My Triple Level Layout - Anthracite Hi-Railers Visit - 1/5/24

@Richizzle07 posted:

LoL I’m going to get you there again eventually! In the meantime, what’s your thoughts on the 1953 blue ford pickup truck a few posts up? Is that something you be interested in having on your layout?

@Mark Boyce posted:

I like the blue truck, though I thought it looks too light blue to be authentic for a ‘53 truck.  I looked up original colors.  Ford didn’t offer that color, but Chevy did on their trucks.  That works for me on my layout.  

When I was young and crazy I helped my brother in law paint his truck that color which I guess could be called robin egg blue ....( no metallic  ) ....................it was a Chevy.

@Dallas Joseph posted:

When I was young and crazy I helped my brother in law paint his truck that color which I guess could be called robin egg blue ....( no metallic  ) ....................it was a Chevy.

It’s a good color 👍🏻

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

I was checking the inventory for Menards and decided to take advantage of the 11% rebate along with a sale on two of the buildings. I already have a M&M’s warehouse so I grabbed another one that I’ll likely make into a Menards warehouse. As I’m typing this, their inventory still shows 5.

Next up is the Multi-Sign/Purpose building. Very nicely detailed building that keeps a fairly small footprint. Their inventory currently shows only 3 remaining.

The final item I got from this purchase was actually a dealer pack. I liked the 2 pack of PRR ore cars so much I grabbed the 8 pack while it was still available. All have different numbers as advertised. Current inventory shows 3 so don’t wait if you’re interested!

Here’s an overall photo of this purchase.

Richie, nice haul!  incidentally, I learned to drive a stick in a ‘65 International pickup; 3 on the tree.  It was blue, a little darker blue than the Menards Ford model you have.  I see International Harvester made pickup trucks until 1975, but I’m sure not many because I don’t remember them in the ‘70s.

@Mark Boyce posted:

Richie, nice haul!  incidentally, I learned to drive a stick in a ‘65 International pickup; 3 on the tree.  It was blue, a little darker blue than the Menards Ford model you have.

Mark, would you want one of the Fords in glacier blue? I can send one your way next week, just message me your address. I know it’s not the Chevy or original color but it could be a repaint from @Dallas Joseph LoL.

@Richizzle07 posted:

Mark, would you want one of the Fords in glacier blue? I can send one your way next week, just message me your address. I know it’s not the Chevy or original color but it could be a repaint from @Dallas Joseph LoL.

Rich ........let's see......about 55 years ago .......I think it was a 1954 Chevy pickup .......my brother-in-law' s father had the old garage......I can't remember what kind of ventilation we had..... hmmmm !?!

( a lot less involved now with O scale figjres and rolling stock )

Thanks for the mention though.

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

Yesterday I attended The Great Northeast Train Show in Dunmore PA. It was packed!! I mean the isles were to a crawl! There was a great variety of trains to choose from with very reasonable prices on many tables. I spotted a few items I wanted but hesitating caused me to miss out on them. Last year this was the first train show I ever attended and it really launched me off into my train mayhem LoL.

I found 3 Menards UTLX tankers at an incredible price along with a box truck.

Here’s my overall purchases at the show.

The Wienermobile even showed up for a bit!

There was also a pretty good food menu available.

Great show as always! Here’s details on the October show.

Rich, I like your purchases.  That box truck looks nice.  The menu is quite extensive compared to the menu at the Monroeville Greenberg shows.  The prices look good for an event like this.

@Richizzle07 posted:

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

Yesterday I attended The Great Northeast Train Show in Dunmore PA. It was packed!! I mean the isles were to a crawl! There was a great variety of trains to choose from with very reasonable prices on many tables. I spotted a few items I wanted but hesitating caused me to miss out on them. Last year this was the first train show I ever attended and it really launched me off into my train mayhem LoL.

Great show as always! Here’s details on the October show.

Nice haul, Rich. I had no idea there was a show in the area (at least not since the demise of the show that use to be held at the Scranton Radisson a few years ago). I’ll have to keep my eye out for the October show since I’m just out in Pike Co. off I84!!!

@Mark Boyce posted:

Rich, I like your purchases.  That box truck looks nice.  The menu is quite extensive compared to the menu at the Monroeville Greenberg shows.  The prices look good for an event like this.

