Buy anything cool lately?

 I saw this car on eBay and being a modeler of northeast in the steam era. I thought it would look good on the layout. Won it for the starting bid. I use Kadee's but figured I would need to swap out the 2 rail trucks . But it tracks perfectly through my Ross turnouts. It's on the light side. But I think I'll just leave it as is and run it on one of my locals.

Just what l (didn't) need!  Another kit for my grain elevator fetish came in....Right-On-Track-Models' "Heartland Grain Elevator".  I think there is just one kit for an elevator l have heard of, that l haven't gotten my claws on.  And l haven't gotten photos of last few non-elevator structures posted.  I fantasize a prairie branch that will serve more than one, although no room for all of them.

Patience it seems is a virtue. I've been stalking this piece for years now and one finally fell into my lap - a Williams E7 B unit in Baltimore & Ohio. Now I have the matching A-B-A set.  Boy, E-units are l-o-n-g !

Matt Makens posted:

Bob, you just need to exercise eminent domain 

And exercise myself right out of the house

Flyer 3008:

Received a load of assorted decals and goodies from forum member @JBuettner.

Thanks John!

Ralph M posted:

Patience it seems is a virtue. I've been stalking this piece for years now and one finally fell into my lap - a Williams E7 B unit in Baltimore & Ohio. Now I have the matching A-B-A set.  Boy, E-units are l-o-n-g !

Look great, Ralph!!  I bought a set of those once, and I was surprised at how long they are.  They were just too long for my space, so now someone else has them!  

RSJB18 posted:

Received a load of assorted decals and goodies from forum member @JBuettner.

Thanks John!

Glad they can be of use to you!

John

I have been looking for a Santa Fe "Whiskers" Freight engine ABBA set and found one on Ebay. The B-units are both 200B, but the effect is good when the train is moving.  The smoke/diesel exhaust can be severe as seen in the photo.  I am still looking for a Santa Fe 200A Powered B-Unit.

Sincerely,  John Rowlen

John Rowlen posted:

I have been looking for a Santa Fe "Whiskers" Freight engine ABBA set and found one on Ebay. The B-units are both 200B, but the effect is good when the train is moving.  The smoke/diesel exhaust can be severe as seen in the photo.  I am still looking for a Santa Fe 200A Powered B-Unit.

Sincerely,  John Rowlen

Wow, if I ran a train that smoked like that at the San Diego 3 Railers. The visitors would be running for the exit. XD

But in all seriousness, that looks awesome. But it's totally unrealistic, since that would most likely signify that the engines have serious mechanical problems.

I recently added this Bachmann Hot Dog Stand...renamed it honoring a good friend of mine...and he does like his hot dogs!...

Delightful whimsey on a layout, Paul, and interestingly realistic in its presentation, too! Enjoyable to see.

FRankM

John Rowlen posted:

I have been looking for a Santa Fe "Whiskers" Freight engine ABBA set and found one on Ebay. The B-units are both 200B, but the effect is good when the train is moving.  The smoke/diesel exhaust can be severe as seen in the photo.  I am still looking for a Santa Fe 200A Powered B-Unit.

Sincerely,  John Rowlen

Very nice set John- how long does it take to fill the room with smoke with those 4 guys running????

John Rowlen posted:

I have been looking for a Santa Fe "Whiskers" Freight engine ABBA set and found one on Ebay. The B-units are both 200B, but the effect is good when the train is moving.  The smoke/diesel exhaust can be severe as seen in the photo.  I am still looking for a Santa Fe 200A Powered B-Unit.

Sincerely,  John Rowlen

BREAKING NEWS: 5,297 recently embarked train passengers file class action suit over second-hand smoke!!!

But seriously John, very impressive set.

Having a few new trains on order between now and next spring, I told myself no more postwar Lionel till next year. My addiction won out, when will I learn to say no? 

das boot posted:

Having a few new trains on order between now and next spring, I told myself no more postwar Lionel till next year. My addiction won out, when will I learn to say no? 

 

Very nice. I would remain happily addicted if I kept finding beauties like those also. The ATSF set looks brand new.

