NYC Classics

Slight thread drift .

A B&A 0-8-0 gets ready to pull freshly iced reefers away from the platform.

The late Joe Grzyboski always accused me of being a New York Central guy... I think he may have been right!!! Great thread, Skip.

I ran a new classic earlier today.....

@RickO posted:

Slight thread drift .

A B&A 0-8-0 gets ready to pull freshly iced reefers away from the platform.

Ain’t a thread drift Rick,...the Central proper controlled them too!...moooowahhhh!!....Cornelius Vanderbilt,....in CONTROL!...exxxxxxxcellent,...

Pat

Since the Commodore Vanderbilts showed up, ...here’s the girl under the dress, post Vanderbilt, & post Mercury service,....#5344, Scullin disks, roller rods, PT tender,....in her final role before being white lined into obscurity,...

Pat

@Ron H posted:

Skip, thanks,

I super detailed it using NYC historical books on the Hudsons.

For example: All correct piping, wheel sanders, pony truck wheels, trailing truck wheels and brake detail etc..

Ron

First thing I notices were the pony truck wheels. They really make a huge difference in realistic appearance. Excellent job.

Back in 1990, Lionel offered scale pony trucks to go with the 1-700E Hudson. I bought several at the time. They look great on any Hudson.  

Well, NYC Fan, this thread is growing into a beautiful bunch of NYC Diesel and Steam Locomotives, all unique and massive in their own rights. My favorite steamer, a K-Line NYC Hudson, which has been recently re-built in the Harmon Shops, at Harmonyards by The CEO Pat, is a stump puller. I’ll soon post the steamer with its new set of passenger cars. (I’ve had a small health set back, but working on a cure, not Covid, an ear situation) He took this K-Line steamer and made it one of the smoothest running, huffing, puffing, chuffing, smoking, command locomotives I’ve ever owned. Happy Railroading Everyone

Ah, I had to pop this old one out. Way back when I think I was 6 or 7, my Uncle Dick(Richard), the biggest train guy I knew gave me this engine with track, transformer, and plastic cars. Sadly, the engine was the only thing that got saved. The track rusted(evil basement), transformer not sure exactly where it went, probably with the cars in the heap, and the engine managed to get out of the basement. I don't remember what teen years I was in, maybe before my father got sick, but I took the engine apart, that is the shell I mean. Mistakenly sanded down stuff that shouldn't have been, side plate on one side. Gave it a primer coat(advised by my future brother in law, and painted it black after. Reassembled it, and it still looks like it did all those years ago, minus the rust. I haven't had it run in years, but those old motors don't seem to die as they say.

It sits on a shelf in my room, a harsh reminder of youth to take care of your trains, something that didn't ring to anyone in the family when I was young. Basement storage was a thing with little space. Wish I had kept things like that in my bedroom, but sharing with my brother, just wasn't possible especially when there was three other siblings in the house as well. Despite all that, I can recall when that headlight shown bright on the old track, going around and around with plastic molded cars with just the two axles for each car. The entire bodies of the cars molded including the trucks. I don't believe that the two cabooses, one red, one green were NYC though. Fail to remember what was printed on them.

@Putnam Division posted:

I ran a new classic earlier today.....

The Niagara is a classic. Opinion question: Wonder how many like the way Lionel painted the Vision Line Niagara?

Personally I like the looks of the Century Club Niagara, which is how they advertised the Vision Niagara in the catalog.

Century Club II Niagara

Vision Line Niagara as cataloged

@NYC Fan posted:

The Niagara is a classic. Opinion question: Wonder how many like the way Lionel painted the Vision Line Niagara?

Personally I like the looks of the Century Club Niagara, which is how they advertised the Vision Niagara in the catalog.

Century Club II Niagara

Yeah, the CCII Niagara was a beauty, just the gears and the apron were bad things. I got mine fixed up by Alex M., but the apron was not going to last as it was when it came out of the factory. Somewhere I posted the improved mega smoking version in weekend photo fun after it came back from Alex before/after Christmas that year. It smoked so much, reminded me of when I ran the Sharknose Century Club versions around for a few minutes(in a circle). Niagara was just back and forth in a straight line.

@NYC Fan posted:

Just curious, I thought Lionel put out a correct gunmetal version. Is this that one? Looks a bit dark but it may just be the lighting.

Skip, mine was silver like yours and I was ecstatic to find the dark gray boiler and tender shells for sale at York a few years ago. I bought them immediately.  

The lighting isn’t ideal but it is a very dark gray, almost black.  Here is a short video of the updated Commodore.

