Buy anything cool lately?

Fortunate to buy this Texas 2-10-4 from the Jim McIntosh collection

Well I wasn't planning on buying anymore locomotives but this was too good of a deal to pass up. It's a MTH 20-3079-1 Santa Fe 3460 class Hudson, number 3460, the "Blue Goose". It's in like new condition with zero run time (rollers and wheels show no wear) but was part of MTH service, i.e. robbed of parts for warranty repairs. As such it has no boards, smoke unit, or any wiring harness. It does have the motor, drivetrain, and all lights. Currently it has a bridge rectifier and just runs forward. My plan is to install a steam PS3 upgrade kit in the winter, along with a spare PS2 smoke unit. I can't reveal where I got it as I promised to keep it on the down low. It was a screaming deal, as even with the cost of the PS3 upgrade kit it will still cost less than half of what a factory PS3 "Blue Goose" would cost.

Fwiw, I have been on a container kick lately....

Hub 53' and APL 40' containers

Evergreen 40' containers

Hamburg Sud 40' Containers

OOCL  20ft & 40ft containers

Weaver Models 20' containers-Weathered

I just picked up my first Lionel cars to convert to 2-Rail! A D&H Centerflow Hopper and a C&NW PS-2CD.  So far I haven't strayed far from Atlas, Intermountain and Weaver for converting over to 2-Rail if needed. So, needless to say I'm excited and a little nervous, but I've heard nothing but raving reviews on these cars. I'm looking forward to getting some Lionel PS-1 Boxcars to convert someday soon!

ALCO-C628 posted:

I just picked up my first Lionel cars to convert to 2-Rail! A D&H Centerflow Hopper and a C&NW PS-2CD.  So far I haven't strayed far from Atlas, Intermountain and Weaver for converting over to 2-Rail if needed. So, needless to say I'm excited and a little nervous, but I've heard nothing but raving reviews on these cars. I'm looking forward to getting some Lionel PS-1 Boxcars to convert someday soon!

Alco, this is an interesting, informative post. But help out a beginner, if you would.

Why are you converting perfectly good three-rail O gauge cars to two-rail?

Looks like purchases are really brisk, lots of nice train and related merchandise, Bill T, neat Bar Dahl oil cars, Dave NYC, Nice B&M hoppers, Lou1985, Neat 3460 Sante Fe Class Hudson and nice Passenger cars, cool video, hope everyone has a great weekend, I picked up a set of City of Denver Lionel Aluminum Passenger Cars, even the StationSounds car, all being re-lit with LED lighting and adding many more people....Happy Railroading 

Vincent Massi posted:

ALCO-C628 posted:

I just picked up my first Lionel cars to convert to 2-Rail! A D&H Centerflow Hopper and a C&NW PS-2CD.  So far I haven't strayed far from Atlas, Intermountain and Weaver for converting over to 2-Rail if needed. So, needless to say I'm excited and a little nervous, but I've heard nothing but raving reviews on these cars. I'm looking forward to getting some Lionel PS-1 Boxcars to convert someday soon!

Alco, this is an interesting, informative post. But help out a beginner, if you would.

 

Why are you converting perfectly good three-rail O gauge cars to two-rail?

Hi Vincent,

I only model in 2-Rail and that's why I'm converting them over from 3-Rail. Even though I've been collecting and researching O Scale for a while, I'm a beginner as well with a modular layout to go around the room. Construction should begin this fall! Feel free to ask any questions that you might have!

Darin

Vincent Massi posted:

ALCO-C628 posted:

I just picked up my first Lionel cars to convert to 2-Rail! A D&H Centerflow Hopper and a C&NW PS-2CD.  So far I haven't strayed far from Atlas, Intermountain and Weaver for converting over to 2-Rail if needed. So, needless to say I'm excited and a little nervous, but I've heard nothing but raving reviews on these cars. I'm looking forward to getting some Lionel PS-1 Boxcars to convert someday soon!

Alco, this is an interesting, informative post. But help out a beginner, if you would.

 

Why are you converting perfectly good three-rail O gauge cars to two-rail?

Scale body, but not scale couplers ("big lobster claws") or prototypical mounting of couplers (most 3r is "Talgo" type, on the truck vs body) ;wheels have a different profile with rounded or fast angled treads and transition to flange differs; and hugely oversided flanges ("pizza cutters") are the norm on 3r for better performance on tubular track lacking the edges of T head rails.

