Evening Gents!
Great hearing about the happenings at York. It's exhilarating just thinking about walking the halls.
We had a small train show east of here and couldn't resist going. Bought some stuff I really didn't need but just couldn't live without. Nailed a set of lightly used MPC Budd RDC's to go with the pair I already have. Saves ordering the dummy in the current Lionel catalog. I can safely say I've now finished collecting RDC's.
Also hauled home a mint Amtrak GG1 from the LTI era. It's interesting to put it beside the MPC issue and compare how they had cleaned up the molds by the late 80's. With so little invested in the pair I plan on repainting them in tuscan brown or PRR green and gold at some later date. Will make a nice winter project.
?tn=1397002888
Finally, a cheapo GP9 with TMCC whispered "love me". Plans are to transfer it's electronic guts into one of the RDC powered units. Even the speaker housing / fuel tank of the GP9 will fit right up nicely under the Budd car. I doubt there's ever been an issue of TMCC equipped RDC's.
Wife says I can go back tomorrow and get a NIB reissue of the 313 bascule bridge and a mint late 90's Commodore Vanderbuilt Hudson. Any comments on either?
Happy and safe travels to all of you returning from York.
Bruce
I have the reissue silver one. works good. very quiet.
I believe they also offered a black one.
S.J.
"IT's GOOD TO BE THE KING",by Mel Brooks
Charter Member- Tardis Train Crew (TTC) - Detroit3railers- Detroit Historical society Glancy Modular trains- Charter member BTTS
Good evening all,
Quiet day at work on Friday. Did not do much at home Friday night. Grandson's games were cancelled for Saturday so spent day at home. Got some new jeans at Wally World. Took blood sugar today and it was 70. That is normal folks for non-diabetics. Maybe I will be off the meds soon and go back to normal foods. I hope everyone has a good day.
Keep on training,
Mike C. from Indiana
Redfire that makes you my newest best friendwhat I really need is the wiring schematic
sir james I I have the reissue silver one. works good. very quiet. I believe they also offered a black one. S.J.
Thanks S.J.
This one is silver so I believe it has the scullen disc wheels which I like. I can't be sure if it's the weathered version. I'm hoping it can be had for about $700 and will probably walk if it's any more than that. Still, it sure is attractive!
Plate Rail sir james I I have the reissue silver one. works good. very quiet. I believe they also offered a black one. S.J. Thanks S.J. This one is silver so I believe it has the scullen disc wheels which I like. I can't be sure if it's the weathered version. I'm hoping it can be had for about $700 and will probably walk if it's any more than that. Still, it sure is attractive!
Life's hard, even harder if your stupid John Wayne
http://rtssite.shutterfly.com/
Oh Oh I better clear up my statement.
I was referring to the 313 bridge. IT works well.
I do not have the engine.
Evening all!
At hotel in Balt and headed to DFW in the early AM. As mentioned above had a great time at York. I was able to join the gang at RoC Fri am. Met the gang again for the 1 pm CTT booth photo. John F, I and my cohort Collin had dinner with Buckeye Thurs night. Then capped it off with dinner with Chief Fri night. Whew!
Looking forward to the pics.
Later all!
Regards, Roy
Home from dinner with some dear friends. Had a salad with great Gorgonzola dressing, pasta and crabcake. Very good dinner, topped off with coffee and pumpkin roll back at our friends house. Tomorrow is driveway repair and sealing. Just had the driveway repaved a year ago after living here 25+ Years. In July a big truck with a roll off dumpster pulled on to our driveway to deliver the dumpster to our neighbor and dug about 8 big divots in the asphalt by sitting still and turnining his wheels. The dumpster firm is paying for the repair and resealing. Hope the weather holds out.
Take care,
Mitch
Bob Mitchell Gettysburg, PA TCA # 98-47956 LCCA# RM22839
Looking pretty gloomy out this AM. Not sure the driveway guys are going to make it. Have some more yard work to do preparing for winter, cutting back dead flowers etc. Won't take too long if the weather holds, then I have some school work I need to do and would like to take some photos of York train purchases. Better get going, church is at 10 and I need to get ready. Safe travels to Roy and others returning home after York.
