Buy anything cool lately?

Ok, got this K-line Mike from Trainz at a great price. I anticipated the signal sounds wasn't going to work, so I already had a sound board and speaker awaiting. Well, got her all serviced and running. Then, unfortunately the ol reverse board gave up and I had a smoking tender. 😂. Contacted Trainz, and they offered a very fair discounted partial refund. That allowed me to get a Dallee 400 e unit. Now she runs flawless with some nice K-line wood reefers! Thanks again to Scott and the great team at Trainz.

Picked up the IRBM car at the Raleigh NC show to go with the 470 missle launching platform   Original missiles and tie downs.

@Donnie Kennedy posted:

That allowed me to get a Dallee 400 e unit. Now she runs flawless with some nice K-line wood reefers! Thanks again to Scott and the great team at Trainz.

If you don’t mind my asking, how do you power the smoke unit with just the 400 e-unit?

@ChiTown Steve posted:

If you don’t mind my asking, how do you power the smoke unit with just the 400 e-unit?

Its actually a puffing smoke unit that takes straight track power. The way this one was wired: smoke unit and all lights are tied into the back roller pickup and ground. I installed the e unit in the engine. Originally there was a tether plug in the engine that had power from front pickup and motor leads connected to it that connected to tender where the original encyclopedia sized e unit was. I just disconnected the leads from that and wired them directly to e unit and wired a chassis ground. I Should've taken pics. This loco is a  conventional model. No tmcc.

@Donnie Kennedy That answers my question perfectly. Thanks for the help!!

My latest finds.

It may not be cool, but I bought this computer work station that I’ll use as a well needed building and maintenance bench. With the light I added today, it’s perfect.

Gene

@Genemed....

Your workstation became a model railroad maintenance bench the moment you added the foam cradle!

Ain't that the truth

@Genemed posted:

It may not be cool, but I bought this computer work station that I’ll use as a well needed building and maintenance bench. With the light I added today, it’s perfect.

Gene

Looks good to me, better than the Kitchen table, when Mama says get it put away

@Genemed posted:

It may not be cool, but I bought this computer work station that I’ll use as a well needed building and maintenance bench. With the light I added today, it’s perfect.

Gene

Looks great Gene. I would recommend a better chair, and a place for your adult beverage of choice.

OK- so does anyone else notice how neatly organized the Woodland Scenics bottles are........

A sure sign of a sick mind........

Bob

@Guttersnipe posted:

Looks good to me, better than the Kitchen table, when Mama says get it put away

In the past, I built all of my wood kits on the kitchen island. This is much easier without having to go up and down the stairs for something.

Gene

@RSJB18 posted:

Looks great Gene. I would recommend a better chair, and a place for your adult beverage of choice.

OK- so does anyone else notice how neatly organized the Woodland Scenics bottles are........

A sure sign of a sick mind........

Bob

Thanks Bob, the chair is in the immediate works. I told her today that uncomfortable chair wouldn’t cut it.

As for the bottles, it’s OCD to the max! That’s why when I make a scene on the layout it’s too perfect to be realistic, but it works for me. Parking areas and walkways are neatly edged.

Gene

@RSJB18 posted:

Looks great Gene. I would recommend a better chair, and a place for your adult beverage of choice.

OK- so does anyone else notice how neatly organized the Woodland Scenics bottles are........

A sure sign of a sick mind........

Bob

Give it time.....it'll have that multi-active project "worked in" look soon enough.

@Genemed posted:

Thanks Bob, the chair is in the immediate works. I told her today that uncomfortable chair wouldn’t cut it.

As for the bottles, it’s OCD to the max! That’s why when I make a scene on the layout it’s too perfect to be realistic, but it works for me. Parking areas and walkways are neatly edged.

Gene

I do my own landscaping. Don't ask me how I agonize over the edging and shrub trimming.

@Genemed posted:

In the past, I built all of my wood kits on the kitchen island. This is much easier without having to go up and down the stairs for something.

Gene

Yeah! me too. But after forty years, for me ,  now it's better for the walk then for the argument

@RSJB18 posted:

Looks great Gene. I would recommend a better chair, and a place for your adult beverage of choice.

OK- so does anyone else notice how neatly organized the Woodland Scenics bottles are........

A sure sign of a sick mind........

