It is late and I really should be in bed. There is another busy work day coming quickly but I couldn’t resist the urge to share my find.
Some time back I stumbled across a web site for a hobby shop in Australia. To my surprise they listed Atlas #9539 AC&Y locomotive #200 as being in stock. I sent a message asking them to confirm availability. The reply came back that they would verify the item was actually on the shelf. And then nothing. For two weeks no further messages were received. I sent another inquiry but no reply. My hopes of finding the all too illusive #200 loco were fading fast as the days went by. As fate would have it I found one on ebay while waiting on the message reply. The post before this one is all about that find.
Well, tonight nearing midnight a message arrives from the Australian hobby shop owner. He is very apologetic the reply took so long but does verify he has 2 of the locos in stock. But now I already have #200. What to do? Technically loco #200 was the only H15-44 in the AC&Y fleet and so the loco purchased on ebay fulfills the need. However I am unable to find any more of the later H16-44 locos and 3 more are needed to complete the AC&Y roster of this model. The H15-44 and H16-44 prototypes are externally identical from everything I can see in photos. It appears the only difference is the horsepower of the prime mover under the hood. So I tell the Aussie to ship’em. I have experienced how challenging it is to find AC&Y locos so I dare not let this opportunity slip by. The Australian sourced #200’s will be renumbered to locomotives #206 & #207 and no one will be the wiser!
Sure I sacrificed a few hours sleep tonight swapping messages with a mate on the other side of the world but it was worth it. My fleet of yellow locomotives is nearly complete!
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