Just pulled the lever on a Lionmaster Legacy Challenger (with whistle steam) that the buy it now was only $30 more than the cheapest TMCC Challenger listings on ebay (when shipping was included). 30 day return policy and 99.8% seller rating so I went ahead and got it.
Santa is bringing Legacy Norfolk Southern this Christmas. Can’t wait to see the look on my son’s face.
My neighbor Sam entered his 80th year this past summer. We were talking one afternoon and the subject of my O-Gauge train obsession came up. He lit up and told me about the Lionel engine he was given as a child. He brought the engine out of an old box. It had not been run in over 40 years. It had rust, missing parts, no tender, etc. I took it to my local shop and they did a fantastic restoration. I now own the engine and can pass along it's story. 
Passing along the story with the train is the best part. I see a next gen in your avatar, another passing along story in the waiting.
My Christmas present. I know this is it because my wife told me "You'll have to order it so you get exactly what you want." So I'll have to download some of the 3D files from here on Christmas.
just these...
Hit the BIN button on another Ebay Auction Williams GP9
Jersey Central in light use condition Until The USPS got a hold of it.
It arrived with the outer box intact but upon inspection It had taken some HARD hits!
Bent frame and hand rails, broken fuel tank mounts, broken coupler, bent motor mount, popped window and one light scratch from the hardware flopping around.
Well I took pictures and started rebuilding it with extra parts I had. In an hours time I had everything straight windows glued back in motor mount fixed
longer screws for the fuel tank fixed that problem and a new coupler from the parts box.
I know most are thinking ...SEND IT BACK but I got a great deal and after sending a message and pictures to the seller he rufunded half the price.
I also bought a Matching Jersey Central caboose by Lionel NIB for $20.00 so for under $60.00 I think the set turned out well.
The locomotive runs great and has true blast sounds.
Harley house ,I am glad you were able to get everything fixed and the seller worked with you! Now a days that means alot!
Well as for me I got this at my door, all in great shape and ran it and it seams everything works great! Len forum member is a man of his word! Thank you so very much sir!
I know its not my BNSF, but I have always liked the paint scheme!
Great looking Pony Mike. I've seen quite a bit of NS out west on Virtual Railfan so it should be right at home. Don't forget to check the battery. Put a BCR in and you will be good to go.
@harleyhouse posted:Hit the BIN button on another Ebay Auction Williams GP9
Jersey Central in light use condition Until The USPS got a hold of it.
That's a shame. At least you were able to fix all of the issues. They are great engines. I have a few Williams and have them wired in series to slow them down to a crawl. Nice and smooth at low speeds now.
Bob
I decided to pull the trigger on trying out Super O.
Mark, the CNJ GP9 and caboose look great. Well worth it even though you had to do repairs.
Picked up a well cared for 1615 for $75... Lubed it up and tested it out on the carpet while the layout is being built. Runs like a champ!
@RamblerDon keep the YouTube vids coming. Looking forward to seeing that track on your layout!
Matt,
Terrific 1615 switcher. I need one in my fleet. Thank you for posting the video. My wife and I watched it several times, laughing when the whistle blew.
Bill
@Chris1985 posted:@RamblerDon keep the YouTube vids coming. Looking forward to seeing that track on your layout!
Thank you! I will need way more track if I'm going to change the layout over. I haven't made that decision yet though.
@Matt Kramer posted:Picked up a well cared for 1615 for $75... Lubed it up and tested it out on the carpet while the layout is being built. Runs like a champ!
Sweet looking 1615, they are great runners, I have two but neither one has a whistle like yours. :-)
With all of the posts about Christmas layouts lately thought I'd post this. I picked up a Dept 56 animated gondola a few months ago at the Goodwill store. I found it by chance as it was sitting on top of a cabinet in the furniture section, not in holiday section. It had no power supply but I took a chance on it figuring I could do repairs if needed. I found a suitable wallwart at home, plugged it in, and it works perfectly. The coolest thing about this was the price. I've seen these go for $250 and up on ebay. I got this one for $20. Now I need to figure out how to squeeze it onto my 4x8 layout.
This has been building up for AWHILE. I believe November 7th, ever since then I’ve been on a hot streak.
In order to free-up memory on my phone, I’m gonna post these out of chronological order. First, last night:
Had my eye on this for 2 years- last night it was 50% off so I snagged it. 2 Rail scale kit apparently but B-C Models, meant to be a SP Daylight. 
Also, my first corrugated auto carrier, a Postwar triple dome Sunoco tank car, and a prewar 654 Sunoco. The auto carrier and Postwar tank car were $5 a piece. Unfortunately, the auto carrier is somewhat damaged but it’s servicable:
Also hit the parts and track bins. Bought the 2 frames and light blue Postwar body underneath my hand. In my hand is a piece of Ives clockwork track. The bin had loads of prewar track, will definitely be going back and hope that I can find enough Ives pieces to make a circle!
