Combining Postwar & Modern

Absolutely. That’s where our hobby started. The trains from the 50’s were the best back then and they are now. They still run and are relatively easy to repair like the ‘62 Chevy I once had.

Arnold- it would be easy to repaint a set of”2400” style passenger cars to match your engine. Try it! JohnA (not afraid to repaint or modify anything)

@rrvics posted:

Absolutely. That’s where our hobby started. The trains from the 50’s were the best back then and they are now. They still run and are relatively easy to repair like the ‘62 Chevy I once had.

I totally agree, Vic.

And, some of the combinations seem so perfect, like the above Lionchief Plus locomotive and Postwar passenger cars. As most of us already know, those cars have names of NJ cities and  towns on them, like Newark, Elizabeth, Livingston, Chatham, etc, and the locomotive is a Jersey Central Pacific. Also, both are traditional or semi-scale in size. It's a bit amazing to me that those Postwar cars were made about 65 to 70 years before the modern locomotive, and they are so perfect for each other.

Most of the examples of similar combinations of modern and Postwar that come to my mind involve modern locomotives with all the sounds, bells, whistles and smoke, and Postwar train cars.

Also, there are great combinations of Postwar accessories and modern trains.

Before I post more photos of these combinations, I will give some of you folks a chance to chime in.

Arnold

Yes!!!  Another Arnold classic!!  LOL, I am one to take things even further.  Prewar, postwar, and modern.  The leading engine is a postwar 2046 with prewar cars.  I can also run those prewar cars with an MTH 260E. I am not a collector...if it runs well and looks good then it is good!!

Some of my buildings are modern MTH reproductions.

Here is a twist, Post war power with modern MTH Hoppers!

I think the combinations are limitless. I agree, Rick, that Postwar motive power with modern cars can also work.

Fendermain, what a great idea to add pre-war into the mix. I only have one item that is either pre-war or early Postwar. It's a terrific Lionel bright red, metal, illuminated Pennsylvania caboose. Love to run it with everything.

Arnold

I do love the operating milk cars from the postwar era and have a small collection to make a full train. Beyond that, I definitely love the power and speed of postwar engines. I only have experience with steamers though. I generally run at realistic speeds but sometimes I just love to open up that throttle and see what they can really do! The lack of command control makes things complicated for me though. I hate to modify those older pieces but I did decide to modify two of my older engines just because I love them so much. I'm just working to make sure everything can go backwards to stock. I'll be leaving my grandpa's set totally stock for sentimental reasons.

I tried to combine my postwar hoppers with the modern hoppers I have and it just looks weird. A string of postwar hoppers look good and a string of modern produced hoppers looks good. They just look odd together from my perspective.

A postwar 773 Hudson and a modern LionMaster Challenger prepare for departure side by side. Arnold, like chocolate and peanut butter, post war and modern harmonize very well. For the most part, I avoid the newer scale items in favor of "traditional" sized rolling stock.

Arnold, I like traditional sized stuff for my 031 curves, cross track and return loops etc.

I would interpret the past MTH rail king series as modern. That worked really well, a good fit with the Postwar Lionel equipment. I don’t mix scale like and traditional sized trains. In fact I don’t have 3 rail semi scale trains.

This one combines a modern MTH Railking Proto 3 diesel, Postwar Lionel coal dump cars and possibly a  prewar caboose:

Arnold

I bleed Post-War and out of my 67 engines only 3 are "modern" - all have magne-traction. The vast majority of my rolling stock are Post-War too.

I do, however, like "modern" Freight cars with that "Post-War" look and size and "modern" Madison and Baby Madison passenger cars.

I have to admit that "modern" cars  are lighter and roll better than their Post-War counterparts. As a perfect example I recently posted a video I made of a train of 18 "modern" reefers pulled by a Post-War Illinois Central F3 pair and trailing with a Post-War based caboose. When I took that train down I found that I could not run a train with more than 12 Post-War cars without them pulling off the track on curves. This was so even with them being lubricated and the heavier cars up front. O42 and O54 curves.

@John A posted:

Arnold- it would be easy to repaint a set of”2400” style passenger cars to match your engine. Try it! JohnA (not afraid to repaint or modify anything)

The lettering would be the hard part  I have one that is waiting for me to reletter it, but I am afraid of not getting razor sharp edges on the letters. So it does put me off  

Alan

Arnold - apart from combining Postwar & Modern, I love how you combine model trains & baseball.

Please post more photos/videos of your "Yankee Stadium"!

Alan- I have had good luck using my computer printer for lettering.  Sometimes I have had to apply 2 decals (layering) to get the letters dark enough. Give it a try. JohnA

John, most of my locomotives are Postwar and I love them all, which include steam, diesel and electrics. Among the Postwar, those from the early to mid-1950s tend to be the best IMO, although my very best is a 773 from 1964.

I agree with your remarks about Postwar and modern train cars.

If you want to pull more of your Postwar cars,  you might try a modern locomotive that runs sow and smooth like LionChief Plus, an MTH Proto 3 or a Lionel TMCC. I believe Lionel Visionline and Legacy can also run slow and smooth, but since I don't have any of those high end engines, I am not familiar with them.

