N&W J to a PostWar kid in the Northeast.

Glad you're enjoying your new J set!  The J's were/are an impressive steam engine.

The Bronx, eh?

Years ago I had Doctor friend that lived close by that's from Brooklyn. 

Talk about opposites: Joe still had some Brooklyn left in his accent... and I'm an Oakie! 

Our common denominator was trains. At the time I was into rivet counting HO and Joe was in O scale 2 rail. We (Joe and Roxanne and my wife and I) used to get together at least once a week and eat supper together. Joe REALLY enjoyed coming over for a "train night" and running my 3 rail traditional stuff on a temporary table spread. (I would to go over to a large fellowship hall, shove 8' folding tables together, and make double track main line "layouts" that we'd run for several nights before dismantling.)

He's moved off to other parts of the state now, but I still think of him often.

Peter,

I'm glad you got the bug fixed on you J and are happy with the way it looks and performs!  I got word that MTH shipped my Imperial back to me on Friday, so I'll looking forward to seeing it run correctly on my temporary 4x8.

Laming,

Just shows it doesn't matter where someone is from or what walk of life they lead, when the common interest is trains, it's a bond that overshadows our differences.

We need to have a J-jam at the SMoR this year. I can bring the 604,605, and 611. Wonder if we have other #'s w/in the club?

Tom......we could have the largest assemblage of Js in Virginia.....outside of Scott's house, of course! 

Peter

LOL.... even MTH doesn't have that many J's..... Thanks again, Peter, for ordering yours from us!

I keep leaving voice mails at Scott's reminding him that we have a J with a road number he doesn't have!

and I'm still trying to figure out why that catalog called the J "The Granddaddy" pf all Steamers. That would have went better with The General.

The PW N&W J was THE PW loco for me. Never got one. Until the Warhorse set many years later (my first TMCC loco - and I was hooked on Command Control immediately - I was finally running the train and not the track.) I live in the SE, much farther from Virginia than is New York, and I was stricken with the "J", also.

I wonder if Lionel, in those becoming-irrelevant days, ever considered a Dreyfuss Hudson instead of the N&W "J"? (Probably not - the N&W "J" was still hauling trains, and the NYC "J" class was beer cans by then.)

That Warhorse does not run that well, though - it has the surging that so many, but not all, Pullmor locos have. Too fast; too slow; curves; straights. Maddening. Considering the custom work I've done on it (it is now a K-2 4-8-2 with a scratch built tender) I may have to tackle a can-motor/ERR conversion. One day.

That conversion is easier than you think. A can motor and motor mount from Timko, a Cruise Commander from ERR, hooked to your existing sound system, and you are ready to go.

I just accept it and think, "Real trains slow down for curves as well".

A few action shots......

....and, a video of the set......

Peter

The first I really knew about the N&W "J" was when she last pulled fan trips. My wife and I had ridden behind Southern 4501, and had tickets for a Southern fan trip behind Texas 601? after her treks pulling the Freedom Train, but she broke down the night before and the trip never ran (never got a refund for that either). We also went on an ill faded trip behind Reading 2102 (we had to take on emergency water from a fire truck which foamed - Conrail was the culprit in that case)-(I had ridden on two of the original Reading Iron Horse Rambles). I wanted to ride behind the "J" but at the time we where doing a contract for the Navy yard in Philly and had to keep our weekends free to work if the admiral called (not the firm I work for now). It so happened I didn'the have to work the weekend of the "J" fan trip so my wife and I got up early  and tripped down to Alexandria Va and pulled up in the street crossing right in front of the "J" right before she pulled out. She was the smoothest start I have ever seen of a stream engine and she has been my favorite ever since. 

I always knew she was a passenger engine and wondered why Lionel make her a freight (though in her final days of service she was used as freight). I guess since Lionel had invested in the tooling they wonted to get as much return as possible.

Peter,

Enjoy your J.  It's a beautiful set.  Also coming from the Northeast Bronx The J was a cool looking engine in the Lionel Catalog. I finally bought a MTH Railking J when they were first introduced. It had a QSI reverse unit and no sound. I added a Williams passenger set, the one with the painted people on the windows. I love the set and have been considering adding DCS with sound. Enjoy your set it is a beauty. 

On my "custom Lionel K-2 4-8-2" -

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RoyBoy - yes, that has been my plan, I've installed a couple of dozen ERR Cruise Commanders (and RS), and the motor does not scare me, but the loco has never bubbled

to the top of the project list.

I have a scale Lionel L-3 Mohawk that Timko did for me 2 or so years ago. I put ERR Cruise Commander in it. Sweet runner.

I'll do this motor conversion myself, though.

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TrainsRMe - it's not the slowing and speeding up, it's the extremity of said behavior.

Even on flat layouts with large curves. Makes Marx locos look subtle. Looks Hi-Rail, so it

fits in with my modern Odyssey/Legacy stuff visually, but it runs like 1958. At best.

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It's still about 10 - 12 on the list. Maybe I should bump it up - it's still under-scale, but

comes closer to the K-2's dimensions than it ever did the J's. 

Peter,

Is that MTH or Lionel?

SAM

That's the latest offering from MTH (Premier).

Peter, with the 604,607,& 611 all we need it the 613 to have all four of the "wrecked" J's.

BTW, does yours have the "Spencer" announcements too?

Rail King Imperial J608 ready for departure on a railroad north of the Mason-Dixon Line.

Tom......I have Petersburg, Roanoke and Cincinnati anouncements....

Peter

Despite my best efforts, I still have a bunch of these sets in stock.... I'm holding one back for Scott so that when he comes to his senses he can still get one..... I'd love to move some of these - they're blocking the back door! It's like a fire sale - before the fire marshal gets here!

This is how I remember I remember the Js......1957-59 catalogs

As I said, a passenger train headed by a J was a new experience for me when I saw the Lionel catalog in the early 80s Showcasing the Powhatan Arrow.

Peter

Peter,

i remember those catalogs well. 1957 is when I got my first set. 

Pat....here's your set from 57.....I remember coming over to see it.....the Berk seemed massive to a 10 year old! 

Peter

Yes, that's it Peter. Later I received a Santa Fe SW switcher and added a second train to my 4X8 layout. Lots of memories.  Thanks for posting the pic.

The N&W sets in the catalog were always way more expensive than anything I could ever get....I especially liked the one on the top of the page in the 57 catalog...Set 2297WS....

Now, thanks to MTH, my own PostWar collection and modern PWC cars....I can "make-believe".....just like a little kid!

Peter   

Way to go Peter!  With all that goes on in today's world and all the stresses of work and raising a family etc. It's a great thing when you can go run some trains and feel like a kid.   And yes, I spent many hours looking at that 1957 J set in the catalog too. You got me wanting to take out my J and run it. It's been a long time. Mine is traditional size.