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

[luther_stanton]

Luther - try the Z-Stuff relay, its AC.  Its made to mount with their switch machine but it can be used separately and monted under the layout.  Whenever I need a signal relay I've used them.

Roger - thanks for the info.  Strange thing was I actually enjoyed making this thing - but I am not sure how many more I want to make!  Sort of one of those "I am glad I did it."

I've noticed that train prices are slowly starting to climb on eBay as the weather gets cooler. Looks like bargain season might be over for another year. But you never know . . .

Jim, I noticed the same thing.  Every fall and winter the bids go up, often to unrealistic levels, and the last minute swiping seems to increase!  Always tails off in the spring too!

Roy - Happy Birthday!

[Dr. John]

Dr John : Haven't seen a 79 Corvette yet in 1/43rd, but here's a 1969 I picked up about a month ago in Erie Pa. This is a little Covette only model shop & sells only Corvette models & related stuff. I only paid 4 dollars for this one & I got a couple others in different years for around 4 or 5 dollars also. I'll see this weekend if they have any more & what years they are !!  

Well, off to the Pullman Diner now !!

Thanks, John

John, that's a nice '69. I happened to see a diecast '72 Vette this evening at the Cracker Barrell restaurant, of all places. It was a 1:32 model, a bit on the big size, so I passed. I've looked on a few sites with diecast cars but have yet to come across a '79 in 1:43 or 1:48.

[luther_stanton]

Luther: I know your posts from our caboose thread. Good to see another NYC fan. Not a Pennsy fan?!?!?!? You gotta check out the MTH S2 Turbine. It WILL change your mind.

Ughhhh - I've seen more Pennsy references in these last two days.  Geeze!

Just kidding - anyway I have had a love hate relationship with Pennsy.  I grew up in Easton / Allentown PA area - pretty solid LV country.  I was never really into trains when I was young - I had a Sante Fe HO layout for  a while but nothing major.

I got out of the Army in '96 and moved south of Atlanta.  I hit the museum in Duluth which had a lot of Southern equipment - in fact one of the Southern Cresent E units is there.  We went to Legacy Station just down the street and I bought some N Scale rolling stock.  Never went anywhere and the "train thing" although flickering still did not take off.

Three years ago the wife and I went back to PA to visit and we went to Strausburg and the PRR museum.  That Christmas I bought my first O Scale set - an MTH Pennsy set with a consolidation.

I then started stocking up on O Scale and realized that the darn market was flooded with Pennsy stuff - so collecting that was too darn easy.  So of course I start buying ACL varnish! 

What really pushed me away was how the Pennsy was portrayed in "The Men Who Loved Trains".  My take was that a lot of the Penn Central (aka mating worms) debacle was due to the arrogance of the PRR in the whole merger deal with the NYC.  And then there is the whole "Standard Railroad of the World" title - which I believe was self-appointed! 

But then I guess the ACL was not much better - "Standard Railroad of the South."  But I am sure that was just in response to the PRR!

Anyway, that is how I came to not be a PRR fan. But they did give us Horse Shoe Curve.

I know there are some PRR fans out there - I would be interested to hear your take on the PC deal.

- Luther

[jefelectric]

Good evening all,

Well the first day of York is history.  Had a nice day.  Took an HO buddy along as a guest & he did manage to find and HO flat car that he liked, cost all the way $2.50.  Wish I could find O gauge stuff for prices like that.  I came home with a Williams scale sized GG1, the tuscan 5 strip version.  Bought it from Marty at Ma & Pa.  Got a real good deal.  Also picked up an MTH premier, PRR crane car.  Couple of Lionel parts & some lamps from Town & Country completed my purchases for the day.  Also attended the Atlas seminar, got some interesting info on things to come, nothing earth shattering that hasn't hit the forums, but maybe a little more detailed.  Ran into a couple of people I knew and also talked to Neil at the CTT both a few minutes.  He is looking forward to seeing the guys from the pot tomorrow.  I think I walked my buddy into the ground today.  He was ready to leave at 6:30 and it doesn't close up till 7:00.  Told me his feet felt like someone ran over them with a back hoe, so I took pity and we left early.  Actually we only hit 5 of the 7 buildings and only covered one of the smaller ones completely.  The tinplate layout in the black hall was very nice.  Great looking equipment, mostly repo, but beautiful.  The American Flyer was also nice but I was never much of a Flyer fan.

