Front End Friday

Picking up an empty box at Morrison Door...took the Morrison crew an extra day to unload the carload of doors from the west coast....excuse was labor shortage

Happy FeF

Johan, nice picture/scene, needs a story though. I'm curious, what are the (conductor/engineer/yards-man?) talking to the police about?

Ron, nicely detailed MTH Y3, and nicely photographed.

Bob, great photo of that BL2 next to the dock!

Here's my entry for FeF. It's a busy day at the loading dock with SW8 1102 waiting for the Daylight 4415 to depart so they can drop off a freight car or two at the dock. Lots of entertainment for the folks across the street having some breakfast at Miss Molly's Diner!

Have another great “Front End Friday”…🚂😉😺

K-Line/Marx 333 & NYC passenger cars.

Well hello, F.E.F. fans, its another Friday already...seems like the weeks are rushing by.  Hope your week went well, mine was a bit of a drag.  One day our sprinkler system went bad (brain dead and over 10 years old so no parts) and the next our water softener system service light comes on.  So had water softener folks today and have sprinkler folks tomorrow.  Without a sprinkler in the Texas summer you can about kiss your plants and grass goodby!!

So, I have managed to find a few F.E.F. pictures to post, hope they do for a quick job.  The Lionel # 241 2-4-2 steamer offered in 1958  is one of many 2-4-2's that the company used throughout the late 50's and 60's. While these were never glamorous, many families especially those with modest budgets, enjoyed trains around their Christmas tree because of these little engines.  I checked my Sear's Christmas catalog for 1958 and you could get this little loco with a "7-unit" freight train (5 cars including caboose plus tender and engine), eight curved and 2 straight track, and a 45 watt transformer for a total price of $19.95 and if you needed time payments it was only $2 down.  I like the # 241 because it is a little unique due to the wide white stripe down the locomotive sides.  It has a die cast boiler, liquid smoke (uncommon in these small loco's), a headlight, 2 position reverse, and rubber traction tires.  Equipped with the #234W tender she could also have a whistle.   She can actually pull a modest freight train although the motor is the infamous sealed motor common in some Scout locomotives.  So here is the #241 locomotive.

Here she is waiting for a clearance signal from the Hornby 2-track semaphore.  Likely the dispatcher will let that passenger train in control of the diesel in the background go first to keep from holding up the folks trying to make it north today.

One thing I need mention, as a collector, this is not the right tender.  I show her with a #1062T slope back tender and she should have #234 or #234W (whistle) tender but that is not the way I found her so finding a proper tender is one of many things I have to acquire "some day".

Well best wishes everyone.

Don

Here are my ends of the front kind for this fine Friday!

Happy Front End Friday everyone! We're getting hit with the front end of a thunderstorm here in southern New England but I'll keep posting while the power stays on.

Last night I finished upgrading my Rock Island AB6 with a better drivetrain and some fun new features. I motorized the second truck, upgraded the command system to a Cruise Commander board and equipped the front with a 3-LED NGineering Mars light.

I set the AB6 up with my other Rock Island train, a pair of EMD TAs hauling a Rocket streamliner, on the layout for the inaugural run.

Check out that awesome Mars light in action!

Happy FEF from the N&W!

@WesternPacific2217 posted:

Happy FeF

Johan, nice picture/scene, needs a story though. I'm curious, what are the (conductor/engineer/yards-man?) talking to the police about?

Ron, nicely detailed MTH Y3, and nicely photographed.

Bob, great photo of that BL2 next to the dock!

Here's my entry for FeF. It's a busy day at the loading dock with SW8 1102 waiting for the Daylight 4415 to depart so they can drop off a freight car or two at the dock. Lots of entertainment for the folks across the street having some breakfast at Miss Molly's Diner!

Scott,

Thank you. Maine Central Railroad police are taking a coffee break and exchanging news with the locomotive crew.

Johan

Front ends on the Great Northeastern Railway.

Great photo's everyone.  Trainguy Ken I am not familiar with the Rock Island AB6, it looks like a railcar but you seem to use it like a cab unit. Was there a prototype?  How did RI use the loco?

Thanks Don

Newest engine added to my roster Lionel SD 45.

Front End Friday!

Today, here’s an SP locomotive made from Williams’ first brass locomotive which originally was a coal burning Pacific with a coal tender.

Ken, the AB6 looks great.  Nice work.

John great work on the oil tender.

