This wreck train is almost complete, just needs loads in gondolas & the correct loco.  Someday it will be finished!

John1361 posted:

This wreck train is almost complete, just needs loads in gondolas & the correct loco.  Someday it will be finished!

Good luck with your loco search!! It took me several years to get the loco I needed and it was worth the wait. 

That is a real nice group of cars you have. 

Thanks for everyone's posts!! Your pictures have inspried me to add to my train with some more cars!! Here are a few more I'm coupling up now. I've added the gondola, baggage car and passenger car. Once MTH announced the new UP flag baggage car the value of the old partially painted version lost a lot of value and was destined for the train box graveyard under the table, but thanks to you guys it will be repurposed with an amateur paint job and placed into the work train fleet. Same goes for the old Amtrak passenger car. I bought the two pack of cars just to get the baggage car and then could not find a buyer for the passenger car. I thought it would never see the sun again. Alas, victory as it will get painted and put to work behind the SD40-2! The rehab crew decided to open her up and remove the sailors and soldiers in perpetration for the paint crew to begin.

This is my section gang with their work consist.

Tom

John1361 posted:

This wreck train is almost complete, just needs loads in gondolas & the correct loco.  Someday it will be finished!

Very cool John. Let me guess, your from New Jersey, right?

Great work trains everyone!

Time to show some more of my Amtrak collection, I just got this work train together.

It was fun to put this together, most of it is from the ready-to-run Amtrak work train set, the ballast car is Williams, and the amfleet is one of the extras I had stored away.

Its a great little work train, I have some video of it running, just need to edit it all together.

Finished editing my video,

Hope y'all like it!

Peterbuiltdude, I'm liking that Amtrak work train!! Great video.

You might want to hunt down one of these Lionel Amtrak bunk cars from I think the late 1980's. I think they also made a tool car at the same time.

BIGTRUCKPETE, sell me that flag car or we can exchange for a transfer caboose or another passenger car I have.  I can send you a pic if you like?  I don't have a baggage car.  It looks like I will be building some new cars. 

Just a couple of steam work trains shown......guess I should gin something up, making it as quaint and archaic as possible.

bigtruckpete posted:

Peterbuiltdude, I'm liking that Amtrak work train!! Great video.

You might want to hunt down one of these Lionel Amtrak bunk cars from I think the late 1980's. I think they also made a tool car at the same time.

FYI:

There is a 6-19654 Amtrack Lionel bunk car (1989) and a 6-19655 Amtrak tool car on ebay. Both have interior lights

I run a work train now and then, MTH Small steam engine <varies>, Couple gondolas <often the track cleaner ones>, TMCC MoW Crane and sound Tender, whatever else strikes my fancy that day.

I must agree, controlling the TMCC crane by Cab 1 is the way to go. Use the overlay to recall what the buttons do. All the Kids LOVE it. Reminds me, I need to get that out and run it.

This is not a great video from my phone, but it shows the work train I ran at the National Capital Trackers show at Beltsville (MD) Day Festival last Sunday.

ADDED: for those having a problem seeing the video, click on the thumbnail pic at the bottom of the post.

Somewhere I have several kits of Bob Peare Traincraft  work train cars, boxcar format, like cook and bunk cars.  If I could think of an interesting steamer to pull it, I should build them....but I haven't come up with an interesting steamer for my pickle train yet, and it is done.  I would want a steam derrick for it, and I don't have that, either.  Haven't looked for one to see if one is out there, even in brass....which would be out of reach.  Even Marx had two types of cranes, so there must be something out there.

Anyone try modeling a Brandt OTM Tracker or other Brandt MOW equipment? I'm going to give this one a try now that the CAT models in 1:50 are back in production.

Check out Brandt's website for some good ideas. brandt.ca then go to Road Rail Products.

Here's an Amtrak work train in the yard at Chicago Union Station. 

I created a work train for the Jersey Central.  I've got a Lionel NW2 and calf unit, a Lionel bunk car, a Lionel tools car, a Lionel gondola, a K-Line crane car, a K-line crane tender car, and a Lionel caboose.  I spiced up the caboose by adding a MTH rear truck that has a flashing end-of-train device.

From May 9 post in this thread by Bob Leese

Recently converted using a PRB double door express box car.  Need black Champs decals.  John in Lansing, ILL

The MTH work train was a good start.  This unit has some Weaver yellow cars added.