Spent money at Menards (on line) for the first time. Bought the REA flat car with delivery truck, got the free lighted Hummer too.

One of the three new Budweiser beer cars came yesterday.  Won't drink one, but, it looks good and fits into my overhead's beer and booze car consist, nicely.  Interesting box.  I've never seen a Lionel/Budweiser box!

Jerry

The ABBA Santa Fe "Whiskers" engines will either turn off the second B-unit smoke generator, or pop the ZW-L breaker.  With 17 lighted passenger cars and another engine smoking on the layout, it is more than the biggest transformer can handle.

The smoke is usually OFF, so I can see the other side of the layout.

I also have several Legacy engines on the rails drawing a low level of power for their lights.

The picture is highly impractical, but shows that the smoke generators all worked, if not for long.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

RSJB18 posted:

Spent money at Menards (on line) for the first time. Bought the REA flat car with delivery truck, got the free lighted Hummer too.

Ni Bob, but be very, very  careful! Thing at Menards can get you hooked very fast! Then you will probably have to join the Menards Train support group! Enjoy!

RSJB18 posted:

das boot posted:

Having a few new trains on order between now and next spring, I told myself no more postwar Lionel till next year. My addiction won out, when will I learn to say no? 

 

Very nice. I would remain happily addicted if I kept finding beauties like those also. The ATSF set looks brand new.

I was most fortunate, being in the right place at the right time, the trains arrive on Monday. 

Inspired by John Rowlen, I bought these.  I think they will augment my Super Chief consist.  We’ll see how it works.

Ted, its the perfect time of the year for a project like that! Don't burn yourself out doing to many at once!

das boot - nice    Santa Fe set looks awesome

Picked this book up because it fits in with my modeling/layout. 

JerryG posted:

Jerry, The car is nice but what I really like is the NYY Barware. 

Haha.  Thanks Pat.  Too bad all their great hitters don't hit!!  Guess they figure Judge is gonna come back and hit 3 homeruns per game.

Anyway, here are some more.  Best to click on the bottom photos, easier to see.  There's nothing like the Yankees in any sport.  IMO, the most attractive team logo, uniform, cap, and colors of all.

I've never seen this one before or since, so, I snapped it up from the web.

Lots of Yankee stuff.  Clocks, shakers, logos, baseball cards, and a pic of Lou and Yogi, signed by Lou.

The new style bobbleheads are much smaller, so I had to make a base for the triple crown Mickey, and surrounded it with pics of twelve of his baseball cards.  On top is a pic I took of his monument plaque at the stadium.

My favorite.  It's on a shelf below the overhead tracks.

These are on the much larger table layout.

A vertical one inch balsa strip with Aaron Judge pics, hides a lot of wires.  But, not the top of the basement fridge...

The old stadium.  Mantle at bat, Berra on deck.  No way to get the trains to run where the subway is, so, they go in front.

Can't please them all, but hope some of you guys like this Yankee stuff....

Jerry

JerryG posted:

Haha.  Thanks Pat.  Too bad all their great hitters don't hit!!  Guess they figure Judge is gonna come back and hit 3 homeruns per game.

Anyway, here are some more.  Best to click on the bottom photos, easier to see.  There's nothing like the Yankees in any sport.  IMO, the most attractive team logo, uniform, cap, and colors of all.

I've never seen this one before or since, so, I snapped it up from the web.

Lots of Yankee stuff.  Clocks, shakers, logos, baseball cards, and a pic of Lou and Yogi, signed by Lou.

The new style bobbleheads are much smaller, so I had to make a base for the triple crown Mickey, and surrounded it with pics of twelve of his baseball cards.  On top is a pic I took of his monument plaque at the stadium.

My favorite.  It's on a shelf below the overhead tracks.

These are on the much larger table layout.

A vertical one inch balsa strip with Aaron Judge pics, hides a lot of wires.  But, not the top of the basement fridge...

The old stadium.  Mantle at bat, Berra on deck.  No way to get the trains to run where the subway is, so, they go in front.

Can't please them all, but hope some of you guys like this Yankee stuff....

