Where did Pacific Fast Mail go?

Jason--

For about thirty years, Pacific Fast Mail was the distributor of very fine, beautifully detailed brass locomotives from Japan--Tenshodo, United and their top-of-the-line Crown models.  When manufacture of Japanese brass became too expensive, and the market shifted to Korea, PFM ceased their importing business.  I can't tell you what year it was, but I believe it was sometime in the late 1980's.  For many years, the PFM locos were considered the 'standard' for well-crafted, well-running and exqusitely detailed steamers.  They also produced what is probably the most popular brass steam loco ever manufactured, the chunky little Santa Fe 1850 series 2-8-0.  Thirty years ago, you would be hard pressed to find a layout using brass steamers that didn't have at least one of those little locos trundling around the layout.  I bought mine in 1960, and except for a motor replacement in the interim, it's still a sweet little runner, and can handle almost as many cars as its prototype.    

They also produced a great many GN prototype steamers, almost everything from the little 2-8-0's clear up to the massive R-1 and R-2 2-8-8-2's.  Many of these were their "Crown" line, and extremely expensive even back then. 

They were (and are) fine locomotives, and very dependable runners for their time.   Even now, with a little tinkering and replacement of the open-frame motors with 'cans', they are for the most part, extremely smooth and powerful locomotives. 

One thing about them, though--being built to close to scale tolerances, many of their large-wheel based locomotives will demand a larger radius than many of the newer ABS or plastic steamers of the same wheel arrangement. 

For instance, the new Proto USRA 2-10-2 will run around a 22" radius fairly comfortably, while the same wheel arrangement in a PFM brass loco might require at least a 28". 

But they were and are, very fine examples of the art of brass steamers.

Tom

   

 

I have 2 Pacific Fast Mail Brass 2-6-0 B-15 made for the Boston & maine RR. Both were made in 1970, Both have the open frame motors, and neither run at all. I plan on having them both re-motored with NWSL Can Motors and painted. I want to see them run.....

Meyblic--

Remotoring a PFM with an NWSL can is a pretty easy 'drop-in' job, and NWSL makes cans that will fit just about any brass loco.  One nice thing about the PFM gearboxes is that they have quite a bit of 'play' in them, so you can usually connect the can shaft to the gear-box shaft with neoprene tubing.  I also mount the motor on the frame with silicone (which has an adjusting time of about 20 minutes) which automatically insulates the motor from the frame, if you're thinking of DCC in the future.  Connect one lead to the loco drawbar, the other to the frame itself, and you should have a smooth-running loco in no time.  Brass is easy and forgiving to work with, those 2-6-0's should be earning their pay in no time.

Tom  

It appears PFM is gone for good.  They did more than import brass locomotives (and they also imported parts although they rarely advertised them).  They also had a very good and reliable switch machine, excellent books that now go for high prices, their catalogs were simply top of the line, and way way back they sold slides, mostly of John Allen's layout.  After they left the brass import business they were probably best known for their steam locomotive sound system which was very high quality for the time, although hilariously bulky looking by today's standards.

They made the Santa Fe 2-8-0 famous (and almost did the same for the B&O 2-8-0) but were almost as well known for the kit USRA 0-8-0 that they kept in the catalog for years and years.   The one time owner had a special interest in Western Pacific and they had lots of WP steam over the years

Dave Nelson

twhite wrote:

Jason-- For about thirty years, Pacific Fast Mail was the distributor of very fine, beautifully detailed brass locomotives from Japan--Tenshodo, United and their top-of-the-line Crown models.  When manufacture of Japanese brass became too expensive, and the market shifted to Korea, PFM ceased their importing business.  I can't tell you what year it was, but I believe it was sometime in the late 1980's.  For many years, the PFM locos were considered the 'standard' for well-crafted, well-running and exqusitely detailed steamers.  They also produced what is probably the most popular brass steam loco ever manufactured, the chunky little Santa Fe 1850 series 2-8-0.  Thirty years ago, you would be hard pressed to find a layout using brass steamers that didn't have at least one of those little locos trundling around the layout.  I bought mine in 1960, and except for a motor replacement in the interim, it's still a sweet little runner, and can handle almost as many cars as its prototype.     They also produced a great many GN prototype steamers, almost everything from the little 2-8-0's clear up to the massive R-1 and R-2 2-8-8-2's.  Many of these were their "Crown" line, and extremely expensive even back then.  They were (and are) fine locomotives, and very dependable runners for their time.   Even now, with a little tinkering and replacement of the open-frame motors with 'cans', they are for the most part, extremely smooth and powerful locomotives.  One thing about them, though--being built to close to scale tolerances, many of their large-wheel based locomotives will demand a larger radius than many of the newer ABS or plastic steamers of the same wheel arrangement.  For instance, the new Proto USRA 2-10-2 will run around a 22" radius fairly comfortably, while the same wheel arrangement in a PFM brass loco might require at least a 28".  But they were and are, very fine examples of the art of brass steamers. Tom

Try 1950 Class; Uncle John's 1850 was a 2-6-2 in Class 1800.

