Buy/Make Anything Cool Lately (Tinplate Version)

I guess my first question is that kibri logo a paper label or is someone just assuming

that?

The logo is paper and I can not find it stamped anywhere else.

I picked up this pile of (junk) parts recently.  Mostly 3/16ths Flyer 0 with a couple of 545 locos that have most of the parts and 4 good motor frames.  Amongst the parts were a handful of cast figures, a complete Lionel E unit, a pair of Ives loco wheels, and some Lionel switch parts. Also showing exactly how he shipped it.  I guess when its this junky it doesn't matter much but I feel I was lucky the loco shells made it safe and sound.  Oh yeah, also got a couple of boxes of unused light bulbs and two unused Lionel knuckle coupler conversion packs in the two manila envelopes.  It's a lot of great parts for someone like myself who like working on this ... junk lol

If this was on the bay, I would be leaving negative feedback

nice haul Dennis...wonder if he stood on the other end of the room and just tossed the stuff in!

It was and it's not the only time this has happened.  Got this load stuffed in a suitcase.. I got this one mainly just for the early diecast Virginian hopper, but it was two complete sets, a 4605 with 310 and a 49 set with a 290.  I gave this guy a lot of ______ for this pack job.

Steamer posted:

nice haul Dennis...wonder if he stood on the other end of the room and just tossed the stuff in!

He might have, but it was stuffed in pretty tight!  I was really surprised the steamer shells didn't break as fragile as some of those are.

well they are just old toys...right? and he did go the extra effort to lay on a couple pieces of Styrofoam.....

I picked up this pile of (junk) parts recently.  Mostly 3/16ths Flyer 0 with a couple of 545 locos that have most of the parts and 4 good motor frames.  Amongst the parts were a handful of cast figures, a complete Lionel E unit, a pair of Ives loco wheels, and some Lionel switch parts. Also showing exactly how he shipped it.  I guess when its this junky it doesn't matter much but I feel I was lucky the loco shells made it safe and sound.  Oh yeah, also got a couple of boxes of unused light bulbs and two unused Lionel knuckle coupler conversion packs in the two manila envelopes.  It's a lot of great parts for someone like myself who like working on this ... junk lol

Nice haul Dennis...even if it is junk (tongue in cheek)!   

Mike 

 

Finally got a nice (for me anyway) set of Blue Comet cars 2613/4/5.  Not super expensive, about half of a set of MTH cars.  Just need to clean them up, looks like the roofs will shine bright.

Picked up a Lionel 256 at the Pomona show on Saturday. Needed some work, I already re-wired it. It looks fairly decent, some issues with the paint here & there but nothing too big.

What it really needs is some new rollers.

Brian Liesberg posted:

Picked up a Lionel 256 at the Pomona show on Saturday. Needed some work, I already re-wired it. It looks fairly decent, some issues with the paint here & there but nothing too big.

What it really needs is some new rollers.

Glad you got it. I thought it was pretty nice overall, but I already have a Repro set plus some extra cars.

Steve

The guy could have definitely done a lot better job on the restoration. The wiring was absolutely atrocious, some weren't even wires! I found what looked like safety wire with heat shrink over it that was obviously way too big and had holes worn in it so it was shorting to the frame. Lots of tabs for the windows/doors were broken off inside and the inserts very poorly superglued into place. Very worn brushes & bushings. I still think the price was worth it but am disappointed a bit in the condition of the locomotive.

As for the cars I think they look great, my only beef with them is that the plastic inserts for the windows are missing. There's no clear plastic, and the blue tinted parts have been replaced by thick beige paper. But I can't say there were any other problems with the cars, the paint job is excellent and the stamping looks professional.

It's almost as if 2 different people restored the locomotive and the cars. 

Went to the Chryslers at Carlisle, PA swap meet last Friday and a guy there had a tent full of pre and postwar trains.  Scored these Ives STD gauge passenger cars, easy restoration, that will look great behind my 1134.

another reason I need to get to Carlisle. nice score!