Thanks Mark! I believe they had a DJ playing also. Some great music! Each of these train shows seem to expand little by little. As for the food, I didn’t have any but sure did hear quite a few positive comments. There was a few layouts on display but I didn’t capture many photos. I’m trying to get better at taking photos but I tend to get lost in the moment with trains. LoL

I almost forgot but I encountered this truck tailgate when I was leaving. Pretty cool!! This is the second one I’ve seen at a show now.

Rich, I have never taken a photograph at a show either for the same reason.  I did take a couple outdoor photographs of the grandstand and the older buildings at York because I thought they are unique.

I don’t think the show in Scranton is worth a trip from Butler, but it sounds great!

@Apples55 posted:

Nice haul, Rich. I had no idea there was a show in the area (at least not since the demise of the show that use to be held at the Scranton Radisson a few years ago). I’ll have to keep my eye out for the October show since I’m just out in Pike Co. off I84!!!

Thanks Paul! This is one of the closest shows to me. Being fairly new and getting back into the hobby, I never been to the Scranton Radisson. The other one I keep an eye out for is the Taylor Fire Department shows. Both usually have items at great prices.

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE! (GIFT)

I received two pictures from a good friend that came across them on a Facebook for sale group. They are pictures of old trains. What a great gift! Thanks again Brenda!

Any info on each train would be greatly appreciated!

KEEPING INVENTORY UPDATE

Back in July I figured it was a good time to start keeping inventory of my train purchases since I’m still fairly new with getting back into the hobby last January. At that time I was making a written inventory sheet on grid paper.

I figured it was time to get an actual spreadsheet filled out on Excel. I made a train inventory spreadsheet, a structure inventory spreadsheet, and a street vehicle inventory spreadsheet.

There’s still a few odds and ends I need to look up. I’m beyond pleased that I got this task almost up to date. Just need to add my unboxed Lionel to the train inventory sheet and I still have to decide how I’m going to categorize the numerous sets I have.

Nice going Rich, that’s good for several reasons. I’ll add that to my to do list.

Andy

@Steamfan77 posted:

Nice going Rich, that’s good for several reasons. I’ll add that to my to do list.

Andy

Thanks Andy! This has been in the works for awhile and it’s great finally having everything neatly categorized in one place. I’m currently at 80 structures, 88 street vehicles, and 156 rolling stock. Please note not all will be used in the rebuild. None of the sets are calculated in yet and I have about 30 Lionel that are unboxed that need to be inventoried. I also just realized I didn’t make a spreadsheet for the locomotives so that’s now added to my list.

YORK’S COMING!!!

This weekend I’ll be prepping my Wishlist for York along with the odds and ends I need to get for the rebuild.

I have my notebook from the 2 previous Yorks with little notes on certain dealer locations for specific items so I’ll be using it for reference again. Each hall gets two pages each York for note taking and it’s worked out pretty good so far. I’ve actually been able to locate items I decided to go back for, that is the items that didn’t disappear yet.

The suspense is building!!!

Wow, Rich!  You are really organized!  It makes sense with a multi-building show with a couple of the buildings being huge!  I’ve only been there twice, and it can be almost overwhelming!  Also, I used the map a lot to get back to certain vendors!  I agree, the suspense is building!!  👍🏻

Looked at your spreadsheet inventory.  Any reason you are not capturing cost?  Might be useful for insurance purposes later and for computing gain/loss on subsequent sales for tax purposes.  Also, be sure to keep a copy of this data somewhere other than your home in case a disaster happens there.  Last is always a good idea for anything you maintain in electronic format.

Chuck

@Mark Boyce thanks! It sure is overwhelming! It’s a great overwhelming though LoL.

@PRR1950 I have all their purchase prices listed. If you look closely you’ll see a green line going down each page. The line is where I opted out of showing my purchase prices so I hide that column.

UPDATE #21

I spent the other day doing some building adjustments as well as placing a few more on the layout. I also put some street vehicles out, temporarily placed the bridge for the third level, wired one controller to one of my 11 switches, cleaned the track on the bottom level, and had the train running for nearly two hours. It was a great day!

Here’s two recent videos of the layout. The first is showing you around town and the second displays the track pattern along with all the different routes and directions the train can go. (Please note that the mountain scenery is from the previous layout and I’m just setting them there for now.)

It was such a productive yet relaxing day!

My closets are filling up fast! This isn’t even everything either. Most sets are in a separate room along with all the buildings I still have for the layout rebuild. I definitely need more though, no question about it!!! LoL

Rich, the layout is looking great, and the train is running very smoothly!  You need a much larger layout for all those Menards cars!!!

