Buy anything cool lately?

LOL, hope y'all don't petition  to have me removed from this forum, but here is my new purchase that arrived via FedEx this morning.  Not a train but a Scalextric ARC PRO 1/32 slot car race set.  In my defense, I will be building a layout, it does have tracks and a digital system.

It has a digital control system that allows you to wirelessly create and manage races through the use of a handheld smart device. Using the ARC Pro powerbase in conjunction with the app lets you race up to 6 cars (on 2 lane track) with lane changing, pit stops, variable weather conditions, tire wear, and fuel usage.  Another neat function is that you can have pace cars or ghost cars that are run by the system.  The set came with the digital control system with 4 wireless controllers, track, switches, and 4 cars with digital chips already installed.

You can never have too many toys, as this helps keep you young!

Jim

@jd-train posted:

LOL, hope y'all don't petition  to have me removed from this forum, but here is my new purchase that arrived via FedEx this morning.  Not a train but a Scalextric ARC PRO 1/32 slot car race set.  In my defense, I will be building a layout, it does have tracks and a digital system.

It has a digital control system that allows you to wirelessly create and manage races through the use of a handheld smart device. Using the ARC Pro powerbase in conjunction with the app lets you race up to 6 cars (on 2 lane track) with lane changing, pit stops, variable weather conditions, tire wear, and fuel usage.  Another neat function is that you can have pace cars or ghost cars that are run by the system.  The set came with the digital control system with 4 wireless controllers, track, switches, and 4 cars with digital chips already installed.

You can never have too many toys, as this helps keep you young!

Jim

When electric trains were losing popularity in the early/mid-60’s, slot car sets were becoming popular. My brother and I got a Strombecker set for Christmas one year (with a chicane track and a Le Mans start!!!). The slot car set is loooong gone... the trains, including our original sets, remain. Buried in the basement, I may still have a Le Mans style Lotus race car I built - only problem was it was way too fast for the track!!!

Some very recent additions to my fleet😁

1. Tropicana Modern Reefer (White Scheme) MTH Premier

2. PABST Malt Liquor Wooden Reefer MTH Premier

3. Rock Island 60 foot single door waffle box car Lionel.  
(I was very fortunate to be able to purchase this car from a collection of Eldon Farrell, one of our deceased members of the Austin tinplate trackers.)

4. KLine Spirit of 76 commemorative box car legacy line (State of New York)

5. USPS 100th anniversary box car with Milwaukee Road Hiawatha stamp MTH premier

6. Florida East Coast SD40-2 (Flagler scheme) MTH premier

7. Tropicana funnel flow tank car (Orange scheme) MTH premier

I purchased a Weaver, brass, PRR 2-8-0 consolidation steam locomotive from the Bay. It arrived from Illinois this afternoon in less than a week after the close of the sale. The model is very well detailed and in great shape. The seller is outstanding. You can take his word to the bank!

I bought a  MTH NYC 18" passenger car. It just got here today. It needs a light bulb.

A series of Lionel Lines passenger cars, in great shape. I have ol 675 pulling them with a modern era c 90s? Whistler. Any idea what era these passenger cars are? EDIT TO ADD:Looks like these are c. 50s?

WHINER ALERT!!!

I pre-ordered PC, CN, Chessie, B&M, EL  Atlas Ford F150 MoW Trucks.  Somewhere I missed they would be 100% plastic and I'm a little skeptical that they are 1/48??? maybe a special Chinese 1/48 when converted to English measurements is like 1/55.  Oh well, I would still have purchased them.  They will have to sit alone and not near anything 1/43 for sure.

The atlas pick ups, non-MoW - all plastic - would be perfect for the menards open auto racks - weight and size (very low slung) but too expensive.

@Randy Harrison posted:

I purchased a Weaver, brass, PRR 2-8-0 consolidation steam locomotive from the Bay. It arrived from Illinois this afternoon in less than a week after the close of the sale. The model is very well detailed and in great shape. The seller is outstanding. You can take his word to the bank!

Really beautiful steamer Randy.

Congrats,

John

You did very well, Randy!!!

Well guys I am a little PO'ed and I need some more advice. As most of you know I purchased my first steam engine. With the advice of many folks here I waited till I got a battery replacement before even getting it near the tracks. Well they came in yesterday and I was so excited like a little kid, I was going to run my first steam engine with smoke, bell and whistle!

I put the battery replacement in the tender, set the engine and tender on the track, hooked them both together, powered up the track, added engine to my DCS system and let it sit there for a few minutes. Started it up and man it sounded great, whistle was wonderful, so I started down the track chuffing away. 6 feet later DEAD ON THE TRACK!

So my question to you all is now what do I do?

That sucks Mike. I'm sure the experts (I'm not one of them), will offer advice soon.

