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The pot of coffee is always on [even after 2 years have passed]. Come on in. Sweet ice tea too. Locked

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Posted by Buckeye Riveter on Thursday, March 31, 2005 3:50 PM
QUOTE: Originally posted by cnw1995

Have a good trip, Chief. Thunder storms ripped through last night - still v. windy today - and a lot cooler. I'm trying to keep everyone out of my wife's way today as she prepares for a long 'drama' at church this weekend. Quick, here she comes, run for the basement!


The Chief is going to Orlando.....[:D][:D][swg][swg][:-,][:-,][:-,][:-,]

I can feel the urge coming on to get out the old joke book this weekend. [:o)][:o)][:o)]

Doug, it sounds like a tornado is heading your way, but no wait it is just a drama momma. Keep your head down.

Celebrating 18 years on the CTT Forum. Smile, Wink & Grin

Buckeye Riveter......... OTTS Charter Member, a Roseyville Raider and a member of the CTT Forum since 2004..

Jelloway Creek, OH - ELV 1,100 - Home of the Baltimore, Ohio & Wabash RR

TCA 09-64284

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Posted by cnw1995 on Thursday, March 31, 2005 4:38 PM
Drama Mama - that's exactly what she calls herself - and she's really enjoying it ...and actually good at it.... whoops, I hear the baby.

Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.

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Posted by Roger Bielen on Thursday, March 31, 2005 6:46 PM
Today the sky opened and dumped rain by the buckets, and then banged them together, what a day. Tomorrow is supposed to be more of the same. At the moment we're between storms, the next one should be arriving some time early in the a.m. Of course tomorrow is my day off.

With Chief heading to Orlando the plane will either need to get altitude real fast or take the long way around via Ohio. Coming out of NC there's no way he'll avoid GA's weather.
Roger B.
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Posted by spankybird on Thursday, March 31, 2005 7:10 PM
Roger, OHio weather is going down hill fast. When I left work the temp was 62 deg, by the time I got to downtown Cleveland, (about 15 minutes) temp drop to 50 deg and now it's in the mid 40's. And rain is on our door step.

I am a person with a very active inner child. This is why my wife loves me so. Willoughby, Ohio - the home of the CP & E RR. OTTS Founder www.spankybird.shutterfly.com 

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Posted by spankybird on Thursday, March 31, 2005 7:19 PM
Hey Buckeye, Look I found a pic of a NC Pullman Car



pic provided by Highrailjon

tom

I am a person with a very active inner child. This is why my wife loves me so. Willoughby, Ohio - the home of the CP & E RR. OTTS Founder www.spankybird.shutterfly.com 

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Posted by csxt30 on Thursday, March 31, 2005 8:51 PM
OH BOY, wait till The Chief sees how we're paying tribute to one of North Carolinas' finest NationalTreasures!! He will be proud & just estatic with joy!!!!![(-D][(-D][(-D] Thanks, John
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Posted by Anonymous on Thursday, March 31, 2005 11:00 PM
Hello All: You people are sure flipping alot of pages, The pics are great & getting better. David: D.C. will never be the same with you on the loose with your new toy & accessories, you are like a kid on Christmas morning (thanks for sharing). Are you fellows sure the Chief went to Orlando? With the way the weather is turning I think he has pulled an end run & broke through your lines. Jon: Thanks for the info. on the UP ABA set, I have the six cars now I have to hunt down the rest. Everyone have a great Friday & if you are travelling please drive safe. Kind regards to all Steve
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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 1, 2005 12:30 AM
Hey Everybody,

Mark Mandolin checking in. I just joined and thought I should introduce myself. I live in Vancouver Canada where I work in the arcade game industry. I collect Marx trains mainly because my Mum kept my childhood Marx trains. I re-discovered my childhood toys about three years ago and bought a transformer and track and now I have a 10 X 6 L shaped lay-out with two train operation and discovered Marx 3/16 scale. I've bought several engines and sets. Also I have aquired track powered accesories. I really really like all metal toys! So basically I run an inner circle of 3/16 and an outer dogbone of 027 eight wheel plastic Marx with post-war Lionel 027 auto switches. I am not limmiting my scope to Marx but my main collecting interest is in trains 50 years and older. Even my power supplies are antique. I have all my old Dinky cars and Lesley Models of Yesterday from my childhood which I use on my lay-out. So scale is not a strict consideration . I've discovered that I really like lithographed tin toys and want to collect structures and accessories of that ilk. So I'm not sure what direction to take my scenery. A realistic approach to scenery would not suit my tin-plate lithographed toy station for example. On the other hand the painted plywood is bare. I printed out some cool roads to help display the cars and that made a huge difference. What I need to do now I think is install a roadbed. Any suggestions? I want cheap. Don't think I can afford cork. Was thinking of some sort of carpet. I've seen roof shingles which I think look good ( toy-like ) but won't deaden the sound. I can't hear my music with two trains running. I think sound deadening would be more important then looks. Homosite is too dusty. Do you think carpet would work? Any other suggestions? Is there an expensive sollution that is just too cool not to consider?