@BlueComet400 posted:

Skip, that's a good-looking Red Comet; that set came with either the 261T or 265W tender; I can't tell from the photo which one you have. I have the same set, which was my Dad's, with the 261T; it's all original except for the loco, which he restored.

It's a 261T.  I can tell by the rounded corners at the front.  the 265 was like a box at the front.

More small steam, no stills but I have this video.

Pete

Music to my ears Pete. What cars are those behind? MTH?

@Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 posted:

Ah, I had to pop this old one out. Way back when I think I was 6 or 7, my Uncle Dick(Richard), the biggest train guy I knew gave me this engine with track, transformer, and plastic cars. Sadly, the engine was the only thing that got saved. The track rusted(evil basement), transformer not sure exactly where it went, probably with the cars in the heap, and the engine managed to get out of the basement. I don't remember what teen years I was in, maybe before my father got sick, but I took the engine apart, that is the shell I mean. Mistakenly sanded down stuff that shouldn't have been, side plate on one side. Gave it a primer coat(advised by my future brother in law, and painted it black after. Reassembled it, and it still looks like it did all those years ago, minus the rust. I haven't had it run in years, but those old motors don't seem to die as they say.

It sits on a shelf in my room, a harsh reminder of youth to take care of your trains, something that didn't ring to anyone in the family when I was young. Basement storage was a thing with little space. Wish I had kept things like that in my bedroom, but sharing with my brother, just wasn't possible especially when there was three other siblings in the house as well. Despite all that, I can recall when that headlight shown bright on the old track, going around and around with plastic molded cars with just the two axles for each car. The entire bodies of the cars molded including the trucks. I don't believe that the two cabooses, one red, one green were NYC though. Fail to remember what was printed on them.

If you would like to upgrade that engine, you can get the name plates, NYC oval, smokestack and chrome domes for about $30 from trainpartsformarx.com

Yes, the cars are MTH. Special order unlettered that Beth had done. I have since added a combine, looking for a baggage car to complete the set.

Pete

@mlaughlinnyc posted:

If you would like to upgrade that engine, you can get the name plates, NYC oval, smokestack and chrome domes for about $30 from trainpartsformarx.com

I think someone had told me that before, maybe Peter(Putnam Division) at one of the York meets we were at together. I'll have to take a look.

@Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 posted:

I think someone had told me that before, maybe Peter(Putnam Division) at one of the York meets we were at together. I'll have to take a look.

Hmmm,....can motor swap, fan smoke, ERR, .....fat boy speaker in the tin tender,....could happen,...😁.....I see “ upgrades “ in a reply and my ears perk up!..

Pat

@harmonyards posted:

With all the locomotives we build it only makes sense to have a dynamometer car!..here’s X8007 awaiting pickup to test a freshly delivered locomotive,....

Pat

I'm thinking did the NYC actually convert a gas electric to a dynamometer car ?  In the the 50's, they converted two Brill gas-electrics to a rail detector car (8015) and the clearance car (8016).   They were re-equipped with Caterpillar diesel engines.  I learned about those conversions when I spent the summer of 1960 on the 8016 measuring clearances.  I think that I would have heard about it if they had also converted one to a dynamometer car. 

@harmonyards posted:

Hmmm,....can motor swap, fan smoke, ERR, .....fat boy speaker in the tin tender,....could happen,...😁.....I see “ upgrades “ in a reply and my ears perk up!..

Pat

Unfortunately no tin tender in mine. All were plastic cars that went the way of the dodo bird. Every York, I always have at the old tinplates for some reason. Who knows though Pat, I have a bunch of TMCC NYC engines that haven't had a chuff in a long while.

@mlaughlinnyc posted:

I'm thinking did the NYC actually convert a gas electric to a dynamometer car ?  In the the 50's, they converted two Brill gas-electrics to a rail detector car (8015) and the clearance car (8016).   They were re-equipped with Caterpillar diesel engines.  I learned about those conversions when I spent the summer of 1960 on the 8016 measuring clearances.  I think that I would have heard about it if they had also converted one to a dynamometer car.

No, they didn’t use one of those to make dynamometer cars,.....I just thought this body shell would make a cool piece versus trying to convert a heavyweight,....the colors and the lettering are fairly accurate though,.....makes for a cool piece when videoing builds,...😁

Pat

@NYC Fan posted:

The Niagara is a classic. Opinion question: Wonder how many like the way Lionel painted the Vision Line Niagara?

Personally I like the looks of the Century Club Niagara, which is how they advertised the Vision Niagara in the catalog.