Got my 263e working great, I didn’t know about simply applying zip ties to the uncoupling shoes.  The mechanism must drag on the axles somehow.

I also am loving the flexibility of the American Flyer curly couplers.  (Although the ETS and American Flyer gondolas aren’t getting along!)

I saw that thread on the shoes & zip ties. After a bit I thought it must have too strong a shoe spring, hit the axle, or rubs the sides of center rails. The wheel flanges should keep it off the outer.

The A∃OLUS is a favorite of mine. My Marx Crusader bash would have been the  A∃OLUS if I had more mirrored stainless on hand. (It is  A∃OLUS )

Finally got around to going through this set, oiling the axles etc. The box took a couple of staples to repair some that had torn through. Everything is nicer than the EBay pictures. There is so much track I doubt it all came with it. Motor works well. Box says set #200. Everything here is duplicate for me, but my unboxed set has the black 1110.

Steve

terry hudon posted:

this little buddy,i have had on layaway at pat's trains,brought it home fri,runs like a champ,lights work,i really like it,,,,when he said ,hey I have something you would like,,,i should have run,,,,,now its mine,,also picked up this af bumper,,

Hey, Terry

I told you it was a good looking Engine. These 0-6-0 are hard to beat.

Pat

Several recent interesting small items have appeared on the layout:

1) 1939 Wyandotte Roi-Tan Cigars promo piece- advertising Sophie Tucker's CBS radio show.

2) Two different Flyer crossing signals. The Flyer crossing signals are "S" gauge but I must say I think they look great with O scale tinplate. Not that I don't like the "Big" Lionel crossing gates and signals, but they really are "big".

3) Also new is the brick roadway under the viaduct, found a short roll of the brick material at a recent TTOS meet; I'm wondering what others have used to create brick streets on their layouts?

4) And lastly, visible in the background is an interesting scratch-built transformer array that makes a perfect complement to the Lionel power station. It's stamped on the underside of the wooden base- it appears to say "Dube's Railroad Miniatures" in Marrietta PA. Very "old school" O gauge model railroading I thought.

Ejoy!

 

"A Cavalcade" 

Could you link to or tell us more about your #1 "electric Zepher" train too? ...Please 

Many of you know my home  and travel layouts are 5 rail track. Was shocked to find a bunch of 36" straights already assembled on E-Bay. 29 pieces already assembled. Made from old KMT track, a bit of tarnish, but all are good plus some extra rails and few O ties. Price with shipping was amazing.

Steve

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

Many of you know my home  and travel layouts are 5 rail track. Was shocked to find a bunch of 36" straights already assembled on E-Bay. 29 pieces already assembled. Made from old KMT track, a bit of tarnish, but all are good plus some extra rails and few O ties. Price with shipping was amazing.

Steve

Nice find steve!!

A set of refurbishable 314X-series Flyer coaches:

Initially I was thinking a strip/repaint was in order for the 3141 and 3142...now I'm thinking a bit of clean-up and polish and they'll be back to being presentable.

PD

look pretty good as is, so it shouldn't take much. nice find.

We rode to the TCA Convention in Rhode Island on the Acela Express, and crossed through the Hell Gate Bridge twice, a first time for me, I was thrilled and had to own one. 

Got these cool little Fleischmann tank cars in the mail today.  They look great with traditional Marx, even the a piece of wire is needed to “couple” them together.

Appearantly made on different sides of the wall!

 

 

jhz563 posted:

Got these cool little Fleischmann tank cars in the mail today.  They look great with traditional Marx, even the a piece of wire is needed to “couple” them together.

Appearantly made on different sides of the wall!

I think that's the same side of the wall during different periods, when they were named differently. I would think "US Zone" would be very close to the end of the war, and "Western Germany" would be later. Western Germany was formed in 1949 with the unification of the US, UK and French zones.

George

I believe US zone was used from the end of the war til the unification. I have had KBN pieces

from prewar, MADE IN GERMANY, then postwar MADE IN US ZONE GERMANY, and MADE IN

WESTERN GERMANY.

