Tinplate Videos?

Great Layout and Video!

Steve Eastman has a bunch on Youtube gigaeastman user name. Dave Clark lumber has quite a few. There are a number of STG videos from the SGMA.

Although I don't have any tinplate, I really appreciated seeing yours. That sort of seems to me what intelligent collecting is all about. I really enjoyed watching the video. It was seeing some tinplate not so long ago that reminded me about the whimsical aspect of toy trains and, for better or worse, led me to change my point of view a bit.

Great video.  Lots of action and colors.  Like Chris, I have a short video of my layout posted on YouTube as well.  Search "Lionel Prewar Tinplate Layout" to see it (YouTube username: envfocus)

Thanks guys for the links and I will be watching. I have always been curious what other tinplate layouts look like. I have backdated mine further and removed all the plastic structures and replaced them with tin buildings I either bought or made myself. I love the sounds of tinplate, the buzzing solenoids, the grinding of gears and the clacking and the track noise, the smell of oil..I must be nuts but it is a real way to revisit what brought me into the hobby as an old kid. Thanks for the compliments, I just thought that that others must have old school layouts....The Hafner set uses a Marx motor drive with a smoke unit that I placed in the engine and the AF Prewar loco was a basket case, that I re-wheeled and rewired, along with replacement parts. I think that's part of the fun for me where that may give others a headache but it saves on the budget. I always wonder what the kids were like who had them before..

Chris, I just watched your video and thought it was fantastic and it was almost hypnotic n a good way..the colors are just way cool and the sounds..I could have easily watched another 20 minutes of it.

Thank you. I tend to like the newer tinplate but there is no right or wrong espeacially when it comes to tinplate. What ever you like best!

Here is one more I have posted enjoy.          http://www.youtube.com/watch?v...&feature=channel

here's a bit of O gauge Dorfan, Flyer & Lionel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BnhTnBN1vH4

Steve

Steve,

I really enjoyed the video and especially your selections, in particular, the layout itself which made me wonder if it was a year round installation. If not, it should be and I really enjoyed that you run your equipment at a pace that is very similar to mine, or at least in the first segment. Great variety and I mistook, at first glance, the hoppers as I thought they were Marx. Very similar design. Thanks Steve. Hope you are feeling better. I enjoyed the narration and I am tempted to use that in the next one I do, although it will probable require seven takes.

that layout was up for 3-4 years, but being in my garage, the snow got way too dirty. when the shoulder heals from surgery, i'm ready to go with another layout with a lot more tin structures and accessories.

Steve

For anyone interested in the UK garden tinplate scene, here's a link to my YouTube Channel with numerous clips posted over the past 2-3 yrs.

Dave Upton

http://www.youtube.com/user/ARKWIRGHTIS?feature=mhee

Thanks Dave..Have you had any issues with corrosion or humidity? Just the first video alone was a revelation. I read about outdoor O scale but come to think of it, I wonder if "tin" has a greater resistance to the elements. Any special track work or wiring required or used? I could pick your brain for some time. I have G outside but looking at your videos, maybe O "tin" might have been a better choice. Are there videos of clockwork outdoor O gauge? Some time ago ( years) I read about outdoor clockwork layouts in the UK which was also fascinating. I subscribed to your channel.

Arkwright,

Thanks for the suggestion. I used that as a starting point to look at a number of the tinplate videos from the UK and was very impressed and had a great time. After watching some of the O guage outdoor videos, I concluded that plastic G or large scale trains with solid track might make for a better choice for a larger yard (unlike one of the relatively small yards shown in a video) where the track would be on the ground or subjected to rain or snow. If you can do the benchwork to have the track well raised off the ground, that would be a different matter of course. I really enjoyed getting a little further afield and clicking on other UK tinplate videos. There was a charming one where part of the layout was created with buildings in pop up books. A novel (pun not intended) idea which created a unique sort of atmosphere (and as the collector of the trains pointed out, it made moving the layout that much easier.) 

Hi Electroloner.

I'm asked so many times about how the track fares out of doors and how I keep it running. Last week here in the UK we had unbelievable weather for the time of year so I decided to film a clip in which I covered these very questions. The clip seemed great on my PC, but stubbornly would not upload onto YouTube without significant colour distortion. I've still no idea why this kept happening but I've had to abandon this plan although I may well try and create another clip when the summer returns?

However; in answer to the question about humidity & corrosion. The track is Nichol silver; approx 88% silver, so it’s expensive but does not corrode. It does however tarnish rapidly and in order to keep the trains running smoothly you do have to keep the running surface brightened up, a job for which I use what we call a Track Rubber. It's a block of rubber-like compound with minute metal filings mixed in - you rub it back & forth and it works really well without damaging the track by being too abrasive.

Tinplate stock as you see in the clips is NOT designed to live outdoors for any length of time as it has numerous exposed metal joints etc which will rust rapidly given the opportunity and so all the stock needs to kept indoors in a sensible temperature and brought out when required. I've not seen any clips specifically featuring clockwork outdoors, but I'm sure they are out there. Clockwork O gauge layouts were the norm back in the '30's and many simple arrangements were set up outside in the summer by men & boys. I could put any O gauge clockwork loco on my own layout and it would run happily all day or until I got tired of winding it up!

