Front End Friday

Well here we are on another Friday...thankfully its nice and sunny here in Savannah unlike the prior two days with the storm Elsa.  Leapinlarry thanks for asking about us here in "storm center" but we weathered the storm with no more damage than a few pine tree branches down in the front yard I hope your son did likewise.  RSJB18 I realized that I never commented on your beautiful Lionel post war steamer from 6/25.  Its a great engine and I know from my Lionel's of the same period they really work well.  Sorry I missed that, I enjoyed seeing one in such great shape.

First here is the Lionel 235E from 1936-38.  In those years America was beginning to emerge from the great depression and was perhaps a bit optimistic about the future.  Streamlining began to take hold on the Class 1 railroads, Raymond Lowery was a famous name in streamlined design at the time.   He did the GG1 of course but also a few PRR K class 4-6-2 steamers and perhaps others.  This Lionel is their interpretation of the PRR streamlined steamer.

Here is # 235 as she exits the "mountains" on the Leonardtown and Savannah.  She is one of the larger Lionel pre-war steamers and heavy as all that streamlining is solid iron no sheet metal for Lionel!!

OK, I also had this set of pictures and thought I would post them.  Completely different era, this is an MPC Great Northern steamer from the 1970's .  This was a relatively early offering of the "new" Lionel company and was sold as a separate item not part of a set.  She has all the nice features, 3 position reverse, smoke, headlight etc and she runs really well if somewhat loud.  Anyway I thought she had a really neat "front end"

Well best wishes for a great weekend.

Don

@RSJB18 posted:

How do you like that track cleaner? Been looking at one for sale and I'm ready to pull the trigger. It's missing the detail parts on top but the pads are there.

Bob

Hi Bob.  It's ok, particularly if you use a scrub pad on one post along with a liquid cleaner on the other post, but lets face it, nothing beats elbow grease and a scrub pad wrapped around a piece of wood!  Mine didn't have any detailed parts as well. I added all of that, repainted/decaled it to be an MTA maintenance car, and installed an end of track light truck on one end. It now fits right in with my subway work train.  For optimal cleaning on my track, I need to run it multiple passes and change up the pads at least once if the track is really dirty.

Don McErlean, you just jump started page 92, wow, I knew you would begin with an oldie but a beauty, then, yes the MPC Era really added color to the Lionel Line, and actually began a lot of quality to the product. I remember the #8753 GG1 offerring and had to buy one, it was a good runner. I also love tybee island, the Crab House/Shack, and glad you were safe. Thanks for posting those nice pictures. Happy Railroading Everyone

@Strap Hanger posted:

Hi Bob.  It's ok, particularly if you use a scrub pad on one post along with a liquid cleaner on the other post, but lets face it, nothing beats elbow grease and a scrub pad wrapped around a piece of wood!  Mine didn't have any detailed parts as well. I added all of that, repainted/decaled it to be an MTA maintenance car, and installed an end of track light truck on one end. It now fits right in with my subway work train.  For optimal cleaning on my track, I need to run it multiple passes and change up the pads at least once if the track is really dirty.

I use the elbow grease method too but the car is more fun to run around the layout for a quick cleaning. I like what you did with the car too.  Just what I need, another project

@Don McErlean- glad you weathered the storm OK. It just cleared Long Island this morning. Mostly rain on the western end where we are.

Bob

Happy FEF!

Rusty

Here's some ends of the front kind for this fine Friday!

WTC RS1 number 63  head end crew brakeman Jake Jennings ( L ) and engineer Tink Adams ( R ) stand on the front deck.    That feller on engine 594 is brakeman Lyle Dooley.  

Brakeman Josh Cranford gives B&O Gp9 and it's train a roll by inspection from the front deck of MA&PA number 70.

The sandman, Big Sandy Larson leans left as a Western Maryland consolidation eases forward on the service track.  In the background ... Mr. Bo keeps an eye on everything.  

Happy FEF everyone.

From the 1:1 scale world, CSX #6295 alongside Tri-Rail #520 at the Metrorail Transfer Station.

@Amfleet25124 posted:

Happy FEF everyone.

From the 1:1 scale world, CSX #6295 alongside Tri-Rail #520 at the Metrorail Transfer Station.

WOW Kevin!!  Great photos!!!  These photos look like wonderful portraits painted by a great rail artist. Are you not telling us about your hidden talent??  