Bob

@RSJB18 posted:

That sucks Mike. I'm sure the experts (I'm not one of them), will offer advice soon.

Bob

Im Just trying to figure out what to ask of the seller, either take it back minis the BCR that I just bought.

or agree to pay to fixit.

It could be something simple.  However, when you put in the BCR, did you accidentally pinch a wire?  If so, you may want to take it to a repair guy immediately. He may be able to save it.  I would wait to hear from the experts on this forum before you do anything.  I messed with two engines over the last 20 years that had the same issue you describe, pinched the wires, and the results were bad.  I fried both boards.  Not sure if both situations happened because I kept trying to fix and run or if I fried them instantly.   Nevertheless, in retrospect, I would have been best served by getting an expert to check them out immediately. 

I sent out a couple emails out to some of the MTH Techs that are also forum members. Just waiting to hear back, then I have to contact the seller to see what he is willing to do.

@pdxtrains posted:

A series of Lionel Lines passenger cars, in great shape. I have ol 675 pulling them with a modern era c 90s? Whistler. Any idea what era these passenger cars are? EDIT TO ADD:Looks like these are c. 50s?

Sweet looking postwar 027 passenger cars, very nice condition.

Cars 2421 Maplewood, 2422 Chatham & 2423 Hillside were from 1950 - 1953, they came with black lettering, gray or silver roof. The 2432 Clifton were 1954-1958 w/red lettering, silver roof.    

A little fyi, over yrs the wires become brittle to were the insulation brakes off (no biggie, very common for these cars), if you decide to rewire them, disassemble the car completely, rewire w/new wire. A mistake commonly made, they try to solder the wires back on the truck pick ups, without disassembling the cars, and doing so, they touch and melt the lower part of the body w/the soldering iron.

While not O scale, I picked up this absolutely beautiful ScaleTrains BNSF ES44C4 on Wednesday. ScaleTrains hit these Tier 3 GEVO’s out of the park! Also shown is an early release ScaleTrains CSX 3194 (Spirit of Law Enforcement). Both have ESU Loksound V5.

@mike g. posted:

I sent out a couple emails out to some of the MTH Techs that are also forum members. Just waiting to hear back, then I have to contact the seller to see what he is willing to do.

Mike, did you let the BCR charge for a few minutes with power on the track, but the engine shut off?  That is recommended.   Also, what happens if you kill the power to everything including turning off the remote, then powering everything back up and starting the engine?  I have had issues like you described, then after doing what I described, the engine finally runs okay.  I don’t know why it is.  I’m no more expert than that.

@Mark Boyce posted:

Mike, did you let the BCR charge for a few minutes with power on the track, but the engine shut off?  That is recommended.   Also, what happens if you kill the power to everything including turning off the remote, then powering everything back up and starting the engine?  I have had issues like you described, then after doing what I described, the engine finally runs okay.  I don’t know why it is.  I’m no more expert than that.

Hi Mark, I did let it sit there for a couple minutes while I was getting everything setup. find and add engine, making sure there was nothing else on the same track. Started it and let it idle for a little bit before moving it. Doesn't help to have a burnt smell either. I already have it packed back up. don't know where its going. Might just sit on my desk as a paper weight !

@mike g. posted:

Hi Mark, I did let it sit there for a couple minutes while I was getting everything setup. find and add engine, making sure there was nothing else on the same track. Started it and let it idle for a little bit before moving it. Doesn't help to have a burnt smell either. I already have it packed back up. don't know where its going. Might just sit on my desk as a paper weight !

Oh oh, Mike!  Burnt smell is a clincher.

@Mark Boyce posted:

Oh oh, Mike!  Burnt smell is a clincher.

Hi Mark, its heading back to the seller!

@mike g. posted:

Hi Mark, its heading back to the seller!

👍🏻
If I was the seller, I would certainly refund money and take it back.

I’m sorry for you!

@mike g. posted:

Well guys I am a little PO'ed and I need some more advice. As most of you know I purchased my first steam engine. With the advice of many folks here I waited till I got a battery replacement before even getting it near the tracks. Well they came in yesterday and I was so excited like a little kid, I was going to run my first steam engine with smoke, bell and whistle!

I put the battery replacement in the tender, set the engine and tender on the track, hooked them both together, powered up the track, added engine to my DCS system and let it sit there for a few minutes. Started it up and man it sounded great, whistle was wonderful, so I started down the track chuffing away. 6 feet later DEAD ON THE TRACK!

So my question to you all is now what do I do?

Mike, imo the seller delivered an operating engine and therefore is under no obligation to do anything. Your choice is to fix or keep it as a shelf queen. You can aways ask, for an adjustment. I test all the stuff i sell and do a full, disclosure of what I find.  If a buyer came back and claimed an engine did not work, we would have a problem. Remember We are buying stuff 10 to 15 years old, todays electronics cannot be expected to last 70 years like the post war engines do ... but no computer chips on those either.

