Baldwin Forge & Machine

@Cadillac Mike posted:

Has anyone heard from Joe lately? I have tried to email him a couple of times and have not received a reply.  In August I sent a few items to him for conversion and have not heard a peep, hope all is well?

Well, I'm not so sure that "all is well" with Joe, as he closed up his business some 2 years ago, or more.

You are kidding me?  I see he posted on this forum in August about the same time I sent my items to him.

@Cadillac Mike posted:

You are kidding me?  I see he posted on this forum in August about the same time I sent my items to him.

Did you contact him prior to sending him anything? I'm NOT kidding, as Joe really did announce, here, quite a long time ago, that he was "closing his business".

I did contact him prior, his ads still appear in O Scale Trains magazine so I thought everything was ok but since I cannot seem to get ahold of him I am wondering now what happened.  He confirmed his address when I asked where to send the items to and I know they arrived per the tracking number.

@Cadillac Mike posted:

I did contact him prior,

Well, that wasn't good.

his ads still appear in O Scale Trains magazine

I remember seen an explanation from the Editor, that Joe's ads were paid-up well in advance. Thus, the ads still appeared.

so I thought everything was ok but since I cannot seem to get ahold of him I am wondering now what happened.  He confirmed his address when I asked where to send the items to and I know they arrived per the tracking number.

How did he confirm his address, if you say that you did NOT contact him advance?

Everything Hot Water has stated is correct. Joe did go to the Strasburg show in October but did not have a table. He sat next to me. I suggest you contact Joe and get your equipment back.

Joe is a very good friend of mine, and I see him usually once per week. It may take some time for him to recognize your equipment.

Joe has definitely retired. When I called to see if he had changed his mind he said his adds were paid ahead, and he was definitely retired. Don't know why the mag couldn't kill them off. Probably some legal beagle stuff.

Simon

Joe is definitely retired. I had heard a rumor that he might have been doing a little work after closing the business and I emailed him. He replied to me said no he wasn’t doing any more  conversion work. I wish I had half his skills I would do the conversion work myself.

I am trying to contact him but am not getting a response that is my worry. I initially spoke with Joe in August and he gave me his shipping address. I have tried unsuccessfully to get in touch with him three times since. I never knew he retired, especially when he gave me his address and the green light to send the trains.

How are you attempting to contact him?

I tried email and left a phone message.

In the  20 +/- years I have known him, Joe has been the most professional vendor with whom I have ever worked.  He is of the highest integrity and a stand up guy.  Joe has supplied running gear for scores of us over the years with nary a miss.    His comments are based in years of experience, his recommendations are gold.

I agree. Joe is a great guy. I am sure he will return what you sent him once he realizes what happened.

I did speak to him in Strasburg. A phone call may be difficult as his hearing is not so good. But that said, he is a great guy and will take care of you.

I will try email one more time or may even have to resort to an old school letter. Hopefully I can get my trains back, I'm just very confused over the whole thing. He walked me through how he did conversions and even said he may have to buy tender trucks from nwsl. Oh well, here goes nothing. ...

Will do, thanks Jay.

I did business with joe several times. I also remember his notice that he was going to close shop. He was and is a stand up guy and once he does get your letter I'm certain he will be in contact with you.

Bob

I sent Joe an email again, if he does not respond in the next few days I will send a letter and go from there.  I am 700 miles away from him so I am really hoping for the best on this one. Thanks all for your words of encouragement.

All is well that ends well. This has ended well. Mike will have his trains returned soon.

Bob,

You, and the little team you gathered up, are to be commended.  The think Mike owes you guys a beer...at least.  I'll leave it up to him.

I salute you.

Jay

I too saw Joe's message that he was back in business, but then when I contacted him, he said he no longer was.  Sometimes a second wind doesn't last long.

Many thanks to all involved in getting the trains back, I GREATLY appreciate everyone that chipped in to make sure it happened!  I owe the team something that is for sure.  It is the people that make this forum special and I would have been lost without them.

Merry Christmas to all.😃

Now, I just have to find someone to 2 rail these silly trains!

Mike

@Cadillac Mike posted:

Merry Christmas to all.😃

Now, I just have to find someone to 2 rail these silly trains!

Mike

The only other person I knew of that did this type of work will not work on steam locomotives with captured axles. So if you do find someone please let me know who it is. My email is in my profile.

Check with Matt Forsyth at Forsyth Rail Services.

Excellent craftsmanship.

Stand by when you price this stuff.  We were doing them at $80/axle 20 years ago, and couldn't afford to keep the lights on in the shop.

I find it boring work, and wouldn't do it professionally for anything less than about $250/axle.  It is not, however, difficult.

Joe did it differently than we did - if you capture a good 9" or larger lathe and some iron pipe, I can describe - for free! - how we did it.  It can be satisfying hobby work.

Thank you Chris.

Bob, I am interested in learning about the process. If you could send it to me or post it here that would be great. What make of lathe do you consider to be good?

South Bend, Sheldon, Logan, 12" late model Atlas/Sears.  Let me know when you capture one, and I will be happy to lead you through in this or a dedicated thread.

A Sherline won't do.  I am not familiar with the larger Harbor Freight type stuff.

I for one would love to see Bob's methodology for two railing, the more idea's the better.       cTr...( Choose the Right )

I have some old Lobaugh drivers that will work with my Weaver 4-6-0 PRR G5.  I may have to modify or fashion a new frame and it looks like the Lionel Legacy F3 diesels can be done with NWSL wheels and some insulating rod.  I may just try this myself instead of spending a whole month's pay on a locomotive worth less than half that amount.  Joes prices were wonderful, I am sorry to see him out of the game.

Regarding the Lionel F3, when I did an ABA set of those I found it easier to replace the drives entirely rather than modify the Lionel wheels.  I used drives from Weaver GP-38's with some additional parts from P&D.  If you use the Lionel you'll wind up having to remove or replace a lot of electronics and the reversing units and come up with a power pick up.  You can buy frames from Lionel so you could recoup the cost by selling the Lionel drives and starting from scratch.

Those are both really good plans.

I re-did an MTH Hudson - needed a new frame and cylinder block, and I used Lobaugh drivers.  MTH has some strange insulating philosophy - I like rim insulation.

I would be most interested in learning more details about pulling, machining and pressing techniques for 2-railing locomotives.  I was hoping to have Joe work on a few projects, but since he's retired it would be a good set of skill to acquire, plus I have access to a 14" lathe.

Perhaps I'll start a new thread for folks to share ideas with.

@Daniel Raible posted:

I would be most interested in learning more details about pulling, machining and pressing techniques for 2-railing locomotives.  ..... it would be a good set of skill to acquire, plus I have access to a 14" lathe.

Perhaps I'll start a new thread for folks to share ideas with.

Probably not happening now with this covoid mess, but the local high schools around my area used to offer evening courses in various subjects. Even if you only got fundamentals, seems like that might be a good place to start.

Simon

@bob2 posted:

South Bend, Sheldon, Logan, 12" late model Atlas/Sears.  Let me know when you capture one, and I will be happy to lead you through in this or a dedicated thread.

A Sherline won't do.  I am not familiar with the larger Harbor Freight type stuff.

Thank you Bob for the information. I will contact you when ready.