Earlier today, I was running long trains of Postwar operating cars with sliding shoes using LC+ and MTH Proto 3 engines on my layout with tubular track, sharp 031 curves and 022 switches. The performance was outstanding. My track work is far from perfect with some voltage drops, but the trains still ran great.

In the past, I have had Postwar operating car sliding shoes get snagged in 022 switches and ripped off, but never when pulled by one of the above modern slow smooth running engines. I am particularly impressed with LC+ (soon to be LC 2.0) beause they are so user friendly and relatively economical. Arnold

Arnold, I think you’ll find many of us senior kids are in the hobby today because of those fun Christmas mornings in the 1940’s, 1950’s, 1960’s with toy trains running under the tree. Oh what fun it was to wake up and see what Santa Claus left for us to play with. Now, whether one received a Marx, American Flyer, Lionel, or Ives, or Dorfan, or whatever, it was truly happiness. I remember getting my first train, a Lionel GG1 with freight consist, my neighbor friend the Lionel Sante Fe F3’s, Another neighbor friend the Lionel Burlington GP7 with 027 Passenger consist, and up the street neighbor getting a large American Flyer layout on a ping pong table... Wow, we all had fun talking toy trains, but what was really fun, was playing in the MKT freight yards at the end of our street. Yes, hopping trains, playing with fusees and walking the tracks was a lot of fun.  (Dennison Texas) This was in the early to mid fifties. So, answering your topic Question is Yes, mixing the old with the new is key to our still loving toy trains.

I was happy with running trains conventionally, even with having many on/off toggle switches for blocks, sidings, etc. But, the best thing that I’ve seen yet in the hobby is Command Control. TMCC, bringing back our old post war favorites in command mode, Century Club One... This made me a toy train lover again, but this created an on going addiction that’s almost incurable.  So, long story short, it’s now a Legacy addiction and it’s so much fun. Thank you for asking? Happy Railroading Everyone

@leapinlarry posted:

Arnold, I think you’ll find many of us senior kids are in the hobby today because of those fun Christmas mornings in the 1940’s, 1950’s, 1960’s with toy trains running under the tree. Oh what fun it was to wake up and see what Santa Claus left for us to play with. Now, whether one received a Marx, American Flyer, Lionel, or Ives, or Dorfan, or whatever, it was truly happiness. I remember getting my first train, a Lionel GG1 with freight consist, my neighbor friend the Lionel Sante Fe F3’s, Another neighbor friend the Lionel Burlington GP7 with 027 Passenger consist, and up the street neighbor getting a large American Flyer layout on a ping pong table... Wow, we all had fun talking toy trains, but what was really fun, was playing in the MKT freight yards at the end of our street. Yes, hopping trains, playing with fusees and walking the tracks was a lot of fun.  (Dennison Texas) This was in the early to mid fifties. So, answering your topic Question is Yes, mixing the old with the new is key to our still loving toy trains.

I was happy with running trains conventionally, even with having many on/off toggle switches for blocks, sidings, etc. But, the best thing that I’ve seen yet in the hobby is Command Control. TMCC, bringing back our old post war favorites in command mode, Century Club One... This made me a toy train lover again, but this created an on going addiction that’s almost incurable.  So, long story short, it’s now a Legacy addiction and it’s so much fun. Thank you for asking? Happy Railroading Everyone

Loved "addiction that is almost incurable." LOL, Arnold

@Don Winslow posted:

Arnold - apart from combining Postwar & Modern, I love how you combine model trains & baseball.

Please post more photos/videos of your "Yankee Stadium"!

Will do soon, Don, but not on this thread.

LC+ ERIE switcher and Postwar Lionel operating milk cars and merchandise cars:

Arnold

If you like some whim and whimsy with realism, then Postwar accessories and modern trains are a great combination:

Arnold

Arnold another great topic.  When I get the layout together I'll be running product from the 50's through MPC up to Lionel TMCC and MTH Proto 1.  With Williams, WBB, K-line and Weaver thrown in.

Here is an example of a postwar 624 with modern freight cars.  The engine, while not perfect, still looks good with cars.  I think the primary determining factors for matching are size, color and condition.

I always enjoy seeing your layout Fendermain!

And please don't apologize for your "not perfect" NW2. Some of my favorite items are far from perfect like this F3, but it adds to their charm. I think others will agree!

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

If you like some whim and whimsy with realism, then Postwar accessories and modern trains are a great combination:

Arnold

I LIKE WHIMSICAL

Thank you, Don.  That means a lot to hear that from you as I consider both of your layouts to be fabulous.  Yes, some wear on our old trains would indicate they were played with yet cared for.  Some of my prewar has significant mojo or play wear.  

While not postwar and modern, I do have the combination of prewar and modern during the holiday season - mostly for nostalgia reason.

I pair my Grandfather's tinplate with my RTR Polar Express that was gifted to me from him in 2005 when I was 7. Although he wasn't in the hobby, he appreciated trains for the engineering marvels that they are. Seeing the trains he received in 1928 still running always brought a smile to his face. He and I were very close; even as I move toward 3-rail-scale, I will also treasure those items because of our connection.

