Track fiddlerShow us your Good Goodies you've got for yourself lately because we would very much like to see them
It doesn't yet exist to show, but I did pre-order a soon to be released, Walthers expects them March 8, USRA 0-6-0 by Bachmann with DCC and a different tender from the 3 styles they have used for decades and it is in Chesapeake and Ohio lettering.
(wait a minute, I'm not sure if it has the different tender or not, there are some sound equipped ones which do, but I don't need the sound system)
Ordering it is a pretty big gamble, my Social Security Disability is about 17 dollars a month below the poverty level for a household of 1 & there may (or may not) be an Econimic Stimulus payout this month. I sure hope there is or I'm going to be either without the train or if I go on and get the train without groceries!
I just received six more Oxford Automobile Company HO scale 1950s and 60s cars. The detail is excellent and the paint jobs are superb!! The price is reasonable too.
The biggest challenge will be trying to put drivers and passengers in them. While the outside dimensions seem to be quite accurate, the interior space is very small. If I use HO scale figures there won't be much more than a torso, head and arms, and the torso will have to have the back shaved off to allow the driver to fit behind the steering wheel. I'm going to order a few N scale seated figures to see if they will look okay. Edit: I just discovered some 1:100 painted, seated passengers so I am going to try those first.
I'm also going to put lights in them. I have illuminated a fair number of HO vehicles in the past, but I'm going to have to up my game considerably to fit stuff into the Oxford cars. There is a lot less space. I want to use Mel's brass post power supply method this time as opposed to having a bunch of wires dangling out the bottom of the cars.
https://www.oxforddiecast.co.uk/collections/1-87
Dave
I'm just a dude with a bad back having a lot of fun with model trains, and finally building a layout!
Hi all,
I've gotten a bunch of things here and there, but I picked up this old Atlas watch tower kit I found on the hobby store shelf today, I'll likely never build it, but I always liked those old-style Atlas kit boxes with the PRR inspired artwork on there.
Alvie
Good evening
Sounds like a fun project GN24. I have mentioned before the SD 40-2 is one of my favorite locomotives. I went on the YouTube site and like the blue scheme of the AWVR 1206. I'm sure you'll do just as great of a job as you did on the AWVR 777 I have never seen the movie Unstoppable. I will have to look into that.
The scratch built layout sounds right up my alley. It's good to see someone as young as yourself so ambitious and keeping busy with Hands-On projects. Nice!
I almost like the anticipation of ordering something Kitbash. I think it makes you appreciate it more when it finally arrives. I have ordered many things from Walthers but never a locomotive. I am sure you will enjoy the 0-6-0 Bachmann. I have a Bachmann Spectrum 4-8-4 Northern - Great Northern and it is one of my best runners. It creeps well!
I do hope that stimulus check comes in. I wish for you that locomotive and a full plate
I like the Oxford cars Dave. I looked through them and found the 1969 Dodge Charger Daytona. That was one Bad As car! They banded those from the Speedways because no other cars could compete with them. I am not familiar with the Edsel Citation but I can't tell you how much I like the looks of that car. It's very much Sinister looking like Christine. I would be proud to go cruising around town in that machine!
Glad to hear you found the painted, seated figures for your cars as well. I'll be interested when you get the lights put in the cars and hope you'll show us when you get that done.
The reason I like that Atlas Watchtower kit so much Alvie is it reminds me of the fire tower we used to climb in McGregor Minnesota when we were kids. That was when I was really young and my parents had a cabin on Big Sandy Lake where everyone knew everyone. The Ranger new us kids went up in the Tower. I don't know if that was the reason He didn't lock the hatch back then.
We were safer once we got up in it. He never scolded us for going up there because he knew we were going to do it anyway. He just always said, "You kids just be careful, I don't want anyone hurt!". He said that kind of sternly. I forgot his name after all these years but we used to go up and hang out with him and he would educate us about the surroundings we were looking at. It was a different world back then. Nowadays you'd be going to juvie for climbing that tower.
I have a yard on my track and then another yard across two main lines coming through. I may be looking for that model in N-Scale.
I don't have any new goodies to show-n-tell at the time but something's on the way.
Thanks for Posting Guys
TF
My preordered CSX Honoring Law Enforcement unit from ScaleTrains arrived not too long ago. Very nicely done model.
She will look great alongside the soon to arrive Walthers First Responders unit.
Just don't tell my family I ordered these......
Ricky W.
HO scale Proto-freelancer.
My Railroad rules:
1: It's my railroad, my rules.
2: It's for having fun and enjoyment.
3: Any objections, consult above rules.