@Mark Boyce posted:

Rich, the layout is looking great, and the train is running very smoothly!  You need a much larger layout for all those Menards cars!!!

Thanks Mark! It’s definitely a work in progress but it’s coming along just fine. There’s probably another 35 Menards cars that don’t have their original shipping cardboard so I have them in a big box for the time being. All new Menards track is a huge factor for it running so smoothly. I also spent awhile on cleaning the 022 switches and making sure they didn’t have any issues. I just need my train room to magically double in size now LoL.

Double in size.  Don’t we all! 😄

@Richizzle07 posted:

Well I’m having a problem. Sorta more of a weakness actually. I might have to either cover up or move the Candy sets LoL.

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

On Tuesday Menards released their new M&Ms caboose and I’m glad I ordered it because it was sold out by Thursday afternoon. Well it arrived about 25 minutes ago. My Menards candy train is up to date. 😁 Here’s some photos and a video.

So I’m craving candy a lot lately! All this M&Ms talk today resulted in me grabbing a 2 pound bag of peanut M&Ms! LoL! I’m in trouble!

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

With York approaching I was somewhat behaving and not getting out of control with purchases this month. Well I was ONLY scrolling eBay and next thing I knew, 6 boxcars jumped into my cart! LoL! Before I knew it there was a confirmation email. Introducing my dealer pack of 4 Menards (earlier release) commemorative WWII nose art boxcars along with 2 Menards Goodyear boxcars. All unopened! Here’s the individual car photos.

Here’s an overall photo of the 6 culprits that jumped into the cart. LoL

In exactly 3 week’s from now I’ll be in the SUV, pulling out of the York fairgrounds with a huge smile on my face and most definitely an empty wallet. I can’t wait!!

Can’t wait to see your haul from York Rich. I like the new additions.

Andy

@Steamfan77 posted:

Can’t wait to see your haul from York Rich. I like the new additions.

Andy

Thanks Andy! Unfortunately the homeowners curse had to get a hold of my wallet. Funds are going to be a little low for York this trip since I had a furnace issue earlier yesterday morning resulting in some minor basement flooding. It’s all fixed and cleaned up now but a $400+ service bill was a punch to the gut. I’m still planning on having a blast at York! Some train therapy is definitely needed.

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

After the furnace fiasco yesterday, my day had some joy added to it when a Menards box was delivered.

Earlier in the week Menards released their new Sinclair tanker and I snagged one up just in time since these sold out faster than the M&Ms caboose. Great looking car!

Next up is a Lifesavers tanker. Yes this is my second one but last weekend I learned that Menards had 2 releases and the first release had silver trucks compared to the new one with black trucks. So I grabbed one since the inventory count was getting low. There’s currently only 10 left! Another great looking car!

Last up is a Burlington Northern covered hopper. This hopper was on my list and the inventory was getting really low with only 2 left so I had to add it to my order. Menards still says there’s 1 remaining!

Here’s an overall photo of my order.

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

Earlier this week Menards released a new New Haven tanker and New Haven caboose so of course I grabbed them both LoL. Here’s photos of both and a video of the caboose.

That should be the end of the purchases until York.

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

Over the weekend I was helping a friend pick up a patio set for her daughter. The gentleman that was selling it also had a shed full of items for sale. I grabbed a few smaller items for my garage but also picked up this picture of a railroad crossing with a country store trackside in the background. Only $3 so I couldn’t set it back down. I’m actually staying within my budget with York just 3 days away!!

@Richizzle07 posted:

NEW PURCHASE UPDATE!

Now that would be a cool setting to do in 3d on a model RR layout Rich.     Nice picture.

@Dallas Joseph posted:

Now that would be a cool setting to do in 3d on a model RR layout Rich.     Nice picture.

Thanks Joe and I completely agree! That old country store is really packed with details!

YORK PREPARATIONS!

I’m crossing the T’s and dotting the i’s on my York list. Funds are lower with the recent furnace repair and the recent washer repair, so I’m making adjustments on my list.

Also, most of the items I listed for sale have sold so here’s a photo of the deliveries I’ll be making to fellow OGR Forum members. THANK YOU to everyone who purchased stuff from me!!

Hopefully everyone that’s going will have safe travels and a fantastic York Week!

@Richizzle07 posted:

Hopefully everyone that’s going will have safe travels and a fantastic York Week!

LOVE THE ILLUSTRATION  Richie . .......

........and the same box ( chewy) in the photo that our two rescues like to see on the front porch.