That's cool, P! At least you still have yours. I went through a phase , teenage years, I told everyone I had grown up, and didn't like trains anymore. Now look at me, they're coming out my ears !
Paul
Prewar, anything blue comet, never owned but fun to dream about and look at when I go to shows
Postwar, my Fathers 1423w freight set, 1655 2-4-2 with coffen style whistle tender, Sunoco twin dome tank car, PRR short gondola and SP type caboose. Still have it, still run it!
Both of the 2333 F3 pairs. Always wanted as a kid, didn't own till later in life, currently have the NYC version.
MPC era, these were my very first trains, Southern Streak set. A nice boxed example is on my wish list. I had these at my home and dad's older set was at my grandparents till I was deemed able to properly care for my father's set. Also had the Western Pacific Alco FA1 as a child, that was my first diesel.
Modern era. Haven't owned really much from this era, nice to look at, most priced beyond what I would spend and not really my chosen era to own. Still fun to look at! Mike
Silly NT's, I have Asperger's Syndrome
emdmikeModern era...most priced beyond what I would spend
I'll second that sentiment!
Trains, trains, wonderful trains. The more you get, the more you toot!
Penny Trains emdmike Modern era...most priced beyond what I would spend I'll second that sentiment!
emdmike Modern era...most priced beyond what I would spend
Yeah, same here, that's why I gotten most of my modern stuff used except for one exception, an MTH N&W passenger starter set featuring a little baby 611. THAT was reasonable and too good to pass up. Too bad they don't make it anymore.
I should say I found Lionel's most recent New Jersey Transit starter set very resonably priced so when I saw one I just couldn't pass it up. Now I've got a little bit of New Jersey down here in Virginia. If I could only reproduce New Jersey's diners, pizzarias, burger and hot dog joints and the bakeries I'd be a happy man indeed.
When my friend Shotgun Charlie came to visit and saw the Jersey Transit set he was surprised. "What's with the diesel? I thought you liked steam engines!"
"Uh, well, it was on sale?"
Favorites:
2353 Santa Fe F3 Diesel units
2350 New Haven EP5 Rectifier Diesel
2046 New York Central-Style Steam
2035 K-4 Pacific Steam
Don't really have least favorites...well maybe the ones that don't run!
Thanks for asking.
A 726! Oooooooooo...
Gotta get one of those too! I did luck into a 736 last year, "right place, right time."
Frank54
or, should I say gorgeous ?
the 726 is a real classic !
In case you lads haven't noticed, Becky's pretty nice looking as well!
Firelock,
you are correct, but I'm not gonna go there !
Back to the 726, love those Baldwin wheels. Maybe one day I'll be lucky enough to have one. I've got the 726 rr. Bought it cheap, in rough shape. I have had about every problem you could possibly have with that engine, but it really taught me a lot.I've enjoyed the challenges, and figuring out how to overcome them. Got it running really well now, even on my smallest transformer. It used to need the LW to make it "get up and dance"' but now it runs happily on the 1053, which is a 60 watt job.
Great pictures, Frank. The trains are great, your photography is excellent.
681, 2344, 726, 2343, 2026
Great! Even better, like the way you placed the light in the back, it creates a " sunrise " effect. Very cool. I have 2 of those, the 2026, and the 681. They are both smooth runners. The 681 is my favorite postwar engine. And it smokes ! Time to open a window ! Great shot.
Firelock76 In case you lads haven't noticed, Becky's pretty nice looking as well!
Oh yeah, I'm a regular Miss America!
(photo deleted)
That's enough of that goofy picture.
Anyhoo. Here's a few "other" things I've collected over the years.
I decided to downsize my toy collection (not counting trains) by about 80%. The largest segment of that collection, which I started liquidating last Saturday, was Star Wars toys. I kept the best items of course: the Millenium Falcon, the big X-Wing that's in scale with the action figures and both of my Tie Fighters. But out of the 300 or so figures I had I'm only keeping about 50 including a dozen or so Darth Vader variations.
Other toys include about 50% of my Tomy trains. Most of these were purchased in Thailand (where they were manufactured) and came back to Ohio in my luggage, which was no mean feat! And yes, I also had Barbies to go with my Lionel trains. You can see for yourself what's for sale vs. what's not!
The only other specific area of collecting that I'm downsizing is Gundam and other Manga/Anime models and figures. It's just time to stop storing them and let someone else enjoy them.
But more than that, I need cash and room for more trains!
And you know what today is right?
Yep. Though it's hard to believe this has been in my life since I was 7!
Penny Trains Yep. Though it's hard to believe this has been in my life since I was 7!
Well, that's the best looking, most professional and interesting garage sale layout I've ever seen.
Certainly beats the usual assortment of beat-up lawn and yard care equipment and crock pots!
Thanks! We've had that "usual" crap for the last three years. Now it's time for Lionelland to raise cash for acquisitions!
And here's hoping you raise enough to get that Berkshire, both Lima's and Lionel's finest, (with Nickle Plate or C&O markings no less) you so richly deserve!
I stumbled on 2 MIB Lionel Amtrak 2400 style cars on Saturday: a 6410 coach and a 6412 vista dome at a local shop. He had several 6410's and 6411's but only one 6412 so of course, I had to buy that one. The tag price was $35 each but seeing as it was the last day of his "Spring Sale" he knocked 20% off so I paid $28 each which isn't bad for 40 year old MIB cars.
This little shop is quite fascinating. Half the inventory is Hammond and Wurlitzer organs (he even has a few theater organs from time to time) and the other half is the trains. There always seems to be an endless supply of MIB K-Line from all eras of production but this is the first time I've seen any Lionel.
So, I'm focused now on expanding the 2 cars into a train. I'm not sure I want to spend $300 (going rate on Ebay) on the 3 Amtrak F3's since at the moment all I have is a 4 foot by 6 foot O31 oval to run them on. I'd jump at the chance to add the 8466 F3A but I also really like the look of the 8664 Alco FA, which may be a better match in size for both the cars and the layout. But anyhoo, I've been wanting to get into Amtrak for a long time and I'm finally starting.
Ah, getting into the diesel age I see! Well, I started taking the plunge myself several years ago with that previously mentioned New Jersey Transit set. The problem was I was running out of Northern New Jersey steamers to chase after.
Got a Lionel Susquehanna RS-3 several months ago, 1989 production and at $125 it was a good deal. Last week I saw a new Lionel GP-20 "Lionchief-Plus" in Susquehanna markings, looked at the price ($339.95), gulped, swallowed hard and went for it. You know what? It's pretty darn good! No "buyers remorse" on this one! Great puller, great smoker (although I probably won't run the smoke all that often), sounds and runs great.
But I'm not writing off the steamers yet, not by a long shot!
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