Buy anything cool lately?

Here's my latest purchase.  4 RMT 36' wood side reefers from Pat's Trains custom run.  The cars are beautiful and the hand applied details are incredible for the price.  I do have two issues, while hand rolling the cars on my front straight of track one of the uncoupling tabs on the New Yorker Beer reefer hangs too low and catches on a low joint in my track, and one of the axles on the Iroquois Tomahawk does spin freely.  I'll try some oil on that one.  I've seen other posts about the tabs hanging low and sparking, I'll try mine under power later to see if I have issues with an of the other tabs.

Some photos to compare the new RMT reefers to other manufacturers.  The line-up from right to left in the photo below, Weaver, RMT, Lionel LOTS 2012 Custom, RMT and MTH Rail King.  These are all wood side reefers, no steel or mechanical reefers pictured.  The Lionel and Weaver are larger but with steel ends and roofs I believe they are more modern than the RMT.  The RK reefer has a wooden roof, therefore I believe it to be a contemporary of the RMT and more similar in size. A comparison of the hand applied details show the RK with the least, just a brake wheel, and the underframe brake system over a steel chassis, all else is molded in; Weaver has applied ladders, roof walk, brake wheel and opening doors, the underframe brake system is molded into the wood patterned floor, Lionel and RMT have separately applied roof walks, stirrups, ladders, grab rails, brake wheels and underframe brake systems over wood patterned floors.  Walter's new trucks even have an air hose lacking in the other three models used in the comparison.  Price comparison,  RMT $34.25, all in with tax and shipping, Lionel $69.65 on the secondary market, Weaver $45 new from Weaver, the RK model I have two of, the first purchased new from an LHS, the second from the secondary market to be fair I will average the price at $44.25.  Walter has packed at lot of high end options into his not high end priced trains and Pat killed it on his special order paint schemes.

I just realized the RMTs have cut levers to lift the coupler pins and under magnification I believe the doors are functional, you'd have to throw the latching lever and then the doors would open like the prototype.  @RMT - Ready Made Trains good job Walter.

Well, it's not as cool as some of y'alls previous stuff.  My 1 year old grandkid was here for a visit last month, and he showed interest to my trains going around my small track, which is better than his previous visit when he cried.  I wondered about what I could put out that would keep his interest.  I happened to be browsing low cost NIB Lionel stuff on eBay, and saw the 18480 Hobo Hand Car.  I got it for around $40 including tax and shipping.  After putting it on the track is was a bit jerky, but I added some grease to the gears as best as I could and it ran smoother, but I think it should be better.  Does anyone know how to open these hand cars?  There are no visible screws that I could see.  The plastic piece connecting the motor to the handrails is something I don't want to break.

@texgeekboy posted:

Well, it's not as cool as some of y'alls previous stuff.  My 1 year old grandkid was here for a visit last month, and he showed interest to my trains going around my small track, which is better than his previous visit when he cried.  I wondered about what I could put out that would keep his interest.  I happened to be browsing low cost NIB Lionel stuff on eBay, and saw the 18480 Hobo Hand Car.  I got it for around $40 including tax and shipping.  After putting it on the track is was a bit jerky, but I added some grease to the gears as best as I could and it ran smoother, but I think it should be better.  Does anyone know how to open these hand cars?  There are no visible screws that I could see.  The plastic piece connecting the motor to the handrails is something I don't want to break.

One of the reasons I went into O gauge, is because of my great grandson aka  Bambam did to my HO gauge stuff

@coach joe posted:

Here's my latest purchase.  4 RMT 36' wood side reefers from Pat's Trains custom run.  The cars are beautiful and the hand applied details are incredible for the price.  I do have two issues, while hand rolling the cars on my front straight of track one of the uncoupling tabs on the New Yorker Beer reefer hangs too low and catches on a low joint in my track, and one of the axles on the Iroquois Tomahawk does spin freely.  I'll try some oil on that one.  I've seen other posts about the tabs hanging low and sparking, I'll try mine under power later to see if I have issues with an of the other tabs.

Some photos to compare the new RMT reefers to other manufacturers.  The line-up from right to left in the photo below, Weaver, RMT, Lionel LOTS 2012 Custom, RMT and MTH Rail King.  These are all wood side reefers, no steel or mechanical reefers pictured.  The Lionel and Weaver are larger but with steel ends and roofs I believe they are more modern than the RMT.  The RK reefer has a wooden roof, therefore I believe it to be a contemporary of the RMT and more similar in size. A comparison of the hand applied details show the RK with the least, just a brake wheel, and the underframe brake system over a steel chassis, all else is molded in; Weaver has applied ladders, roof walk, brake wheel and opening doors, the underframe brake system is molded into the wood patterned floor, Lionel and RMT have separately applied roof walks, stirrups, ladders, grab rails, brake wheels and underframe brake systems over wood patterned floors.  Walter's new trucks even have an air hose lacking in the other three models used in the comparison.  Price comparison,  RMT $34.25, all in with tax and shipping, Lionel $69.65 on the secondary market, Weaver $45 new from Weaver, the RK model I have two of, the first purchased new from an LHS, the second from the secondary market to be fair I will average the price at $44.25.  Walter has packed at lot of high end options into his not high end priced trains and Pat killed it on his special order paint schemes.