George S posted:

jhz563 posted:

Got these cool little Fleischmann tank cars in the mail today.  They look great with traditional Marx, even the a piece of wire is needed to “couple” them together.

Appearantly made on different sides of the wall!

I think that's the same side of the wall during different periods, when they were named differently. I would think "US Zone" would be very close to the end of the war, and "Western Germany" would be later. Western Germany was formed in 1949 with the unification of the US, UK and French zones.

George

I guess that makes more sense, Eastern Germany would have been the other side.

jhz563 posted:

George S posted:

jhz563 posted:

Got these cool little Fleischmann tank cars in the mail today.  They look great with traditional Marx, even the a piece of wire is needed to “couple” them together.

Appearantly made on different sides of the wall!

I think that's the same side of the wall during different periods, when they were named differently. I would think "US Zone" would be very close to the end of the war, and "Western Germany" would be later. Western Germany was formed in 1949 with the unification of the US, UK and French zones.

George

I guess that makes more sense, Eastern Germany would have been the other side.

Yep, but pretty cool to have both stampings. I enjoy being able to explain the origin of these old trains when I show them.

George

Got another MTH 814 reefer to either keep as is or repaint.  $17.50 plus shipping...  I can't hardly

believe that.  That's three MTH 814 or 2814 reefers I've been able to pickup for pretty cheap...  I've got a set of Goetz decals thanks to Stan (thanks George for setting that up!) just need to get it moved up the to do list. 

 

Dennis Holler posted:

Got another MTH 814 reefer to either keep as is or repaint.  $17.50 plus shipping...  I can't hardly

believe that.  That's three MTH 814 or 2814 reefers I've been able to pickup for pretty cheap...  I've got a set of Goetz decals thanks to Stan (thanks George for setting that up!) just need to get it moved up the to do list. 

 

That's a great deal! You are making me feel bad for how much I spent on mine. You might not even need to repaint the roof on that one and certainly not the frame!

Actually, I think I had a roof like that and just painted right over it. If it's the satin finish, it's just as good as primer. Just wash it first.

George

wow Dennis...that's a steal! Might have to start following you around.....

Cleaned these up and repainted the roofs. There was really no paint left on them.

Notice the journals and the gold frame on the observation car. The middle car is actually brown. 

George

I found a 6 or 7" tin plate car pattern on Little Glitter Houses site. Likely mentioned already. I have a mini brake (bender) about 2ft long too, so it's just a matter of time now

Picked up a nice Dorfan 411 double span bridge at today’s TTOS meet.

Steve

I recently picked up this New Marx production flat car with load

to go with the prototype flatcar with load which I purchased several years back.

Great looking cars George and Love the bridge Steve.  Great stuff every where.

I have the contents of an un-cataloged prewar set with a Black 259E, 1685/1687 on there way on the Post.  I've seen the set and set box before but now can't find the reference I saw before on line   I also know there are a couple of variations of the Red cars with shade of the Reds changing over the prewar years.  I think these are the earlier version but would be happy to know for sure.

 

ok, you guys are going to laugh me off the forum on this one...  I won all this crap from a single auction for ONE dollar ($1).  Learn from me you don't always want to put a minimal bid on something  just to watch it! I'm going to laugh my butt off if any of those engine's/motor's run... Anybody want a gang car or a Kusan Alco?   Bout the only thing I think I want to keep is the 253 shell...  Lots of bashing opportunities! 

Ahhh the good ole dollar box lot! Geez Dennis look at all the good opportunities just laying there...and no not interested.

Nice looking Kusan Alco,

interested in the gang car and the burlington alco dennis

 

what I want to know is who is collecting the couplas off the tin plate cabin cars?

"I'd buy that for a dollar" if it was "Running,..man"

...or dead

To the faster runner: Heads up Beardog, The Kusan is likely DC, if she runs.(Great Gramps was a Kusan man) I think those became RMT molds fyi.

