Buy anything cool lately?

I have been getting a few big ticket items (big ticket for me) before I retire.  Good thing, I accepted a 'voluntary' Early retirement package last week, just in case they decided to put me out to pasture with no hay.  I don't need this now, but thought I would get it when the price was so attractive. This ZW works, and since I worked in electronics for 39 years, I should be able to keep it going.  This is the seller's photo, so don't ask me about the pear shaped candles at the top of the photo, that or strange light bulbs.  lol  I'll have some fun seeing what it will do, I've never used one before.  (I mean a ZW, not pear shaped candles even though I've never seen those before either)

Hey Mark-

Great looking transformer.  Hope it works out for you ok.  One word to the wise:

Don't forget to install and use a "TVS Diode" across each of the four ZW outputs.

I also have a few around the layout, installed across the clips of a standard Lockon..

Bought them from Mouser.  Inexpensive.  Also got some 10-amp resettable circuit breakers from Mouser.  All this stuff is to protect your locomotives containing circuit board memory modules.

If you DO NOT do this, the memory boards will stare at you and say:  "Who are you!"

Cheers..  your buddy.

KRK

This was a gift from family friends.  I don't know much about it, but according to the search of "Sherwoods Sound Limited",  it is British made. No other marks were found.  It has two lens and a red filter and a solid plate to make only one lens visible.

Ken,

Thank you for the tip.  I recall you mentioning the TVS diode before.  Yes, it doesn't take much to make memory boards dumb.

Got this in the mail today to pull behind the Big Boy for long trips. 

A Ives 109 Double Semaphore from 1908-10 showed up today. Looks much better in the photo. It is actually quite rusty so will be a future restoration project.

Steve

Great advice, Mark!! (11 hour post above)

Buy anything cool lately? - I think so.

Picked up these two MTH PRR Geeps.  The lead unit is GP9 #7001 which started out as an old MTH Premier loco equipped with only horn & bell.  I ditched the innards and turned it into a dummy unit.  I kept just enough electrical for a headlight on the long end and interior cab lights. I installed cab figures facing in the proper (long hood forward) direction and the snow/rock plow. 

The trailing unit is GP7 (with dynamic brake) #8571. The PRR's initial order of GP7's did not include dynamic brakes but they quickly changed their mind and began ordering WITH dynamic brakes before changing over to ordering the GP9 model.  This is an old MTH Premier loco as well but equipped with PS1.  I removed two cab figures, disabled all but the marker lights, re-wired the motors in serial (just like a Williams) and replaced some traction tires. Although it's conventional it runs really well even at lower speeds. The PS1 sounds aren't bad and are certainly way better than no sounds at all.

I elected to run the dummy unit first since I wanted to run long hood forward. The powered unit starts up and runs in the default, factory direction (short hood forward) which is fine by me if it's the trailing unit. I plan to run these two as a unit for their foreseeable future.

I paid $110 for the horn & bell and $130 for the PS1.  Total investment $240.  I think they look good and I know they run good.  They’ll never climb a grade on their own but I have lots of flat, level track for them to cruise.  Win!

As far as buying something:  I just received a small box in today's mail containing about 300 tickets of various destinations for the Chicago North Shore & Milwaukee interurban system.  These are NEW--never used by the time the system quit running in January-1963.  I'm probably crazy for getting them off of Ebay--but they are fascinating to look at, especially when you're a traction buff like me !

Today, I continued building my custom heavy duty "bookcase" in my dining room, made out of 2 x 10 lumber and 8x8x16-inch cement blocks.  I place parallel lengths of Midwest cork roadbed and then from 56-inches to 72-inches worth of tubular track.

Each track is equipped with a Lockon, in case I want to apply power to light up cars.

I have too many locomotives and passenger cars and need a place to display them and get them out of the way.  I save the empty boxes and place them in storage!

I assembled my Rail-King Santa Fe A-B-B-A Alco units and put on display.  VERY, very

impressive looking.  FOUR motors, too !!  Pictures will be forthcoming soon.

Cheers.

KRK

Here are a couple of photos of the custom display bookcase and my A-B-B-A Santa Fe units..   Hope you like them.  2nd B-unit has two motors, so we're talking about four motors for pulling some fourteen coaches.

KRK

The Santa Fe set looks great!  Who notices the custom shelves when there are trains to look at!!  

My MTH Railroad Club hopper arrived on Tuesday.

I got in the Menard's Feed and Seed this morning.  Looks like I will have to change

the signs, since they did not exist in 1940 or in my modeled area today, and the truck

will have to go, also.  Will have to look at it to see if truck light wiring will transfer to

something pre-1941.  It looks nicely weathered and that will have to be matched when

a larger elevator tower is built for it.

RailKing Southern Pacific Cab Forward - This is my first Cab Forward.

See the action and hear all the sounds.

This came in the other day, a powered B unit. I bought it for the price of a dummy and will remove the motors for spares and turn it into a dummy.

You can't get any simpler than this. Now that's cool!!!!!!!!

 I've had the pre war Flyer 1681 Hudson with the green stripe tender for years. It came to me as a freight set. Been wanting the 2 tone green 1621G & 1622G cars to go with it. Finally got a decent set at a good price.

Steve

great looking set Steve

A feather in your cap, "Now your talking"!

It should pull 14 all day.

Like it wasn't there.

It doesn't get much better than A-B-B-A's with extra motors. 

Going for a "swap in" for 5?  

My Gramps used 6 (experimented with 8, and I think the track got kinda hot) . I think he had 28 aluminum cars to match.