Bob

The  whole place,  is soo neat and tidy

It’s always fun to come home after a few days trip & find a train on your porch !   This MTH CNJ 4-8-2 (#30-1492-1) runs smoothly & the prior owner even put a BCR2 in it.  I doubt the CNJ had $$ for white striping so this engine will be due for some appropriate weathering.

Rich

@trestleking posted:

It’s always fun to come home after a few days trip & find a train on your porch !   This MTH CNJ 4-8-2 (#30-1492-1) runs smoothly & the prior owner even put a BCR2 in it.  I doubt the CNJ had $$ for white striping so this engine will be due for some appropriate weathering.

Rich

Aaaa Shreik It's too pretty to weather

@colorado hirailer posted:

RailRide:  that was a very interesting "lesson" in European passenger cars.

And the bulk of that I learned in 2-3 hours of research

There are a few British Mark 1 coaches still in the US, and at least two of them ran in shortline excursion service during the 1970's. They're currently displayed at a visitor's center in Standish, MI. The 0-6-0 steam locomotive that pulled them (also being from the UK) is displayed at a rail museum in LaGrange, KY (famous for the street-running CSX line running through its downtown).

There are a couple more Mk-1's in the National Railroad Museum in Ashwaubenon, Wisconsin, although substantially modified into staff/command cars for Dwight D. Eisenhower's train.

My interest in pursuing these cars is merely for the oddball sight of railcars from two distant continents operating side-by-side (even on established model RR clubs seen on youtube, this is rare as hen's teeth) with my typical US equipment. While I wouldn't be so ambitious as to re-create Flying Scotsman's tour of the US in the 1970's, I'll probably assemble my mini-collection into a consist of five UK coaches (currently eyeing three more Mark 1's on Ebay from a seller in Canada), and the five UIC coaches already shown.

I find now that the UIC coaches are 1:45 scale, as well as the UK ones. That would explain their 'chunky appearance next to 1/48 equipment. Also, AHM made short-shank (dummy) knuckle-coupler conversion kits for the AHM "hook" couplers (same as the ones on the Lima cars), so as soon as I secure the Mark-1's from Ebay, I'll be ordering enough to outfit all my Lima acquisitions.

---PCJ

I'm kinda speechless on this one.. the Century Club Empire Express Hudson with some polished MTH passenger cars. My first engine with any kind of speed control. Wow, this baby will creep. The smoke output is great. I serviced her all up and that beautiful Pittman is running like clockwork. The MTH cars appealed to me with the old school silhouettes and lighting. Also appealed to the pocket book! Thanks again to the great bad influencer ( @Apples55)  on dealing with me! I'll post some videos in the future.

More cool buys today!

@Donnie Kennedy posted:

I'm kinda speechless on this one.. the Century Club Empire Express Hudson with some polished MTH passenger cars. My first engine with any kind of speed control. Wow, this baby will creep. The smoke output is great. I serviced her all up and that beautiful Pittman is running like clockwork. The MTH cars appealed to me with the old school silhouettes and lighting. Also appealed to the pocket book! Thanks again to the great bad influencer ( @Apples55)  on dealing with me! I'll post some videos in the future.

Happy to help, Donnie - just doing my part to drag another of you conventional types into the 21st Century (kicking and screaming if need be!!!). Just think of all the engine features you could access with a command control set up

Those polished cars are a nice match for the ESE.

@Apples55 posted:

Happy to help, Donnie - just doing my part to drag another of you conventional types into the 21st Century (kicking and screaming if need be!!!). Just think of all the engine features you could access with a command control set up

Those polished cars are a nice match for the ESE.

Haha. I'm looking into command... 😉. It does look like the former owner must've been playing chicken with another loco. Little scratch on the front. 😂. Luckily Lionel still sells the pilot cover. That got the worst of the impact. Just glad the airbags didn't go off.

Found some more wooden kit built refrigerator cars rolling on prewar Lionel trucks modified using postwar couplers. Also got lucky as one of the cars turned out to be a 2954 semi scale box car that needs to be un-repainted.

Picked these up at the Greenberg's show in Wilmington, MA this weekend ....... B&M bus by MTH; MTH Railking NH gondola with removable box loads; and an orange NH freight car (not sure who made it - came in a small white cardboard box with black printing, "NH - Orange - 26" - maybe Frank's Roundhouse ?).

The NH cars will go well with my NH consist.