There is also a caboose.  

Complete train,second shelf from the top.

More work train items:

These are crane tender additions to the original MTH PRR Wreck Train Set 20-90005.

More work train items:

This is a PRR engineering car addition to the original MTH PRR Wreck Train Set 20-90005.

My contribution to "work trains".

Work / MOW cars on an (imaginary) siding waiting to build a spur or for the next call. Crane car loading some ties. 

More work train items:

This is a PRR N-6B caboose addition to the original MTH PRR Wreck Train Set 20-90005. It is a substitute for the N8 caboose included in the original set.

Oops, put up wrong photo. 

This should go with above pics.

rattler21 posted:

From May 9 post in this thread by Bob Leese

Recently converted using a PRB double door express box car.  Need black Champs decals.  John in Lansing, ILL

Nice work John!!! You nailed the real life look. 

Jeff Horn posted:

My contribution to "work trains".

Work / MOW cars on an (imaginary) siding waiting to build a spur or for the next call. Crane car loading some ties. 

Great looking set up Jeff!!! I really like your weathering and graffiti on the cars. After all, it's not a real work train without graffiti!!

More work train items:

This is a Weaver PRR sand car addition to the original MTH PRR Wreck Train Set 20-90005. 

More work train items:

This is a K-line Bunk Car addition to the original MTH PRR Wreck Train Set 20-90005. 

Here are some pics of my MOW gondolas. The pics on the shelf layout are hard to take, even with the flash.

Don

John, I have to figure out some way to get some good lighting. Even on the brightest day, there are several dark spots. I also have the light intrusion through the glass panels along the end facing the pond, (where the wood bridges are), this causes glare. I did make some short videos keeping the camera stationary, but that doesn't allow me to capture the entire layout. What I need to do is put my Nikon point and shoot on a flat car or gondola, but that still leaves me in the dark, pun intended! I don't know if the twin halogen light stand I have would be too bright. I also may get glare from the aluminum ceiling panels. The weather is cooling off a bit, so now is the time to experiment. I took about forty pics to get the ones I felt worthy of posting.

Don

Hi,

Anybody got a Lionel Western Union work train?

Take care,

Dick

Flat bulkhead car I believe is Weaver.  Equipment is Ertl 1/50.   Need a (1.)gondola car with ties and a (2.)flat with rails. I'm surprised, one of the big suppliers has not done the (3.)gondola with the backhoe on top.

Another big part of a wreck train is the crawler tractor with the sidewinder boom.

Here is a work train that was running at Chicagoland Lionel Railroad Club today. Notice the gon with life size tools for work on the layout?!! 

Scratchbuilt O scale convertible 32 foot MOW crane tender

This is an example of one of a series of O scale convertible 32 foot MOW cars that will be used with a Lionel Burro crane for maintenance of way duties. The model can be easily converted to make various types of MOW cars by simply replacing modular components.  The example shown is a 32 foot crane tender. The car uses Lionel Bettendorf style sprung trucks. The car wheelbase of 5-1/2 inches which allows for operation in yards with small radius curves. The end railings on this model are also removable. 

Scratchbuilt O scale convertible 32 foot MOW high side gondola car

This is an example of one of a series of O scale convertible 32 foot MOW cars that will be used with a Lionel Burro crane for maintenance of way duties. The model can be easily converted to make various types of MOW cars by simply replacing modular components.  The example shown is a 32 foot high side heavily braced gondola. The car uses Lionel Bettendorf style sprung trucks. The car wheelbase of 5-1/2 inches which allows for operation in yards with small radius curves. The end railings on this model are also removable.

Note: Two different chassis/underframes have been made. The cars are designed to be used with interchangeable parts.

Short video of the wreck train on my layout.

Tom

Here are a few shots of my work train. I'm adding a K-Line bunk car to the consist later this week. And I will be looking for the right crane at York.

Real nice work trains folks.  I have  a LIRR one ( sorry no pictures ) and I started to build an ATSF one  with the big hook and tender ( MTH ) Lionel engineer and tool car, PRB box car repainted silver and decaled for a tool car, some flats with scale ties, scale rails and tie plates.   Also made a couple of panel track flat cars with high ends like BN had in a picture I found on the net.     wish I could find a BN American Crane car.   VBG    Maybe MTH will do another issue of one. 

So many cool pictures and great ideas! Here's mine.

Scratchbuilt crane and tender....