Buy anything cool lately?

Kevin, you may grow weary of those PSA's, but, you'll never grow weary of command control.  I have 3 LCP+'s, and six MTH engines, controlled by two TIU's on two separate layouts.  IMO, the difference is between when we were kids, and now.  Take advantage of all of it....

Best wishes,

Jerry

JerryG posted:

Kevin, you may grow weary of those PSA's, but, you'll never grow weary of command control.  I have 3 LCP+'s, and six MTH engines, controlled by two TIU's on two separate layouts.  IMO, the difference is between when we were kids, and now.  Take advantage of all of it....

Best wishes,

Jerry

Yes, I’m starting to come around to that as well. Love my Postwar setup, and the LCP upgrade is easy and relatively inexpensive. Using the app on my smartphone is really cool. Modern smoke units are amazing.

Don't think this came off a train but is really cool.  Patented Feb. 15, 1927

Pingman posted:

Lou1985 posted:

Pingman posted:

I needed smooth sided, 15" aluminum streamlined passenger cars for a couple of paint projects.  Excellent candidates are the TCA convention cars LIONEL made in the early 2000's so I bought three in the past couple of days.

The first purchase, scheduled to arrive today, is the Railway Post Office car--I plan to add the large mail hook and some bars over the doors and windows to improve its prototype appearance:

 

I've used these TCA cars as donors in the past and found the paint is very easy to remove, and their interiors provide plenty of space for conversion to LED lighting, though the full dome will be a first for me.

Thanks for looking.

Those cars are great for smooth side painting projects. They are cheap to acquire as well. I used 6 of them to create my Southern Pacific "Golden State" consist. I had to make my own end cap to create a blunt end sleeper, because no one makes one.

Very nicely done SP Golden State set using the TCA cars, especially the blunt end sleeper.  Did LIONEL sell the car badges/plaques?

The RPO arrived today and it's perfect for my purposes--easy paint removal; minimal bodywork; and easy LED install.

I made the nameplates myself. They are painted plastistrut pieces with Microscale decals. I found the last 6 O scale decal sets left pretty much anywhere. 

My library is growing by volumes...

And I picked up this sign from Todd Architectural Models at Trainstock - it will be installed on two of their warehouse flats that are already on the layout.

Lou1985 posted:

Pingman posted:

Lou1985 posted:

Pingman posted:

I needed smooth sided, 15" aluminum streamlined passenger cars for a couple of paint projects.  Excellent candidates are the TCA convention cars LIONEL made in the early 2000's so I bought three in the past couple of days.

The first purchase, scheduled to arrive today, is the Railway Post Office car--I plan to add the large mail hook and some bars over the doors and windows to improve its prototype appearance:

 

I've used these TCA cars as donors in the past and found the paint is very easy to remove, and their interiors provide plenty of space for conversion to LED lighting, though the full dome will be a first for me.

Thanks for looking.

Those cars are great for smooth side painting projects. They are cheap to acquire as well. I used 6 of them to create my Southern Pacific "Golden State" consist. I had to make my own end cap to create a blunt end sleeper, because no one makes one.

Very nicely done SP Golden State set using the TCA cars, especially the blunt end sleeper.  Did LIONEL sell the car badges/plaques?

The RPO arrived today and it's perfect for my purposes--easy paint removal; minimal bodywork; and easy LED install.

I made the nameplates myself. They are painted plastistrut pieces with Microscale decals. I found the last 6 O scale decal sets left pretty much anywhere. 

Did you prefer a blunt end sleeper to a typical observation coach/lounge car?

theres a lot of interesting scale Polar express stuff in the 2019 catalog that i will be buying.  

It's been a while since I have received any trains. Last Thursday the FedEx man left these on my door step.

Waiting on my HO NS 8099. Should be here sometime today.