Jerry

Jerry -  I'm a Red Sox/Mets fan and I appreciate it.  When I lived in Brooklyn back in the '50s, we had the 3 best center fielders in Baseball - Mickey, Willie & the Duke!  Great fun and rivalries.  Thanks for the photos and memories.  My dad loved baseball and when the Giants and Dodgers moved west, he became a Mets fan. Late '50s, I remember listening to Giants games rebroadcast on radio with phony crack of the bat & cheers in the background.  Good times!

Matt,

No doubt, those were the days.  I still play Strat-o-matic, from Glen Head, NY.  Most ML GM's have played the game that invented sabermetrics before there was sabermetrics.   Mickey, Willie, and the Duke are still banging them out at my house, and have been since 1966.  I'm a baseball guy first, train guy second.

Sorry for the flash, here is Larsen's first pitch to Gilliam on October 8, 1956.  That's Larsen's signature.  Mantle and McDougald are hidden behind Berra and Pinelli.  It's in the pool room, but no trains circle around that one.  I'm afraid a steel beam prevents it.  I definitely wish it weren't so.

There were a ton of Giants/Dodgers fans that became Mets fans.  Citi Field had so much Dodger stuff that current Met fans had to complain.   Where were Seaver, Koosman, Jones, Gooden, Strawberry, Carter, and the rest?

The move to NH made you a sawk fan.  I went to Plymouth State.  Saw lots of games at the phone booth.  Good times.

Getting back to Buy Anything Cool Lately, here are two of my latest...

So you can tell the scale, that is a Santa Fe light switch plate, underneath a mammoth, extremely cool, engine front.  The forum guys turned me onto it with pics from the Big E train expo.  A husband and wife business in Georgia, they make fantastic train stuff.  I'm sure the guys will know the name, which I can't seem to find.

Jerry

JerryG posted:

Matt,

No doubt, those were the days.  I still play Strat-o-matic, from Glen Head, NY.  Most ML GM's have played the game that invented sabermetrics before there was sabermetrics.   Mickey, Willie, and the Duke are still banging them out at my house, and have been since 1966.  I'm a baseball guy first, train guy second.

Sorry for the flash, here is Larsen's first pitch to Gilliam on October 8, 1956.  That's Larsen's signature.  Mantle and McDougald are hidden behind Berra and Pinelli.  It's in the pool room, but no trains circle around that one.  I'm afraid a steel beam prevents it.  I definitely wish it weren't so.

There were a ton of Giants/Dodgers fans that became Mets fans.  Citi Field had so much Dodger stuff that current Met fans had to complain.   Where were Seaver, Koosman, Jones, Gooden, Strawberry, Carter, and the rest?

The move to NH made you a sawk fan.  I went to Plymouth State.  Saw lots of games at the phone booth.  Good times.

Getting back to Buy Anything Cool Lately, here are two of my latest...

So you can tell the scale, that is a Santa Fe light switch plate, underneath a mammoth, extremely cool, engine front.  The forum guys turned me onto it with pics from the Big E train expo.  A husband and wife business in Georgia, they make fantastic train stuff.  I'm sure the guys will know the name, which I can't seem to find.

Jerry

Jerry - Got this Mets Mug in 1972 when Willie came back to the Mets to finish his career.  Amazing like the Mets, he homered in his first at bat against  his old team, the Giants.  He retired after he drove in a run in the 12th inning of Game 2 World Series against Oakland.  The Mets went on to lose that series.

PS  The Red Sox have a chance to clinch tomorrow night against the Yankees in the Bronx.  Imagine 103 wins and still a few more games to go.  

When I was a kid I saw many a Yankee game on a 19" B&W TV,  including Larsen's perfect game in WS & also in 1961 when Mantle & Maris chased Ruth's 60 homer mark.  Great memories.

Ok, so i didn't just buy it, but here's the Turbine i bought off eBay.

Hi All. I would really like to say I bought all this. But a good friend knows how strapped I am with my truck going down, along with all the other stuff I have going on in my life right now! 

He sent all this as a gift from a great friend!

I cant thank him enough! 

