I bought mine, painted but unlettered from National Capital Trains at Timonium, Maryland to-day. They were charging One-Hundred-Twenty-Five bananas. He had five left at about 1300, including an undecorated and a painted but unlettered. He had them in lettered versions, also, but I am not sure which ones.
I did get the first one from MBK and paid something like what they were charging for the latest version.
This one is proving harder to break in than the first one. I put it on the test track at the show, but you can not see much, there. I put it onto my test loop at home, and it had a noticeable wobble in forward and a pronounced wobble in reverse. A little bit of pivotting the trucks and fiddling with the wheelsets smoothed it out, mostly. I suspect that one of the axles/gears was not properly seated. A bit of running smoothed it out. It is still breaking in, but I had to start it at sixty plus SMPH. I have it to the point that it will run in reverse at twenty-five SMPH wihout any trouble, but, occasionally, it will still bind in forward at anything less than thirty SMPH. I am hoping that will correct itself with more running in.
My first run Shay will run smoothly at walking speed, just as does the prototype and will make all of the squeaking racket that the prototype makes.
It appears that somebody was a little too generous with the spray paint on the new one, as well.
The jury is still out on the new one, I hope that I am not disappointed.
Anyone who gets to Timonium to-morrow, check out National Capital Trains for one.
It was funny, I went to that show for two things: the new Woodland Scenics Scene-a-Rama Basic Kit and the J'n'J B&O waggontop caboose. I found neither, but I did find a painted but unlettered Shay at a good price. Maybe MBK has the Scene-a-Rama kit.
I also found two Bachpersonn shortie standard passenger cars for five bananas apiece; something for the non-historic.