Then on Friday I had visit from the UPS man who delivered some things from Menard's to update my buildings, military cars and some accessories. I liked the lighted Goodyear truck but at $29.95 I was not going to get it but then I saw on the C&O flat car for $29.95 so I decided to get it. Some of the items I did not really want but came to me free, like the 9 houses and 7 Starbucks trucks and believe or not I don't really like Starbucks coffee..

paulp posted:

Then on Friday I had visit from the UPS man who delivered some things from Menard's to update my buildings, military cars and some accessories. I liked the lighted Goodyear truck but at $29.95 I was not going to get it but then I saw on the C&O flat car for $29.95 so I decided to get it. Some of the items I did not really want but came to me free, like the 9 houses and 7 Starbucks trucks and believe or not I don't really like Starbucks coffee..

What are the uhhh....product numbers or SKUs for those Military Transport Pinup Boxcars? Like, all of them?

I haven’t purchased a new locomotive in many years due to many people having issues but I took the plunge and got this beauty over the weekend it ran great 

I received a call back from Midge at MTH and ordered two mail hooks from their RPO cars to use on an RPO car made from a LIONEL TCA convention RPO car:

But, before her phone call I ordered a K-Line RPO for use on another paint project:

And, while typing this, my USPS carrier just dropped off two more LIONEL TCA convention cars I purchased for my paint projects--photos to follow.

Doesn't look like anyone here is suffering because of the economy, lots of new goodies!

PaulL, Did you hit the lottery?  Wow, lots of nice items!

Young Mr. Brown brought my first Mianne kit on Saturday.  He walked in from the truck with it on his shoulder.  I had to tip it over into the door and slide it down the steps where I opened it and took out the contents.  I actually sold a couple engines to pay for it.  Why hold onto engines if I don't have a layout to run them on?  Inspector Annie had to think about it, but finally gave approval.  We still have to empty that built in bookcase, and I'll put empty train boxes in there.

Mark, I like your Mianne set up, looks really well made. Thanks for posting. Paulp, you must have our Addiction or fascination of model trains, thanks for sharing, Coastsidekevin, great video and fun to run train, wow, so many nice purchases. I just bought LED Lighting for my Lionel 18” El Capitan passenger train. 

Should have mentioned above about my parts order from MTH:

Two small hooks @$3.00 ea. = $6.00 PLUS $9.50 S&H=$15.50

Hey, I wanted the parts.  But I buy $6 in electronics parts from Hong Kong and shipping is free.  Heck, I'd wait 3-4 weeks for my MTH RPO hooks for free shipping.  Ain't goin' to happen, of course.

Mark, where's the test of the benchwork?

John, Test!  I’m sure it will hold my 170 pounds.  I have never climbed up on Benchwork, and I don’t intend to start now!  LOL

leapinlarry posted:

Mark, I like your Mianne set up, looks really well made. Thanks for posting. Paulp, you must have our Addiction or fascination of model trains, thanks for sharing, Coastsidekevin, great video and fun to run train, wow, so many nice purchases. I just bought LED Lighting for my Lionel 18” El Capitan passenger train. 

Larry, great looking with the lights on and the room dimmed! Wonderful pictures! I wish I had a layout like yours, but I will be happy with what I have and when time comes just keep adding on! LOL

Pingman posted:

Lou1985 posted:

Pingman posted:

Lou1985 posted:

Pingman posted:

I needed smooth sided, 15" aluminum streamlined passenger cars for a couple of paint projects.  Excellent candidates are the TCA convention cars LIONEL made in the early 2000's so I bought three in the past couple of days.

The first purchase, scheduled to arrive today, is the Railway Post Office car--I plan to add the large mail hook and some bars over the doors and windows to improve its prototype appearance:

 

I've used these TCA cars as donors in the past and found the paint is very easy to remove, and their interiors provide plenty of space for conversion to LED lighting, though the full dome will be a first for me.

Thanks for looking.

Those cars are great for smooth side painting projects. They are cheap to acquire as well. I used 6 of them to create my Southern Pacific "Golden State" consist. I had to make my own end cap to create a blunt end sleeper, because no one makes one.

Very nicely done SP Golden State set using the TCA cars, especially the blunt end sleeper.  Did LIONEL sell the car badges/plaques?

The RPO arrived today and it's perfect for my purposes--easy paint removal; minimal bodywork; and easy LED install.

I made the nameplates myself. They are painted plastistrut pieces with Microscale decals. I found the last 6 O scale decal sets left pretty much anywhere. 

Did you prefer a blunt end sleeper to a typical observation coach/lounge car?