I may want the blue flat. I'll have to look later. I like to run red, white, then blue on occasion, I think I'm short a blue car for OCD compliance. What I've been meaning to ask you about are car wheels; you always seem to have a billion on a stick for cleaning, fast angle w/axles, and old straight axle both. I can cut straight axles, wheels are what would do it. I keep robbing them from cars for my bashes.

yeah, could be 2 rail, but I have  seen  both ways. Just like burlington because I grew up

with it in my backyard, literally. Just figured I could use the gang car to repower  something. 

I am actually jealous Dennis

Ok guys, I'll report back when the junk shows up and then we can see if anything runs etc.  I won't ask much for any of it i'd just be interested in recouping my shipping money which wasn't much. When it comes time i can post it in the for sale and put a comment here so you don't miss it if you want any of it.

I used to have the Kusan satalite train but sold it like a dumb $&@! Wiuld love to run into a cheap atomic train!

save the alco and gang car for me if you can

John

beardog posted:

I am actually jealous Dennis

I bid like three days before the auction ended. Shipping was $30 which the seller may have trouble with lol.

Dennis Holler posted:

I used to have the Kusan satalite train but sold it like a dumb $&@! Wiuld love to run into a cheap atomic train!

You're Killin me here..... call me "Red Forman" today

beardog posted:

save the alco and gang car for me if you can

JohN

yes sir,  will do that!

Dennis Holler posted:

beardog posted:

save the alco and gang car for me if you can

JohN

yes sir,  will do that!

Thanks, Dennis

John

I recently completed replacing my outer loop of standard gauge track with dual gauge track from Gargraves. The turns are all 72"radius. It runs very well and I'm so glad I did it. Bending the track that comes in 37.5 inch sections was not at all hard. We cut the radius and track width out of a 4x8 OSB board, then squeesed the track between the 2 OSB sections with clamps. Just tightening up the clamps did all the work. We learned that if we released the clamps right after bending the track wanted to spring back a little but after leaving it under pressure with the 3 clamps for a couple weeks it took a set. We stapled the ties to half inch homosote cut to the 72 inch radius after we spread glue on the homosote. a few screws between the ties hold the homosote to the train table. Here are a few pictures:

beardog posted:

Dennis Holler posted:

beardog posted:

save the alco and gang car for me if you can

JohN

yes sir,  will do that!

Thanks, Dennis

John

interested if the alco is 2 rail, 3 rail, or dummy

 

BudE. posted:

I recently completed replacing my outer loop of standard gauge track with dual gauge track from Gargraves. The turns are all 72"radius. It runs very well and I'm so glad I did it. Bending the track that comes in 37.5 inch sections was not at all hard. We cut the radius and track width out of a 4x8 OSB board, then squeesed the track between the 2 OSB sections with clamps. Just tightening up the clamps did all the work. We learned that if we released the clamps right after bending the track wanted to spring back a little but after leaving it under pressure with the 3 clamps for a couple weeks it took a set. We stapled the ties to half inch homosote cut to the 72 inch radius after we spread glue on the homosote. a few screws between the ties hold the homosote to the train table. Here are a few pictures:

Very cool!  I love it!

Bud!! Gargraves told me they got out of std gauge. This is why I went all tubular. Is this flex track??

Joe Gozzo

Adriatic posted:

"I'd buy that for a dollar" if it was "Running,..man"

...or dead

To the faster runner: Heads up Beardog, The Kusan is likely DC, if she runs.(Great Gramps was a Kusan man) I think those became RMT molds fyi.

I may want the blue flat. I'll have to look later. I like to run red, white, then blue on occasion, I think I'm short a blue car for OCD compliance. What I've been meaning to ask you about are car wheels; you always seem to have a billion on a stick for cleaning, fast angle w/axles, and old straight axle both. I can cut straight axles, wheels are what would do it. I keep robbing them from cars for my bashes.

Kusan  Alco molds went to K-Line. Chassis mounts are the same. Used to have a bunch of Kushan before I banned plastic from the garage. I converted most of the Kusan Alco’s by swapping out the chassis with one from a K-Line. The only mod needed was to remove the front coupler. Screws mount in the existing 4 holes.

