Merry Christmas to all the fine tinplaters of the O Gauge Community ... thank you all for another year of fun , knowledge, and banter ... Through all the trials and tribulations that 2020 has brought us the spirit and generosity and comraderie has been simply AWESOME !
The many erudite, passionate and generous collectors on this forum make this a very special place for the sharing of knowledge of these fascinating trains.
Hope everyone here had a happy and a safe Christmas with their family.
In the " one can never have too much fun " box ... I just scored TWO Bassett Lowke (?)-6-(?) clockwork mechanisms locally in Aus !!!
Now after years of seeing the occasional Bassett Lowke bodies for sale on ePay and me tapping my fingers thinking "OK When am I ever likely to find a mech for them ?" and letting them go ..watch the drought begin where nary a one is listed for the next 12 months !!!
Unsure of running condition however they were at least listed as " working " , whether that translates to working well could be another matter , but we shall see when they get here ... I think other collectors were a bit put off on the first one because it had the wheels removed , but from the photos it looks like all the goodies are there to put them back on .. the second one got a bit more auction love as it at least looked complete , but with both mechanisms coming to me for an average of $40AUD each (about 30USD/16GBP/25Euro ) I could not walk away ... thats probably less than the wheels value in reality
If nothing else they lend themselves to powering "Something" one day ?
Mech #1
Wheels and hardware for #1
And Mech #2
What else we can share? :-)
A complete original train set made by CR for Charles Rossignol in France, I think it dates from around 1940. The streamlined engine is typical from that period and was a symbol of modernism. The trains made by CR are very specials, they are made of thick tin, very colorful and mainly toy collectors have a specific appeal for them. They are less sought after by train collectors as despite being O gauge they are a little small and their running ability is not the best, despite having more interest in bigger pieces from Lionel, Jep, Hornby and many others I have always kept this one maybe as finding an original boxed model is fine, finally I will restore this one and test it next weekend, it is specified having an automatic reverse and needs a wheel axle on the passenger car, also missing the corridor between tender and car but all of this is an easy fix.
And some accessories also from CR
Daniel
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Nice CR set, Daniel. Fatman, good snag on those clockwork motors. Something will come along and you will be able to use them. A few years ago I acquired a Standard gauge basket case Boucher 2500 Pacific and tender (1923-34.) The locomotive was missing some critical parts: no cab roof, one side firebox and wheel shroud missing, missing valve gear, incorrect pilot and trailing trucks, and more. It had much rust and paint loss. Luckily the motor and gears and other internals were in good shape. It's been a long journey to bring this one back, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Here are a few photos showing the condition as received. This locomotive has some interesting details that I have not seen on other Boucher 2500's. Note the handrail, made of steel not brass, that arches over the boiler front, and the screw-on glass lens for the headlamp, both are features that i am unfamiliar with on 2500s. I'll post some "after" photos when I get it mostly finished.
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Monsieur French Train, I find your CR Train Lux Eclair to be tres-elegant! I am in great appreciation of the artwork on the original box as well , Formidable! Hope you get her running! The accessories look remarkable!
merci!
Bonne Anne en toute security.
Pierre (Leroof)
A late version, perhaps the final version, of the Lionel 2677 gondola:
Blackened wheels and journals, automatic couplers, with a few craft store wooden barrels for fun.
PD
@Leroof posted:Monsieur French Train, I find your CR Train Lux Eclair to be tres-elegant! I am in great appreciation of the artwork on the original box as well , Formidable! Hope you get her running! The accessories look remarkable!
merci!
Bonne Anne en toute security.Pierre (Leroof)
Thank you Mister Leroof, the bos is art deco at its best.
Pierre, tous mes meilleurs voeux, Daniel
@Jim Kelly-Evans posted:Nice CR set, Daniel. Fatman, good snag on those clockwork motors. Something will come along and you will be able to use them. A few years ago I acquired a Standard gauge basket case Boucher 2500 Pacific and tender (1923-34.) The locomotive was missing some critical parts: no cab roof, one side firebox and wheel shroud missing, missing valve gear, incorrect pilot and trailing trucks, and more. It had much rust and paint loss. Luckily the motor and gears and other internals were in good shape. It's been a long journey to bring this one back, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. Here are a few photos showing the condition as received. This locomotive has some interesting details that I have not seen on other Boucher 2500's. Note the handrail, made of steel not brass, that arches over the boiler front, and the screw-on glass lens for the headlamp, both are features that i am unfamiliar with on 2500s. I'll post some "after" photos when I get it mostly finished.
