tight angle. I will post some pics tonight. fun stuff.
