Standard Gauge Section

[prewardude]

J.L. Cowen must be rolling in his grave:



What were those guys at MTH thinking? That's just not right. Not right at all...

[3railguy]

Lionel did make a pink 408 as a department store special. It is pretty rare though.

[Anonymous]

Since my last post in May, I've really been bitten by the MTH bug - mostly because I decided I just had to have a #444 Roundhouse Section...and then another and another!
Man, are those things BIG! Oh, and beautiful. There's no way I could touch one of the originals. I've gotten two of the MTH 200 series cars (the searchlight and cattle) and have had and resold a few others on my way to acquiring the original Lionel versions.
I've also gotten scads of MTH lights and signals, and happily intermix them with Lionel originals - they seem to get along together just fine. Oh yes, and instead of getting a 381E, which I still covet, I became enamored of the MTH 400E (in black & brass), so I got one of those to pull my original State Cars, reproducing the "20th Century Limited" set from my 1931 catalog. Next thing I have to do? Set up a permanent layout!

[cwhtrains]

I am looking for a Lionel 13303 Classics standard gauge 1-215 Sunoco Tank car to complete a set I am putting together. If anyone has one they want to sell, or knows someone who does, please let know.

Here is the address for a couple of photos of my standrad gauge layout.

http://hometown.aol.com/cwhtrains/index.html

[cheapclassics]

ChesBchRy,

I finally had the time to test the car by itself. The mystery now is not why the new cars are not tracking correctly, but how the old cars even made it around ok. Due to the way the track is fastened down, there is some banking on the curves. When the back set of wheels are still touching the track, the front set is up in the air. When the weather gets a little warmer (the layout is in an unheated attic), I will experiment with some other track. Thank you for your advice.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[prewardude]

Cwhtrains,

That's one heck of a nice layout and train room you have there. I'm envious! [bow]

[Anonymous]

cwhtrains
very nice!!!

[Anonymous]

Has anyone purchased the Lionel Hiawatha or Vandy SG sets? I was just curious as to quality and operation. Been hunting for one or the other for awhile on secondary market, and should have bought one when there was a flurry on eBay, that's gone now. Anyway, I have some nice original Std. Gauge for traders for one of those sets. Would prefer the Hiawatha set. I have a pretty decent shape #384E master carton for engine and tender with individual tender box with minty tender and a nicely restored #384E to go with it (No loco ind. box though). Decent buff 402 set, etc. Always loved SG, always will. It's just so damn big! You have to love it. There's not enough room here, but my best antique find of all time was a room full of SG. It was nuts. I still remember standing there after the folks called me an wanted to settle the estate and looking at this room full of SG and Buddy L floor trains and thinking my wife would have a stroke when I wanted to second mortgage the house to buy it all. Two other toy dealers had low-balled them so bad (It was just outright insulting), when they shot me a price, it was still such an insane steal I just asked them if they were sure they were OK with that price and then I pulled out the checkbook. AF, IVES, Lionel SG sets all EX in the boxes, AF Shasta w/auto bell, ultra rare colored AF SG gondola's (Blue, yes blue original, Orange, it was crazy). The old guy was into gondola's for some reason. No State set or blue comet, but lot's of the mid-range sets and tons of accessories too. So glad to see a forum for SG chat. As far as MTH SG, I say it's all good depending on what you like. It's that variety of interests that keeps hobbies alive and moving forward. I like original stuff, but those wild liveries on the MTH 400E's are sure cool! Daylight, Green SP, crazy! I also collect antique fishing tackle just to add insult to injury. Tackle and Trains! I have been known to trade trains for tackle and vice versa. I think most of us would need to win the lottery to buy all the SG we'd really like to have...MIB State Set, MIB Blue Comet set....

[mersenne6]

I don't own the Standard Gauge Hiawatha train set but I did have the opportunity to set one up and run it. (See link to article below). We found the set to be a great runner and absolutely trouble free. All of the electronics - whistle, steam sounds etc. worked right out of the box. The engine's response to the throttle was smooth and very steady. We only had to run a single jumper wire from the transformer lockon on one side of the huge loop to the other to guarantee very even speed over the entire loop.

The article is "Standard Gauge at Stan Hywet Hall and Gardens" and the link is

http://www.tcamembers.org/articles/layouts/standard/index.html

[prewardude]

Tom,

Finding a room full of antique trains like that is something that most of us can only dream about. I can only imagine what that must have been like...

WOW!

[palallin]

I've finally got some digipics of my Christmas SG layout. Now I gotta figure out how to post them. . . .

[Anonymous]

This is a photograph of the Standard Gauge yard area at out last demo. Legionaire and National Limited sets are MTH PS-2. Commodore Vanderbilt set is Lionel.