Now jumping back in time to last weekend. Saw my favorite vendor at another local antique mall for the first time in months. Picked up a Lionel Penn Central dump car and Kusan Louisville & Nashville flat for 5 each and a K-line 42” wide radius switch as I’ve been having trouble with my realtrax left switches.
K-line Wise radius switch. Works fine with my AIU
Modified the Penn Central dump car, which was missing the part that would tip the load. Used a dremel so it can be used as a CoFC
Or a ToFCEe
Much more to come!
Please note that this post is extremely long because 1.) I haven’t posted any of my cool buys the last 3+ weeks and 2.) ive been dealing with health issues, brought on by a work-related injury that keep me in bed for long amounts of time and require focus on other matters. Because of how the process has unfolded with other parties having to get involved (you do the math).
The reason I’m sharing this all is in the hope that everyone realizes this long post isn’t StevefromPA bragging about all the stuff he bought in a short amount of time. If I could’ve, I would’ve still shared separate posts soon after I bought them because I think theyre cool and I enjoy all of them.
That said, I hope that you enjoy the trains, accessories and the stories behind them that I’m going to share with you in this long post. quick background: focus has shifted to freight. roadnames- Pennsy, CSX and it’s predeccessors, the Lehigh Valley and generally East Coast, but especially northeastern, railroads. Also, I’m really getting into intermodal and unit trains.
Starting with my biggest get-Monday before last. I was at a local train store and there were 2 LV snowbird Alco C628s. Labelled simply “Weaver”. I asked to see them, hoping one might have TMCC(the store doesn’t label things properly). I turned one over and saw a Proto 2 sticker on the bottom! I asked if that changed the price, the clerk said no, and I have finally acquired a command control Lehigh Valley engine!! 
It’s an early proto 2. 5 volt board. Recommended o-42 curves but works on o-36 as well!
Next-Purchases I made today at what is now officially tied for my favorite hobby store. 1 hr drive but totally worth it. All o gauge was 25% off.
CSX quad hopper. CSX was on my list of things to get, unfortunately, the size may be a bit too small. Hhoping it looks good with my CSX consist
BNSF Husky Stack with working ETD: $23(price posted to show what a deal this was!
It might be older but Just last week I waited at a RR crossing as these flat cars passed by.
All my previous unit trains were single car purchases- this is my first set purchase. Thus no hassle of having to order connectors and/or long hex screws. This guy also comes with an extra plain truck, extra screw(or2), and connectors
Hitting the rewind button to November 7th to the 14th.
This C&O Gondola caught my eye in the consignment case(I added the freight later). Didn’t know the. Mfg but The details looked great -as did the price l Thus, I bought my FIRST modern Atlas train. Will definitely be keeping my eye out for Atlas in the future!
Pennsy trailer on TTX flat
from the same store as PRR ToFCEE and the LV Alco.K-Line by Lionel C&O flat with freight car kit, which was the big draw and included - 4 chocks, 2 bulkheads, springs for chains, and stakes. I’ve been using it as an auto carrier type or ToFCEe. NOTE: it usually doesn’t carry an oil tank truck
At my nearest local hobby shop, set break-up PRR flat car with bulkheads, stakes, and freight load:
From ebay-Yellow TTX Maxi Stack with evergreen containers.put into unit with N&W maxi stack. Ordered the necessary screw yesterday so I could connect the CSX
Also ebay-3 pictures of Comet/ Authenticast And Swedish African Engineer soldiers by Holger Erikson. 30mm height. The 3rd picture has best quality figures and has Lionel figure in the background for size comparison
4 German Soldiers
The seated figures in the military vehicle are the new ones. Came with pegs on the bottom that I shaved off. Pretty cool poses
as states above, my favorite 3 soldiers. Lionel state trooper in the background
last Friday, again,at my nearest LHS: MTH RK Lehigh Valley Husky Stack from the owners personal collection. I’m from the Valley and live there, he has his entire life. Sold it to me for original retail price. Great guy
Along with the LV Husky Stack, I bought picked up this Bethlehem Steel boxcar- traditional size, plain black box that said EDI and Lebanon PA on the side. I believe it’s a Frank’s Roundhouse. The scale green LV Caboose is by Weaver., like it better than my Williams that weighs too much
I know I posted this phot in my last post, but wanted to point out the N&W auto carrier. $5 at an antique market, had to add a tab on the bottom row to keep the cars in
Steve, First of all I hope you recover from your injuries very quickly. Second, those are all great items you purchased over a period of time!!!
@Matt Kramer posted:Picked up a well cared for 1615 for $75... Lubed it up and tested it out on the carpet while the layout is being built. Runs like a champ!