Steve

Hi Joe, Gargraves told me about 6 weeks ago that they would make dual gauge track out of any gauges and either tin or stainless. My sections were 10.70 each and were straight 37.5 inches. Very stiff. Not flex track. I specified O gauge and standard gauge but he said he could make it using S scale for a friend I have with Amer Flyer.I hope this helps but if not my email is in my profile.

 

What Gargraves eliminated was the STD Gauge sectional track.

Steve

Hello to Steve PaPa Eastman! It was your video that got me interested in dual gauge track in a more serious manner and I had everything ready to do it the way you did. Then I read another post where a member discussed the Gargraves track so I called them. The rest is history now and I  think I saved myself a lot of work that is better for me in winter. I keep about 4 acres here on the farm mowed and it just keeps raining. You know "Just add water".

BudE. posted:

Hello to Steve PaPa Eastman! It was your video that got me interested in dual gauge track in a more serious manner and I had everything ready to do it the way you did. Then I read another post where a member discussed the Gargraves track so I called them. The rest is history now and I  think I saved myself a lot of work that is better for me in winter. I keep about 4 acres here on the farm mowed and it just keeps raining. You know "Just add water".

I had the Gargraves 5 rail, but did not have the room for 72" curves which is the minimum they recommended. I just could not get smooth bends down to the 57-60" range I needed so I went with the tubular method.

Steve

 

I read that Papa Steve, likes aren't taking for me; I thought those endend up at rmt after, but could , as it apears, easily be wrong. Thanks.

Got this funny little custom searchlight car with some other stuff. The guy mounted a Marx searchlight base onto a Flyer 3/16ths tank car frame.  Funny tvat the tabs line right up!

 

 

that is pretty slick!

Ok one pick, my huge buy included three 1666 locos, an 1130, a few other shells and motors and Beardogs Kusan Alco. The gang car might clean up too, it's just dirty. The guy put all the plastic stuff on the bottom but be bubblewrapped it so much it didn't seem to matter.  Box was 30 pounds. I almost feel guilty except I have done the same thing in the past.

 

beardog posted:

save the alco and gang car for me if you can

John

Hey John, You can send me a text or email, 76five  four uno tres- 68I9.  Got the stuff, looks pretty good actually.

After years of hunting I FINALLY acquired the USTTC Green Boxcab for the Stephen Girard set.

It has been a slow process to put this set together.  I first found the Coral Isle #522 observation car in an auction several years ago.  The other two cars were auctioned off separately and I only won this one.

In April 2016 a friend I met through this forum had a friend who had the remaining 2 cars I needed for sale and he was able to set up the deal for me to acquire the #520 Liberty Bell and #521 Stephen Girard.

The only catch in acquiring the engine was that I had to buy it as a set with the 3 cars so now I have an extra 3 car set.

And I just found out that there is a fourth car, the # 519 Dining Car.

The hunt continues!

 

John Smatlak posted:

Several recent interesting small items have appeared on the layout:

1) 1939 Wyandotte Roi-Tan Cigars promo piece- advertising Sophie Tucker's CBS radio show.

2) Two different Flyer crossing signals. The Flyer crossing signals are "S" gauge but I must say I think they look great with O scale tinplate. Not that I don't like the "Big" Lionel crossing gates and signals, but they really are "big".

3) Also new is the brick roadway under the viaduct, found a short roll of the brick material at a recent TTOS meet; I'm wondering what others have used to create brick streets on their layouts?

4) And lastly, visible in the background is an interesting scratch-built transformer array that makes a perfect complement to the Lionel power station. It's stamped on the underside of the wooden base- it appears to say "Dube's Railroad Miniatures" in Marrietta PA. Very "old school" O gauge model railroading I thought.

Ejoy!

 

John Could you please tell us a little about the silver streamliner train on what looks like wind up track ? As well as the over head cattery line,  Thanking you in advance  Gary NQDY

Gary- the streamliner is one of several Joustra Autorails that I have in my collection. Joustra (French) made them in both clockwork and battery versions, in several different colors and configurations. The battery version used an old type of European battery, so this one I converted to run on a trio of AA batteries (which just fit inside the original battery compartment along with their holder). Some additional photos are attached.

