Played with some HO scale for a few years but with advanced arthritis in all my fingers, changing to O. A long term project will be a small O2 set for an overhead train around the perimeter of one of my hobby rooms. Lots of space above the doors and windows so it should be relatively easy to do.
The big project will be O3 in the basement. Decided on Lionel Legacy and MTH Scale Trax to get started. Pre-ordered six Legacy locomotives from the new 2018 Lionel catalogue this week including TH&B GP-9 #s 401 and 403, CN SD70ACe #'s 8101 and 8103, as well as IC U33C #'s 5052 and 5054. Also ordered Great Northern Ore Car 6-pack for my real gypsum loads, and the Thomas Christmas Set for my grandson.
Finally, ordered MTH ScaleTrax 072 curves and switches, lots of straights and some terminal tracks. Love the low-profile, blackened-centre rail and joinerless features of ScaleTrax which I will use exclusively.
Looking forward to great adventures in O.
DJ
DJ!!!!
Joined 1-21-2011 TCA 13-68614
Kev, From The North Bluff Above Marseilles IL.
KRM DJ!!!!
Thank you.
Sounds like you just dropped about $10,000 on new Lionel stuff. Glad to see China making out big time on those Trump tax cuts.
BigAl 956 Sounds like you just dropped about $10,000 on new Lionel stuff.
Sounds like you just dropped about $10,000 on new Lionel stuff.
The locomotives won't be available until October-ish I am told by the hobby shop. Got lots of time to save up my allowance.
Welcome to the O side, DJ. Nice to have a "Bluenoser" join us! . Nice way to jump in! I have the CN/EMD Demo SD70ACe from the 2016 catalog. It's a nice locomotive. I looked at the Scaletrax but with the constant supply issues at the time, ended up going with Atlas O.
Rob
robmcc Welcome to the O side, DJ. Nice to have a "Bluenoser" join us! . Nice way to jump in! I have the CN/EMD Demo SD70ACe from the 2016 catalog. It's a nice locomotive. I looked at the Scaletrax but with the constant supply issues at the time, ended up going with Atlas O. Rob
Thanks Rob. I looked at the Atlas tracks as well. There are still supply problems with Scaletrax - all the curves are on back order for example. However, I'm retired (since 2012) so I've got time.
Diving into O gauge? Well, come on in, the water's fine!
And it's a hell of a lot warmer than those seas you've got around Nova Scotia!
And if you get in trouble, you can "wade to shore" with all the help there is on this Forum!
Welcome aboard!
Thanks Firelock. I'm sure I'll have lots of questions once I start receiving these items.
It's official! My first O layout, thanks to the used equipment in the back room of our Halifax hobby shop. Bought 2 pieces of track (not what I'll be using) and a 1991 made-in-the-USA Lionel Pennsylvania Wheel Car. Now I can start planning ahead.
I forgot to add in my original post that you should try and meet up with Peter Riddle. He's been a long time CTT contributor, wrote several books (I have a few) and lives in Wolfville, NS. He would be a great wealth of knowledge for you.
robmcc I forgot to add in my original post that you should try and meet up with Peter Riddle. He's been a long time CTT contributor, wrote several books (I have a few) and lives in Wolfville, NS. He would be a great wealth of knowledge for you.
Welcome DJ! I came over from N scale almost 20 years ago now for similar reasons and have never regretted it. I think you'll find the larger size and heft - and visual 'impact' of this scale enjoyable.
Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.
cnw1995 Welcome DJ! I came over from N scale almost 20 years ago now for similar reasons and have never regretted it. I think you'll find the larger size and heft - and visual 'impact' of this scale enjoyable.
I do. They are setting up an O scale layout at our hobby shop an that's what got me hooked. Diesel exhaust, engineer talking to the tower, the sound of the metal wheels on metal track. They have steam too, but I love the diesels.
BigAl 956 Sounds like you just dropped about $10,000 on new Lionel stuff. Glad to see China making out big time on those Trump tax cuts.
AL,
The tax breaks I got won't buy a new Lionel Box car. My Medicare gap INS increase cost more than any cut I got.