I just realized the RMTs have cut levers to lift the coupler pins and under magnification I believe the doors are functional, you'd have to throw the latching lever and then the doors would open like the prototype.  @RMT - Ready Made Trains good job Walter.

If you can find the  photo's of the originals I would believe that all the manufactures are pretty close to correct. Ice hatchs in particular as I understand it, were different in each batch manufactured

Kevin, those old ratan seats were the best... along with the noisiest subway cars ever.....  Nice pics'..

@Quarter Gauger 48 posted:

Kevin, those old ratan seats were the best... along with the noisiest subway cars ever.....  Nice pics'..

Are they something like the old Pacific Electric

@Guttersnipe posted:

Are they something like the old Pacific Electric

Not quite sure the age of the Pacific electric.  The Ratan seats go back to the mid 30s to 60s...They were replaced with plastic in the newer cars, late 60s... These are approximate dates...

@Amfleet25124 posted:

My cool items that I purchased arrived yesterday and I took a couple photos last night.

Great haul, Kevin. Thanks for a short ride down the rails of memory!!! The first cars I remember were those ones with the rattan seats. But I must respectfully and strongly disagree with @Quarter Gauger 48… if you were able to get a seat (in those days, us little rugrats always had to stand, giving seats to adults ), without fail, a little broken piece of rattan would be pointing straight up and get you where it hurts - literally

And I remember riding the Worlds Fair cars going to the ‘64-‘65 Fair as well as Shea Stadium. Smooth plastic seats, brightly lit, no more bare bulbs or exposed fan blades!!! This is one of those times I wished I ran DCS.

Picked up two custom runs from Grzyboski’s the other day…

First up, a colorful Erie Lackawanna GP9. Runs smoothly and has great graphics and sound. One thing I noticed was that Lionel must have listened to all the recent complaints about damage in shipping. This engine was packed so solidly that I thought I would do some damage in trying to remove it from my the foam box.

And next, a Reading and Northern caboose - Gryzboski’s have been doing quite a nice run of R&N items. I really like them because they run in my corner of NE Pennsylvania.

Very nice acquisitions @Amfleet25124 .  However, you’ve given me whiplash watching you get in, out, and back in again with your Ogauge subway layout plans! Can’t wait to see you finally build that dream layout.

@coach joe , great post on your new RMT reefers.  I couldn’t agree more. These are outstanding values.

And you even have a real subway shot!

@Quarter Gauger 48 posted:

Kevin, those old ratan seats were the best... along with the noisiest subway cars ever.....  Nice pics'..

Thanks, Ted

@Apples55 posted:

Great haul, Kevin. Thanks for a short ride down the rails of memory!!! The first cars I remember were those ones with the rattan seats. But I must respectfully and strongly disagree with @Quarter Gauger 48… if you were able to get a seat (in those days, us little rugrats always had to stand, giving seats to adults ), without fail, a little broken piece of rattan would be pointing straight up and get you where it hurts - literally

And I remember riding the Worlds Fair cars going to the ‘64-‘65 Fair as well as Shea Stadium. Smooth plastic seats, brightly lit, no more bare bulbs or exposed fan blades!!! This is one of those times I wished I ran DCS.

Paul, no memories of the rattan seats for me, but the trip to the museum provided a lot of memories for me. My late grandmother took her subway obsessed young teen grandson to the museum a couple of times in the late 70s, and then I was older and in high school then college in the early 80s, I would take her there. Then we moved to Fla-ri-dah.  I had not been to the transit museum in about 40 years.

@Strap Hanger posted:

Very nice acquisitions @Amfleet25124 .  However, you’ve given me whiplash watching you get in, out, and back in again with your Ogauge subway layout plans! Can’t wait to see you finally build that dream layout.

@coach joe , great post on your new RMT reefers.  I couldn’t agree more. These are outstanding values.

Yes Strap, you really do need to hang on to the strap tightly on this ride with me.    I'll keep coming to you with questions of advice.

@Quarter Gauger 48 posted:

Not quite sure the age of the Pacific electric.  The Ratan seats go back to the mid 30s to 60s...They were replaced with plastic in the newer cars, late 60s... These are approximate dates...