You are right about one thing however; if there was a signature locomotive for brass (HO Scale) imports it was Santa Fe's 1950 class.  Baldwin delivered 42 of them; Japanese - and Korean - craftsmen probably one hundred times that number.  It - and/or C&NW's Zulus - are atop my list for N Scale desireability.

Bill - somebody will have to help me out with a last name as it escapes me at this time - probably gave pulse to narrow gauge modeling with his initial offerings of Rio Grande Mikados.  Looking back over pre-PFM Model Railroaders and Railroad Model Craftsman there was very little advertising expended on narrow gauge products; in addition there were few articles dealing with modeling narrow gauge.  This might be akin to a self-fulfilling prophecy: there was little modeling because there were few products available and there were few products available because there was little modeling.  Suddenly circa 1960 the floodgates seemed to open, more products became available, and more articles on narrow gauge modeling began appearing in the hobby press.

Pacific Fast Mail was the trailblazer in the importation of, not just brass, but model railroad products from abroad.

Actually, what remains of PFM is still around. They no longer import locos, but continue to produce castings as The Back Shop, primarily for the O scale market. Their website is:

http://home.onemain.com/~thebackshop/index2.htm 

I picked up one of these locos some years ago at a LHS, for under a hundred bucks, but, like yours, it wouldn't run.  I remotored it with the biggest can motor that would fit into the boiler, but when the motor finally arrived from NWSL, I realised that it was too big for the firebox to slip over it.  To remedy this, I mounted the motor in the boiler, then used Hobbytown universals for the drive train: when I need to disassemble it, the boiler/cab assembly lifts off with the motor inside.  Re-assembly requires aligning the u-joints using tweezers, not too difficult at all.  For its size, this loco is a good puller, and an extremely smooth runner, even at a crawl.  I modified it only slightly for my free-lanced road.

 

 Wayne 

R. T. POTEET wrote:

Bill - somebody will have to help me out with a last name as it escapes me at this time...

Bill Ryan.  IIRC, he owned a Cadillac dealership in Seattle.

 

jguess733 wrote:

I've seen a lot of PFM models at shows, LHS's, and in magazines, and I have always wanted one.  Last week when I was thumbing through some back issues of MR I came accross a PFM add on the back cover.  Realizing that their shop was right around the coner (actually just a ferry ride away), I planed to go for a visit.   Unforunitly after I made the ferry trip to Edmonds I found the location and the place was deserted.  Using google I found out that they were also in the book printing business.  What happened to them, and when did they close up shop?  The trip wasn't a total bust, I made my way over to North End Train Center in Seattle, and I bought a book titled Virginia & Truckee: The bonanza road By Mallor Hope Ferrel.

 

You need to add to your sig-

 

There are two kinds of ships.

Submarines and Targets.

 And:

 There are more airplanes in the ocean than submarines in the sky.

ET(SS) USS SeaHorse SSN 669

COB, SS(B) 39 Cobra, Pier 48, Seattle, 2002-2005

 

You on Nevada?

Ever get over this side of the pond, e-mail me.

Shilshole wrote:

R. T. POTEET wrote: Bill - somebody will have to help me out with a last name as it escapes me at this time... Bill Ryan.  IIRC, he owned a Cadillac dealership in Seattle.

I have an old MR downstairs with the transcript of his testimony in Congress on import tariff exemptions for brass models. 

PFM is still around, incidentally - that, or someone bought the rights to the name.  They're mostly doing limited-run publishing these days.  No website, unfortunately, but a lot of their stuff turns up on Amazon if you search by publisher. 

My understanding is PFM was owned by one or two pilots who flew the orient routes regularly.  When they retired their free rides did also.  It remained in business with some of the underlings for awhile servicing their sound system.

RT--

Sorry about that, I made a typo and forgot to proof-read.  It was the ATSF NINETEEN-fifty class.  Mine's numbered 1951. 

Oops!

Tom

ndbprr wrote:

My understanding is PFM was owned by one or two pilots who flew the orient routes regularly.  When they retired their free rides did also.  It remained in business with some of the underlings for awhile servicing their sound system.

I don't believe that PFM was that way, but Division Point Models is owned by at least one pilot who makes trips to the Orient.

 

Rick