Wish mine was in that shape, lol! I bought mine a couple years ago when there was a brief price inflation on them, didn't over pay but still. Mechanically she can't be beat, I've had her haul 20 postwar hoppers backwards on a grade, the engine itself has some paint nicks but no dents or broken markers, however the tender has a little warp on the bottom of the shell, but its still one of my most reliable engines.
Got me a C&O passenger set off of eBay. Lionel 6-19087 C&O 4 Car Heavyweight Passenger set
Just picked up my Lionel items yesterday; they are all designed and only available by METCA.
I picked up an empty Auto Loader from my buddy and loaded it with K-Line Jeeps that I picked up in the Purple hall years ago. I just unpacked them this morning.
Just received this from a forum member.
Lionel New Haven RS-11 with Command, railsounds, etc. It's from a NH freight set break-up. I have the same engine in D&H so the two will work well together on my layout.
I have wanted a coupler on the rear of my truck for awhile, just for fun.
Did a search and I found this coupler on Etsy. It is made out of solid aluminum and weighs 5lbs. Cost $49. It came unpainted, I painted it flat black with a rattle can.
Looks good, I think.
Christmas, at least from a hobby perspective, came early this year. I bought a Forum member's train collection. It's fun to open boxes even if they aren't wrapped !
Best deal happened 3 weeks ago. Found it on craigslist. When I made a post on this initially, I hadn't gone through all of the boxes yet. Here's the final tally.
2 UCS tracks, 4 RCS tracks, all with controllers. 16 O22 switches with their controllers (still have the insulating pins). All of them work. Many of the controllers need rewiring as the insulation is brittle, but one of the boxes had about 60 ft of flat 3 wire cable. Also at least 30 ft of 16 gauge speaker wire and other misc wires.
Haven't counted all of them, but there are over 20 SPST switches.
There's a operating crossing gate, a non operating gate, an American Flyer O gauge 90 degree crossover, and two O27 switches with controllers plus enough O27 track for, I'd guess, a 4x6 ft layout with a siding.
There were 4 track power clips and 4 153C accessory contact switches. There was an controller for a 497 coal loader too. Which is good because mine is getting flaky.
Several cans of ballast in individual colors, each about 12 oz in size. There's white, light gray, dark gray and black. Also about 4 cups in volume of Lionel coal, including 2 original bags of coal. Some extra barrels for a barrel car, and some extra logs for a log car. There's some misc RR crossing and stop signs.
A 1033 transformer, needs a new cord. A V transformer, needs new cord. Also two No 167 whistle / direction controllers, probably used with the V.
And last, about 200 ft of used Gargraves track with wood ties, never been ballasted or glued. A number of O31 to Gargraves adapter pins are in a bag, and there are several short pieces of O31 track that have some of the adapter pins in them on one end. I'm guessing these were used as adapter tracks to go from the Gargraves to the O 22 switches.
Lots of little stuff I haven't inventoried yet, various screws, hardware and other misc items
Price for all of this?
$150
I think I did pretty good.
Trestleking,
FUN! I hope you find a surprise treasure in the bottom of one of those boxes, like, maybe, a Blue Comet or a 773!
I would like to share in your box opening fun - please post pics as you do so
I agree Quietman. I too think that you did pretty good!
Have fun!
@Craignor posted:I have wanted a coupler on the rear of my truck for awhile, just for fun.
Did a search and I found this coupler on Etsy. It is made out of solid aluminum and weighs 5lbs. Cost $49. It came unpainted, I painted it flat black with a rattle can.
Looks good, I think.
That's pretty cool. I like small sporty cars a lot more than SUVs or pickups, but I'm thinking about buying one just so I can put that on the back.
Got an MTH Z1k for $45 including shipping as soon as it popped up as Buy It Now. This is my first "modern tranformer". The brick with this thing is a beast,, I'm loving it so far. It cycles my 681s sticky e-unit with no problem at all and the whistle sounds better than my 1033 with diodes installed.
I also purchased a PE loco from a forum member. I have a Williams GG1 coming today too, will post pics when it comes.
@Lionelski posted:Trestleking,
FUN! I hope you find a surprise treasure in the bottom of one of those boxes, like, maybe, a Blue Comet or a 773!
I would like to share in your box opening fun - please post pics as you do so
Lionelski, not many surprises, mostly MTH stuff - which I like. One mystery box which held an older Lionel GP7 and lighted caboose. Darn thing runs pretty smooth. No horn on these ?
@vash44 posted:A pair of UP E9's from the custom Mr. Muffins run:
Wow! Those are beautiful. I really like the roof detail, ditch lights, & paint job! Are both units on each powered? If so thats a lot of motive power...
Access to this requires an OGR Forum Supporting Membership
(with this being my first 3D printer).