And I don't think any of the so called cuts apply to Nova Scotia Canada unless I missed something.
I would love some of those new lionel EJ&E box cars since I grew up next to their tracks but for $60.00 each, I will pray Menards does one.
Kind of the same with me, I had Lionels as a kid, got away from toy trains, and I suspect most of you have a similar story for similar reasons, was introduced to N scale by my brother-in-law "Big B" around 1989 and played around with them for a while.
It was fun, then one Christmas Lady Firestorm wanted a train around the Christmas tree. N gauge wouldn't do for that so out came the Lionels after a long hibernation.
She created a monster! The thundering majesty of an O gauge train in "full cry" shaking the house to it's foundation got me hooked all over again! I still have the N gauge trains but now they're in hibernation!
Concerning your avatar - is it an indirect way of saying you were born in August 1954 or was the featured article on the cover (scratch building an O gauge caboose) your first attempt at a scratch build project or is it just an image you liked?
My birth month and year so the issue is important to me.
Sunday is my field trial day. Today I drove over 450 km and hiked for about 1 hour. Took many photos and gathered materials for O scale modelling.
Oh wow, that's a gorgeous old station! And it looks like it's in a town named for old Lord Jeffrey himself!
Firelock76 Oh wow, that's a gorgeous old station! And it looks like it's in a town named for old Lord Jeffrey himself!
It is one of the most beautiful in the province. Via rail passenger service uses it now. It needs repairs so I hope the town will preserve it! I took many photos because I want to build one from scratch.
mersenne6 said:
"Concerning your avatar - is it an indirect way of saying you were born in August 1954 or was the featured article on the cover (scratch building an O gauge caboose) your first attempt at a scratch build project or is it just an image you liked?"
OldSchoolScratchbuilder My birth month and year so the issue is important to me.
Old School;
In my train room it is perpetually 1954.
It also happens to be my birth year, but I was born the month before you.
Enjoying the World's Greatest Hobby
Northwoods Flyer
The Northwoods Flyer Collection
of
American Flyer Trains
"The Toy For the Boy"
Fantastic calendar Northwoods! Whenever my wife and I go antiquing, I look for a 54 calendar. She found her birth year and it's on the wall in a frame.
Had a feeling you were close to my age!
KRMThe tax breaks I got won't buy a new Lionel Box car. My Medicare gap INS increase cost more than any cut I got.
TouShay!
My first batch of MTH ScaleTrax has arrived and they are beautiful. Several 10" straights and two O-72 switches. Curves are on back order. The hobby shop has been in business for many decades and has never ordered or seen these before. They loved them. I may be the only one in the city with ScaleTrax.
The August 1954 issue of Model Railroader has a special significance for me too although it doesn't have anything to do with birthdays. I purchased my very first issue of Model Railroader in 1959 and in those days there was usually a two page spread in the magazine listing back issues for sale. In addition to just listing the month/year available they would have a brief list of articles.
I was running Lionel O gauge and I saw that the August issue had the article on building the O gauge caboose pictured on the cover. Being an ambitious grade schooler I sent off two weeks worth of allowance for the August 1954 MR figuring I was going to build my own special caboose for my Lionel train.
Once I got the magazine reality set in - first in terms of how much money the raw materials would cost, second in terms of the cost of tools needed to do the building and last (and this took awhile) the realization that the skill level needed was beyond my grade school capabilities.
Wonderful story mersenne! Did you keep the 54 issue?
Oh yes, I still have it. In my early 20's I decided I wanted to have all of the back issues of MR. At that time it was just a matter of reading the classified ads in the back of MR and waiting. So in addition to the August issue I have the entire year of 1954 and all of the other years on either side.
mersenne6 Oh yes, I still have it. In my early 20's I decided I wanted to have all of the back issues of MR. At that time it was just a matter of reading the classified ads in the back of MR and waiting. So in addition to the August issue I have the entire year of 1954 and all of the other years on either side.
wow! Put me in your will please!
A little late but to the "O" world.
Sounds like you have a plan, ambition and, most important, "$".
Go slow and enjoy the process. Wish you well.
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