Buy anything cool lately?

I have wanted that one too, NS1975, so I ordered one when the 2020 Vol. 1 MTH catalog offered it last fall.

Larry

I picked these up at a local train show today to add to my new Gilbert American Flyer collection.

The Mail Man drop this off today 

FlyPlanes-PlayTrains posted:

Love the CTA set... And my kids & I are still loving the Amtrak set I picked up at ORD from your wife!

cheers!

 

Tom

Hi Tom, So glad to hear you all continue to enjoy the Amtrak set!! We still talk about the ORD curbside exchange as the coolest train deal of all time!! I can only imagine what the TSA guy was thinking as he saw the trains on the screen!

LC+ New Jersey Central Pacific.....

Paul

Picked these up this week.

Sweet set, Rick. They were my first set of aluminum passenger cars.

Now you just have to locate the other four   

Apples55 where did you get those building flats from?  They look great!

A.J. posted:

Apples55 where did you get those building flats from?  They look great!

A.J.;

Thanks... Technically, those are shadow boxes (app. 1” deep). They all came from Forum Sponsor Todd Architectural Models. The one with the NYC sign on top was a one-off special run Doug did a couple of years ago, but I believe a shorter version is still available (and you can get signs that say whatever you want). I have to get around to adding some lighting to several of the boxes as well as installing a few others I have still in boxes!!!

Decided to take a chance in an auction recently.  (No, not *that* auction place, another online auction place).  It looked like a MTH repair shop / distributor recently went out of business, and I'm wondering if someone on this board knows anything about it. 

Tthere were several locos that were shown in a disassembled state, almost all PS1 with a couple PS2.  They had little note cards that the repair tech left with them, so there were at least some clues on where to start looking if anything was wrong.  Most of the cards read something like "Customer says engine doesn't work after storing for 10 years" and things like that.  After reading this forum for the past couple weeks, I've seen the PS1 issues and it seems that many of the "doesn't operate" issues can be fixed with reset, new BCR or fairly minor procedures.  

Also Included in the auction were a TON of PS1 boards, with little indication if they worked or not.  I'm guessing that if they were actually fried and beyond a simple repair, the shop would have tossed them.  No reason to save them, right?  So I put a bet on the boards being good PS1 Boards that were removed when the tech upgraded various engines to PS2 or PS3 and then kept the boards "just in case".  At the very least, maybe components could be combined to make a few decent PS1 Boards.

So...knowing a *little* bit about electronics, and not being afraid of doing some minor to medium surgery, I took a swing on several of the locos and then, figuring if the PS1 boards were bad on the engines themselves, I'd buy a bunch of the available PS1 spare boards and maybe I'd get lucky and find a couple in the mix that work.  I don't run DCS or TMCC (I actually don't run *ANYTHING* right now, but dad's got the bug and has me all excited about getting back into the trains after a few decades), so I don't care if it's all PS1.  I do have a couple MTH PS1 locos already so what the ****, right?

Here's my haul (photos attached):

• MTH #3166 Santa Fe Dash-8 , mechanic's note says "Replaced the original PS1 upgraded to a GP30 PS2 board."  It appears complete. $40.00
• MTH 20-2078-1 #1686 Northwestern FM H10-44.  attached mechanic's note says only "Intermittent Sound". $5.00
• MTH #1641 cab 4449 Southern Pacific GS-4 With Tender and PS2.  Mechanic's note says "Stored for 10 years, will not run. No output voltage from bottom board. Burnt up 2nd board, diodes shorting out.  Center rail pickpus short to chassis" $15.00
• MTH #1394 cab 4449.  Mechanics note says "Tender is mismatched Williams chassis to MTH shell. Engine renumbered to 1687. LocoSound runs without tender. Works well with loco tender.  Needs major tuneup. Rough Shape." $5.00

So that's $65.00 for 4 locos of questionable shape.  I don't even care if I can't get two of them to run.  And maybe I can cobble together one working Daylight GS-4 out of the two lots.  Or maybe I can make them all work and I got a steal!

Then, for the boards (have no idea if they work, but photos don't show any obvious damage). $15.00 for the entire lot of 13 boards:

• (1) QSI ACRU-LP Reverse Unit.
• (1) QSI PS1 Board for SD70MAC
• (1) QSI PS1 Board for Genesis
• (1) QSI PS1 Board for F3 
• (1) QSI PS1 Board for Doodlebug (lol, I will never own a doodlebug)
• (1) QSI PS1 Board for Scale Centipede
• (1) QSI PS1 Board for SW-9 (I can use this in an old K-Line SW unit I have from the 80's if it works!)
• (2) QSI PS1 Boards for EP5-GN (Yes! I have a Lionel Pennsy EP5 that could use these)
• (4) QSI PS1 Boards for Dash-8's (could one of these be a good Dash-8 board that was removed from the Santa Fe Dash-8 I bought? Hmmm...)