 

Both the Southern Pacific and Rock Island had train sets for the Golden State. The Rock Island sets had round end observation lounge cars, the Southern Pacific sets had blunt end sleepers and a mid train lounge car. I modeled the Southern Pacific set, hence why I had to make my own blunt end sleeper. 

TheRWBYRailfan posted:

paulp posted:

Then on Friday I had visit from the UPS man who delivered some things from Menard's to update my buildings, military cars and some accessories. I liked the lighted Goodyear truck but at $29.95 I was not going to get it but then I saw on the C&O flat car for $29.95 so I decided to get it. Some of the items I did not really want but came to me free, like the 9 houses and 7 Starbucks trucks and believe or not I don't really like Starbucks coffee..

What are the uhhh....product numbers or SKUs for those Military Transport Pinup Boxcars? Like, all of them?

Here are the #s for the 4 shown. I have 14 different ones that they have made.

Thanks, Lou1985, for the explanation of the blunt end sleeper.

Mark, the answer is no I didn't hit the lottery I wish I did then maybe I could buy a bigger house so I could run something for once. I do like your Mianne kit but I don't think that it would work for me, I still like to get on top of my layouts for some reason even though I'm not a spring chicken any more. Plus your dog looks like she likes trains, mine doesn't like to see mine move or you would think that she is a trained attack dog but trained to attack trains or anything with wheels.

Larry yes it is a addiction "I just like tooo much stuff" But I don't drink or smoke so that money I save for my trains.

And then I failed to mention that there was Saturday and FedEx paid me another visit. With a few cases of MTH military cars, some additional cars  and 1 Lionel engine, the gray Niagara.

Paul, It’s funny it never occurred to me to climb up on my train table until I read of guys here on this forum doing it.  I never built a layout so deep I needed to do it.  My ceiling is only 7’ 4” high and I have a bulkhead in the middle of the room covering the I beam and return duct that projects down 15”.  Im afraid I would hit my head and damage the I beam!  LOL

Mark Boyce posted:

Paul, It’s funny it never occurred to me to climb up on my train table until I read of guys here on this forum doing it.  I never built a layout so deep I needed to do it.  My ceiling is only 7’ 4” high and I have a bulkhead in the middle of the room covering the I beam and return duct that projects down 15”.  Im afraid I would hit my head and damage the I beam!  LOL

I got something great yesterday!   The ambition to start the expansion of the layout .. Thanks to the action of other forum members!!!     

Mark I have had myself, my brother, and my son standing on my layout.   Electric work overhead!   UGGG

Jim

Lou1985 posted:

Pingman posted:

Lou1985 posted:

Pingman posted:

Lou1985 posted:

Pingman posted:

I needed smooth sided, 15" aluminum streamlined passenger cars for a couple of paint projects.  Excellent candidates are the TCA convention cars LIONEL made in the early 2000's so I bought three in the past couple of days.

The first purchase, scheduled to arrive today, is the Railway Post Office car--I plan to add the large mail hook and some bars over the doors and windows to improve its prototype appearance:

 

I've used these TCA cars as donors in the past and found the paint is very easy to remove, and their interiors provide plenty of space for conversion to LED lighting, though the full dome will be a first for me.

Thanks for looking.

Those cars are great for smooth side painting projects. They are cheap to acquire as well. I used 6 of them to create my Southern Pacific "Golden State" consist. I had to make my own end cap to create a blunt end sleeper, because no one makes one.

Very nicely done SP Golden State set using the TCA cars, especially the blunt end sleeper.  Did LIONEL sell the car badges/plaques?

The RPO arrived today and it's perfect for my purposes--easy paint removal; minimal bodywork; and easy LED install.

I made the nameplates myself. They are painted plastistrut pieces with Microscale decals. I found the last 6 O scale decal sets left pretty much anywhere. 

Did you prefer a blunt end sleeper to a typical observation coach/lounge car?

 

Both the Southern Pacific and Rock Island had train sets for the Golden State. The Rock Island sets had round end observation lounge cars, the Southern Pacific sets had blunt end sleepers and a mid train lounge car. I modeled the Southern Pacific set, hence why I had to make my own blunt end sleeper. 

