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I love my new N&W J. I purchased the the 607 Set from MrMuffins Trains (thank you, Steve). After a little fit of a rocky start due to manufacturing issues, it runs flawlessly and is drop-dead gorgeous! A four car passenger consist is a perfect size on my 8X16 home layout.

 

I will have to admit, that until I saw the 1981 Lionel catalog with pictures of the Powhattan Arrow, I never knew the J was a passenger engine......Think about that.....As a kid from the northeast Bronx, I was familiar with diesels and electrics. I knew about steam engines, but, this was the post WWII era where every thing was modern and better. As a young kid I accepted dieselization in the same manner as I accepted no longer squeezing oranges for juice (and used frozen cans of orange juice concentrate from the A&P).

 

 

When I saw the Lionel catalogs of 57-59, I saw the J highlighted in top-of-line FREIGHT sets......5 of them to be exact.  I still remember reading the Lionel marketing cation: here is dramatic evidence that steam locos can be right up to the minute in power and design.

 

What did I know, that by the time Christmas 59 came around, the Js were retired, and.... that they were really passenger engines!

 

 

Peter

 

 

 

 

Last edited by Putnam Division
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Glad you're enjoying your new J set!  The J's were/are an impressive steam engine.

 

The Bronx, eh?

 

Years ago I had Doctor friend that lived close by that's from Brooklyn. 

 

Talk about opposites: Joe still had some Brooklyn left in his accent... and I'm an Oakie! 

 

Our common denominator was trains. At the time I was into rivet counting HO and Joe was in O scale 2 rail. We (Joe and Roxanne and my wife and I) used to get together at least once a week and eat supper together. Joe REALLY enjoyed coming over for a "train night" and running my 3 rail traditional stuff on a temporary table spread. (I would to go over to a large fellowship hall, shove 8' folding tables together, and make double track main line "layouts" that we'd run for several nights before dismantling.)

 

He's moved off to other parts of the state now, but I still think of him often.

 

Last edited by laming

Peter,

I'm glad you got the bug fixed on you J and are happy with the way it looks and performs!  I got word that MTH shipped my Imperial back to me on Friday, so I'll looking forward to seeing it run correctly on my temporary 4x8.

 

Laming,

Just shows it doesn't matter where someone is from or what walk of life they lead, when the common interest is trains, it's a bond that overshadows our differences.

Originally Posted by Putnam Division:

Tom......we could have the largest assemblage of Js.....outside of Scott's house, of course! 

 

Peter

LOL.... even MTH doesn't have that many J's..... Thanks again, Peter, for ordering yours from us!

 

I keep leaving voice mails at Scott's reminding him that we have a J with a road number he doesn't have!

The PW N&W J was THE PW loco for me. Never got one. Until the Warhorse set many years later (my first TMCC loco - and I was hooked on Command Control immediately - I was finally running the train and not the track.) I live in the SE, much farther from Virginia than is New York, and I was stricken with the "J", also.

 

I wonder if Lionel, in those becoming-irrelevant days, ever considered a Dreyfuss Hudson instead of the N&W "J"? (Probably not - the N&W "J" was still hauling trains, and the NYC "J" class was beer cans by then.)

 

That Warhorse does not run that well, though - it has the surging that so many, but not all, Pullmor locos have. Too fast; too slow; curves; straights. Maddening. Considering the custom work I've done on it (it is now a K-2 4-8-2 with a scratch built tender) I may have to tackle a can-motor/ERR conversion. One day.

Originally Posted by D500:

That Warhorse does not run that well, though - it has the surging that so many, but not all, Pullmor locos have. Too fast; too slow; curves; straights. Maddening. Considering the custom work I've done on it (it is now a K-2 4-8-2 with a scratch built tender) I may have to tackle a can-motor/ERR conversion. One day.

That conversion is easier than you think. A can motor and motor mount from Timko, a Cruise Commander from ERR, hooked to your existing sound system, and you are ready to go.

The first I really knew about the N&W "J" was when she last pulled fan trips. My wife and I had ridden behind Southern 4501, and had tickets for a Southern fan trip behind Texas 601? after her treks pulling the Freedom Train, but she broke down the night before and the trip never ran (never got a refund for that either). We also went on an ill faded trip behind Reading 2102 (we had to take on emergency water from a fire truck which foamed - Conrail was the culprit in that case)-(I had ridden on two of the original Reading Iron Horse Rambles). I wanted to ride behind the "J" but at the time we where doing a contract for the Navy yard in Philly and had to keep our weekends free to work if the admiral called (not the firm I work for now). It so happened I didn'the have to work the weekend of the "J" fan trip so my wife and I got up early  and tripped down to Alexandria Va and pulled up in the street crossing right in front of the "J" right before she pulled out. She was the smoothest start I have ever seen of a stream engine and she has been my favorite ever since. 

 

I always knew she was a passenger engine and wondered why Lionel make her a freight (though in her final days of service she was used as freight). I guess since Lionel had invested in the tooling they wonted to get as much return as possible.

Last edited by redball342

Peter,

Enjoy your J.  It's a beautiful set.  Also coming from the Northeast Bronx The J was a cool looking engine in the Lionel Catalog. I finally bought a MTH Railking J when they were first introduced. It had a QSI reverse unit and no sound. I added a Williams passenger set, the one with the painted people on the windows. I love the set and have been considering adding DCS with sound. Enjoy your set it is a beauty. 

On my "custom Lionel K-2 4-8-2" -

=====

RoyBoy - yes, that has been my plan, I've installed a couple of dozen ERR Cruise Commanders (and RS), and the motor does not scare me, but the loco has never bubbled

to the top of the project list.

 

I have a scale Lionel L-3 Mohawk that Timko did for me 2 or so years ago. I put ERR Cruise Commander in it. Sweet runner.

 

I'll do this motor conversion myself, though.

======

TrainsRMe - it's not the slowing and speeding up, it's the extremity of said behavior.

Even on flat layouts with large curves. Makes Marx locos look subtle. Looks Hi-Rail, so it

fits in with my modern Odyssey/Legacy stuff visually, but it runs like 1958. At best.

=====

It's still about 10 - 12 on the list. Maybe I should bump it up - it's still under-scale, but

comes closer to the K-2's dimensions than it ever did the J's. 

The N&W sets in the catalog were always way more expensive than anything I could ever get....I especially liked the one on the top of the page in the 57 catalog...Set 2297WS....

 

 

 

Now, thanks to MTH, my own PostWar collection and modern PWC cars....I can "make-believe".....just like a little kid!

 

 

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Peter   

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Last edited by Putnam Division

Way to go Peter!  With all that goes on in today's world and all the stresses of work and raising a family etc. It's a great thing when you can go run some trains and feel like a kid.   And yes, I spent many hours looking at that 1957 J set in the catalog too. You got me wanting to take out my J and run it. It's been a long time. Mine is traditional size. 

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