Century Club II Niagara

Vision Line Niagara as cataloged

It's a beauty for sure. On one of my last visits to Marty Fitzhenry's home, he had his grey Vision Line Niagara running on the layout and it was impressive for sure.

Of all the O-Scale 3-rail Niagaras, my favorite is my brass Crown Edition model made by Williams/Samhongsa. I know the shiny finish isn't prototypical, but I like it, and for sentimental reasons, the one I have was my Dad's, so nothing will replace it; and, now that Gunrunnerjohn has converted mine to DCS, it's a real joy to run and always a hit with visitors.

Here are 2 more: my MTH Dreyfus Hudson pulling my K-Line 20th Century Limited cars, and my Lionel 90th Anniversary Hudson pulling my K-Line "28th Anniversary" NYC heavyweights.

Skip, if your 18045 is anything like mine was, take it out of the box. Grease it and lube it. Run it. And it will sound like a coffee grinder. The 18063, on the other hand, had great sounds for its time. The tender weighed a ton.

Interesting story. I got a call from Marty Fitz, however many years ago, who knew how I felt about the 18045. He told me that Andy or Rich needed one for MTH right away. I got in touch and shipped it off. I was amazed that MTH never made a Premier Vandy.

The Empire State Express is my favorite NYC steamer. I got Mike's when he released  it in the 1990's. It was my first Premier engine and with the passenger cars, it is a beauty (IMO). I had it upgraded to proto2 and still have it.

Gerry

@gmorlitz posted:

Skip, if your 18045 is anything like mine was, take it out of the box. Grease it and lube it. Run it. And it will sound like a coffee grinder. The 18063, on the other hand, had great sounds for its time. The tender weighed a ton.

Interesting story. I got a call from Marty Fitz, however many years ago, who knew how I felt about the 18045. He told me that Andy or Rich needed one for MTH right away. I got in touch and shipped it off. I was amazed that MTH never made a Premier Vandy.

The Empire State Express is my favorite NYC steamer. I got Mike's when he released  it in the 1990's. It was my first Premier engine and with the passenger cars, it is a beauty (IMO). I had it upgraded to proto2 and still have it.

Gerry

Gerry, I know they had the 6-18067 which was the "weathered/gunmetal" version. Which one was the 6-18063?

The 18063 was black. They eventually came out with both a red version and a blue version. They were "hot" for a while. I guess that Lionel never sold a sufficient number of the grey, black and gunmetal versions to use up the shells they committed to when they first did the Vandy.

Gerry

@gmorlitz posted:

The 18063 was black. They eventually came out with both a red version and a blue version. They were "hot" for a while. I guess that Lionel never sold a sufficient number of the grey, black and gunmetal versions to use up the shells they committed to when they first did the Vandy.

Gerry

I guess I lost "track" after the Silver. Was the 6-18063 cataloged? I like that one.

18063 was released in 1999. Gerry is calling it black but I would call it charcoal gray, the prototypical color. It had TMCC, RS3, a wireless tether, and rear electro coupler. When I ugraded mine I also had the Silver one. Rather than cut up the gray frame I swapped shells and sold the Silver one with the later CV features.

The Pullmor motor is the limiting factor on pulling power. Installing a Pittman nearly doubles the number of cars the engine can pull. Its heavy enough for sure.

Lionel says North Lima has both engine and tender shells though a bit pricey.

Pete

I'm sure everyone has seen this clip before. It is my NYC super power clip.

I have the 6-18063 Commodore Vanderbilt. As has been stated here, it is a beautiful, HEAVY engine, but a disappointing puller. I think I would have to call it dark gray - almost black. Specifically to Skip’s question, being one of those weirdos who keeps old paper catalogs, I checked my 1999’s - I have 5: Heritage, Preview, Vol. 1, Vol. 2, AND Vol.3. I did not see the 18063 in any of them. I’ll have to keep looking in case there was a separate flyer (a strong possibility since I also purchased a set of heavyweight cars to go with the engine). Here are a couple of pics of the engine so you can judge the color.

@Apples55 posted:

I have the 6-18063 Commodore Vanderbilt. As has been stated here, it is a beautiful, HEAVY engine, but a disappointing puller. I think I would have to call it dark gray - almost black. Specifically to Skip’s question, being one of those weirdos who keeps old paper catalogs, I checked my 1999’s - I have 5: Heritage, Preview, Vol. 1, Vol. 2, AND Vol.3. I did not see the 18063 in any of them. I’ll have to keep looking in case there was a separate flyer (a strong possibility since I also purchased a set of heavyweight cars to go with the engine). Here are a couple of pics of the engine so you can judge the color.