@trumpettrain posted:

WOW Kevin!!  Great photos!!!  These photos look like wonderful portraits painted by a great rail artist. Are you not telling us about your hidden talent??  

Shhhh Patrick, I won't tell. LOL

Actually, I was lucky to get the shots.  The freight was rumbling north off in the distance from the station when the southbound Tri-Rail came in.  So I ran to the end of the platform when I heard/felt the CSX locomotive was near and then did rapid fire on the cell phone camera shutter hoping to catch it when it appeared.  Better lucky than good sometimes.

WOW everyone, what great pictures last week.  Leapinlarry - great pictures of Tybee and Savannah, yes the lighthouse is still here and we also love Savannah Candy in the River area .  Thanks for the good wishes in recovering from the storm.  RSJB18 thank you as well for your good wishes that we recovered from the storm.  Super photo's everyone, Trumptrain another great picture story.   Amfleet - your pictures from the 1:1 world are great, not sure how you managed to get them but thanks for posting.

Well to start off my positng for today...a bit of Hornby for your review.  Starting off, the Type 51 from the quite late post war period, middle 50's and even available into the early 60's, the Type 50 was about Hornby's last efforts in 0 gauge, it transferred its efforts (still ongoing) to double O or near HO efforts.  They could make more trains with the same amount of material and charge more money for them!  Note the "lion and wheel" emblem on the tender, marking it as post nationalization of the railroads in UK.

Here is our type 51 moving out with a short cattle train.

Next an entirely different era altogether, the MO line.  This was initiated prewar and the engine below was actually French Hornby from that period.  0 gauge but a much smaller scale than the regular 0 gauge line, it provided the low end product at much less expense.  It did get broadened out quite a bit with stations and various freight and passenger wagons.

Finally, a more upscale Hornby 0 gauge engine, the M1 also from the post war period but earlier than the Type 51.  Here he gets ready to move a branch line passenger consist on down the line.

Well I hope everyone has a great weekend.  Best wishes

Don

Don McErlean, wow, again you’ve posted some really cool Hornby steamers, beautiful locomotive, green and well decorated, and the red one, so neat. Stamped steel lithographed toy trains are definitely unique and eye Candy. I wonder what the set prices were in those golden years of electric or windup toy trains. Great pictures. Now, is that Friday?, or are you a day early…. Just kidding. I love Savanah.

Ends of the front kind for this fine Friday ( which is tomorrow ).   A photo trio of BL2 front end captured from different angles.  

First photos of my new (to me) 3rd Rail PRR S2.  Upgraded with full ERR plus other goodies by Alex_M.  I'll try to get a video of it soon.

Yup everyone I was a day early. Travel tomorrow limited my response time. Thanks for the comments Larry.

Don

CAPPilot, Ron, your pictures are great, that’s a beautiful PRR S2 steamer, I’m anxious to see this locomotive run, 3rd Rail makes super nice scale models. Thanks for showing them here on FEF. Trumptrain, that’s a beautiful BL-2 diesel, in beautiful settings as always. So, here’s for friday. Happy Railroading Everyone

Happy Front End Friday!

Here is another re-issue on my part for the FEF fun. Our battery operated toy train in the backyard in 2011. It being a toy had a struggle of course running through the grass. The LGB Garden Train that I purchased a year or so ago had no such issues

Happy FEF!

I was planning on showcasing my new Menards F(3)(7)???? The debate rages......

But when I turned the layout on yesterday I discovered that the track had gotten messed up from the last "cleaning" I must have grabbed the wrong bottle of alcohol buy mistake.

So......Here's my BL-2 fleet in the ready yard

Rusty

All great photos so far. For me, this is probably the best front end in my collection-

Slant R-40, modified for safety from its original delivery with the front end cage. I have great memories riding between cars in the “cage” of this train on the F line. Ahh, youth!  Here she is on the side track lower subway level waiting to back into service (it’s clearly during the 1977 NYC blackout, which had its anniversary 2 days ago, since the track power remains out!)

I agree Strap, me too.

Some CR freight action -

MTH, Rail King,  PRR M-1a

FeF from north of the boarder.

