The journey to a new tinplate layout begins

Looks like a great start, Dodger!!  I'll look forward to seeing your progress!

Thanks Mark, your not far from where my wife's parents live and we lived for about 9 years.  They live up in Lake City, PA and we lived in Fairview which is inbetween Lake City and Erie.  Her aunt lives in Mars, PA.   We try to time a visit with the train show at Rainbow Gardens there in Erie.  Hope to have some spending money at the next show, there is usualy a guy there with UK style tinplate stuff.   Mike

Hey, Erie area is close!  Your aunt lives in Mars!  I grew up 3 miles from Mars, graduated from Mars High School.  Small world!!

We were just back home visiting her parents last weekend.  We live back in Kokomo, IN where I grew up, inherited my late grandmothers house back in 2008.  Mike, aka Dodger

LOL, we live in my wife's late grandparents' house.  Bought it from my mother-in-law after my father-in-law passed in 2011.

Now that's a beauty. I still have my little Hornby #31 clockwork set and a few old articles on layouts and the improving of clockwork mechanisms, etc. The whole idea of a clockwork layout has some real appeal for me. Keep up the momentum!

My thoughts are a point to point clockwork set up along 2 or 3 walls of my little train room, with an optional connector track around the whole room(if I can figure out how to get past the hutch on my desk) so I can run my BL live steam mogul I am preparing to purchase. In time I may change my garden line over to O gauge coarse scale if I can come up with track that doesn't break the bank.  Current debate is to go with a original BL mogul or the beautiful Corgi reissue.  Running in and tweaking it to run better are not a problem for me as I have built 2 Aster live steam kits and a Roundhouse Lady Anne Kit.  Wish I still had those but they fell victim to paying bills during spells when I without a job.  One of the pitfalls of being autistic. 

I own the same engine and tender #1931. A little information: 1931 is the year it was produced and it was part of a cigarette promotion that was free in exchange for coupons from the back of B.D.V. cigarettes. Different times,"Smoke more Dad so I can get this train!" I believe the engine cost 350 coupons. The same company also offered 3 tennis balls for 120 coupons, a thermos for 100 coupons, pure silk stockings for 140 coupons. My British friend, Murray supplied this information and owns the same engine version but #1928. The engine is an excellent runner and I enjoy giving mine an occasional run on the upper level of my hi-rail layout. My Hornby engines currently hold the record for distance traveled over my competing CW Ives, Bing, and Bassett Lowke.

Eric Hofberg

TCA, LCCA 

I think there is a reprint of that BDV ad in my Century of Trains book by Allen Levy.  Definatly another time, promoting dad smoking more so junior can get a train.  I used to have a Duke of York, but it wasnt near this nice.  I am leaning toward getting the reissue BL/Corgi steamer as the paint finish will look much better and I can deal with getting it to run better.  Give me an excuse to get better track than I was planning to start aquiring.