I was reluctant to buy this set. Not knowing much about the Wabash i wasn’t sure it was a good fit. However after reading all the responses to the thread that I started regarding Heavyweights and F3s, https://ogrforum.com/...c/182044000691489336 I think I’m on somewhat of firm ground. I picked up this Wabash Fallen Flag passenger set to go with my Lionel Legacy Wabash F3 AA. The engine was a custom run for METCA. The livery follows the original artist’s rendering in the 50s catalog.

Looks to me that you did good.  If you don't like them you can send them to me

Beautiful train Bob ! Looks great !

A couple of new engines to add to my roster…

First up, a Lionel FA-2 AA pair I picked up from Gryzboski’s… I guess the late Joe Gryzboski was right - I am sort of a New York Central guy!!! Really have to stop looking at their website

Next, a Lionel special run Lionel NW2 done by the NJHR Club.

not just nice, very nice

@Guttersnipe posted:

Looks to me that you did good.  If you don't like them you can send them to me

😎

@taycotrains posted:

Beautiful train Bob ! Looks great !

Thanks Bob, they were some fine trains that you showed us last evening.

I caught this nice Lionel ERIE Pacific from M J Breen last week with low miles on it at a great price. Sounds (2 chuffs) and the Odyssey cruise are a little dated but the chuff, whistle, and bell are great and rich sounding. She will creep along and has the good construction of steamers from this period - 2001. This Erie model has the added feedwater heater which is very well detailed for 23 yrs ago Lionel.

Gal lee some of you boys is a gettin' lucky in your finds.  da dar is real pretty and the consist ain't bad neither. and the layout looks great too 

@Richie C. posted:

Picked these up at the Greenberg's show in Wilmington, MA this weekend ....... B&M bus by MTH; MTH Railking NH gondola with removable box loads; andan orange NH freight car (not sure who made it - came in a small white cardboard box with black printing, "NH - Orange - 26" - maybe Frank's Roundhouse ?).

For those interested, I confirmed that the # 35452 boxcar I bought is indeed a Frank's Roundhouse product - actually, they made two orange NH freight cars, both with catalogue #26. One version has a narrower "NH" logo and a different road number and door design, while the one I picked up has the wider "NH" logo, the 35452 road number, and the door design pictured.

@Apples55 posted:

A couple of new engines to add to my roster…

First up, a Lionel FA-2 AA pair I picked up from Gryzboski’s… I guess the late Joe Gryzboski was right - I am sort of a New York Central guy!!! Really have to stop looking at their website

Next, a Lionel special run Lionel NW2 done by the NJHR Club.

Looking great!  How can you resist a pair of handsome lightning bolt NYC engines?

Art

@c.sam posted:

I caught this nice Lionel ERIE Pacific from M J Breen last week with low miles on it at a great price. Sounds (2 chuffs) and the Odyssey cruise are a little dated but the chuff, whistle, and bell are great and rich sounding. She will creep along and has the good construction of steamers from this period - 2001. This Erie model has the added feedwater heater which is very well detailed for 23 yrs ago Lionel.

Beautiful engine!  Nice find.

Art

@pennsyfan posted:

I was reluctant to buy this set. Not knowing much about the Wabash i wasn’t sure it was a good fit. However after reading all the responses to the thread that I started regarding Heavyweights and F3s, https://ogrforum.com/...c/182044000691489336 I think I’m on somewhat of firm ground. I picked up this Wabash Fallen Flag passenger set to go with my Lionel Legacy Wabash F3 AA. The engine was a custom run for METCA. The livery follows the original artist’s rendering in the 50s catalog.

Great addition!  Makes a beautiful train.

Art

It was our pleasure yesterday to host Mr, Stu Gralnik of Model Building Services and his wife Ann when they delivered my new factory for installation  on the New Haven section of my layout. The factory is scratch built from some different building sections Stu had to my specifications  to fit a specific area. There is quite a bit of nice detailing including a custom entrance on one end and a fire escape on the other. There is custom lighting for each floor plus exterior lights. Sitting to the right of the factory on the table is another building Stu made for me. That is a machinery building kit from Crow River Products. Inside are two Crow River HRT coal burning steam boilers which will [provide steam to the factory. Stu modified and assembled the building and I built and installed the boilers. There is also lighting in the boiler house and since I was in the steam boiler business, it does look like the real thing in miniature when looking at it through the open door.    Installed pictures to follow.