If these actually work, and I get out of them what I need, if I'm left with stuff afterwards I'll probably donate to folks on the forum.  But that'll be a couple years from now, and maybe it's all garbage anyway! But for $80.00 for everything (just over $145 shipped with auctioneer fees) I really don't mind if it IS all garbage!

1949 Ford F1 pick-up truck! Walmart! $1! How could I say "No"?

The "F" series was Ford's first line of pick-up trucks that did not use a car chassis. Although the F1 was the lightest of the series, it was still a successful vehicle, and many of them have been preserved. And it was somewhat of a "hot rod," often purchased new with pinstripes.

Been trying to stay off the auction sites lately. 2019 was a productive year for adding to the fleet but now it's time to slow down a bit.
Not that I've completely stopped buying, just a little more selective now.
To that end I found a nice MTH SW-8 in Penn Central livery yesterday. Now many would say what's so special about a PC diesel? Well this one is labeled for the Despatch Shops Inc., and has a nicer paint job then most of the PC fleet did back in the day. MTH released this in the 2001 catalog.

Merchants Despatch has an interesting history intertwined with the early days of the NYC.

Prototype here

(seller's photos)

Ordered these at the end of January on eBay, and they arrived today:

20 Sets Micro JST PH 1.25 2 PIN Male Female Plug Connector With Wire Cables $1.83 for 20 pairs, free shipping--$.09 per PAIR!  (How do they do it???)

They will find almost immediate use for LED installations.

Bob, that is a very unique and great looking switcher.  I certainly never saw anything like it in this end of PC country.

Carl, I wonder myself how they do some of these great deals!!

Bought this the other day love those Weavers 

Mark Boyce posted:

Bob, that is a very unique and great looking switcher.  I certainly never saw anything like it in this end of PC country.

Carl, I wonder myself how they do some of these great deals!!

Those types of things come from China.  To make most of the animated cars and so forth for my large scale trains, I have purchased all sorts of electronic devices on Ebay.  99% came from China.  Since the packages are small, shipping is usually free on minimal.  

Don't forget, we don't really know where in China they're being made, if at all.  Even China outsources manufacturing.  The original makers of this items could be earning a dollar a week for all we know.  

That's how they do it.

Atlas GP35

Stinky1 posted:

Atlas GP35

That's a beauty. A WM Circus diesel is on my list. Still hunting.

Bob

I just bought a few Miller Engineering billboards, in addition to the Menards lighted billboard and a Reading boxcar.

It be (re-)said: these Miller kits are exceptional.

- The Other Guy

Just picked up a Lionel Salad Bowl Express Set, the Extra Engine and 6 pack of the white add on reefer cars this past weekend at one of the major dealers Presidents Day Sale....Should be arriving today from UPS...got a great deal!!! 

Great looking Western Maryland GP35!  Ask Briansilvermustang where my 2 WM Circus SD7s are now?  Or maybe they are SD9s.  I forget!

A couple freight cars from Patricks Trains in Wheeling.

The Other Guy posted:

I just bought a few Miller Engineering billboards, in addition to the Menards lighted billboard and a Reading boxcar.

It be (re-)said: these Miller kits are exceptional.

- The Other Guy

That is a great sign, I made a small structure just to go with it

I received my SW-8 this afternoon. Paint is in good shape and the rails are nice and straight. The shell needs a good washing though.

          nice one Bob

RSJB18 posted:

I received my SW-8 this afternoon. Paint is in good shape and the rails are nice and straight. The shell needs a good washing though.

Sweet engine, Bob. I’ve always liked that NYC/PC green - I think they called it jade. Really pops with the black.

Picked this up at local toy train shop on Valentine's Day.  A 96 page soft-cover booklet.  The title "Milk Trains and Traffic" by Jeff Wilson.  If you are interested in milk trains and the industry it is a must have.

Edit Sat 2/22:

Cow terminology, Anyone know what a milch, or a heifer, or a cow, or a steer and/or a bull is?  On page 7 there is an information/fact block defining these terminologies.

Ron

Another great Weaver score

I was walking around Allentown yesterday minding my own business when something shiny distracted me.  This has the same plated finish as the recent MTH warbonnets.  Looks like gray in the catalog, but in person it’s spectacular.

A woman set up a small table on a public sidewalk and had these two well-made ceramic ore cars for 75 cents apiece. They'll be added to my Disney storage box for now.