Fife,
Here is the info on the 1949 version:
http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/searchcd31.htm?itm=544
Here's the 1950-55 version:
http://pictures.olsenstoy.com/searchcd31.htm?itm=545
In both cases, the platforms are wired the same. The car stayed the same mechanically for the most part throughout production. If you need cattle, get originals. Don't waste your time or money with repros because most don't work properly.
Jim
Redfire - So in layman's terms, 2 wires, with the switch between the center rail feed. Right? What kinda juice should I be throwing at it to perform "flawlessly". Also, I've got the '49 version, with orange swing gates, but the bovines look like they ain't seen much handlin'.
I always connect the uninsulated post on the platform to the same terminal as the outside rail. Both are tied together through the base of the platform so that's important.
The insulated post gets connected through a switch to a post on the same transformer that supplies 12-14 volts. That seems to be the range where the platform and car typically work best. If more voltage is required, something needs tweaked.
However, the 1949 version of the platform is more reliable than the 1950-55 version.
I tell the difference between original and repro cattle by checking the finger pattern and smelling the figure. The rubber that Lionel used has a distinct odor that the repros lack.
Part of the reason that the 3656 got a bad rep is due to the reproduction parts on the market. Repro cattle are one thing, but the adhesive washers in the car (3656-17) and later platform (3656-169) are terrible. I had to start making my own washers out of the same type of material that Lionel used.
Redfire - For heffer's sake, you sure do know how to cut through the bull.
Thanks Jim.
Good Morning Guys! 52 going to 55 and dropping to 36 tonight down the Jersey Shore.
Leaf Cleanup and firewood are on the agenda for today. AF53 Ray and I had a great time at York. It was good to meet Mitch and Buckeye and meet up with everyone. We missed the dinner with Chief, for we had a prior commitment. I scored a PW Lionel 282 Gantry Crane, a 50 Gang Car (Could not resist the price) and a 685 Hudson ( can always use another) with a non matching tender very reasonable. Ray did well also and I am sure that he will post later.
SPMan, Ray: Hope you are feeling better. I spoke to the reps from MTH at the booth. Mike was not there when we got there. I told them about your engine and the problem. They told me that the gears are not available, but a gear assembly most likely is. Midge was there and confirmed that it may be available. She took my contact info and she assurd me that she will get back to me this week. We will see.
Fife / Banks: Tell the wives that the ice cream will be there in April. Doray suggested that when the weather is nice that we do it in October also!
Enjoy the Day!
John
Redfire, I agree with Fife, you are the man. I think I will dig out the cattle car and see what I can do. Any questions I know who to ask!
Sun and 44
Lions game and a nap somewhere in the middle.
I watch the presentation videos from the TCA museum this morning. No surprises there. Nothing really new at all.
Hudson#685They told me that the gears are not available, but a gear assembly most likely is.
Thank you John for checking this out. That sounds like encouraging news. Will keep my ears open for any more news along these lines.
Good morning all, sounds like a great time was had by all at York.
We had a birthday dinner and cake for my grandson of 17 last night. His dad gave him a new lap top computer which he was thrilled with. He is a senior in high school now and getting ready for college. He recently completed all his applications.
Ray
SPMan
Glad you Yorkers had a good time.
About the only thing I did of late was add an engineer figure to the Thomas engine.
Waiting for the NASCAR race to start and some of the end-tails on the house to dry so I can caulk and re-stain them. Like John, Leaves later.
Had a hard frost last night on the North Bluff.
Enjoy your day.
Joined 1-21-2011 TCA 13-68614
Kev, From The North Bluff Above Marseilles IL.
Good Afternoon..........
Hello to Joe.......
Just watching the NASCAR race. Ran trains for a few hours this morning. Switched a few trains to the upper loop. Did some dusting and track cleaning.