You did an excellent job replicating the blunt end prototype judging by this 18" K-Line version:

Jim, Overhead wiring is a pain in the neck-literally!  Also pain in the back and old inoperable rotator cuff injury.  You guessed I write from experience!  LOL

Mr Brown dropped off some of the things I had on order. My TH&B GP7's, hopper car and a coal loading shed for my yet to be built coal mine. Pics.................Paul

Mark Boyce posted:

John, Test!  I’m sure it will hold my 170 pounds.  I have never climbed up on Benchwork, and I don’t intend to start now!  LOL

Mark, I might be wrong but I think "test" was a typo by GRJ hitting a t instead of a r. I'm guessing he meant where is the "rest" of the benchwork referring to that empty space inbetween your two assembled sections on the right and left sides of the room.

paulp posted:

TheRWBYRailfan posted:

paulp posted:

Then on Friday I had visit from the UPS man who delivered some things from Menard's to update my buildings, military cars and some accessories. I liked the lighted Goodyear truck but at $29.95 I was not going to get it but then I saw on the C&O flat car for $29.95 so I decided to get it. Some of the items I did not really want but came to me free, like the 9 houses and 7 Starbucks trucks and believe or not I don't really like Starbucks coffee..

What are the uhhh....product numbers or SKUs for those Military Transport Pinup Boxcars? Like, all of them?

Here are the #s for the 4 shown. I have 14 different ones that they have made.

279-4442	Heavenly Body Commemorative Military Boxcar
279-4444	Yellow Rose Commemorative Military Boxcar
279-4446	Victory Girl Commemorative Military Boxcar
279-4448	Hard to Get Commemorative Military Boxcar

Many thanks!

ogaugeguy posted:

Mark Boyce posted:

John, Test!  I’m sure it will hold my 170 pounds.  I have never climbed up on Benchwork, and I don’t intend to start now!  LOL

Mark, I might be wrong but I think "test" was a typo by GRJ hitting a t instead of a r. I'm guessing he meant where is the "rest" of the benchwork referring to that empty space in between your two assembled sections on the right and left sides of the room.

Ogaugeguy, Ohhhh....Now I see!!  I'll bet you are right!!!    There is so much discussion on this forum about folks building benchwork strong enough to hold the weight of the whole Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line, that I thought that is what John meant.    I did think the sentence was worded a bit odd if he meant 'test'.  

So, back to John's question.  I will post the photograph again for reference.  The rest of the kit is actually laying on top of the right hand section of bench.  Two 4-foot lengths and a 2-foot cross member.  You can barely see them.  I didn't finish it yet because I wanted to slide the two sections around.  Those plastic feet really slide nicely on this low pile carpeting.

I have a lesson that I have tried to put into practice and have been more successful in recent years.  When doing something new, I like to stop and look at it a day or two before continuing.  This is probably not wisdom of over 6 decades of life, it is more like I need a rest and it is too much trouble to undo something I goofed up.    So after looking at this for two days, it dawned on me that I would have no trouble with the layout, but I would if I needed access to those windows.  Those are the only windows that have not been replaced in this 50-year old house, and the ground level outside is only about 4 inches below the sills.

Talking it over with my wife, I am going to shift the layout away from the windows, allowing 3 feet access.  It will work.  I will have to move some things that are behind the camera that are going out anyway.

Well that is a lot of rabbit trail for a "Buy anything cool" topic, but I am going to claim it is all in answer to the question "What happened to the rest of the cool item"  

paul 2 posted:

Mr Brown dropped off some of the things I had on order. My TH&B GP7's, hopper car and a coal loading shed for my yet to be built coal mine. Pics.................Paul

Paul, The two GP7s look great!!  I have always liked the torpedoes that they have. I also like the covered hopper.  Steel Foundry, Glassport, Pa!  I know where that is.  South of Pittsburgh.  

The only question is, Why did Mr. Brown not bring more Weaver TOFC cars?   Does he have an O gauge layout??   