Went to the local hobbyshop and came home with a Rapido SW1200RS, a Bowser DSR 4-4-1000, and a Genesis GP38-2. All in CP Rail livery and with sound.
cats think well of me this old Atlas watch tower kit I found on the hobby store shelf today, I'll likely never build it, but I always liked those old-style Atlas kit boxes with the PRR inspired artwork on there.
Nice! Think somewhere I've seen that model kit box art is a hobby and historical topic in and of itself.
Am looking for a crossing watch tower for my little home layout, which is not entirely flippantly described as the "Anachronism Central".
Until your post here I had forgotten Atlas made these, Thanks for the reminder! And they seem to be currently available :)
And as I sit here typing around Georgie cat who seems to be a bit clingy today, the thought has occurred that if you did assemble the tower its small size would pretty much ensure it became a cat toy! Will be interesting to see what happens here with mine. Although, really, Grumman and Georgie are good about not harrassing my little bitty layout section. I think it helped to make a spot nearby where they could get on top of some storage containers to see the trains go.
I just scored three Athearn Hustler bodies on eBay!
There will be a center-cab kitbash in my future.
-Kevin
Living the dream.
Did I get any good goodies for myself in 2021? Yes!!!
Some of you know I have a layout that is scenery with a railway running thru it. Part of that scenery is canal boats. I have two already, but I wanted another at Clarence Dock for when I run diesel trains.
The arrival of 'Kingfisher'. She needs a 'crew' adding etc. (Another job to do )
David
To the world you are someone. To someone you are the world
I cannot afford the luxury of a negative thought
Not really new, but I did send out my Genesis SOO F3 to have sound installed and weathered. It came out beautiful. Really love the Tsunami 2 Decoders
Tangent has really been hitting my wallet hard in recent months what with the lovely 86' Greenville auto parts boxcars and most recently two batches of sweet 4750 covered hoppers of which I've picked up some Far-Mar-Co, UTLX lease, and a couple other names.
Rio Grande. The Action Road - Focus 1977-1983
I usually don't buy locomotives that I already have, but I just added an Athearn 4-8-8-4 to the roster, 4018 specifically since it is the one closest to me. It was supposed to be delivered today but that doesn't appear to be the case anymore. I already have a 90s red box Rivarossi 4003, but I wanted something more up to date with contemporary levels of detail and I got the DCC and sound version for the price of a DC only example. The lit numberboards and flickering firebox should be a lot of fun.
And while not really model railroad related, my LHS had a 1:72 Saturn V kit by Dragon on the shelf for a price I couldn't say no to. Once I told them I figured I'd buy it as a late birthday gift for myself they knocked an extra 10% off. It's not the most accurate model, but people who don't know won't. They'll see a 5ft tall Saturn V in my office and not the slight misshapen skirts at the first stage. Now there is a choice to be made...which Apollo mission to model it after?
The Backshops - A blog dedicated to modeling projects
Here is something I promised to show you. I recently found them three weeks ago. I thought it was a good idea to wait.
And now my new acquisition which came on this past Monday. The new release of the Athearn Big Boy.
It really scared my bank since it's the biggest purchase I ever done.
Amtrak America, 1971-Present.
Good evening.
I don't know where I was on March 7th and March 25th but apparently not here. Being a bad host happens sometimes I guess. Hopefully I'm excused.
You got your wig wag signals Angelo, Sweet! Kind of ironic, I was watching American Restoration today while taking a break from my bridge and Rick Dale restored a wig wag signal for Bill Holt, the head guy at the Nevada Northern Railroad Museum.
I see you got the Union Pacific Big Boy as well. My little brother gave me an Athearn Challenger for my birthday last Winter. I've had my eye on a Norther Pacific Big Boy. The one you got sure looks nice. Yep, those are spendy. Just give yourself a little time and your bank account will heal
P.S. Looks like I have some catching up to do here tonight
Very nice Angelo, enjoy it.
Brent
"All of the world's problems are the result of the difference between how we think and how the world works."
Been a bit bad lately, and Tangent just killed me with new covered hoppers, but I finally decided what I like:
15 Tangent PS4750 covered hoppers and 12 other covered hoppers (to complete a grain train), a total of 4 Bowser SD40-2's, and two MTH DM&IR 2-8-8-4's. 4 more Bowser SD40-2's arriving soon. One steamer is for my son. Oh, and UP DDA40X 6936 by the end of the year, also for my son Johnny.
Sold some other trains to help defray the costs...will be good with motive power and freight cars for years to come. Also, my parents died and left me a small inheritance, most of which will go toward my retirement and/or children's college fees...will not be buying at this rate ever, ever again (or the wife will have me wacked, bada bing).
John
Man that's a lot of stuff John. And I thought I was bad, I've never made that big of an MR purchase. SD40 - 2's A man after my own heart. I had two of these in my cart, snooze you lose, somebody bought one and I need two.