I will tell you this, I have made more great friends on this forum, and you all never stop amazing me with your friendship!

Bless you all!

Mike, great post, good stuff.  The guy with the most friends, is the luckiest guy.  I try to follow your progress with the new train room/layout.  I have three of those particular items on the table layout, plus six more.  No room to add any more...

Love those Menard's billboard signs.  I have two.  The other one isn't shown.

My camera makes them so bright, I had to turn the light out on it, to be seen.  Perfect brilliance in the room, however.  Not sure if you can make it out in the distance, but the lighted sign decal goes great with the Morton Salt factory.

Best wishes,

Jerry

Wow Mike!  That’s a great haul!  Like Jerry, I have several of those items, and they look good even on unballasted track and bare Homasote!  I cherish my friendship with you and all my Forum friends, though you are 2500 miles away and some are on a different continent!!!

Jerry and Matt, my brother still has our Stratomatic Baseball, and I have the tabletop hockey game we wore out!!!!  Our Stratomatic is no more than 3 years newer than yours.  My guess is ‘69.  It was before the great Pirates teams of the ‘70s and ‘80s.  We can’t boast the players New York had, but we had Clemente, Stargell, and Mazeroski!

A great guy with a great layout in works.... enjoy...

OddballEngine posted:

Ok, so i didn't just buy it, but here's the Turbine i bought off eBay.

 

We don’t care when you bought it; it is new to our eyes!  That is a magnificent model!

cabinet Bob posted:

A great guy with a great layout in works.... enjoy...

Thanks Bob! AKA DAD!

JerryG posted:

Mike, great post, good stuff.  The guy with the most friends, is the luckiest guy.  I try to follow your progress with the new train room/layout.  I have three of those particular items on the table layout, plus six more.  No room to add any more...

Love those Menard's billboard signs.  I have two.  The other one isn't shown.

My camera makes them so bright, I had to turn the light out on it, to be seen.  Perfect brilliance in the room, however.  Not sure if you can make it out in the distance, but the lighted sign decal goes great with the Morton Salt factory.

Best wishes,

Jerry

Jerry, you sure have your share of some good stuff there yourself! I really think Menards is hearing what people are saying, not only about what they want, but also about the price! Smart People over there at Menards.

But Back to my post, Great people here and I would like to call great friends into trains! I could list all the people I like to call friends, but with my luck I would forget to put someone in and there goes that. So its better to just say if you would like to call me a friend on here, then your my friend also!

Jerry I will update my train room build as soon as I get something new done! LOL

It makes you wonder if things got cleared away to fit a large ...(wait for it )

...brewery  

I am officially one year older and the proud new owner of a Menards Morton Salt Building/buzz machine lmao! I have been wanting one for some time now but with no local Menards and crazy shipping prices I just kept putting it on the back burner. My wife is a great listener and remember I wanted one and she got it for me 😍😍 she's a keeper!

Well here is the building on the layout and running off of track power (need to stuff the buck under the building just wanted to test the circuit for a bit before I finalize it):

Also, I got a gift to self, a "new to me", Southern 2-8-2 Legacy Heavy Mikado #4866. I don't have a great photo other than just before I took it apart to service the smoke unit (the motors were loud) and make sure everything was fine under the shell:

She is beautiful, also my first legacy engine to date. It runs so good I literally bought a Legacy System to really take advantage of all the features this engine has. I've pretty much always been an MTH guy and have a DCS system as my local HS is heavy into MTH and I have never been let down by an MTH, something I can't say about Lionel but in their defense it was a lioncheif + engine I had issues with so I as a result I have learned that you get what you pay for, I digress, but I'm definitely glad I picked this beautiful steamer up, I definitely will keep my eye on Lionel steamers from now on.

P.s. I take every moment I possibly can to make it known that I love this forum and the amazing people that are a part of it. I don't have any friends in the hobby at all, no family or anything to ask for help. To date, I have never met a person not willing to help myself or a fellow forum member when in need. My local HS Ready to Roll Trains in Miami, FL has also been a plethora of  is a pleaknowledge. It is a pleasure to share this hobby with all of you.

Thanks!