The Nostalgia Special

[MisterBeasley]

I can't be absolutely sure after close to a half century, but this is pretty close to my original HO train set:

That's an old Athearn rubber-band-drive GP-9 up front.  It's been neutered, because it didn't run well enough to earn a decoder, but it's got Kadees and can run as a dummy engine.  The train is all Athearn.  First, a gon with some sort of cannisters, then a Burlington reefer.  TOFC, a Katy stock car, and a rare 40-foot bulkhead flat, finishing up with a non-prototypical Sante Fe style caboose in Milwaukee silver.  Silver?  Well, I did say it was non-prototypical.

I bought this set around 1960, so it's getting up in years.  It's all on my layout now, though, and with the exception of the dummy loco, it's fully serviceable.

[aloco]

I got my first train set in the spring of 1974 and it included the following equipment:

 

Cox SW1500 - Union Pacific (same as Athearn SW7)

Model Power 50'  flat car with containers - Pennsylvania (made by Lima of Italy)

Model Power 50'  gondola - Southern  (made by Lima of Italy)

Model Power 50'  mechanical reefer - Pacific Fruit Express (made by Lima of Italy)

Model Power bay window caboose - Santa Fe (made by Lima of Italy)

 

I was 12-13 years old when I first got into trains, and I used to listen to the radio while I played with my train set.

 

All I have left is the reefer.  I found another flat car without the containers and another gondola of the same make and era, and I bought a Life-Like SW9 and an Athearn bay window caboose to complete the replica of my first train set  I'll dig the train out and run it on the odd occasion, and when I do I fire up the stereo set and play a collection of tunes I heard on the radio back in 1974-1975.

[IVRW]

Nice Layout. The Locomotive makes a nice contrast to the scenery.

[twhite]

Great idea.  I'm going to head into the garage tomorrow and make up a train of some of my older equipment from the '50's.  Metal Athearn, Varney, wooden Silver Streak.  Stuff like that.  I still run them, might as well make a train up, right?

If we're still on tomorrow, I'll post a photo. 

Tom

[gmcrail]

mononguy63

At some point I incorrectly reassembled old 6147 because she runs in the opposite direction as all of my other locomotives. Doesn't matter - I never m.u. her with any other units, and just consider it part of her quirky charm. Guess I'm just sentimental that way.

 

No problem on that - you just put the motor in upside down.  Just pop the shell off, pull the motor, swap the clips around, and put 'er back together.  You gotta love that Athearn BB stuff.  Got a mess of it myself.  Decent detail, especially if you weather it, and rides smoothly, tracks well.  The F7s are about the quietest locos around, if you tweak 'em right.

[mononguy63]

The recent thread here about nostalgia and sentimentality got me thinking about my trains, and prompted me to pull out my original equipment. And oh yes, out of my ever-expanding locomotive and rolling stock fleets, I can still point out the railroad's charter members. So here they are:

All the equipment on the line here dates back to some Christmas during the darkest days of the disco era 30-plus years ago. All Athearn Blue Box and all still on the active roster after enduring both track-on-carpet service and extended periods of dormant storage. The venerable SD-9 still growls along the rails.

 

 At some point I incorrectly reassembled old 6147 because she runs in the opposite direction as all of my other locomotives. Doesn't matter - I never m.u. her with any other units, and just consider it part of her quirky charm. Guess I'm just sentimental that way.

Any other absolutely original equipment still active on other people's layouts?

Jim