I havn't figured out how to navigate these pages yet. Will gladly post my picture of me and my trains but havn't figured out how yet. The pictures I have seen of other members lay-outs are really cool.

Happy Rail-Roading

Mark

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 1, 2005 5:21 AM
Hey Mark,

Welcome to the coffee pot, hope to see you around more!

TGIF!!
  • Member since
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Posted by spankybird on Friday, April 1, 2005 6:23 AM
Good Morning All

NE Ohio has Blue Clear Skys this morning with temp of 41 deg going to 52 today. Now they say SNOW overnight with 3 to 5” by morning – so is this an April Fool or what [?]

Hi Mark – welcome to the CTT forum


if you check the second posting from the top “New to toy trans” , it has great general info for you, including how to post pics.

Chris – your are correct TGIF

Pick of the Day


all be safe
tom

I am a person with a very active inner child. This is why my wife loves me so. Willoughby, Ohio - the home of the CP & E RR. OTTS Founder www.spankybird.shutterfly.com 

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Posted by Roger Bielen on Friday, April 1, 2005 6:54 AM
Welcome to the forum Mark!

Your idea to use carpet will help. You could try the type with a foam rubber backing and a tight weave or carpet padding. If your lucky you might find remnants at the home supply store, down here either Lowe's or Home Depot.

The thing to remember is not to screw the track down through the padding, this'll just transfer the vibration through to the plywood. The method that would probably be best is to glue the base down and then use electric wire/cable ties to fasten the track.

Good luck.
Roger B.
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Posted by Roger Bielen on Friday, April 1, 2005 7:01 AM
From the morning news its already raining in Atlanta and just starting here at the house. It's too early to hit the train store so I've loaded the pick up with the garbage for a dumpster run, we don't have pick up in the rural areas, and when done I'll head over to Memory Station. With the rain it'll be a good day to work, a.k.a. play, on the layoput today.

I guess I've put it off long enough, I'll tranfer some funds today and send the check into Uncle Sam and Gov. Sonny P. rather than wait till the last min. and take a chance on forgetting.
Roger B.
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Posted by FJ and G on Friday, April 1, 2005 7:37 AM
local goes to pick up a Shell tank car on a team track



Shell car



lonely stretch of track



I don’t want to steer you in the wrong direction pardner



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Posted by Dr. John on Friday, April 1, 2005 7:46 AM
Welcome to the forum, Mark! Join us for a cup of coffee and sit back as southerners and northerners (aka Yankees) continue to fight the War of Northern Aggression in a good natured way. (We southerners have LOOONNNGGG memories!) Sounds like you have a great Marx collection going. I started with a Marx trainset too! Unfortunately, my mother sold mine.

More rain in the soggy south. I wasn't too concerned until I saw the animals lining up two by two . . .

At least I can swim!
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Posted by laz 57 on Friday, April 1, 2005 8:00 AM
HI GIZ,
[#welcome][#welcome][#welcome] MARK, lots o fun here during the day, hope you like it?
Going to be about 59 today and TGIF. TOM keep that steamer going right through the weekend but put the brakes on once in a while.
Flood watches areposted for high water from tonight til Sunday we are to get 2-3 inches from NC.
Love the pic of CHIEFs crew on the handcar but no one knows how to use it they are waiting for wind maybe?
TGIF have agood one and lets be safe out there.
laz57
  There's a race of men that don't fit in, A race that can't stay still; Robert Service. TCA 03-55991
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Posted by cnw1995 on Friday, April 1, 2005 8:22 AM
Like in other northern climes, it's cold here today - in the 40s. Wonderful pictures, Dave. Welcome, Mark. I am enamored with Marx accessories. Affordable and colorful. Can't wait to see a picture of your layout. Here's a problem I've been having with my pre-war 2-4-2 #1684 - she is starting to derail the front truck on every 027 curve. I was thinking of adding weight somehow above this floating truck but maybe I can 'loosen' it in some way instead. It seems to ride up on the curve - maybe somehow it is not flexible enough. Any suggestions?

Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.

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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 1, 2005 9:22 AM
One of the problems with this prolific group is that I can never remember more than a couple of days where I saw something. About a week ago someone was discussing derailing through switches, and mentioned pilot trucks. His solution was to increase the spring tension, assuming that there is a spring. I suppose you could add one between the pivot plate and the locomotive if there is not one already.
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Posted by cnw1995 on Friday, April 1, 2005 9:47 AM
Thanks very much, Doug. It sure is hard to keep up sometimes - a great problem for a forum to have. I don't remember that particular bit (I probably overlooked the posting) but I'll try to search for the answer here.

Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.

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Posted by FJ and G on Friday, April 1, 2005 9:49 AM
Thx Doug,

Some points about points I'd like to pointedly point out as I did on the other forum.

Reading my RR Engineering Manual from 1983 about point rails.

A couple of very interesting points they make that I’d like to share, which have some bearing on our toy train turnouts:

The point rails are made of magnesium or specially hardened steel to withstand the banging they take from trains passing thru.

The end of the point is shaved to a mere 1/4 inch!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Also, that 1/4" end is raised 1/8 of an inch above the stock rails to prevent the wheel flanges from picking the switch.