Hello Jim, what a very nice model, a great restoration project and I am sure you are doing something great in fixing and making a great restoration of that wonderful Boucher. If only i could find one in France...
All my best wishes for the new year, Daniel
Fatman - good luck with finding engines to go with those motors, your luck seems especially good so I expect to see pictures any day now! Daniel - the CR set is beautiful. finding it in the box is really special, thank you for posting.
Don
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Another unusual STD Gauge piece, this time from Robertโs Lines. Itโs a faux track sweeper. The brush roller on the front is not stiff enough to do anything, but a great MOW loco.
Steve
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Happy New Year Tinplate fans! pd - great litho tinplate gondola, I also like the Lionel litho trains, thanks for posting, there is not very much data in the references on these trains although the LCCA magazine carried a good series of articles on them over the last 2 years. Steve...what great McCoy and Roberts lines pieces, I remember when those were just new on the market and had such great potential. They are super pieces and I understand they run well also..
My offering today, is much more humble, although I admit to being excited when I acquired it with a bit of luck. It was an e-bay auction, with the final bid due at 0500 in Texas. So I bid what I thought was a fair bid but did not expect to win and went to bed. When I woke up at 0800 the next day I was surprised to find I had won! Its an American Flyer, prewar #90 Freight Station. I immediately went to Robert S. Butler's series of posts on these stations back on 4/7/2020 and identified the lithography as the version of the #90 available from 1918 to 1923. It has a few dents and scratches but hey its somewhere around a century old!! Robert thank you for your series of postings, other data on these stations just does not seem to exist outside of the catalogs (which I do not have).
So here it is currently just resting on the Leonardtown and Savannah, looking for its permanent home. I expect it will get displayed with some of my other small AF stations after I get back home and re-arrange some other stuff.
Best wishes everyone
Don
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@Don McErlean posted:Happy New Year Tinplate fans! pd - great litho tinplate gondola, I also like the Lionel litho trains, thanks for posting, there is not very much data in the references on these trains although the LCCA magazine carried a good series of articles on them over the last 2 years. Steve...what great McCoy and Roberts lines pieces, I remember when those were just new on the market and had such great potential. They are super pieces and I understand they run well also..
My offering today, is much more humble, although I admit to being excited when I acquired it with a bit of luck. It was an e-bay auction, with the final bid due at 0500 in Texas. So I bid what I thought was a fair bid but did not expect to win and went to bed. When I woke up at 0800 the next day I was surprised to find I had won! Its an American Flyer, prewar #90 Freight Station. I immediately went to Robert S. Butler's series of posts on these stations back on 4/7/2020 and identified the lithography as the version of the #90 available from 1918 to 1923. It has a few dents and scratches but hey its somewhere around a century old!! Robert thank you for your series of postings, other data on these stations just does not seem to exist outside of the catalogs (which I do not have).
So here it is currently just resting on the Leonardtown and Savannah, looking for its permanent home. I expect it will get displayed with some of my other small AF stations after I get back home and re-arrange some other stuff.
Best wishes everyone
Don
Divesting of a lot of stuff. Most the stuff I have posted pictures of the last few days are set for new homes. Still more to go. Hate to move them, but they do no one any good in a box under the layout.
Steve
These are the freight cars I acquired in 2020, most of them I bought on EBay before the โMTH may be closing announcementโ, before prices shot up. I was aware that the odds of MTH making any new tinplate were slim, so I thought, I better buy what I like now. I also bought a black 400e with PS3 from the first MTH auction at Cabin Fever.
I am very happy with my purchases, these kind of round out my freight fleet. Canโt wait till I can participate in public train shows again and run my stuff for the people.