This was our very first layout my father surprised us with Christmas of 1967 (I'm in red at the controls of the ZW)
Picture at bottom
It was a 5x9 layout built on a ping-pong table. My dad got the basic design from Lionel brochures, and adapted and changed it to add cool stuff. Super O Track!
Coal Loader, Milk Cars, Gateman, Oil Derrick, lights, stations....to name a few. It was a Christmas tradition for 6 years. We'd wake up and the trains would be running, as we made out way to the living room.
Running, in view, are the Santa Fe 2383 F3 A and Dummy A, pulling the 2500 series president cars, of which my dad bought a second vista dome. Out of view is a 671 Steam loco pulling the Milk Car, the Chicken Sweep car, a Sunoco Tanker, a gondola for the coal, and a caboose.
I still have the 2383 F3. After years in storage, when I found it about 15 years ago, it had the all too typical battery damage. The old e-unit was fried. I tore it down, scrubbed, scrubbed, and scrubbed some more.
I also painted the truck silver to match my 1996 Santa Fe F3 A-B TMCC set
I then installed a Digital Dynamics TMCC setup in the old 2383. I hid the program/run switch in the batter compartment. The two Pullmor motors were fine. Today it runs as an A-B-A "lash-up" pulling those same aluminum passenger cars.
Thanks dad!
(my mom and dad recently passed within months of each other after 85 good years on Earth)
My brother found this picture while we slowly go thru all the old photo albums
The pax cars today
The old 2383 and 2343 being serviced
