Buy/Make Anything Cool Lately (Tinplate Version)

@artfull dodger -  Hey! you could leave it alone and call it "weathering"!! 

Don

If there wasnt so much paint loss I would.  But its ratty enough that it needs the main body resprayed.  I will leave the frame and red pilots original.  Its a common enough engine.  For now I need to find a loop of track to fit on my 4x7 table so I can run it. 

Sometimes you can't save the last vestiges of original paint and still have something that's pleasing to the eye, and sometimes there's underlying damage, the repair of which will significantly defile any original paint, or you simply have to remove paint in order to make the repair. Unless it's a piece that's genuinely rare, I don't get hung up about repainting something, and I agree with you, I frequently leave frames and pilots in their original paint, regardless of how battered they are.

Here's an early 253 whose cab I recently repainted in its original color (or at least as close as I could get to it). It had been dropped at some point and the tabs on the cab ends were broken; there was no way to reattach them except a judicious use of solder. In order to do that, we had to remove a bit of paint, which then ultimately required a complete strip and respray. A couple repro headlamps and a new pantograph completed the refurbishment:

No polishing of the original brasses, all of the original unbroken parts present were saved and reused, and the frame was left as is (except for a thorough cleaning). The motor was serviced and lubricated (the collector assembly will have to be replaced eventually), but for now, it's ready for its next 100 years.

PD

@pd- what a wonderful job!  You have saved an important member of our hobby / past.  Thank you

Don

I am not a tinplate person but just came across these cars from the United States Toy Train Corporation  Pretty cool

@bluelinec4 posted:

I am not a tinplate person but just came across these cars from the United States Toy Train Corporation  Pretty cool

Those are very interesting - I've never seen them.  Far more detail and bling than many of the cottage industry cars.  What kind of mechanism is in the locomotive?  How much do these typically sell for?

Some custom lettered 816/2816 hopper cars.  Heralds are printed on cardstock (matte photo paper).  The Rock Island car has a postwar coupler on one end.

@Mallard4468 posted:

Those are very interesting - I've never seen them.  Far more detail and bling than many of the cottage industry cars.  What kind of mechanism is in the locomotive?  How much do these typically sell for?

I had never even heard of this brand   The Western division of the TCA has a great write up on them on their website  http://www.tcawestern.org/usttc.htm   

The locomotive looks like it has a Lionel motorized unit in it   Possibly a trolley

I have no idea how much they go for as there havent been any sales of them in the past few months   Worthpoint didnt even show a sale

A Flyer Watchman's Tower (#92 or #214, not sure which):

A minor repair to the bell; otherwise in pretty decent shape.

PD

@pd posted:

A Flyer Watchman's Tower (#92 or #214, not sure which):

A minor repair to the bell; otherwise in pretty decent shape.

PD

I believe it is a 214, as the 92 is unlighted

I painted a couple of 600 series cars for the Polar Express.

Scott Smith

@Nation Wide Lines posted:

I believe it is a 214, as the 92 is unlighted

Thanks for the clarification. I was wondering what the difference between the two was. I was looking at it the other day, wondering how one changes the bulb should it burn out.

PD

@pd posted:

Thanks for the clarification. I was wondering what the difference between the two was. I was looking at it the other day, wondering how one changes the bulb should it burn out.

PD

To change the bulb, you want to remove the building from the gray base that it is on (and not the roof from the building).  If you remove the roof, you may end up breaking a tab that would show, where the tabs that hold the building to the base will not show if they break.

@Nation Wide Lines posted:

To change the bulb, you want to remove the building from the gray base that it is on (and not the roof from the building).  If you remove the roof, you may end up breaking a tab that would show, where the tabs that hold the building to the base will not show if they break.

Thanks...it looked like a tab-job, which is never a great option, lol. Hopefully it lights when I test it.

Three Flyer 3/16" O gauge cars.  Bought these from a vendor at a show who had boxes full of 3/16" Flyer O parts.

The 483 flatcar was cleaned up and repainted.

I bought two 480 tank cars.  The common Shell version and the rarer silver and blue one.  The silver car was in very bad shape, so I repainted the orange Shell car.