The overhead trolley wire and poles are a mystery- I found it several years ago on Ebay along with some flat tin track, see photos below, perhaps someone here knows?

 

 

It has no name on it. I've actually submitted photos of it to the Who Done It? column in the TCA Quarterly mag in hopes of finding an answer.

Dennis Holler posted:

beardog posted:

save the alco and gang car for me if you can

John

Hey John, You can send me a text or email, 76five  four uno tres- 68I9.  Got the stuff, looks pretty good actually.

did you get my text or email, I sent the email to the address you have on the forum

 

John Smatlak posted:

Gary- the streamliner is one of several Joustra Autorails that I have in my collection. Joustra (French) made them in both clockwork and battery versions, in several different colors and configurations. The battery version used an old type of European battery, so this one I converted to run on a trio of AA batteries (which just fit inside the original battery compartment along with their holder). Some additional photos are attached.

The overhead trolley wire and poles are a mystery- I found it several years ago on Ebay along with some flat tin track, see photos below, perhaps someone here knows?

 

 

It has no name on it. I've actually submitted photos of it to the Who Done It? column in the TCA Quarterly mag in hopes of finding an answer.

Very cool John

Nice John, I have the silver joustra in the three and the two unit. I believe Joustra

called it the Flesche de Argent, or Silver Arrow. 

Also have a red and cream and green and cream two unit

Joe Lyons posted:

After years of hunting I FINALLY acquired the USTTC Green Boxcab for the Stephen Girard set.

It has been a slow process to put this set together.  I first found the Coral Isle #522 observation car in an auction several years ago.  The other two cars were auctioned off separately and I only won this one.

In April 2016 a friend I met through this forum had a friend who had the remaining 2 cars I needed for sale and he was able to set up the deal for me to acquire the #520 Liberty Bell and #521 Stephen Girard.

The only catch in acquiring the engine was that I had to buy it as a set with the 3 cars so now I have an extra 3 car set.

And I just found out that there is a fourth car, the # 519 Dining Car.

The hunt continues!

 

Congrats Joe, very cool.

Hafner set 102 from the 1930 catalog.

Steve

Hi: in the one picture of the layout there is a brick roadway.I think it is a dept. 56 piece I have a few feet I use every year on my christmas display.I do not think they make it anymore but i've seen some on Ebay.Have to watch out though Dept 56 has a few different versions of brick roadway.

Thanks for asking about that streamliner again. I thought it was going to be a new build till I saw the catenary   

I found a roll of rubber brick road at a dollar tree store identical size and color to some I've had for 40+ years, except for a thin fleece backing on the new. I think it was Lifelike back then, all the other old packages from that old hobby store were Lifelike. The old is brittle and bricks chip off easy now; it was nice to get more.

What are the notable differences in the Dept 56 versions.

Recently arrived Flyer O gauge Columbia Passenger set in brown with 3020 4-4-4 boxcab electric locomotive, #3000 baggage car and a pair of #3001 Pullmans (one with rear marker lights). Ran great right out of the box! They're all in very nice condition, except for the roof on one of the Pullman cars, however they are a substantial upgrade from my previous set of brown Columbia cars (seen in the photos on the track behind the Flyer train, led by a Marklin loco), which were heavy on the "play wear".

lol, John, just let me know if you want to "junk" that beater set with the old Marklin loco....

more details in the Weekend Tinplate thread

 

Four lumber cars from a recent large auction lot.

A very nice, complete AF 3006 car, an orange AF 3216 missing its load, a green AF 406 car with curly cue couplers, and an Ives 123 snuck into this lot. I had to buy couplers, chains and journals for the Ives car and still need to stain some of the lumber, but it's a nice find!

Lots of other cars, tankers and cranes to still unpack.

George

Made my own transition car.  Nothing fancy but does the job nicely .