And you lucky dog, two DMIR Yellowstones. Those are impossible to find in N scale.
P.S. I'm sorry to hear about your parents John
I may have to go post hogging for a while to catch up with my posters.
I hope you've been enjoying your 4-8-8-4 Mick. That classic locomotive sure was fun to see a few years ago in St Paul.
As far as Rockets go, feel free to post any time. I love Estes Rockets as I grew up with those too.
I was posting this one step by step as I was building it in the diner and a couple guys were calling me Rocket Man
Hello Track Fiddler--
Well, it wasn't all at once but over the last couple months. Some were pre-ordered last summer--the yellowstones--when I saw that MTH was going out of business, and the catalog photos just looked really awesome. I am not playing with brass steam anymore and figured there will always be big boys, but yellowstones not so much.
I had a fleet of other locos, including some Genesis units in what I found out is a totally wrong color, etc. So I literally have sold off all my other units (or will be--there's still 4 on hand) which netted me well over $1000 cash. Plus I deposited cash and let my local train store sell some freight cars (they made a 40% profit, their standard or ideal profit, and I got credit off my purchase, so it was a win-win as it reduced the amount of stuff to deal with on ebay and proved they can indeed sell some higher end stuff used.)
So I actually will have replaced my entire fleet of locos, and many of my freight cars (changing to more modern era). I had purchased a Bowser GMD SD40-2 basically on a whim, because I had never yet tried one, and well, I liked it very much. The only diesel of mine that is staying, besides the SD40-2's, is a Genesis IT GP38-2 (no sound) in the hot bright green and yellow.
So really, right now I have just the 4 SD40-2's and one GP38-2 plus the one steamer for me that may be here by Saturday...My son has two challengers and two SD90MAC-H's, and one MTH FEC SD70M-2, plus the other yellowstone.
I have some cool stuff to go on Ebay, but it's the wrong season to do well. I don't have to sell it right away, but can try to wait for closer to Christmas. As my buddy says (who is buying the train store) "the trains aren't eating anything". My son and I have 90 freight cars between us, not like my friend who stopped counting at 2000.
Happy shopping (with stimulus money) to all!
Class FF1 (1-C+C-1) IIRC. Too powerful for the cars of the day, ripped their underframes out. I think it was relegated to helper service out of Paoli, where it popped cars out of the train. Still, woulda been quite a sight on the Curve, if things had worked out
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pennsylvania_Railroad_class_FF1
Hi Cats, For those that don't trecognize what it is, it's a railroad crossing tender's tower. In the days before electric operation, the tender would use levers connected to rods or cables to raise and lower the gates across the road. Many of these men had been injured in various accidents, so the job was a sort of sinecure in the absence of insurance.
Note that when my dad hired out on the L&A in 1936 and got his first paycheck, granddad (a railroad machinist) marched him down to the local insurance agent and he got life and disability coverage - railroading was that dangerous. And in 2006, when dad passed away, the corporate successor to the firm that insured him seventy years before honored the policy (Thank you, Texas Department of Insurance for helping me locate that company)
Here a model of the perhaps more usual "shack"
https://www.ebay.com/c/1108140736
and a short article on "shanties"
https://myp48.wordpress.com/2013/10/06/railroad-structures-crossing-shanty/
PS - That Pennsy locomotive in the background caught my eye, too
Kalmbaach's "Model Railroads Go To War"
https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/product/book/12483
has an chapter on the NASA operation at the Cape, complete wih photos and maps - even a picture of the Russian operation at Baikonur Cosmodrome
https://www.alamy.com/the-russian-soyuz-rocket-is-rolled-out-to-the-launch-pad-by-train-image60753372.html
Track fiddler I may have to go post hogging for a while to catch up with my posters. I hope you've been enjoying your 4-8-8-4 Mick. That classic locomotive sure was fun to see a few years ago in St Paul. As far as Rockets go, feel free to post any time. I love Estes Rockets as I grew up with those too. I was posting this one step by step as I was building it in the diner and a couple guys were calling me Rocket Man TF
Good show TF! My rockets don't fly, they usually go into the 'museum' but I have flown a few when I was younger, good times!
I've been called 'the astronuat in the family' by my coworkers, they see me as the authority on space and spaceflight history around the office. I do have a lot of patches, an X-15 model, and several books on the subject at my desk so I am okay with that!
I've only seen 4018 by the roadside some years ago. We're hoping to get up to Frisco this summer to get a closer look at 4018, and Denver at some point to see 4005 (and then a day trip to Cheyenne from there!). Hopefully 4014 will be running again soon.
