New guy with questions

[Mark D]

Hi to all, and you all know I'm a new guy here.

In my real life I work with 12" to the foot steam, but somehow I wound up with a 7 1/2" gauge Clyshay locomotive. It's a long story nobody cares about.
If I didn't accept if from the son of the man who built it, it would have been scrapped several years ago.

But I don't really want it. I don't have the time to deal with it, I don't really want to be laying track all over my property, although I have plenty of space.

I have been tripping over it in my basement for too many years now and have decided I should sell it.
But there are two problems; I don't know how to find a buyer and I don't know what I should accept as an offer.
I can and will submit some photo's, but right now I'm not in a position to do so. It has little to no use on it, judging by the firebox and the overall look of it. The water tank is in good shape, almost like new, as is the rest of it. It uses some sort of link and pin coupler on each end. Haven't seen that style of coupler before.

I removed the engine and lightly oiled it and turned it by hand to make sure it is free. I ran it for a few seconds with compressed air.
Having other things more pressing, it is still removed. I will re-install it however.

I'm interested in any and all comments and thoughts those who work with live steam may have. I will be back soon with photo's.

Thanks

Mark D.

[cbrew]

whats you location? maybe find a local club and take it out there and see if there is any interest

[Mark D]

I live in central MN. Don't know of any live steam operations around here. Maybe something around the metro area, but don't know how to find them if they're there.

The paper tube in the photo contains all the engineering drawings and assembly manuals. It also has a bucket of coal to go with it.

Mark D.

[ccvstmr]

Hello Mark, welcome to Chaski...even if only for a short time.

While there may be private tracks in the central MN area, I would think the next largest operation would be the St. Criox Live Steamers in Hudson, WI...just over the river from Minneapolis/St. Paul.

One item that will come up is...how good is the boiler? Is there some kind of boiler certification or "tag" on the loco indicating the last time the boiler was tested/certified? Here again, the folks at St. Croix might be able to assist in this area.

Looking for an appraised value? Check out the Chaski Marketplace to see if you can find similar locos that were for sale and those asking prices. Might look around elsewhere on the internet as well. The info is out there...will probably take a little detective work to determine a range of selling prices.

Lastly, glad you took the initiative to save the loco from the bone yard! You can bet, someone will be interested in it. In my mind, the sale is not "IF"...it's more like "WHEN". Keep the folks on this board up to date. Word has a way of getting around. You never know where a lead is going to come from. Good luck on your sale! Carl B.

[Harlock]

First of all, maybe take it to a track and make sure it runs, water inputs work.

Post it for sale on discoverlivesteam.com forsale pages, and here at Chaski live steam marketplace forum.

http://discoverlivesteam.com/discoverfo ... otive.html

The form:
http://www.emailmeform.com/builder/form/G6ebp20x9amqj5

Should go pretty quick as it is a lower end item that is within reach of many people.

Here is a clean cli-shay that sold for a little under $3k - http://discoverlivesteam.com/discoverfo ... /index.htm (scroll down past the American)

If you test and run it, I would start it at an asking price of $4k OBO and see what happens.

If you want to sell it 'as is - runs on air' then maybe start at $3.5k.

The Cli Shay is a good beginner's bargain.

-Mike

[LVRR2095]

Looking for an appraised value? Check out the Chaski Marketplace to see if you can find similar locos that were for sale and those asking prices. Might look around elsewhere on the internet as well. The info is out there...will probably take a little detective work to determine a range of selling prices.
.

Remember that what you see on the For Sale Pages is an asking price. Asking prices and selling prices are often two different things.

Another thing to ponder is possibly giving a good deal to a teenager or someone who might otherwise not be able to afford getting into the hobby. This is a hobby after all and is supposed to bring happiness
to its participants.

Keith

[Highiron]

Keith has a good suggestion of trying to offer it to a younger live steamer like a teenager as an inexpensive way to get involved in the hobby.
you would solving your what to do with it problem, helping a fellow hobbist and putting a few bucks in you pocket

you can list it with the Trian Trader for free as well as in the Chaski Market place to limit your out of pocket to sell it

http://www.thetraintrader.com

Mike V
Little Engines

[cbrew]

fleebay is also a good gauge for value.
here is a current posting as reference
http://www.ebay.com/itm/122099416608?ul_noapp=true

[DRS_RR]

Glad it didn't get scrapped, Glad you have given it a temporary home.

Somebody spent a lot of time building it, I think they are a neat loco.

Dave

[Mark D]

Thanks for all the advice. Regarding the boiler, It looks more like a steam generator, where copper tubing is full of water and absorbs heat from the walls of the firebox. If this is correct, it shouldn't be a candidate for a space launch. Rather, it could apparently be used as a wallpaper steamer if I wanted to burn all that coal inside. It is a weird looking boiler in any case.

I looked at that ebay link, but because it has been sold couldn't view anything more than the thumbnail, so I couldn't tell if it's a Clyshay or a model of a Shay locomotive. That would be a huge difference.

I'm not in a rush, fortunately. I'll take my time learning more about it before I start actively trying to sell it.

Mark D.

[Fred_V]

If you click on the thumbnail it will take you to the original auction and you can see all the pix. It is a Clyshay.

[Mark D]

That is what I did. The larger picture came up, then suddenly disappeared and a ebay message appeared that said the auction was closed. I tried again and nothing happened. I lost interest after that, figuring I was beating a dead horse.

Mark D.