New Guy Checking In

Hi Jim,

  I live in the Lower Hudson Valley. The 675 is a nice running engine (generally). Post some pictures when you have time and welcome to the refuge for the train addicted!

Tom

Welcome, Jim, this Forum is a great place to learn about model railroading and make connections with others that have a passion for it.

Don't know about Forum members from Albany, but there are some outstanding model railroaders near Albany who are active on this Forum. For instance, I know there is one from the Schenectady, NY area.

Arnold

@Arnold D. Cribari posted:

Welcome, Jim, this Forum is a great place to learn about model railroading and make connections with others that have a passion for it.

Don't know about Forum members from Albany, but there are some outstanding model railroaders near Albany who are active on this Forum. For instance, I know there is one from the Schenectady, NY area.

Arnold

Nice to meet you,

Close enough for jazz, in my book.  I own a car. 

I know there's a capital district model rail club, and one at RPI, so I'm going to start there.  There's a bunch of modeling skills that I don't have, but I do have some painting skills, as I did a few 28mm miniatures. 

@PRR8976 posted:

Hi Jim,

  I live in the Lower Hudson Valley. The 675 is a nice running engine (generally). Post some pictures when you have time and welcome to the refuge for the train addicted!

Tom

---

Nice to meet you,

So far, it appears to need work.  I put it on a track under the tree, first time it has been on powered track since probably 1980.  It started up, but was a light-show of sparks.  Plus there's connections to the tender that are gone or rotten, so I figure it needs some work.  I found two Lionel factory-certified repair shops between my inlaws and here, so I'm planning on taking them there.  I know there's a couple of stores in the area, so I'll be visiting them, too.

This is what we have, currently, on the shelves.  We have other stuff, including a trolley, which is elsewhere in the house.   The trolley is under the Christmas tree right now.  We don't have a train layout yet, I'm working on that, using SCARM. 

Welcome aboard

@Lehigh Valley Railroad posted:

Welcome aboard

Thank you.  My wife spent the past three years in York, for her job, and I had to commute from Albany, NY to there when I wanted to see her.  6+ hours on the road each way.  I'm glad she's closer now.

--Jim R

So, in my perusing the pile of goodies, I have discovered that I have a Marx 3 rail train  I see that on ebay they aren't particularly valuable.  I have the box, some rail in the box, and the power unit for it.

Is anyone interested in it?  I'm sticking to the steam engines I have, and then going over to diesel and Amtrak at some point in the future.

What's that switcher on the middle shelf on the right? Looks like one of the prewar Lionel scale switchers... Those can be pretty valuable. It will probably have 8976 on the cab sides. I've never had one, so I don't know how to identify which specific version it is, but you should look into it.

It looks like the tenders to the 675 and the switcher are swapped - the tender with a sloped back goes to the switcher.

@Johnbeere posted:

What's that switcher on the middle shelf on the right? Looks like one of the prewar Lionel scale switchers... Those can be pretty valuable. It will probably have 8976 on the cab sides. I've never had one, so I don't know how to identify which specific version it is, but you should look into it.

It looks like the tenders to the 675 and the switcher are swapped - the tender with a sloped back goes to the switcher.

I'll get a closer look at it tomorrow, and let you know.

Welcome aboard!

@JimR34 posted:

I'll get a closer look at it tomorrow, and let you know.

It is an 8976.

How do I tell which tender goes with which engine?

Found it, I can tell by the connector.  The 8976 has a different "trailer hitch" than the others.  At least I have 4 tenders and 4 engines. 

The 8976 should have a number plate on the front of the smoke box whhich will normally have:

• 227
• 228
• 230
• 231
• 232
• 233
• 701
• or in some cases just a rivet.

All of them have 8976 as the cab #.

Tom

PS--your 8976 switcher goes with the tender that has "Pennsylvania" on its sides.

Tom

@PRR8976 posted:

The 8976 should have a number plate on the front of the smoke box whhich will normally have:

• 227
• 228
• 230
• 231
• 232
• 233
• 701
• or in some cases just a rivet.

All of them have 8976 as the cab #.

Tom

It is a 227!

What's that mean?

You have the most common of this series (along with the #228). Still a nice engine.

Tom

@PRR8976 posted:

You have the most common of this series (along with the #228). Still a nice engine.

Tom

Thank you for your help!  I'm new at this, but reading a lot.

Jim,

You can find some info on my website... www.steamswitcher.com

Here is an article, too: https://www.tinplatetimes.com/...iScale/semiscale.htm

Tom

One of those prewar switchers has been on the list of things I want for quite a while, but they're normally out of my budget on Ebay. I'd be very happy if I was you to own that piece of Lionel history.

What are you seeing them for?  I didn't find the 8976 on E-Bay.

I found a Lionel certified shop in my usual areas of travel, once Covid is done, all three of them will be going to the shop for some TLC.  Right now, they're a fireworks display on the ground, and that's not a good thing.

Look up "Lionel 227" on Ebay, they're generally listed at around $1000, but probably worth $600. Not an expert, though, so I'm not sure exactly what they're worth. Of course, the value depends greatly on condition as well.