BTW I also got my December CTT today.

Deputy, that is a nice looking vete.  If you don't find a Lionel M1a, my LHS got me one of these just a couple of months ago. 

http://www.mth-railking.com/detail.asp?item=30-1366-1

I think they may still have stock at MTH.  You can use there site to check who has them.

Don, That Arizona Railfest looks like it was a fun event.

Well I've got to take a peek at the new CTT and then hit the sack for an early start to York tomorrow.

[1688torpedo]

Hello All!   Deputy- Try Joe Grzyboski's in Scranton,Pa as he has New & Discontinued Lionel Train's in stock & he has a large inventory also. Give them a call at: 1-570-347-3314. I've been there myself & have bought a couple of out-of-stock- item's. Another place you can try is the Trading Post Train Shop in Cleveland at: 1-216-661-7300 & see what Jim has in stock.Maybe he'll have something else you've been looking for also? Take Care.

[Pennvalley]

Evening all.  Speaking of Corvairs [you are new and do not know this, others do], I use to restore them.  Had three restored ones at one time.  Dropped that hobby when I had to move to town.  

Had a 65' Corsa 140hp back in early 70's

[mitchelr]

Well,  today turned out to be a fun day at York after a late start.  The dog now has eye drops she needs twice a day for a week or so, but no major infection or other problems.

The Mrs. picked up the K-Line WM Plymouth Switcher and Ore Cars along with some other vehicles for the layout as Christmas/Birthday presents.  We only went to three dealer halls today (Orange, Brown and Purple).  Did not get to any Member halls. I will head out early in AM to meet my college buddy at Hardee's for breakfast before we hit the Train Meet.

All in all we had a nice day.  Take care.

Mitch

[Deputy]

John:Nope...not a TCA member. Only membership is MTH club and Lionel RR Club.

GregM:I saw a video of the M1a at this website:

http://www.glancytrains.com/railsounds/index.htm  

AWESOME!!!

Doug: I have an e-mail in with the second website. The first one I looked and didn't see the M1a listed. Yep...it's the 6-38056 PRR m1a. At the price it sold for, I can't picture them selling lots of them.

Chief: You have my utmost admiration for being able to restore Corvairs. Getting parts for them must have been rough. And thanks a ton for starting this thread. Lots of great folks here and I enjoy coming back here often.

jefelectric: DOH! I didn't realize MTH made an M1a!!!! Well I'll wait till tomorrow and see if my e-mail requests for the Lionel version get answered. But having the MTH as a backup is EXCELLENT!!! Thank you sir!!!

Keith: Tried Joe Grzyboski already. No luck. I have his website bookmarked.

Dep

[dougdagrump]

http://www.frankthetrainman.com/steam.html

Ninth item down, they show it as a 2002 special. He is about a mile up the street from where our club layout is located.

[ChiefEagles]

Evening all.  Speaking of Corvairs [you are new and do not know this, others do], I use to restore them.  Had three restored ones at one time.  Dropped that hobby when I had to move to town.  

Had a 65' Corsa 140hp back in early 70's

One of my restores was a White 65 Monza. My first was a red 64 Monza with 4 one barrels.  "Drove the wheels off of it" in the Everglades of FL.  The vehicle I had when I was at the missile base in the Glades [U S Army, 68 and 69].  Dep, bought old junkers and stripped them for parts.  I use to belong to the National Corvair Club.  Guess it still exists. ????  Gooood night.

[dbaker48]

  Don, is that around the Scottsdale area?

Colin -  Not only do you know your engines, but parks and geography as well !! Sure is actually located in Scottsdale.  Very nice park.

Today was a pretty easy day.  Went to the "Big" Lionel train shop here, actually second attempt, closed on Sundays and Wednesdays.  Their train inventory  WAS exclussively Lionel, (they had 1 Polar Express set).  Nothing in any other gauge either.  But speak of planes,  now they had planes!!

