TEST YOUR MEMORY ?

[gmcrail]

I started in scale model railorading in the mid-1950's with $3 and 3 Kix boxtops, which got me a Varney caboose, O/B box car, a gondola, and a dummy F3. I had to buy a power conversion kit to make the loco go. My first Steamer was a Mantua Shifter (0-4-0), with no valve gear (wasn't readily available then. All the couplers were dummies. I converted to Kadee as soon as they came out. Non-magnetic, of course. to uncouple remotely, you pulled a string attached to a diammond-shaped ramp which raised up high enough to engage the uncoupling pins on the coupler knuckles.

First layout was on a 4x4' piece of Celotex, painted green, with brass flex-track, and a manual switch (Atlas, on fiber ties). The best ground-throw switch machine made, before or since: the Model Engineering Works (MEW) ground throw. I wish someone still made them.

Been playing with trains ever since.[:D]

I've recently reverted to kit-building. Built another one of the first structure kit I ever built, the Suydam Grand Junction Box Works - found it on eBay. I don't buy anything anymore except in kit form. Even done a bit of scratch-building. Man, that's a whole lot more fun than opening a box![:D]

Gary M. Collins

Still in Trainin'!

[rayhippard]

GMCRAIL,

My first layout was on 4' x 4' plywood on the floor with brass fibre tie-strip ( not so flexible ) track nailed down in one circle. No turnouts or anything. But I used it to break in my new Tyco/Mantua ( forget which one ) as it ran jerky untill several hours of running. I may still have that engine packed away somewhere. When I got hooked on brass engines, I put everything else away. I also built some SUYDAM kits like PURINA CHOWS, DIESEL ENGINE HOUSE, ICE HOUSE & SUNKIST GROWERS. These kits were great looking even if slanted toward southern California when I was modeling C&NW in the midwest. But then we didn't have a lot of choices in " the good old days "
so you either scratch built or bought the kits available. Much more variety today.

Ray ---- Great Northern fan.

[TomDiehl]

Been there, done that, still got a couple of the models, Ray. I know I still have the Northeastern wood box car that was just like you describe. I've upgraded it with Kadee's and newer trucks. I also have several of the old Mantua engines that I assebled from kits.

I've always been a tinkerer.