# Kalamazoo Train



## Basscat (Feb 8, 2011)

I have a friend who has a Kalamazoo Train set from possibly the 80's. I have searched on google and can not find any information about the particular set he has. We are trying to find out what model it is, and when it was made. This set has never been used.

http://img511.imageshack.us/img511/6839/1002292q.jpg


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

Kalamazoo produced trains in the early-to-mid 80s, then went away after less-than-stellar sales. Their stuff was pretty basic in terms of details to LGB's line, and when Delton came on the scene as an alternative to LGB in the mid 80s offering well-detailed freight cars, that pretty much did it for Kalamazoo. There's no particular prototype for any of their models--they're very generic, built nominally to 1:24. 

Beyond that, I haven't a clue as to specifics about that particular set's manufacture. 

Hartland Locomotive Works now has most of the old Kalamazoo molds, and produces some of the old rolling stock. In my opinion, it's a good starting point for kitbashers. 

Later, 

K


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## Russell Miller (Jan 3, 2008)

I sold 2 Kalamazoo cars, a coach and a caboose, for a whopping $25 for both on eBay recently. 
Russ


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## afinegan (Jan 2, 2008)

Sorry for not quite answering your question but I want to show you how far kalamazoo went (and hartland was been talking about reproducing this civil war set too)

One of the nicest sets that kalamazoo produced was the civil war set. There was a confederate set and a union set. My father and I brought them to diamondhead a few times, here are some pictures of us running them. Of course, we were pulling the cars with live steamers  (the real engines in the set were kalamazoo's 4-4-0's)
(photos taken by carol jobush - for larger pictures go here http://www.jobusch.com/diamondhead2010)


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## Mik (Jan 2, 2008)

Kalamazoo stuff is a crapshoot to buy or sell. Sometimes you get the bear, sometimes the bear gets you. Personally, I like them. (I have 4 passenger cars, 2 boxcars, and a tank car at the moment) Their short length and lack of fragile bits to break off is a plus to me. BUT, as a seller you'd think I'm a really cheap SoB because I will only pay a maximum of $25 (including shipping) each, and only actually look to buy maybe one car every few months... (I'm not so much "cheap" as just a bit less than affluent. "Poorer than dirt" might be a good description. What Disability pays ain't livin very high on the hog.... or even in the same pen!)


There isn't a thing wrong with the quality of Kalamazoo stuff as a toy train. It's just that it's 'old', but not yet 'antique', nor was it ever pushed as a 'premium' brand, so there aren't very many collectors seeking it, yet. That being a complete set (unrun, you say) with a decent box, somebody MIGHT pay a slight premium. Or you might get more by breaking it (selling all the parts including the box separately). Next week the same item, listed exactly the same way - may bring twice as much, or half as much, as it would today. Like I said, a total crapshoot.

If you don't need the money, run it under the Christmas tree like it was meant to. Or try to keep it mint for another 30 years.


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## digger (Jan 2, 2008)

Back in '84, I bought a set, much like the one pictured, ostensibly for my granddaughter to play with. It took a little pressure off of my On3 layout, which she could run but couldn't touch. It was perfect. She played with it for hours, loading it with her Fisher-Price and Mapletown animals and people. And wouldn't you know... I got hooked on large scale and soon sold off my On3 to buy LGB. Some years later, I sold the Kalamazoo set to another family, but for nostalgia's sake, have since picked up another Kalamazoo locomotive and a few cars. The locos ran very well, and though the detail level on the equipment is much less than what most of us enjoy today, once in a while I run it around the layout on "open days" just to show off the way it all began. Yes, you can pick up the cars for a song, but the locomotives, especially those in good shape, seem to bring a pretty fair price.


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## Robbie Hanson (Jan 4, 2008)

I've got an older (first run) Kalamazoo loco (D&RG), a set of V&T passenger cars (combine, two coaches), a D&RGW drover's caboose, and a maroon tank car. Only issues I've had are with the truck mountingpins on the coaches snapping off, and the absolute lack of rolling from the tank car. 

Though I have to mention that the motor in the locomotive has, in fact, died; would anyone have a suggestion as to where I could find a new one? The Hartland Mack motor appears to be similar, but the shaft is too long.


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## toddalin (Jan 4, 2008)

Strange, but true...

I have a friend who bought a used Kalamazoo engine and tender (a 4-4-0 as I recall). He brought it over and put it on my point-to-point auto-reversing track (simple timed voltage flip with diodes in the end rails). BION, the engine does not stop in the diode-protected sections and just keeps right on going past the diodes. I had never seen this happen and figured that a diode must have shorted out.

Nope! ALL of my engines stop and reverse just fine. All I can figure is that these things take so little current, the little bit of leakage through the diode is enough to let it run.









BTW, I have a couple of the Kalamazoo flat cars that were from the Woodland Scenic Railway (East Broad Top's father's railway).


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## Basscat (Feb 8, 2011)

Thanks for the replies guys. 

Does anyone have a name for which model this is? Mountain Central? Fast Freight Service? Union Pacific?


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## OldNoob (Apr 30, 2016)

Old thread i know, but is the Kalamazoo brass track any good? better than bachmann tin? worse than LGB? 250 or 332?


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## chuck n (Jan 2, 2008)

Brass track is better than the Bachmann steel track, not tin (check it with a magnet). There are 
many more options for expanding your layout. It is code 332.

The Bachmann track is useful indoors, outside it will rust into a pile of red dust.

Chuck


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## Dave Meashey (Jan 2, 2008)

"Old thread i know, but is the Kalamazoo brass track any good?"

I have about four straight sections made by Kalamazoo. They mate nicely with both LGB and Aristo track. Since the railheads are level with one another (matching LGB and Aristo), I suppose they are code 332

Regards,
David Meashey


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## Mike Toney (Feb 25, 2009)

LGB is kind of the gold standard for use, espicaly outdoors. While I have Kalamazoo trains, I do not have any of thier track. Heard it was good stuff, probably on part with Aristocraft and USA track. Way better than the B-man tin stuff. Mike


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## Sjoc78 (Jan 25, 2014)

The Kalamazoo brass is fairly comparable to LGB might not be quite as robust but I've used it indoors and for temporary layouts. I had enough LGB track when I built my Garden railway I didn't use my Kalamazoo so I can't tell you how it fairs outdoors.


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## East Broad Top (Dec 29, 2007)

The Kalamazoo ties were not as UV stable as LGB's ties, so they had a tendency to turn white and get brittle on occasion. That having been said, my dad's got some Kalamazoo tie strips that we used on his railroad which have been outdoor for 30 years now. The track is code 332, and compatible with LGB, Aristo, and other manufacturers. 

Later,

K


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