Went to the Ariz State Fair last night, it was interesting, killed some time.  One vendor was selling these carved mahogony pieces, so I bought a train.  Looks good, will post some pics soon. 

TWO more days then go home!!!  Tomorrow go to Florence, and then on Saturday to Prescott, and Sunday home.  The World of Outlaws are running here tomorrow night, think it should be a pretty good show.  Tickets a little pricey but that's what the expense report is for, right.?   Oh .....it doesn't matter,  I forgot,  I don't have an expense account.

Have a great day all !!!

[Jumijo]

Good morning everyone.

A rainy Friday here today. On top of that, I've come down with a cold or flu. One of the kiddos passed it along to me. But this too shall pass.

Got my CTT last night but only skimmed through it. Congrats to our man, Roy for his work on the New York layout.

No train action last night as I had to work late. Lots of overtime this week!

Welcome back, Chief. Hope you had a great time at the lake. I'm sure your SIL will be floored by your efforts today.

Brownie scouts this afternoon with my daughter. They are putting a care package together for the troops in Iraq.

Jim

[tmcc man]

  Don, is that around the Scottsdale area?

Colin -  Not only do you know your engines, but parks and geography as well !! Sure is actually located in Scottsdale.  Very nice park.

Today was a pretty easy day.  Went to the "Big" Lionel train shop here, actually second attempt, closed on Sundays and Wednesdays.  Their train inventory  WAS exclussively Lionel, (they had 1 Polar Express set).  Nothing in any other gauge either.  But speak of planes,  now they had planes!!

Went to the Ariz State Fair last night, it was interesting, killed some time.  One vendor was selling these carved mahogony pieces, so I bought a train.  Looks good, will post some pics soon. 

TWO more days then go home!!!  Tomorrow go to Florence, and then on Saturday to Prescott, and Sunday home.  The World of Outlaws are running here tomorrow night, think it should be a pretty good show.  Tickets a little pricey but that's what the expense report is for, right.?   Oh .....it doesn't matter,  I forgot,  I don't have an expense account.

Have a great day all !!!

Don, I remember it so vividly because I went to Scottsdale in June of 2004. I loved that park, and rode on both of the ride on exhibits. I was a little dissapointed because the O gauge layout wasn't operating. Anyway, it was a good time, and I got to see the N scale, and HO scale operations.

Well, just finished breakfast, and I am now going to go to school and I hope everyone has a good day.

[Jumijo]

Say, I almost forgot - Mr. Brown stopped by last night. He brought me a set of Williams F3 2343s. My wife was home and kept asking me to open it up. The Santa Fe warbonnet scheme is her favorite. I declined. I told her they were my Christmas present.

I told her I wanted them for Christmas. She told me to order them so I got the right thing.  I ordered them now so that they weren't sold out. Now she wants to open them up!

The funny thing is, she knew just who to call to order them. She could have done it herself. And I thought she wasn't listening . . .

Jim

[laz 57]

HI GIZ,

   TGIF,  its FRIDAY and feels like Christmas morning to me.  Going to YORK this after and can't wait.

Hope the rain holds off?

Can't wait to see all the GIZ from the pot at the CTT booth.

Later,

laz57

[cheapclassics]

Good morning all,

It is cloudy and cold in SE Indiana with temps heading to the 50s today and 60s tomorrow.  My dad had a four door 64 Corvair.  The only interesting feature was a "locking" differential called "Posi-trac".  My dad thought he could go anywhere with it and sometimes got stuck as a result.  My wife and I went to the YMCA last night.  That was the only activity of note.  If anyone going to York stops by the CTT booth, would you please tell Roger and Neil that I said, "Hi!"  I hope everyone has a good day.

Keep on training,

Mike C. from Indiana

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Morning from Blueberryhill....

It is a misty rain day of only 46 degrees. Going up to only 52 today. Does not look like a day to be outsidem unless you have to.