Finally found a Hornby lever frame / signal cabin combo in good condition. I previously had one of the signal cabins on the layout, and now this new arrangement has taken its place. Next I'll have to add some simulated throw rods to the linkages. This would have been a neat accessory to have all hooked up to your clockwork set back in the day! Here are some photos along with a pdf found on the internet of a 1926 Hornby publication on the lever frame and the signal system (with thanks to the individual who scanned it). You'll find the pdf below the photos in the "Files" area of the post.

Love to see the old tin plate stuff !!  Hafner !  Marklin !  Hornby !  Bring it on.

George S posted:

Four lumber cars from a recent large auction lot.

A very nice, complete AF 3006 car, an orange AF 3216 missing its load, a green AF 406 car with curly cue couplers, and an Ives 123 snuck into this lot. I had to buy couplers, chains and journals for the Ives car and still need to stain some of the lumber, but it's a nice find!

Lots of other cars, tankers and cranes to still unpack.

George

Oops! Missed one.

This was described as C-2 on eBay. The post said it was missing both doors and the roof needed repainting. 

I could tell one door was there. I had a replacement brake wheel from Port Lines. The roof had some paint specs that cleaned off and then I polished it. The Litho is very good and there is no rust for a 90 year old car. It is missing one door and door handles, but this is the car I was missing. Thanks to Robert for telling me to pass. With patience, I saved $300 as the price dropped over subsequent weeks of not selling!

I will add a fake litho door to the other side with a card stock photo, and I will enjoy this car in my AF large litho box car collection.

George

George S posted:

This was described as C-2 on eBay. The post said it was missing both doors and the roof needed repainting. 

 

I could tell one door was there. I had a replacement brake wheel from Port Lines. The roof had some paint specs that cleaned off and then I polished it. The Litho is very good and there is no rust for a 90 year old car. It is missing one door and door handles, but this is the car I was missing. Thanks to Robert for telling me to pass. With patience, I saved $300 as the price dropped over subsequent weeks of not selling!

I will add a fake litho door to the other side with a card stock photo, and I will enjoy this car in my AF large litho box car collection.

George

By the way, this is my problem with TCA grading standards. C-2 is "restoration required". It's one step higher than "poor". The problem is that the standards are not MICE "mutually exclusive collectively exhaustive" and they are too subjective given the large variation in manufacturing techniques used in making toy trains. This seller was way too conservative in grading this piece. With only a little surface rust on a small part of one side and very minor scratches, this should grade much higher, but it is missing a door and a handle. Does that mean restoration is required? The roof did not need reprinting, so he was wrong there, and I have seen roofs in much worse condition. My non-expert opinion is that the grading is almost useless. Two grades would be sufficient, collector grade and not collector grade. You could add one more, mint or new. Just an observation from a not so experienced "collector"...

George

I appreciate your point George but hey, the up side is you got a nice car!

  The grading curve has dropped because the number available has dropped as well. Folks are more willing to accept a lot more wear on them.

    That one wasn't "perfect" in operation nor appearance. It was definitely in need of restoration. Tin plate collectors were always the toughest train graders imo. I wouldn't have given it a four and it needed cleaning to have a chance get to three. 

   It is also a collectors guide, not an operators. Think of shelf queens being your only goal. 

  On the other end of the spectrum you have C10, you'll likely never see any of in any make, year, model.

I see the rest as C-9 are "exceptional", C8 scuff(s), C-7 scratch, c6 2 flaws, c5 wear, c4 heavy wear, c3 significant wear/damage, c2 poor to junk(savable) c1 parts junker(non savable) 

As an operator if it rolls I'm quiet happy

Adriatic posted:

  The grading curve has dropped because the number available has dropped as well. Folks are more willing to accept a lot more wear on them.

    That one wasn't "perfect" in operation nor appearance. It was definitely in need of restoration. Tin plate collectors were always the toughest train graders imo. I wouldn't have given it a four and it needed cleaning to have a chance get to three. 