The Old PE was before my time, like back in the forties and thirties,  and the preserved examples at the Rail museum are really quite back to what was probably there in the first place

@Apples55 posted:

Picked up two custom runs from Grzyboski’s the other day…

First up, a colorful Erie Lackawanna GP9. Runs smoothly and has great graphics and sound. One thing I noticed was that Lionel must have listened to all the recent complaints about damage in shipping. This engine was packed so solidly that I thought I would do some damage in trying to remove it from my the foam box.

And next, a Reading and Northern caboose - Gryzboski’s have been doing quite a nice run of R&N items. I really like them because they run in my corner of NE Pennsylvania.

I'll say it again, some people think you should dirty them up and/or graffiti them, me Plese keep them looking as good as they do now

Been many new additions to the inventory recently.

4 RMT Ore cars, 3 RMT 40' refers, and a MTH Babylon Railroad trolley (it followed me home from Trainland.....honest! )

The ore cars are nice, a few issues with the trucks including one that will need to be replaced. I haven't opened up the refers yet to inspect them. Hopefully they don't have issues as has been documented on another thread.
These will all get real loads added eventually.

The trolley was a no-brainer, I lived in Farmingdale after I got married, right up the road from Amityville and not far from Babylon Village.

Bob

@Apples55 posted:

Picked up two custom runs from Grzyboski’s the other day…

First up, a colorful Erie Lackawanna GP9. Runs smoothly and has great graphics and sound. One thing I noticed was that Lionel must have listened to all the recent complaints about damage in shipping. This engine was packed so solidly that I thought I would do some damage in trying to remove it from my the foam box.

Paul, nice looking engine, good luck with it.
How is the smoke output? I’m reluctantly considering getting the UP version of this model. I read here a while back that the smoke output on the previous run was a bit restricted because of the angular inlet funnel of the fluid. Do you have any issues with the fluid passing the funnel and entering the smoke unit?

Gene

Very happy to finally get the Williams #1120 Pennsylvania Railroad K4 Pacific. I had seen a bunch of listings over the course of several months and most of the offerings may have had an issue here or several issues like dents. Very happy to find a 3 rail version with no issues at all and for an excellent reasonable price.

Also I had been trying to find this last item from the Water Level Freight Set from years ago. I slowly pieced together the engine, cabooses, tank car and boxcar but this one was hidden and I missed the last one I saw. Just so happens that the hopper popped up first, snagged it and then the K4 popped in my feed.

@Genemed posted:

Paul, nice looking engine, good luck with it.
How is the smoke output? I’m reluctantly considering getting the UP version of this model. I read here a while back that the smoke output on the previous run was a bit restricted because of the angular inlet funnel of the fluid. Do you have any issues with the fluid passing the funnel and entering the smoke unit?

Gene

Sorry, Gene, can’t help with your question. When I first put a new engine on the track, when I put it into PRG mode, I always shut off the smoke. I don’t care what brand or scent of smoke fluid is used, it smells like petroleum to me (and the smell lingers for a long time). I wish they still used smoke pellets!!!

@RSJB18 posted:

Been many new additions to the inventory recently.

4 RMT Ore cars, 3 RMT 40' refers, and a MTH Babylon Railroad trolley (it followed me home from Trainland.....honest! )

I  KNOW - THAT’S YOUR STORY AND YOU’RE STICKING TO IT… ISN’T THAT ALWAYS THE WAY THESE THINGS HAPPEN!!!

Bob

Gotta say the graphics on those LIRR cars are very nice, but what does the railroad need with all that creamed corn???

Picked up a set of these MTH passenger cars from MR Muffin:
https://mrmuffinstrains.com/pr...r-ribbed-side-plated

WOW !!!! - The pictures do not do these justice - They are the shiniest cars I have ever seen and the lighting and details in the CARS are awesome - I went back to buy more to complete the set with the other cars that go with them.

Very Cool !!!!

https://mrmuffinstrains.com/pr...r-ribbed-side-plated

@Apples55 posted:

Sorry, Gene, can’t help with your question. When I first put a new engine on the track, when I put it into PRG mode, I always shut off the smoke. I don’t care what brand or scent of smoke fluid is used, it smells like petroleum to me (and the smell lingers for a long time). I wish they still used smoke pellets!!!

Thanks Paul, I totally understand. I’ve been told that numerous times when running trains. I now limit my smoke usage to steamers with an occasional diesel.

Gene

@Apples55 posted:

Gotta say the graphics on those LIRR cars are very nice, but what does the railroad need with all that creamed corn???

Well somebody's gotta do something with all the Lawn-guy-land corn that's left over.......

Seriously though- these will get a proper load to match my MTH car.

Thanks Paul.

@RSJB18 posted:

Well somebody's gotta do something with all the Lawn-guy-land corn that's left over.......

Seriously though- these will get a proper load to match my MTH car.

Thanks Paul.

LOL, Bob   Question - your better looking load is of similar corn color to the RMT cars… what is the load meant to represent??? Wood chips???