@ScoutingDad posted:

Mike, imo the seller delivered an operating engine and therefore is under no obligation to do anything. Your choice is to fix or keep it as a shelf queen. You can aways ask, for an adjustment. I test all the stuff i sell and do a full, disclosure of what I find.  If a buyer came back and claimed an engine did not work, we would have a problem. Remember We are buying stuff 10 to 15 years old, todays electronics cannot be expected to last 70 years like the post war engines do ... but no computer chips on those either.

Jeff, you are right, our used engine sales are no warranty transactions.  When I sell an engine, I check every function thoroughly before posting for sale and again before boxing it up to ship.  I am too much of a softy, in that if a buyer opens the box and says it doesn't work, I feel responsible and offer to buy it back.  However, I have been in Mike's shoes, and discovered that something didn't work that I bought second hand.  I kept it to myself and never told the seller.  I know I wouldn't have made a good businessman or even a train show vendor.  I always preferred to work for a paycheck and let someone else worry about the money side of it.

Came across and was able to purchase this unicorn: 3rd Rail Great Northern O-8, Open Cab version.
I would have preferred the Closed cab version, but seeing as how these haven't shown up much on the secondary market, I'll take what I can get!

JPaunicka,

If that steamer runs half as good as it looks, you have a winner.

Beautiful!

This is a tough one Mike.

If I was the seller and a customer came back to me a week or two after the engine was delivered, stating that the engine died after he opened it up and installed a foreign part (the BCR), I would not jump to offer a refund, or even an adjustment.

I understand why you did what you did, but you would have been in a much better position if you tested the engine as delivered and notified the seller right away that it was defective, if it did not run.

You said in a later post that it was now on its way back to the seller - how was this resolved?

Well thanks for all your input on my dilemma, Well I contacted the seller this morning and asked if he would take it back for a full refund or at least share the coast to fix it. I know it was his choice to do either or nothing. But being a nice person he agreed to a return for a full refund. I hope I can find another one for what I paid for this one.

Thanks again guys!

JPaunicka, outstanding looking engine!

I snagged this pair of METCA F-3 cabs on the bay. They were produced by METCA IN 1971 for the 10th Anniversary. So they are 50 years old and just out of the wrappers.

LHS provided me with this gem today! As a toy train runner, I could not be more delighted!

Fantastic Mike

Glad that it worked out - happy hunting

@Lionelski posted:

Fantastic Mike

Glad that it worked out - happy hunting

Me too! I just found one here on the forum. I emailed the member asking him about it.

Now that's pretty.

@mike g. posted:

Me too! I just found one here on the forum. I emailed the member asking him about it.

Glad things worked out for you, Mike. As for the new one, I hope it isn’t another Pennsylvania bound for desecration   I would hope you also avoid any NYC’s, NH’s, or D&H’s... I’ll keep the pitchforks handy!!!

Hi Paul, thank you and yes it is a Pennsylvania RR. But I might be in a place in my life to honor the folks on the east coast. Plus I really don't like pitchforks! LOL

@mike g. posted:

Well thanks for all your input on my dilemma, Well I contacted the seller this morning and asked if he would take it back for a full refund or at least share the coast to fix it. I know it was his choice to do either or nothing. But being a nice person he agreed to a return for a full refund. I hope I can find another one for what I paid for this one.

Thanks again guys!

JPaunicka, outstanding looking engine!

Excellent, Mike!!  I hope you find something really nice!

Two weeks ago I received an email from METCA (TCA's Metropolitan Division) saying that, in celebration of their 60th Anniversary, they were offering a celebration boxcar, free, to the first 100 METCA MIGS who send them $10 for shipping.

I received my car today - nice! 6464 size, die-cast trucks and MADE IN THE USA. Thank you METCA!

You beat me to it John! I just got home and found a package at the door.
To add to John’s comments, METCA members should visit the members area on the METCA website sooner than later.

Friday I picked up these puppies, 2333 ABA, and 252 (can't remember the coach's number. Also not pictured was a homebuilt station with a Z transformer and what appeared to be a lw with the case removed built into it that my grandpa picked up. I paid $80 for the engines, and he paid $30 for the station. It all needs work, the powered unit will need a new horn unit, and whoever owned her before attempted to redo part of the lettering, which will also need taken off. Might shell swap until I have time to restore the original, and all three need some portholes. The 252 is in great shape, just needs cleaned. The station is going to be restored, and be used for a special memorial project that's in the works.

@Kent Locomotive Works - great price on the engines!!! Be sure to show the restored/semi-restored final products!

George