Scale wheels end up thinner too.  Look close at your HO wheels and you can likely note similar differences.  Some use more toyish set ups than others to improve performance on less than perfect trackwork.  

2r folks of all scales tend to attack their issues resulting from more prototypical scale with better track, better gauging, and more prototypical weighting (heavier)

Thanks to Nassau Trains and Grzyboski’s Trains for my new project. I planned to just buy the chassis for parts, but it was hard to not put this SD70 together with the variety of shells that were up for sale. I have a couple of the Heritage units already, and the Southern was on my want list. The next best thing to buying one, building one! I will have to order the trucks and a couple small parts from Lionel, but this will look good in a lash up with my other two Heritage units! 

The shell looks great, SBFORD27.  That will make a great looking engine!

Mark Boyce posted:

The shell looks great, SBFORD27.  That will make a great looking engine!

Thank you.

I have the shell mounted on the chassis now and all features work as they should. I need to clean the dust off of it and try to find some green paint to touch it up. I am excited to see it completed and pulling some rolling stock!

Thank you, Darin and Adriatic.

Researching on the web, I was surprised to learn how popular 2-rail O gauge is. I would have considered it to be meaningless with unpowered rolling stock, but the 2-railers tend to demand more accuracy.

Another GEEP!

Lionel GP-9 with railsounds and command.

Had to have this Lionel 6-16739 Foghorn Leghorn. Got it off the Bay new in box, good price.

RSJB18, Bob, that’s a beautiful B&O Diesel, reminds me of living in Flora Illinois back in the late 1950’s/1960’s and seeing this particular GP9 diesel paint scheme in the Flora yards. Simply a beautiful color scheme. 

Paul, Thank you for the Western Maryland Alco Information and photograph 

Vincent Massi posted:

Thank you, Darin and Adriatic.

Researching on the web, I was surprised to learn how popular 2-rail O gauge is. I would have considered it to be meaningless with unpowered rolling stock, but the 2-railers tend to demand more accuracy.

You're welcome Vincent. Sorry, I should have been more detailed in my response, but Adriatic explained it very well!  Here's what I should have said:

I came into O scale from HO which I still model. I never gave O scale much consideration back in my early HO days as I thought all O Scale was 3 Rail and not to scale.  In fact I would often catch myself saying that I wished they made O scale more like HO.  After moving to Colorado in the late 80's, I went to the Holy Grail of Model Railroading Caboose Hobbies. It was there that my old beliefs with O scale were shattered as I happen to see a 2-rail locomotive and rolling stock on display (Que the heavenly light shinning from above with angels singing). Well, that put me into a whirlwind of research into what I had been missing all these years. It was not too long after that I picked up a Red Caboose GP9 and thus beginning my adventures into 2-Rail.

I would have to agree that 2-Railers are really HO modelers only in a bigger scale that do want their trains to be more prototypical, scale and detailed as your research indicated.

I'll get some better pictures of the hoppers I just picked up along with some of my other O scale collection. Until construction begins on the modular layout, I'm going to start at least one modular section or a diorama to get my feet wet, that way I have something that can photograph my equipment on.

Darin

Picked up the MTH reefer car for my Norfolk and Western passenger set. It has been weathered and my other cars are not, but it will be ok! It will do until I can find a non weathered one!

Apples55 posted:

Well, Mark... I know you (and some others here about) who not only like WM, but BL’s (sorry - not a big fan)... so here is another Facebook pic. The caption reads:

”Western Maryland Railroad EMD BL-2 Locomotive No. 81 in 1971.

The Western Maryland Railway (reporting mark WM) was an 835 mile Class I railroad operating in Maryland, West Virginia, and Pennsylvania from 1852 until 1983. It was primarily a coal hauling and freight railroad, with a small passenger train operation. The WM became part of the Chessie System in 1973, although it continued independent operations until May 1975 after which time many of its lines were abandoned in favor of parallel Baltimore and Ohio Railroad lines. In 1983 it was fully merged into the Baltimore & Ohio Railroad, which later was also merged into the Chessie System with the former Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad, which is now CSX Transportation. The WM's headquarters were in Baltimore, Maryland”.

 

Thanks Paul!

leapinlarry posted:

RSJB18, Bob, that’s a beautiful B&O Diesel, reminds me of living in Flora Illinois back in the late 1950’s/1960’s and seeing this particular GP9 diesel paint scheme in the Flora yards. Simply a beautiful color scheme. 

Thanks Larry. One of my favorite paint schemes too. That's why I bought it. Looks much nicer than the "Blue Dip" look of later years.

Bob