Paul, I believe it was a separate flyer that came out. Around that time there were a few flyer engines that weren't in the catalog. I think the Pennsy Duplex was one, forget what another is but I believe somewhere in my mess of catalogs they are there.

@Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 posted:

Paul, I believe it was a separate flyer that came out. Around that time there were a few flyer engines that weren't in the catalog. I think the Pennsy Duplex was one, forget what another is but I believe somewhere in my mess of catalogs they are there.

Here it is:

@gmorlitz posted:

The Empire State Express is my favorite NYC steamer. I got Mike's when he released  it in the 1990's. It was my first Premier engine and with the passenger cars, it is a beauty (IMO). I had it upgraded to proto2 and still have it.

Gerry

Gerry, I believe I have the MTH and the MTH cars. But I also bought the Lionel Legacy Empire State Hudson. It baffles me that they haven't done the Dreyfus yet in Legacy. That will be a good one when it happens!

Over the years I have really turned into a NYC fan.  It all started with a Lionel 5344 F3 set some 30 years ago.  I could not find a B unit at a reasonable price so when Lionel MPC came out with a B unit with horn I bought two immediately.  Next  move was about 20 years later.  I bought a Williams NYC Niagara and a Lionel 0-8-0 switcher.  After that it was swiftly downhill with the "Christmas of 4 Hudsons", MTH Empire State Express, Williams master series Dreyfuss. Lionel 5343 with Vandy tender and TMCC and K Line Hudson with TMCC.  After that came two Williams Master series Hudsons and two Lionel 5344 Hudsons.  One of the last two was without a tender so I bought a Century club tender and re numbered the engine 5429 to match the tender.  A Vanderbuilt was next (silver) follwed by a Lionel 5444 with TMCC.  The last was  MTH premier with PT tender making the total 11 NYC Hudsons.  In addition to the Hudson fleet I have two Mowhawks, both from Lionel, one early (L2) and one late(L2a) both with TMCC.

In addition to the NYC Hudsons I have added a Weaver model of the Milwaukee Road F5 Hudson to the fleet and am looking for a Santa Fe Hudson I can afford.

Rolland

I have that K-Line Hudson. I've written many times that I miss K-Line. Now I'll be writing how much I miss MTH. But there's something about that K-Line Hudson that's really neat. Sometimes it's difficult to explain why you just like something, but the K-Line Hudson fits that definition. Neat engine.

Gerry

"The last was  MTH premier with PT tender making the total 11 NYC Hudsons."

RLaHaie, that's an impressive lineup of Hudsons; I have 10. The only streamline NYC Hudson I don't own is the ESE; perhaps it's time to grab one so I can keep up with you.

@NYC Fan posted:

Gerry, I believe I have the MTH and the MTH cars. But I also bought the Lionel Legacy Empire State Hudson. It baffles me that they haven't done the Dreyfus yet in Legacy. That will be a good one when it happens!

Skip,

That can be attributed to the MTH/Lionel lawsuit, sadly you wont see a Lionel Dreyfuss Hudson for a long time....

Bruk did upgrade a TMCC Dreyfuss to Legacy:
Lionel NYC Dreyfus 6-28084 LEGACY Upgrade-video 8-23-20 | O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum (ogaugerr.com)

As an aside, this is a fantastic thread!

Bryce

@NYC Fan posted:

Here it is:

Yup, that is it. Thanks Skip. 👍

@mlaughlinnyc posted:

If you would like to upgrade that engine, you can get the name plates, NYC oval, smokestack and chrome domes for about $30 from trainpartsformarx.com

@Oscale_Trains_Lover_ posted:

Skip,

That can be attributed to the MTH/Lionel lawsuit, sadly you wont see a Lionel Dreyfuss Hudson for a long time....

Bruk did upgrade a TMCC Dreyfuss to Legacy:
Lionel NYC Dreyfus 6-28084 LEGACY Upgrade-video 8-23-20 | O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum (ogaugerr.com)

As an aside, this is a fantastic thread!

Bryce

I find that so weird because Lionel originally planned to make a LEGACY Dreyfuss in 2008 (along with a LEGACY CNJ G3 in Queen of the Valley colors), but both were cancelled in the end. I'm assuming because of low preorders.

@Mikado 4501 posted:

I find that so weird because Lionel originally planned to make a LEGACY Dreyfuss in 2008 (along with a LEGACY CNJ G3 in Queen of the Valley colors), but both were cancelled in the end. I'm assuming because of low preorders.

I thought so!!!

When they announced the latest unstreamlined J3a's I figured the Dreyfuss couldn't be far behind.