Someone asked how the Lionel set ran in a previous post. The answer is that it runs very well, although not as well as the MTH. It may get upgraded to PS-2 in the future (it currently lacks speed control, has only 32 throttle notches, and has anemic smoke). The quality of the boiler casting, paint, etc. is outstanding. The passenger cars, although similar in appearance to Blue Comet cars, are entirely new, including the trucks and wheels. Interior details are plastic, but nicely done.



This is a photograph of a now long defunct garden railroad. An orignal, but repainted American Flyer Wide Gauge (Standard Gauge) 4654 pulls into a Lionel Station.

[Anonymous]

One more photograph: Lionel Classics Fireball Express (made for Lionel by MTH when MTH was a sub-contractor) emerges from a tunnel in the shadow of giant, carnivorous dafodils...



One of the neighborhood cat swould continue to try to go through this tunnel, only to be met by the oncoming train. The cat did this about six times in a row.

[Anonymous]

Hi I'm a noob who's inherited a lionel no. 38 standard gauge loco with 1 flatbed,2 pullmans 25ft of track and two switchtracks but nothing to make it go,I was wondering if anyone may know a good starting manual for me or reference point to proceed with making the old girl run for christmas around the tree.Like are transformers available for this age of train and what type ,what cycle ,what wattage might I need or am I just out of luck with this vintage at a reasonable $ investment.

[Chris F]

Lionel No. 38 0-4-0 electric locomotive, 1913-1924. Wow, that's an old one!

You can get a transformer for almost any Lionel ever made. Pre-war locos tend to operate better at higher Voltages, so first consider a Type V (150 Watt, $85-150) or Type Z (250W, $80-155) transformer. Both have a maximum output of 24V, while most postwar and modern transformers top out at 18-20V. They were made from '39-'42, and again from '46-'47. I have one of each, purchased at train shows. I saw some V's for sale on eBay, but I'd be reluctant to purchase a 50+ year old transformer unless I knew it had been reconditioned.

I can't help with prewar service manuals. It seems like most Standard Gauge books are out-of-print. The good news is that a lot of repair parts are available. For example, search -

http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/search_lionel.htm

[Anonymous]

Anyone know where i could get a new boiler for my grandfathers boyhood flyer ives 1134?
Its broken to badly for repro cab sides. I'd buy an mth shell but i have no clue how to modify it for the flyer motor.

[Anonymous]

I don't know about you folks, but I've yet to meet a man, woman, or child who wasn't spellbound and totally enthralled watching Standard Gauge trains in operation, even if it's just a single train on a simple oval of track. Those trains definitely have a "Wow Factor" that is lacking in just about any other scale when it comes to impressing vsitors who have little knowledge of the hobby. In the world of TOY trains, which make no pretentions of being anything else, Standard Gauge RULES!

[palallin]

Absolutely, Alan.

Personally, I prefer original stuff (though I will accept some repros), but any SG demands attention, especially from non-train people. Size does matter [:D], and so does sound. Not recorded sound effects, mind you: the genuine mechanical sounds of a fine mechanism at work. Crude? Sure! Entrancing. "En-TRAIN-cing"?

But, as I understand it, there's only some 100 or so people in the world who are really into SG, and so it's on it's way to dying real soon.

[Anonymous]

I 'm confident there are a whole lot more than just 100 of us really into Standard Gauge. If that was the case, you wouldn't see MTH offering such a wide assortment of products on an annual basis. My guess is that Standard Gauge is growing at a very healthy pace--often as a secondary interest to someone who primarily models in some other gauge or scale. Doesn't matter, because once the Standard Gauge bug bites, that individual is hooked for good.

I go for the new stuff myself, simply because I like bright, shiny, unblemished toy trains. Strictly a matter of personal preference. Every time I watch that Tom Snyder video by TM Books, I become even more attached to Standard Gauge and its potential. EVERY Standard Gauge fan needs to have that video in his or her collection! Bedtter yet, fire up that VCR or DVD player and show that video to other friends (train friends and non-train friends) when they visit. That's a sure way to gain more converts to Standard Gauge!

[palallin]

My rolleyes smilie didn't show up, Alan: I agree whole-heartedly. It's the Powers-that-Be who don't believe.

[Anonymous]

For Xmas I usually run 3 or 4 MTH standard gauge sets on a 8x12 table under the tree. Well last Xmas I didn't bother going through all that for some reason or another. To my surprise when the usual company visited they were truly disappointed, even some of the females.
Paul

[Anonymous]

I'm a person who's interested in tinplate trains.tinplate trains are a classic!