Got in my caboose roofs (they ARE still made!... thanks to forum members' info) and my car siding, so l can get to work on two each of Great Western and Colorado Midland cabooses...now have 8 CM freight cars, which need a 'boose.  Also got in a second 1/43 Model A Ford tudor model car for my streets..these were common through WWII, so were often seen in 1940.  Rare prototype Victoria body model car is common, but not the model of the much more common tudor.

They are still out there.  2341 JC Passenger Set.  All original to include all boxes and set box.  Full excellent condition throughout.  Pretty proud of this one.

Anyone know in what country a coal fired steam-turbine locomotive was developed in the early 1920's?

Picked up a just released 128-page soft-cover booklet  titled "TURBINE POWER" by Walter Simpson.

This pub covers steam-turbine locos, gas-turbine locos, coal-turbine loco, etc. etc.

Ron

edit @0852 hours:

There also is a short chapter on a proposed "atomic steam turbine locomotive."

Everybody, looks like you’re having fun with your new train merchandise. I added a MOW talking shack and it’s so cool. Neat sounds. I’ll try a video with the sounds later. Have a fun weekend. 

leapinlarry posted:

Everybody, looks like you’re having fun with your new train merchandise. I added a MOW talking shack and it’s so cool. Neat sounds. I’ll try a video with the sounds later. Have a fun weekend. 

Now there's a good use for an old pair of walkie-talkies.

Another Atlas O was add to my collection the other day 

Haven't gotten a chance to post these yet: While my Spring Thaw pics are coming through I'll post my pre-Spring That pieces. Sorry for having to split the post and the current state of my layout(or what's left of it as I start a new). Anyway, as for the ppictures:

American Model Toys(later Kusan and KMT) Santa Fe Vista Domecar. Now I only need the Indian Scut Dinette to cmplete the 5 car version of the set.

1 More to go!

Always wanted a K-Line Heavyweight so when one popped up at an extremely decent price I pounced.  Love the construction of these cars!

MTH Premier 18" Aluminum Sleeper car. While it's 23 years old and I'm not a fan of the window inserts, it reminds me of the train cars that I used to take as kid to Florida from PA and back again. Also, doesn't look bad with my 16" Amtrak Amfleet coaches, and then a reefer and/or express baggage box car. Varies up the consist so it's not so cookie cutter in size and car type as is true of actual Amtrak consists. Plus it's not too much bigger or smaller than the Amfleet cars that it looks oversized. (

Box of K-line Shadow rail at the shop outside a model railroad RR exhibit at an antique mall. $2 a piece but I got it for less. Just wanted to try it out and see what the deal was and I like it. I think i'll probably buy another box. For the price it is selling at and the brand new condition it's in, Could definitely see this as a trolley line, an industrial siding or an abandoned spur on my new layout.

Now for my Spring Thaw pictures which finally mailed to my email from my phone. In my opinion,  best bang for my buck show I've been at in awhile(in general, not just in terms of Allentown):

First- general pictures- everything between the 2 k-line figure boxes was frm the show

Prewar American Flyer Steeple Cab(still runs( and a Kuhl-Wagen(still trying to determine the maker).

The right side of the above shot, the car to the right is made by JeP(based out of France). My first JeP tinplate train so I was happy about that

MTH "The Model Train(although I feel like it's kind of been switched out with a country store base) but it's still cool. Some K-line standing and sitting soldiers, Artitista figures, and a green S scale GAEX box car to the left

My buy with the most potential, however, is this Rivarossi/Atlas 2 rail O Scale DB V216. It's in great shape. As you can see in the video below- it runs(via power pack on DC power). The nice thing is that the motor is located in a compartment underneath the frame in the middle of one set of trucks. There is NOTHING inside when you remove the body, nothing in that gray detailed part of the under carriage between the trucks, and nothing between the other set of the non-powered truck. Basically, a lot of room to play around in there. I would definitely like to convert this to AC and possibly install TMCC. 

Two new items:  The Amtrak F59PHI is replacing the Amtrak Acela on the overhead layout.  The Acela wasn't pulling as before, when running more than a half hour at one time.  I checked everything, lubed everything, cleaned everything.  The inside doesn't even have a spec of dust after 5 years.  The motor was trying to pull, tires weren't spinning, and a little push would get it going again, but, not for long.   Please let me know if you have any ideas.

The F59 looks and runs great, and I love those silver trucks.  You can just see the Acela, parked on my long spur.

I replaced the old, original 1950's station with this new, plug and play.  The New Haven colors and sign convinced me.  The action is cool.  I chopped the Lionel power three-prong plug, first time I've done that, because I needed to combine the wires leading to the kiosk.

If you noticed the missing pantograph, fear not, all is well.  It popped off when I was cleaning the engine.  Back now.

Jerry