   It is also a collectors guide, not an operators. Think of shelf queens being your only goal. 

  On the other end of the spectrum you have C10, you'll likely never see any of in any make, year, model.

I see the rest as C-9 are "exceptional", C8 scuff(s), C-7 scratch, c6 2 flaws, c5 wear, c4 heavy wear, c3 significant wear/damage, c2 poor to junk(savable) c1 parts junker(non savable) 

As an operator if it rolls I'm quiet happy

I guess I didn't quite finish my point. The grading was supposed to guide price and valuation. However, this C-2 is worth more to me and many others than a C-3 or C-4 that needs painting, has a lot of rust or has litho beyond repair. It just needed a door and brake wheel. Sometimes a piece of junk is worth more than something C-4 because it has one perfect condition part and some other hard to find parts...

You bring up a good point that this issue is much more of a prewar tinplate issue due to rarity. Maybe the grades and pricing work better in postwar and modern eras...

George

Honestly, its the main reason let my membership lapse years ago. I honestly felt it was insane to argue over perception of grading and witnessed such discussions many times. They get very heated on occasion, just crazyness to me I guess. If a guy is that into defining his definition of condition, that’s great.  Me, I’m going to run some trains. I pay what I feel comfy with based on similar recent sales. I like what George has done and frankly I think its the same approach I use. Works for me. That said I will and do watch from afar to learn and document details etc. I may not want to argue with the condition guys, but they offer a lot of valuable insight and information that is useful in my decision making.  It all works out in the end.

Of coarse personal worth trumps any guide.

Parts value is a separate issue, but obviously should be a consideration in price value of an item. The speed of markets today can easily leave you wondering what to believe a value to be. E.g. on auction sites it isnt hard to need 3 or 4 parts but find a whole example cheaper than than a few parts. Marx motors w/plastic shells are an example of how strange it gets. You can often find them cheaper with shell intact and running than bare and needing attention. 

I have always found that if the TCA guy is trying to sell it to you its c7, if he is trying to 

buy it from you its c2. Got real tired of hearing "I'm TCA" like that was something special.

Some one else made a good point on parts. I recently  needed a lead truck and one marker

light for my 1668. About $20 plus shipping. I ended up buying a 1688 for $29 plus

shipping. Took the parts I needed and sold the rest of the 1688 for $40. 

 

beardog posted:

I have always found that if the TCA guy is trying to sell it to you its c7, if he is trying to 

buy it from you its c2. Got real tired of hearing "I'm TCA" like that was something special.

Some one else made a good point on parts. I recently  needed a lead truck and one marker

light for my 1668. About $20 plus shipping. I ended up buying a 1688 for $29 plus

shipping. Took the parts I needed and sold the rest of the 1688 for $40. 

 

That is exactly my experience!

there are some old car guys like that around here...if they have it, it's worth gold...if I have it...they want it cheep. I've got a couple buddies that I've been trading parts with for years. Never a dollar exchanged between us. 

George S posted:

This was described as C-2 on eBay. The post said it was missing both doors and the roof needed repainting. 

I could tell one door was there. I had a replacement brake wheel from Port Lines. The roof had some paint specs that cleaned off and then I polished it. The Litho is very good and there is no rust for a 90 year old car. It is missing one door and door handles, but this is the car I was missing. 

I will add a fake litho door to the other side with a card stock photo, and I will enjoy this car in my AF large litho box car collection.

George

I spent some time today making a door for the other side of my AF 3008 GN car.

I cut a piece of tin the size of the door and bent the bottom edge to fit in the door glide. I then printed a digital photo of the door on HP photo paper and sealed it with Krylon Digital Preserve-It.

I then used super glue to glue the photo to the front of the door.

I used a magic marker to make the back of the door black to match the other side.

Here is the new door installed.

Here it is with the roof.

I'm pretty happy how this car cleaned up.

George

Nice work George!

that looks great George!

Nice to see your work George, very well done !

I have repainted my Lionel 763e, not a perfect match but it will work for me.  Still have to find a matching tender, 2263w.

Daniel