Want to take some close-up photos of it? I'm curious to see the condition it is in and if it's been converted to postwar couplers and trucks or not.

I'm working on getting the photos over to my laptop, but I'll tell you, as far as we know, it's straight from the factory, dad got it as a kid, MIB.  Opa loved rail too, and got it for him.  Last time this was regularly run was the late 70's, and then we got older and dad stopped having time for toys.

@Johnbeere posted:

Want to take some close-up photos of it? I'm curious to see the condition it is in and if it's been converted to postwar couplers and trucks or not.

Here we go.

Nice! A little dirty, hopefully it'll clean up. Take good care of it, you're very lucky to have inherited such a sought after engine.

Do the couplers on the engine and tender work with the couplers on the rest of your equipment or are they different? If they're compatible, the couplers have been switched out, and probably the tender trucks too.

@Johnbeere posted:

Nice! A little dirty, hopefully it'll clean up. Take good care of it, you're very lucky to have inherited such a sought after engine.

Do the couplers on the engine and tender work with the couplers on the rest of your equipment or are they different? If they're compatible, the couplers have been switched out, and probably the tender trucks too.

Nope, that's how I could tell which tender went with that engine, before folks started commenting on it. 

Welcome to the forum!  While I model a specific location during the 1950's transition era in 2 Rail, I have an extensive Amtrak collection in 3 Rail O scale.  Like you I have modeled in HO and N.  For Amtrak I model both east and west coast trains as I'm a transplant to AZ from NJ for the last 30 years.

If you want to chat about what is available in Amtrak in O scale feel free to send me a note.  My email is in my profile.  While I have my favorite manufacturers, there are a lot of nice options for Amtrak modelers for all sizes of layouts and spaces in this scale.

If you want to model in N scale, there are especially nice offerings for Amtrak as well.  I received some Kato cars last year for Christmas in N and they are outstanding.  Nothing like the old ones I was playing with 20 years ago when my eyes were a lot better!

Enjoy your time here.

What kind of rail is this?  I saw it in a 1957 catalog for lionel, and I need some center clips to make it go.  looks like I need the outer rail pins, too.

Hi Jim,

That is a piece of Lionel Super O track. My train buddy Bob uses Super O exclusively. I have seen both the center rail clips and outside rail pins on E-bay. I recall someone commenting that the reproduction clips weren’t as well made as the originals.

John

Super O is pretty good track - I have a loop of it myself. Probably the biggest issue with it is that it's only available in O36, unless you modify the track. You should be able to find the clips ("bus bars") on Ebay.

Looks like the front left driver is leaving its axle.  You'll need to get that engine to a good expert.

Jon

The driver looks okay to me in the photo, but it's worth a check. Just see if you can wiggle it at all - it should be rigid on the axle.

@Johnbeere posted:

The driver looks okay to me in the photo, but it's worth a check. Just see if you can wiggle it at all - it should be rigid on the axle.

It seems to be tight.  It goes Left-Right a hair, but doesn't twist or click on the axle when manipulated.

I have made contact with a Lionel Certified repair shop in Syracuse, so when I can get out of the house and go visit them, I will be.  Just waiting for the inoculations for my MIL.  My wife and I have had our first shots already, because we're EMTs.

If it's not loose or causing issues, nothing to worry about then. Though you might have it straightened when you get it serviced while it's there.

New Question:

If you were to start over, what brand rail would you start with?  I have some old Lionel stuff that's probably not in horrible condition, but needs cleaning.  I have a tiny bit of the Super O, which doesn't meet my needs.

So now I'm looking at new rail.

Personally, I really like Super O for running vintage Lionel. It's good, sturdy track but has limited options and can be expensive. It's really all down to taste - if you don't want to use Super O, postwar Lionel tubular track fits well with the old Lionel equipment. I don't recommend O27 though - the curves are really sharp. The easiest difference to spot between O27 and regular track is the different types of ties, and how high the rails sit.

@Johnbeere posted:

Personally, I really like Super O for running vintage Lionel. It's good, sturdy track but has limited options and can be expensive. It's really all down to taste - if you don't want to use Super O, postwar Lionel tubular track fits well with the old Lionel equipment. I don't recommend O27 though - the curves are really sharp. The easiest difference to spot between O27 and regular track is the different types of ties, and how high the rails sit.

What's wrong with the new FlexTrack?  They go all the way out to O96, according to the catalog.  It's got road bed, already, and I think it probably just needs sound-deadening under it.  Please, show me the flaws in my thinking.  I've already learned why my foam insulation board plan is a bad idea. 

I suspect I have a pile of O27, and I'm looking at getting some of the 85' cars, so that won't fly. 

All the things I've learned since I joined this site!

Well, I've just got no experience with it so I can't really comment. Postwar Lionel stuff is really flexible, so will probably work on whatever track you choose.

@Johnbeere posted:

Well, I've just got no experience with it so I can't really comment. Postwar Lionel stuff is really flexible, so will probably work on whatever track you choose.

Well, if I convert to something newer, I'll have some Super O looking for a good home.