Have a great Sunday.......Beautiful weather......
Chuck
Afternoon all.
Returned to yesterdays scene of the crime and committed another offense on the bank account.
S.J.: Now I see what you were saying....the 313 also came in black. The Commodore Vanderbuilt was reissued in a darker shade of gunmetal...which is what I assumed you were talking about.
Anyhoo, I got both the 313 and the CV plus a 5 car set of NYC Madison heavyweights by Williams. Not that the cars suit the scale engine but they got thrown in on the deal. Brand new in the box from about 25-30 year old stock.
The 313 is in the traditional colors of the originals...silver with green base. Again, brand new in the box. Has an original price tag on it from my LHS from around 2001. $499 back then...when our dollar was worth way less than it is today.
The Vanderbuilt came in it's unopened box still sealed in plastic. Seems balky like other horizontal Pullmors I've dealt with. First real issue was the binding of the reverse linkage on one side...it''s like I'm always dealing with this. No Chuff too. Straight outta the box and no chuff! The reed switches Lionel used back then were complete crap...luckily good replacements are easy to get locally...another issue I've dealt with before.
Here's the monster.
?tn= 1660642711
Home [finally]. Wifey and Sister-IL had to stop three times coming home. They [not traffic] made me late.
Gone hunting until Tuesday night.
Fun at York Friday night.
God bless TCA 05-58541 Benefactor Member of the NRA, Member of the American Legion, Retired Boss Hog of Roseyville , KC&D Qualified
Home again. We put another 1100 miles on the car since I left work last Wednesday.
This trip was to Bowling Green, Ky. We had some business with my son there, and the Buick GS Nationals were there this week. The meet ran Wednesday to Saturday, but I was not able to get to the track until Saturday afternoon. One guy had a front engine rail that he was running in the bracket racing class on a 7.96 second index. It was running on gas and looked like it was fuel injected. His races were fun to watch - he sat for a looong time watching his opponent drive down the track before he got the green light. 'Course, once he launched, he closed up the distance very quickly. He was running in the high 7's at about 170 mph. There was a car on a 17.9 second index there as well. These two cars did not face each other, but that would have been a very interesting race.
We had to arrange for some insurance while we were there. Walked cold into the firm that we used when we lived there 11 years ago, and discovered that the new agent was one of the kids that my wife taught in Sunday school. On Saturday morning, one of the kids in the Boy Scout Troup I was an assistant leader in stopped in a restaurant to say hi.
On the train activity, it is time to get the Polar Express layout out and tuned up for the season. I've been invited to set it up at a swap meet on Nov. 1, then a couple of weeks later for the P.E. story day at the KATY Depot museum. I got the electrics sorted out last year, so this year most of the work will be improving the scenery and adding an 027 loop of track for the elf hand car.
All for now.
Hello there
Got back from York about 6pm. Mrs and I had a pleasant couple of days relaxing and trying t wind down from an action packed day at YORK. We did a little shopping at Lancaster and mostly relaxed
At the show I didn't get much. Bought a Lionel HO Autoloader minus the vehicles and a Gilbert HO Reefer in a hard to find roof color. It has incorrect trucks and I stole it for $5.00.
Spent a total of $17.00 on trains. Dropped $20.00 on lunch.
Then met the guys for Photos
From left Ray, Roy, Bob Mitchel, John , Laz, Jeffelectric and Buckeye. Yours truly and Fife are down in front.
Same group with O Gauge Overlord added in
And for Dinner. from left Chief's SIL, Mrs Fife, Fife, Roy, Da CHIEF then yours truly and Mrs next is Mrs Chief and last but not least is Chief's great-neice. Thanks to the waiter that took the time to shoot the photo even though the place was packed
Also spotted in the halls of York was this old guy
I'm whuuped and headed t bed
Prayers for those n need
Banks, Proud member of the OTTS TCA 12-67310
Banks, nice pics.
That guy sitting on the end, I believe his picture is also on the wall in our local post office.