With so many of my friends going to their eternal home, while helping in their families liquidations of the trains, I’ve purchased this Die-Cast K-Line Sante Fe reefer, and it’s new in the box. It’s also very heavy. There is a new Lionel A5 0-4-0 B&O Steam Switcher waiting for me at Phillips Toy Mart this coming Wednesday. Wow, ordered in 2022…. Happy Railroading Everyone

@Apples55 posted:

LOL, Bob   Question - your better looking load is of similar corn color to the RMT cars… what is the load meant to represent??? Wood chips???

Wow....you've been away for far too long.....remember? Long Island is a giant SAND BAR.....🤪🤪🤪

Half of the concrete poured to build Manhattan used Long Island sand, including the Empire State Building, etc ...

@Guttersnipe posted:

I'll say it again, some people think you should dirty them up and/or graffiti them, me Plese keep them looking as good as they do now

Couldn’t agree more… I run a clean railroad (in a crappy basement )!!!

@RSJB18 posted:

Wow....you've been away for far too long.....remember? Long Island is a giant SAND BAR.....🤪🤪🤪

Half of the concrete poured to build Manhattan used Long Island sand, including the Empire State Building, etc ...

Yeah… it has been 30 years in the Poconos. I still get Metro North advisory emails and I note it is, once again, slippery rail season, so all that sand may come in handy on rainy days

@Apples55 posted:

Couldn’t agree more… I run a clean railroad (in a crappy basement )!!!

You should see my layout/music studio, on second thought you don't need the night mare

My last big preorder of the year came in to Grzyboski’s… a stunning Lionel 4-6-0 in New York Central & Hudson River livery. Other than this engine looked great in the 2024 Vol. 1 catalog, although I am not an expert, I do know that this engine ran through Westchester County, NY near where my brother lives (and thanks to a recent post from @Frank Mulligan on the Sanborn Fire Insurance maps, I found some track maps for the NYC&HR).

From what I’ve been able to learn so far is that it probably ran on what the New York Central (and now Metro North) called the Harlem Line or the Hudson Line. The colors and applied detail are very sharp.

While I was there, I also picked up another R&N caboose I had ordered…

And while I was waiting, I saw a blow out sale on some 2020 - 2021 rolling stock ($20) - this should look good with my recent R&N purchases.

My son spotted this train cabinet at a thrift store. It still had the Styrofoam packing from the original purchaser. It's very heavy and well made ,42 high by 92 long $108.00 tax included.

Way to bring em up

I recently purchased Lionel’s model of New York Central 4-6-0 ten wheeler #1244 – (SKU 2431660). Lionel has been making versions of this NYC prototype since at least 2002 and they did a great job on this one. It’s the 5th Lionel ten-wheeler in my collection.

The colors are realistic. The boiler is flat black, the smokebox is a dark metallic-graphite, the running gear is tarnished black, and the silver color of the cylinder and valve-chest heads sets them apart from the rest of the model. The tender has been upgraded with a load of real coal and the gauges and valves on the boiler backhead are highly detailed. Locomotive sounds, whistle, and bell seem authentic to me, and the slow-speed running (conventionally) is very smooth.

New York Central #1244 was built by Alco in November 1907 and began service on the New York Central & Hudson River Railroad as Class F-2e #2118. It was reclassified to NYC Class F-12e and renumbered #831 when superheated in February 1916. Weight was 208,000 pounds with 31,900 pounds tractive effort at steam pressure 200 pounds-per-square-inch with 69-inch driving wheels. It was renumbered to #1244 in 1948 and retired in February 1952.

MELGAR

I ordered this car to be part of my Veterans Salute train; but it just showed up. So here’s a belated salute to Coast Guard Veterans.

Bob! I got my RMT LI sand hopper yesterday just like yours.  What is the black livery LI hopper shown? RMT? When was it available?did you get it in Lynbrook?

thx.

MTH Premier

@Leroof posted:

Bob! I got my RMT LI sand hopper yesterday just like yours.  What is the black livery LI hopper shown? RMT? When was it available?did you get it in Lynbrook?

thx.

Pierre- the gray (not black) hopper is a MTH car. Don't recall but I probably bought it from Trainz.

Thanks

@Mark V. Spadaro posted:

MTH Pemier

Hark I see another visitor on the California Pacific. great Color combination

New NKP Berkshire courtesy of Mr Muffins. Didn't need a new Berk but I do have a soft spot for the Bellevue railroad museum.

3 S scale, O gauge cars.  All retrucked with Flyer prewar trucks.

The Great Northern car is Marx.

The Elgin Joliet & Eastern car is a repainted Fundimensions small boxcar.  Elaborate paint job for a low end car.

The Santa Fe covered hopper is an Industrial Rail model.  This car is S scale; I've converted another hopper to S.