BEAUSABRE Kalmbaach's "Model Railroads Go To War" https://kalmbachhobbystore.com/product/book/12483 has an chapter on the NASA operation at the Cape, complete wih photos and maps - even a picture of the Russian operation at Baikonur Cosmodrome https://www.alamy.com/the-russian-soyuz-rocket-is-rolled-out-to-the-launch-pad-by-train-image60753372.html
I picked up that book when it was first published because of the NASA railroad portion. I don't do N scale but I do love the track plan, I plan on shrinking it some and focusing on the Rotation, Processing and Surge Facility and having a little shelf switching layout, sans VAB which is 6ft tall or so in 1/87, if I remember correctly.
I also fell in love with the WWI track plan and the ideas for that. I've been collecting period correct OO gauge pieces because of it! A great book for sure.
Russian Rockets being pulled to the launchpad by diesel locomotive power. Good thing they weren't missiles. Those things look like big toys. Extremely expensive big toys at that.
Looking over your posts Beausabre I have finally decided what I want to do with my life now.
I want to be paid a weekly salary to be Shanty Guy It doesn't appear any of those guys are working too hard to me
P.S. Your a Post Hog!
I got to tell ya, I was under the impression this thread was way many pages gone. Somehow I missed it when it apparently resurfaced a few times in March. Well here goes some more delayed replies to say the least, hopefully better late than never.
Those Honoring Law Enforcement and First Responders units sure sound interesting Rick. I have the utmost respect for our Police, Firemen and EMT's that keep us safe. Hopefully you can post them sometime as I'd like to see them.
Nice Fleet of CP Rail's JD. I love your Motto! "Grow old not up", ...Perfect!
I hope to see your Athearn Hustler center cap kitbash when you get it done Kevin. I know you! It'll be cool.
I love the Kingfisher canal boat and scene David. I'm glad you never listened to that old saying "don't make a scene". I think it's cool that you center your scenes around your model railroad. I always enjoy seeing them.
Congrats Ringo on getting sound and that fine weathering job done on your Soo Line F3. Looks great!
I'm not familiar with Tangent Rio as it's the second time I've heard it here. Not sure if it's an actual rolling stock company or just the word for impulsive buying or both If that's the case, I've been on quite a few Tangents
I've been meaning to get a few of those Auto Parts boxcars. I've noticed some of those things are almost as long as a passenger car. I would also like to get some of the old school car carriers sometime. An expensive Investment because then you have to buy all the cars.
I hope I didn't miss anybody.
Thanks for posting
SeeYou190I just scored three Athearn Hustler bodies on eBay! There will be a center-cab kitbash in my future.
Track fiddlerI hope to see your Athearn Hustler center cab kitbash when you get it done Kevin. I know you! It'll be cool.
Unfortunately the package never arrived. I was ripped by the seller. He refunded my money, then listed the items seperately.
What a shame!
I would have had something to say to the eBay Administration about that one Kevin. Perhaps it wasn't eBay though.
I just picked up 10 of Tangents new PS1 40' box cars. They are, by far, the best box car I have seen put out.
I will be listing on eBay some older Red Caboose 40' box cars soon.
An "expensive model collector"
n012944I just picked up 10 of Tangents new PS1 40' box cars. They are, by far, the best box car I have seen put out.
I am going to go into a Sheldon/BigBoy style rant here...
WHY? Why would anyone bring another HO scale PS1 boxcar to market? Accurail makes a basic one, Intermountain makes a good one, Kadee makes a nearly perfect one, and now Tangent makes one... why?
Certainly the time and effort could have been used to make a model that does not have a good model already available.
Rant off.
At least it is a door style not previously available, and they have undecorated kits, even though this exact style is too new for 1954.
SeeYou190 n012944 I just picked up 10 of Tangents new PS1 40' box cars. They are, by far, the best box car I have seen put out. I am going to go into a Sheldon/BigBoy style rant here... WHY? Why would anyone bring another HO scale PS1 boxcar to market? Accurail makes a basic one, Intermountain makes a good one, Kadee makes a nearly perfect one, and now Tangent makes one... why? Certainly the time and effort could have been used to make a model that does not have a good model already available. Rant off. At least it is a door style not previously available, and they have undecorated kits, even though this exact style is too new for 1954. -Kevin
n012944 I just picked up 10 of Tangents new PS1 40' box cars. They are, by far, the best box car I have seen put out.
If you don't like it, don't buy one. Judging from the response I have seen on the internet, Tangent has done well with them. Serveral road numbers are showing out of stock already on Tangent's web site.
It is amazing how many people get upset about having options. Tangent makes a door combination that hasn't been offered in a long time, if ever, and people get bent out of shape over it. Kind of sad.