I have a few things to do today, early, then I will spend a couple of hours, working in the train room. Good day for it. Looks like the summer is fading away.

jaabat.....Open up the packages. You'll love them.

Where's Buckeye today ???

Off to the Dining Car for breakfast.

Y'all have a great Friday.

Chuck

 

[ChiefEagles]

Cloudy good morning.  Been spitting rain but suppose to stop.  Off to SIL's to put down hardwood floor.  Jim A, what you need is a "good" nurse for that flu. Know of one?   Got to run.  Later

[Pennvalley]

Chuck
 Enjoy the pancakes!
Sitting here tapping my fingers on my desk waiting for that call from the repair shop about my truck.(Ching,ching.ching)

 

[cnw1995]

Good morning from a sunny and cold Chicago where I had to wear gloves and a hat for the first time this season. Well, amazingly the washer fixer from GE showed up at 0730 (we had been told to expect him anytime from 8 to 5); found a sock jammed in a drain outlet and another part to replace which of course he didn't have. So he has to come back in a week - net cost so far - just under the cost of a new unit. Sigh. Could be worse. Hope you're feeling better, Jim.

Thanks for all the York reports.

[Jumijo]

I'll feel a lot better when I leave work, Doug.

Hey, the Cards beat the Mets last night!!!! I love it. Going to be a great matchup tomorrow night. McLain vs. Gibson!

[cnw1995]

I hear you Jim.
I'm pulling for the Tigers so it'll feel sweeter when Sox beat them next season.

[Brutus]

Doug, the ONLY Tigers to pull for are at Mizzou!  LOL  Great morning in St. Louis, men!  I'm very tired, stayed up to see the end.  Doug - I had a old washer go out when it was full - luckily it was in my old house, on a slab, and close to a side door to the driveway - I got my brother over and we heaved - Heaved - HEAVED - and got it out and over.  It was about 30 years old and I got it free from my Nana, so didn't care to try and fix it.  The dryer lasted about another 5 years.  Hope you feel better, Jim - lots of bronchitis and flu bugs around here this year.  Maybe in a couple years I'll be able to do York - sounds like a bunch of fun to me!  Got an email this morning and my Z-1000 shipped out yesterday, the guy said sorry for the delay.  Went out on break and as I walked out the door with Ron, the fire alarms went off - Drill!  TTFN

[perry1060]

Have a great Friday all. I'm drinking coffee as I type this.

Panoramic...

[ModelTrainLover]

scientists have recently discovered a new disease!

WARNING!!!!!!

         MAD RAILROAD DISEASE

Highly Contagious To Males Of ALL Ages!!

 

The Symptoms: The afficted becomes confiused and agitated when not near any type of railroad. Will wander around dazed and disoriented, mumbling odd words like: run-bys, coal tipple, and crossovers. Often accused of not listening to wife. At the sight of a railroad, common behavior includes hyperness, sweating, and occasional hooting and hollering. THIS IS NORMAL DO NOT BE ALARMED!!

            This Maddness is NOT fatal.

(exept to people who think trains are gay, stupid, only for small children, and to people who make fun of you at school/work of having this disease)

 

Cure (or something that keeps the infected person at ease)

Hospitalization is NOT NESSARY!! The affected must be surrounded by items of railroad interest. Should be encouraged to spend time sharing ideams other sufferers and Railroad fans. Train chasing and photography shoots will help. Incase of emergency contact your nearest train club or have to affected spend a weekend at local train yard.

 

This has been a public anouncement.

[Blueberryhill RR]

Good Evening....

The GG1 now runs the entire layout with his pantograph in the total raised position.  He is proud. Worked on layout for 4 hours.

Chuck

( why do I think that I will regret this post ??)

[dougdagrump]

Chuck, I can just imagine all the one liners that will be posted over the next few hours.

                       

[csxt30]

Chuck, I can just imagine all the one liners that will be posted over the next few hours.

                       

Yes, it's not good to run around the layout without your pantographs up !! 

Thanks, John

[tmcc man]

So, the phantograph is now raised, Chuck?

[Blueberryhill RR]

So, the phantograph is now raised, Chuck?

Yep....the rear one. ( naturally )