This type of
locomotive helped to pioneer such famous railways
as the Santa Fe which was known as the Railroad
that built an Empire. The locomotive is instantly
recognisable to fans of the Western movie by the
distinctive smoke stack and the prominent cow
catcher.
The Yesteryear
model was one of two locomotives in the range.
The major criticism of these models is that they
are completely devoid of rolling stock. That
apart, this model is quite a good representation.
There are several
minor casing differences to the various issues of
this model. The main one being the way the
baseplate was secured to the chassis. Early
baseplates were secured by a rivet passing
through a hole in the baseplate and is dark red
in colour. Later, a longer rivet was used, cast
on the underside of the body, which passed
through the chassis and then the baseplate. The
rivet in this variation is green.
Varying levels of
gold trim were applied to this model with more
being applied to the early issues. Usually the
model is found in a shade of dark green. These
issues can be purchased for between £60 and £90
in mint boxed condition at swapmeets. However, a
lighter green issue does exist and is extremely
rare, reaching in the region of £800.
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