This year, my Legacy PRR 460 Lindbergh special version and MTH Strasburg coaches joined the mix. The 460 and SRC coaches will stay up during the remainder of the year on the floor of our spare bedroom. With some reorganizing in the basement, I hope to finagle a small around-the-room "two track mainline" this winter - the tinplate would find it's way out of storage if this comes to fruition. As our basement is finished/ doubles as my weight room, this won't be anything grand (although will require a lot of planning to fit everything in the space), but at least it will be a way to see the tinplate through the rest of the year.

No....BUT!!!!! I have sold most of my postwar F units (had most all of them) but still kept some steam but sold my 773 1950 version. I would not like to mix and match. I think I would like to pull all my newer scale stuff off the layout once in a while and replace it with postwar 50's trains. I could make my layout and fully scale 50's RR. That would be fun. Don

@Fendermain posted:

Here is an example of a postwar 624 with modern freight cars.  The engine, while not perfect, still looks good with cars.  I think the primary determining factors for matching are size, color and condition.

I agree, Fendermain, and I love your layout. Isn't that Automatic Gateman great? I got one too, and he never fails. He is sooo reliable.

@Prr7688 posted:

While not postwar and modern, I do have the combination of prewar and modern during the holiday season - mostly for nostalgia reason.

I pair my Grandfather's tinplate with my RTR Polar Express that was gifted to me from him in 2005 when I was 7. Although he wasn't in the hobby, he appreciated trains for the engineering marvels that they are. Seeing the trains he received in 1928 still running always brought a smile to his face. He and I were very close; even as I move toward 3-rail-scale, I will also treasure those items because of our connection.

This year, my Legacy PRR 460 Lindbergh special version and MTH Strasburg coaches joined the mix. The 460 and SRC coaches will stay up during the remainder of the year on the floor of our spare bedroom. With some reorganizing in the basement, I hope to finagle a small around-the-room "two track mainline" this winter - the tinplate would find it's way out of storage if this comes to fruition. As our basement is finished/ doubles as my weight room, this won't be anything grand (although will require a lot of planning to fit everything in the space), but at least it will be a way to see the tinplate through the rest of the year.

I love the idea of combining pre-war and modern.

Good luck with your layout, Prr7688. I think an around the walls layout is the way to go.

As Fendermain said, the best of the Postwar locomotives pulling modern train cars is another great combination. Here, the Lionel early 1950s NY Central F3s (A-B-A) pull modern freight cars with ease, and power to spare:

This locomotive with its dual horizontal motors "growls," with a roar that adds to its realism IMO.

if I did not have a 10 to 12 train car limit because of my reverse loops, I believe this Postwar locootive could easily pull 20+ modern train cars.

Arnold

Arnold,

Those F3s are beautiful and love the growl.  Yes, modern cars are easy rolling with possible longer trains as a result.

Here is the obverse, modern pre Bachman Williams power with postwar cars.  The cars are in excellent condition and look good with the modern motive power.

I generally keep car age groupings the same as different truck styles and patina differences may become more apparent.

In terms of mixing different eras, I prefer the pre-war accessories over the post-war plastic ones.  Combined with tubular track, the trains — from pre-war to modern — seem to go together nicely.

@Pre-War Steve posted:

In terms of mixing different eras, I prefer the pre-war accessories over the post-war plastic ones.  Combined with tubular track, the trains — from pre-war to modern — seem to go together nicely.

I agree Pre-War Steve.  I like postwar accessories and I have a some on my layout but, I generally lean towards the prewar side of things.  To me, it’s mostly about fun.  I find the bright prewar colors somewhat uplifting.

Sometimes it's not clear to me if an accessories pre-war or Postwar. For instance, take the 97 Coal loader:

It's metal and has bright colors, which suggests pre-war, but I think it might be early Postwar.

Same is true of this automatic Gateman:

And this all metal brightly colored station:

What do you think? Are they pre-war or Postwar or possibly both? Arnold

The gateman looks like it might be postwar, similar to mine — the plastic crossbuck makes me think so.  I have the 90s reissue of the coal loader and have had a lot of fun demonstrating it for folks from time to time.

I combine it all, from Lionel Postwar to the Lionel Premium Freight Sets of today.

Not into prototypical operations or realistic scale scenery, its all about operation and fun!!

@Pre-War Steve posted:

The gateman looks like it might be postwar, similar to mine — the plastic crossbuck makes me think so.  I have the 90s reissue of the coal loader and have had a lot of fun demonstrating it for folks from time to time.

Steve, I just checked; the cross-buck is metal, painted off white, not plastic, on the Automatic Gateman.

Arnold,

Good point and those may be 1940s examples where the differences are minimal.  I have two of my favorites, the gateman, on the layout.  One has a plastic building, warning sign and metal base and the other is all metal.  I believe the plastic is 1950s and the metal is late 1940s...both postwar.  There was a metal prewar model that had a diamond warning sign.

I believe your beautiful all metal station is prewar.

Not only is postwar and modern combined but also prewar and often using coupling adapters here on small layout .