@Strap Hanger posted:

All great photos so far. For me, this is probably the best front end in my collection-

Slant R-40, modified for safety from its original delivery with the front end cage. I have great memories riding between cars in the “cage” of this train on the F line. Ahh, youth!  Here she is on the side track lower subway level waiting to back into service (it’s clearly during the 1977 NYC blackout, which had its anniversary 2 days ago, since the track power remains out!)

@Strap Hanger, got to give love to the R40 Slants whenever possible! .  I need to get a motorman figurine for mine.  When it came to he BMT and IND lines, I was more of a Brighton Beach line rider myself.   Loved the open cut layout of the track and the stations.

Great photos by everyone so far today.

An Erie Lackawanna F3 stops just at the crossing to unload in Lionelville.

@Amfleet25124 posted:

@Strap Hanger, got to give love to the R40 Slants whenever possible! .  I need to get a motorman figurine for mine.  When it came to he BMT and IND lines, I was more of a Brighton Beach line rider myself.   Loved the open cut layout of the track and the stations.

Great photos by everyone so far today.

Kevin, Didn't these premier sets come with the figure? I thought I just installed the control panel for the figurine after SIRT, back in the day, posted how he did that with his set. I think i also modified it so that the "F" in the front/back was backlit, also following a SIRT modification post back in the day.

@Strap Hanger posted:

Kevin, Didn't these premier sets come with the figure? I thought I just installed the control panel for the figurine after SIRT, back in the day, posted how he did that with his set. I think i also modified it so that the "F" in the front/back was backlit, also following a SIRT modification post back in the day.

Strap Hanger, I only have a used 2-car Add On set which is a wonderful static display that I stare at daily.  Glad to know that the main 4-car set (whenever I do obtain one) already has the motorman/train operator.

Speaking of SIRT, I believe it was Steve that posted a year or two ago how he installed a rectangular box insert in the train cars with 2-dimensional photo images of passengers in a crowded subway car.  Looking from the outside it looked real.  I need to look up that post and mark it so that I can do the same thing.

The "Charles Street" yard...

@Amfleet25124 posted:

Strap Hanger, I only have a used 2-car Add On set which is a wonderful static display that I stare at daily.  Glad to know that the main 4-car set (whenever I do obtain one) already has the motorman/train operator.

Speaking of SIRT, I believe it was Steve that posted a year or two ago how he installed a rectangular box insert in the train cars with 2-dimensional photo images of passengers in a crowded subway car.  Looking from the outside it looked real.  I need to look up that post and mark it so that I can do the same thing.

SIRT’s been almost a legend on the subway forum, posting his modifications for the R-32 grills, using photos of subway interiors, r-40 modifications, etc. Unfortunately, a lot of his great threads are no longer searchable, since they were made when the forum used different software.  The R-40 upgrades he pioneered were outstanding and I tried to implement all of them, but his models were the best. If you only have the 2 car R-40 add on, do yourself a favor and pull the trigger for the original 4 car set. It’s one of the best in the entire MTH fleet. There are still a few out there if you search, but with everyone raising prices on new production, they will probably be going fast.

Santa Fe FEF.
Menards O F3 on the left and STD Gauge DeHanes F3 on the right.

Steve

Well good morning F.E.F fans, I am sorry that I missed last week but an early task took me out of town all day.  Here are some vintage Lionel steamers for you on this sunny Friday morning in Savannah, Ga.

First the Lionel 259E,- the "E" designating that it had remote reversing via the "e-unit".  a 2-4-2 made for quite awhile, between 1932 and 1942 (end of production due to the war).  A sheet metal engine, none of which were re-introduced after the war as Lionel switched to die casting.

Next is one of Lionel's takes on the "Commodore Vanderbilt" engine, the 1689 E, made earlier than the engine above from 1936-1937 in gunmetal grey.  This is an early die cast loco as Lionel introduced that process to give more details to the engine without having to add them on.  It made the loco heavier as well which in the pre - magnatraction days improved their pulling power.  This fellow a real good job on typical pre-war freights of 4-5 cars.

Well that's it for me today.  Hope everyone has a great weekend.  Best wishes

Don

Happy FEF!

The new and the old. Menards F3 and a Lionel PW 218 ALCO.

It's always "Shark Week" on my layout!

Rusty

Rode the jump seat on N&W 611 this morning.

Charlie

@cpowell :  LUCKY DUCK!!

Don

Ends of the front kind for this fine Friday!  

Here's some front ends from both coasts - postwar, MPC, and modern!