Hope this helps.

Dave

I have some tinplate videos on Y'allTube, under the name: marxtoynut

Ed,

I am already a subscriber and your channel is my favorite "channel" on the "tube".

As a matter of fact, your videos only increased my appreciation for tinplate as well as the extent of my purchases. I especially like the variety of what you posted. Wow, that's way cool is my atypical reaction. As I age in place, I keep thinking they should have a Sun City for tinplate folks...have a few long island ice teas and watch the trains go round, or create the largest tin plate layout ever seen. The mind boggles.

Many Thanx!  I'm glad you have enjoyed the videos! The Cave has become overrun again with junk, oops, I mean highly valuable trains and toys , and I haven't run trains for months now. I'm currently taking photos of my K-lIne buildings for posting over at the 'MarxTrains' Yahoo Group. Maybe I should post some pics here too. I love the idea of a 'Sun City Trains' for us, that would be ritirement heaven!!!

I can relate. I have spent the last two days off and on going through the mess of the train room, through small containers, boxes, you name it. I finally got tired of not being able to find anything. I have a long way to go. Every time I start straightening up my haphazard hoarding of stuff I start I end up fiddling with the layout in order to avoid cleaning up my own mess.

If that show 'Hoarders' ever got wind of us train types they could devote a season or two just on us alone 

Here is one more I have.

Here's a short under the Christ-mas tree video of my 2010 Iron Monarch with the extra diner car.

Also sports my daughters "Elf on the Shelf" driving it zoo-train style. :-)

CH. That is a beautiful set! I really like American flier wide gauge I'd love to get my hands on a "Piper" some day.

Nice looking Iron Monarch.  That set is representative of the earlier Ives 1134 bodied loco.  Called the 4694 in Flyer Numerology. Made originally in 1930 as a 3 car set.

Here is a link to my channel, for some more tinplate action.  Subscribe for vids to be added soon.

http://www.youtube.com/user/friscosteam/videos

One of the newer members of the OGR forum. I have a tinplate video of my permanent Christmas layout on Youtube called "LIONEL tinplate at Christmas." This is number 10 of a bunch of videos. Sorry I don't know how to post a link to the video.  My Youtube address is Youtube.com/53wes.

Chris, Nice mix of O gauge and Standard Gauge.  How large is  your layout and do you have a rough track plan you can share with us?

Dr John

Hi John. Total table size is 8x16 with 2 elevated loops one standard gauge 42" and the race car oval. Below is a 0-84 O gauge loop next to the 72" standard gauge line. Track plan is nothing fancy basic ovals for the most part with one switch on the O gauge loop and on standard gauge switch on the upper level. Later on I may replace the 42" standard gauge track for Gargraves 5 rail for a little more flexibility.

Have any of you folks thought about a relatively smaller clockwork layout? That is in addition, to your present layout or have you gone ahead with that, perhaps on a seasonal basis or incorporated into a present one? The reason I ask, is that I have been collecting track etc for some time for one and have several clockwork engines. I did one for Christmas but I seem to have outgrown it ( sound familiar?) Any videos of those? I shamelessly steal good ideas from great layouts and there certainly is an abundance in this thread. One of the appeals is the two foot radius curves in clockwork track ( for more layout in a given space) although they tend to wind the locos down faster than a wider radius. At least that's been my experience. I thought another somewhat larger portable layout is called for in my case. I built the one I had now like a coffee table so the boss doesn't grouse about it..( when we have company over) I seem to have slid around the one room rule..

One final question, I have a Hornby clockwork turntable were there any tinplate ( metal) roundhouses made? I know about Standard Gauge ones. If someone hasn't done this ..they should.

Take look at James Pekarek YouTube channel. Lots of fun Marx like clockworks and dedicated layout.

http://www.youtube.com/user/No...roader?feature=watch

Take a look at this O clockwork sized round house by Jerry Loman.

http://www.sunsettrainsandtoys...&products_id=112

Steve

Thanks Steve for the links. You must be psychic as the Sunset roundhouse was pretty much what I had envisioned. The windup articulated was so amazing I had to add it here..incredible work in my book. The layout itself is what I had in mind for mine, with the addition of the roundhouse.The size is perfect.

Thanks for the Iron Monarch comments fellas...keep it up!

New Videos up

Triple 256s and Transcontinental Limited... all original stuff!

What a great shot of the parallel running with the Ives set. I cannot believe the 'triple header" didn't blow a circuit breaker let alone the ZW. Amazing classic trains. Can never get enough of this "eye candy". The Iron Monarch looks like an all business puller like the Marx Iron Beast. More Marx madness. An older video, the layout continues to be backdated, with the MTH buildings going into storage. Ill evidently put them up for sale as now they collect dust.

Sweet layout and trains electroliner. This type of layout: a hybrid of tinplate and modeled scenery is the look I'm going for on my permanent layout. Which will be started the day after I "finalize" my transportable Christ-mas layout.

I'm growing more appreciative of the tinplate world. The Iron Monarch was definitely a fork in the road vs. 3 rail "scale" for me. I know I won't be able to model a city to look like a photo. Hence the tinplate fun and jovial look has grown on me.