Also, unlike model tracks, the point rail itself (not the closure rail, just the points) are straight--both point rails. The weight and pressure of the trains curves the points when the train is passing through.

Model stock rails are notched to accommodate the points. I was surprised to find out that occasionally 1:1 stock rails are slightly shaved to accommodate the points.

The angle of the points matches the angle of the frog.

Extra care is taken with turnouts to ensure that the ballast is perfect for proper drainage and that the entire turnout is level. It can be sloped but the whole thing must be at the same angle. Turnout measurements must be exact. 1/16 of an inch out of whack can mean disaster.

In fact, if the turnout points are 1/16" out of alignment, then the signals will turn red and an alert will go out in many turnouts.
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Posted by Anonymous on Friday, April 1, 2005 9:59 AM
Doug M.

Are we talking about a Lionel 2-4-2 #1684 or a Marx? I don't have Marx data, and there is no Lionel # 1684 in my book. There is however a #1654 that fits the description. It is an O-27 only. Data says it will derail itself on O gauge track. It has a single leaf flat spring on the pilot truck. Should be simple to adjust for increased tension, otherwise it is priced at a nickle. Price list may be slightly out of date, the part number is 259E-60.

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Posted by FJ and G on Friday, April 1, 2005 10:11 AM
views thru VRE engineer side window this morning (train going backwards so actually this is a passenger car!)






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Posted by laz 57 on Friday, April 1, 2005 11:16 AM
DOUG,
Check thr alignment of you track if thats ok then maybe you could bank one side a sixteenth to an eighth inch. I have done this and it did help.
laz57
  There's a race of men that don't fit in, A race that can't stay still; Robert Service. TCA 03-55991
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Posted by wrmcclellan on Friday, April 1, 2005 12:01 PM
Hello all!

Welcome Mark. Glad to have you join the group! [#welcome]

Lots of interesting conversation today - so thanks to everyone sharing it!

Dave - what's your "beef" with that steer anyway?

Really cooled off here. Very windy and 50's today!

Have a great day all! TGIF!
Roy

Regards, Roy

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Posted by bogaziddy on Friday, April 1, 2005 12:43 PM
Good to have you aboard Mark. [#welcome]

Is that your real last name or is that what you play?

High thin overcast over Mt. Shasta today and about 5 degrees cooler. The pooch will get a 5 miler in today as payment for me leaving him at home tonight while I go to an Elk's Prime Rib feed.Think I'll wash dinner down with a coupla' G & T's. [yeah]
Then back home to run trains. No worries about Rule G violations on my RR.
There is though on the drive down and back to the Elks lodge but one of the nice things about living in a small town is that the Elk's lodge is within walking distance.
Have a great weekend everybody..... [:D]

BTW Great pics as usual Spank, David & Jon. [bow]
The High Bogaziddy Mahesh Maserati - Top Ramen  I don't practice what I preach because I'm not the kinda' guy I'm preaching to.
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Posted by cnw1995 on Friday, April 1, 2005 12:58 PM
Hi Doug, that's it - it is 1654 - looked like an 8. Thanks so much, I will look to see if I can adjust the spring.

Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.

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Posted by Buckeye Riveter on Friday, April 1, 2005 4:20 PM
Mark,
[#welcome]Welcome aboard. Here are two web sites that you may find very interesting to you concerning Marx.

http://www.toyandtrain.com/

http://www.marxtoymuseum.com/main.htm

Celebrating 18 years on the CTT Forum. Smile, Wink & Grin

Buckeye Riveter......... OTTS Charter Member, a Roseyville Raider and a member of the CTT Forum since 2004..

Jelloway Creek, OH - ELV 1,100 - Home of the Baltimore, Ohio & Wabash RR

TCA 09-64284

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Posted by wrmcclellan on Friday, April 1, 2005 6:00 PM
Bog,

G&Ts - great idea - its Friday! [8D][yeah]

Regards, Roy

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Posted by GregM on Friday, April 1, 2005 6:30 PM
Let me also say [#welcome] to the newest coffee pot thread participant.

Welcome Mark.

GregM
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Posted by GregM on Friday, April 1, 2005 6:32 PM
Oh, by the way.

THANK GOD ITS FRIDAY!

Been one heck of a week.
GregM
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Posted by cnw1995 on Friday, April 1, 2005 7:03 PM
I took an early train today - stopped off at Norwood Park - ran over to Chicagoland Hobbies to get myself a birthday gift (the battery-powered Pennsy freight set - I called around and they actually had it!) then ran back over to the depot and watched a huge storm blow in - the temp. dropped to 35! I got poured on by rain but saved the set. It came in such a huge box, I got a lot of comments on the train. One guy off one of the skyscraper construction sites in the Loop sidled up to me to give me a 'tip' that if I go to the Mr. Sub on Wells St., the Spanish guy there has the best prices on Lionel trains. He can get anything. The conversation was like out of the twilight zone but I'll probably check it out next week.

Doug Murphy 'We few, we happy few, we band of brothers...' Henry V.

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