The 516 caboose is the diecast version.  Gave it a coat of red paint and an LED bulb.

A Pride Lines No. 2 Trolley I won on an online auction site arrived today.

- Tom

I got the originals #9E and the #400E running well for my "floor layout". They are running great on the original track! I am still looking for original brass trim Blue Comet passenger cars.

Rosko Baltimore & Ohio freight set.  This is tinplate, approximately American OO scale but running on S gauge track.  There were two versions - one with a single E7 A, and one with a powered and dummy E7 AA.

Rosko freight in action.  The track is flimsy.

Rosko Bullet Train.  This is S scale and gauge.    Bought it at York last October for $ 8.00.  Didn't run because a wire was broken.  Fixed the wire and it runs nicely.  Uses 2 D batteries, which gives the power unit some weight.

Rosko bullet train in action.

Re-governed a Marx reversing CV with a weight from a wrecked Hafner motor and a tack for a shaft. Works great!

I just assembled this building out of spare Bilt E-Z building set parts.

The Boy Builder

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

@pd posted:

...

...

PD

This is beautiful!

Thanks jhz563...started working on the coaches. The 612 is first up:

Asked my solder zen-master friend to reattach the platform railing for me (had I done it, would have been awful; here it's nice and neat). While the roof was in rough shape and needed a trip through the bead-blaster and a respray with some Scalecoat; no plan to repaint the rest of the body, just a bit of light touch-up. Hoping to rejuvenate the paint and preserve the faint NYC decals with a polish using Meguiar's cleaner wax. A good scrub of the interior, replace the coupler, then hopefully we're done. More pics later.

PD

I just bought a set of three original Lionel Standard Gauge State Cars-Colorado, California and New York. They are "fresh from an attic" but will clean up nicely. Now I need an original 381E engine!

This will be the first time I post here in a while, here is a recent "resto" project. I got 10 Flyer semaphores all of the same type and all of them needing work, but this was the worst of the bunch. I had a spare Flyer/Ives semaphore flag in my junk drawer, and since the remaining flag has no paint or lenses, I figured I'd move it down a notch and straighten it all out. I think it's much better than it was

I have this little 236W set on the way from 1937.  Looks to be very clean upable.

Modern Marx

My father's 259E steamer had a rusty and dented front dome.  I was able to get replacement parts to replace the gnarly dome.  First photo is the 259E with a custom 1679 boxcar and caboose.  Second and third photos are the locomotive.  It's 90 years old and is a good runner.

@cbq9911a- Nice work, recovery of a very handsome pre-war loco for sure.  What tender do you have with it?

Don

The tender to my 259E is from a 264E.

Picked up this little Flyer 1120 recently, primarily for the frame and wheelsets, but after I got around to looking at it, decided it was salvageable. Someone had attempted to electrify it, and the roof had numerous small dents. A bit of Squadron's Green Putty to fill the dents, along with a shot of satin black, and it looks presentable:

Still looking for an 1120 observation...

PD

O-gauge putz-style church for the Christmas display:

PD

Love the church PD.

Charlie

I got my new old 236W set. 

Got to make some time to get it serviced and rolling on the high iron!

It fits right in with all the rest of the clunkers stacked on the layout and walls lol

Bought this Super 381e last weekend!!! I dont have the state cars...so she'll be pulling 200 series freight cars.

Sunrise

Well its a long way from that Super 381e from @Sunrise Special but its new to me!  This is a 1925 American Flyer 5 1/2" #1119 cattle car.  The color scheme of brown with a 5 panel litho door and green roof dates this configuration to 1925.  I also posted these pictures in the tinplate thread so sorry for the repeat. She is in rather remarkable condition for 99, with some worn paint but no missing or broken parts and no rust or corrosion.  Doors slide freely, wheels turn freely, and both couplers are in place.

Best Wishes

Don

At April York, I picked up a Classic Model Trains Victory Diner from David Carse. It's a beautiful piece, but I decided that it needed a foundation. So, I created one from hardboard, foam insulation board, wood, and static grass.

That looks great!!!

Bob