@Don McErlean posted:

Great photo's everyone.  Trainguy Ken I am not familiar with the Rock Island AB6, it looks like a railcar but you seem to use it like a cab unit. Was there a prototype?  How did RI use the loco?

Thanks Don

The AB6 was an EMD E6 diesel derivative, specifically a B-unit with a flat cab added. The Rock Island used to pull one of their Rocket trains with a regular E6 and an AB6 so they could split the train in half and send them in two different directions without needing a second A-unit. Here's a link to a page explaining some of the details. They spent their end days in a simpler paint scheme hauling commuter trains in and out of Chicago, which I would like to model when I eventually make another one of these.

@coach joe posted:

Ken, the AB6 looks great.  Nice work.

Thanks Joe! That engine was the most difficult pinstriping project that I have ever worked on, I'm very pleased with how it came out in the end. I'll have to do a more detailed writeup on the NGineering installation when I have the chance.

Morning guys, great photos from you all! Here are a few a few waiting to be serviced, we have the BNSF 882 and the BNSF 3505 switcher! HFF to you all!   

@Trainguy Ken :  Thanks for the information on the RI AB6 and the link.  I have never seen nor heard of this arrangement before, really interesting.

Best Wishes

Don

Looks like I’ll be starting us off. Happy FEF all!

   
                                                Trainfam

Happy FEF.

Thread needs more tinplate

( LOL ! )

It’s another FEF…have a great one! 🚂😉😺

Sunrise Coop in South Charleston.

Front & Back Ends Friday.

Morning, all.

Here is the front end of a RailKing H10-44.  Like other RK scale I have, it has pretty good detail, runs well,  and a great price.

FEF.... Two faces only a Mother could love (or a big steam fan).....

Donald

Have a great Friday all!  PW Turbine and a couple joes robbing the joint.

The CN mountain steamer rounds the bend....!

Well I have to agree with "Fatman" some additional tinplate might be in order!  So here are 4 in that vein:

Lionel #248 electric box cab from 1927

Marx Baltimore and Ohio, #62, F-3 from 1953-54

An unnumbered American Flyer, type XX sheet metal loco (2-4-0 originally) with a whistle mounted in the back of the cab.  Uncatalogued 1935.  Yes this fellow has had his share of play time and his finish shows it! 

Not a F.E.F. view but here is the whistle mounted in the cab.  Picture not too good but its the housing is the large block of metal in the foreground.   Since this is the only example I am aware of with this design feature, it must not have worked too well.  This one is unfortunately non-functional.

A Hornby type 20, available from 1954 to 1968  in the same livery (one of the very last official offerings of Hornby in 0 gauge)

Well Happy Friday everyone...have a great weekend.

Best Wishes

Don

Happy FEF!

WM 196 waiting for a green signal......

Marx 999 coming into view slowing down to look at the vintage trucks parked alongside the track.

MTH Rail King EMD F series ABA in B&O livery with Proto Sound 2.

MTH Mark Twain Zephyr passing a Marx WP passenger outfit.

Steve

Friday already?! My NYC 4-6-2 by MTH takes on water.  Have a great weekend everyone.

Here are my ends of the front kind for this fine Friday!!

Y6b mallet front end.

Train Master and Y6b mallet front ends.

Front end of an A5.

I only found this interesting thread today so I'm REALLY LATE to the game.

Since I only have a Christmas Layout each year obviously all of my picx are older ones.  But I have a few that I can spread out of the weeks ahead.

Start with 3 really old ones. one from 1998 and the other 2 from 1999

this one is 1998 and shows an MTH Railkind F3

- walt

1999

2 mth RAILKING F3s

@coach joe posted:

Ken, the AB6 looks great.  Nice work.

John great work on the oil tender.

Thank you!!!

Yay! Another Front End Friday!

Our Southern Pacific H12-44 (FM diesel) pulling a short freight train.

@BAR GP7 #63 posted:

Happy FEF.

Johan, those are a couple of handsome BAR diesels heading up that train.  Is that barn scratch built?

Happy FEF

Steve

@coach joe posted:

Johan, those are a couple of handsome BAR diesels heading up that train.  Is that barn scratch built?

Joe,

The barn is a 3D print and is externally finished, I will turn on the lighting later and finish the interior. It is very difficult to find high-quality Bangor & Aroostook locomotives & cars ready, except for the State of Maine cars. I currently have 4 BAR locomotives, but in the future there will be at least NW2, DEY-2, E7 and a few F3.

Johan

Johan, will you be building those locos or re-painting existing?