KRM - I picked up a Black Bonnet AA set about a year ago. Go ahead, pull the trigger and get them. I'm glad I did. I'm in Missouri - flyover country for the east and west coasties.
Neat pieces. Nice high gloss paint, very clean color separations and sharp lettering.
They are the modern electronic conventional control. The powered unit has two vertical shaft pullmore motors, so the slow speed is kind of notche. The last time I ran them was with my Cab2 through a TPC 400. It seemed to take a lot of turns of the red knob to get them moving - though that might be a function of how many speed steps the Cab2 is currently set for. Once it is up and moving, it runs great - makes the 'pullmore purr' and leaves a faint trail of ozone.
Last week, I was pulling five or six traditional sized cars with no issues. Seems to me that I've pulled 10 or 12 cars at times without any problems.
The sound package is a nice loud 'deep voiced' horn and a bell - one little girl at the museum last week put her hands over her ears when I honked the horn when the train passed her and her dad.
When I ordered the AA set, I ordered the B unit as well. Quality of the B unit matches the AA set. This year, I got brain fade, and ordered another B unit, forgetting that I already had one. Now, I've got an ABBA black bonnet set. At more than 4 feet long, it looks pretty impressive.
Brutus - I'm waiting for my zombie pack, too. Hopefully, it will be here by the end of the month. Targets for the Army missile firing locomotive?
Good Evening All !
Today has been pretty much a veg-out day. Two days in a row at the museum wears one out. Next weekend will be even worse, three days in a row.
Sounds as though everybody had fun at York and returned home safely.
Didn't K-Line do a version of the Black Bonnet w/vertical can motors ?
8n, Why waste the missles on the Zombies, I target my fellow operators at the museum. The visitors laugh like &^%$ when I run it.
Time to sign off.
Nite-All.
Remember the Veterans. Past, present and future.
www.sd3r.org
Proud New Member Of The NRA
Good to see so many posts again. Mowed the yard and picked up sticks today. Also edged the sidewalks. Ran the standard gauge upstairs in the attic tonight. Had the reverse fixed on the 318E and a horn added. Runs and sounds great. I know all the modern tech can make the engines creep along and gently couple to a string of cars, but there is a skill and pleasure in running conventional and hitting the direction button on the power just so the engine does not slam into the freight cars. There is a knack to it. Sometimes I get it, sometimes not. Day off Monday for dental appointment. May do some movies with wife as well. I hope everyone has a good day.
Thanks 8N, I got to thinking it may have been you. Think I will look into them they sure do look nice and will go good when not in use on the display shelf with my old 218 ABBA set. BTW, did you ever finish the powered ALCO B unit? That would be cool to see.
Banks, thanks for the pictures. I feel better about not going now!!!
Staining some parts of the house once the temps climb above 55. Right now 47.
Mornin' FellasWell as typical my hopes for a trip to York were squelched by events out of my control. Got a call from Chief about meeting up on Saturday, but TheQ's cousin and her husband were in from Atlanta so we weren't able to make arrangements. Looks like a fun time was had by all in attendance. Got the first coat of spackle on the drywall joints Friday night, then ran out of spackle and had to make an emergency trip to Home Depot. Made a trip to the dump Saturday morning to get rid of the old windows and 2 cabinets, and some scraps of wood from old projects. Then it was home to finish the spackle. Emptied a few cabinets and pulled one more off the wall and a base cabinet next to the stove... you know that saying "You don't know what you have till its gone"? Well that one base cabinet sure was nice! Now I have no where to put my cooking utensils while cooking! Yesterday was a waste as we went to The Ravens vs Falcons game, mowed the lawn when I got home and the darned tractor threw the mowing deck belt! then we raked some of the moss off the yard so the yard people can come and do the aeration and overseeding... so much going on right now!
https://brentsandsusanspicutures.shutterfly.com/
Our community is FREE to join. To participate you must either login or register for an account.
Get the Classic Toy Trains newsletter delivered to your inbox twice a month