Mark Boyce posted:

ogaugeguy posted:

Mark Boyce posted:

John, Test!  I’m sure it will hold my 170 pounds.  I have never climbed up on Benchwork, and I don’t intend to start now!  LOL

Mark, I might be wrong but I think "test" was a typo by GRJ hitting a t instead of a r. I'm guessing he meant where is the "rest" of the benchwork referring to that empty space in between your two assembled sections on the right and left sides of the room.

Ogaugeguy, Ohhhh....Now I see!!  I'll bet you are right!!!    There is so much discussion on this forum about folks building benchwork strong enough to hold the weight of the whole Pittsburgh Steelers defensive line, that I thought that is what John meant.    I did think the sentence was worded a bit odd if he meant 'test'.  

So, back to John's question.  I will post the photograph again for reference.  The rest of the kit is actually laying on top of the right hand section of bench.  Two 4-foot lengths and a 2-foot cross member.  You can barely see them.  I didn't finish it yet because I wanted to slide the two sections around.  Those plastic feet really slide nicely on this low pile carpeting.

I have a lesson that I have tried to put into practice and have been more successful in recent years.  When doing something new, I like to stop and look at it a day or two before continuing.  This is probably not wisdom of over 6 decades of life, it is more like I need a rest and it is too much trouble to undo something I goofed up.    So after looking at this for two days, it dawned on me that I would have no trouble with the layout, but I would if I needed access to those windows.  Those are the only windows that have not been replaced in this 50-year old house, and the ground level outside is only about 4 inches below the sills.

Talking it over with my wife, I am going to shift the layout away from the windows, allowing 3 feet access.  It will work.  I will have to move some things that are behind the camera that are going out anyway.

Well that is a lot of rabbit trail for a "Buy anything cool" topic, but I am going to claim it is all in answer to the question "What happened to the rest of the cool item"  

Mark,

When I used Maine bench work for my layout I drilled out extra wire pass through holes and mounted terminal blocks on all the cross members before I mounted my plywood top. It was a lot easier to work from above than from below. 

Dave

Dave, That is smart to do!  I want to spend as little time under the layout as I can.  Thank you 

 First off, I would like to just say that it is amazing that this forum has reached 6600 replies! Also, here are some photos of my new NS 8099 SOU heritage unit. I will soon be adding a cab light.

Paul,  TB&Y 402 and 403 were actually GP9s.  

Larry

Got this today on the mail, very decent price on an original WW2 British Army booklet for French RRs. Small and short book, but so cool!

Pingman posted:

Lou1985 posted:

Pingman posted:

Lou1985 posted:

Pingman posted:

Lou1985 posted:

Pingman posted:

I needed smooth sided, 15" aluminum streamlined passenger cars for a couple of paint projects.  Excellent candidates are the TCA convention cars LIONEL made in the early 2000's so I bought three in the past couple of days.

The first purchase, scheduled to arrive today, is the Railway Post Office car--I plan to add the large mail hook and some bars over the doors and windows to improve its prototype appearance:

 

I've used these TCA cars as donors in the past and found the paint is very easy to remove, and their interiors provide plenty of space for conversion to LED lighting, though the full dome will be a first for me.

Thanks for looking.

Those cars are great for smooth side painting projects. They are cheap to acquire as well. I used 6 of them to create my Southern Pacific "Golden State" consist. I had to make my own end cap to create a blunt end sleeper, because no one makes one.

Very nicely done SP Golden State set using the TCA cars, especially the blunt end sleeper.  Did LIONEL sell the car badges/plaques?

The RPO arrived today and it's perfect for my purposes--easy paint removal; minimal bodywork; and easy LED install.

I made the nameplates myself. They are painted plastistrut pieces with Microscale decals. I found the last 6 O scale decal sets left pretty much anywhere. 

Did you prefer a blunt end sleeper to a typical observation coach/lounge car?

 

Both the Southern Pacific and Rock Island had train sets for the Golden State. The Rock Island sets had round end observation lounge cars, the Southern Pacific sets had blunt end sleepers and a mid train lounge car. I modeled the Southern Pacific set, hence why I had to make my own blunt end sleeper. 

You did an excellent job replicating the blunt end prototype judging by this 18" K-Line version:

Well plenty good enough for something I made out of sheet plastic and body filler 😁.

First 2 rail engine. Can’t believe I found this brand new on eBay!