Buy/Make Anything Cool Lately (Tinplate Version)

A while back I picked up an O gauge Flyer Hudson loco (1680/4680-1681 Type XII) with a sheet metal "flat top" fluted-roof (Type XI) tender. I just found a set of the 6-axle streamliner cars (in chrome) Ca. 1938-39 to go with it. I've always liked these cars, but have noticed they're hard to find in good condition. This particular set is a little played with, but overall has a quite satisfactory appearance. The celluloid window inserts (with the blue window shade stripe) are happily still in good shape, which is a really nice feature.

Looking at examples of this set owned by other collectors, and photos on the internet, the Hudson I have apparently does not have the correct tender for the sets with the chrome cars. The Greenberg American Flyer Prewar O gauge book, page 210 discusses "sets with chrome cars"- the No. 20 and 321 sets in which these chrome cars were paired with the Hudson came with the Type XII tender, which has a coal bunker and 6-axle trucks. The 6-axle trucks make sense as they match the cars, although a tender with the flat top roof (instead of the coal bunker) would match the profile of the passenger cars. I'm still digesting the info on page 72 re: the tenders. More info would be welcome.

Still need to get the headlight working on the Hudson, but in any case this set has a mighty roar going around the layout, some photos and videos attached for your enjoyment.

looks great John!

Did a little bit of "dealing" yesterday. Traded my two Lionel 2034s, that I paid $20 for,to a antique dealer for a 2025e that needed a little help. Cleaned & lubed her and she ran but the smoke unit is gummed up. The rear truck is missing so right now it is a 2-6-0. Had to make & put a drawbar, too. Runs nice. I have another 2025 with the aluminum stack.

Double dipping with another thread a bit here but I’ll go into more detail and show some more pieces 

Bing Southern Railways present to myself

Fleichmann postwar 405070 with 1970s Britain’s deTail Scots Guard. Soldiers underneath, unsure of nationality but they look cool as do the porters(even if they’re not tin lol!) found the 2 wind up cars up in Pop’s attic on Christmas

My pop made this Gulf Oil tower for my dad in the 70s. I’d previously been using the green platform as a landing pad and then I found the Gulf tin on Christmas when exploring Pop’s attic

disxlaimer: layout under construction 

I’m have a few Modern Marx prototypes-shop samples. Marx was very good about identifying these. I have passed on a few due to no markings or tag. Our forum friend Robert Butler has tons. Here are a few of my recent arrivals. 

Steve

I love this one. Royal Canadian, I don’t think it was ever produced.

Marx Trains would begin fit checking as parts were being made, often using original Marx parts while waiting for their parts to be made. This was a learning opportunity for them to verify fit as their parts became available. This one is a fully functioning Modern Marx loco, but it has original Marx side plates.

Not sure about this one. The boiler is obviously a 8401 Marlines Loco, but the side boards are from the very hard to find gray PRR 8271. No factory markings or tag, so no 100% sure this is a factory piece. Due to the uncertainty, I've passed on a few others with no markings, but this one caught my fancy so I bought it anyway.

StevefromPA posted:

Double dipping with another thread a bit here but I’ll go into more detail and show some more pieces 

Bing Southern Railways present to myself

Fleichmann postwar 405070 with 1970s Britain’s deTail Scots Guard. Soldiers underneath, unsure of nationality but they look cool as do the porters(even if they’re not tin lol!) found the 2 wind up cars up in Pop’s attic on Christmas

My pop made this Gulf Oil tower for my dad in the 70s. I’d previously been using the green platform as a landing pad and then I found the Gulf tin on Christmas when exploring Pop’s attic

 

disxlaimer: layout under construction 

Neat stuff. The soldiers are awesome and fit right in. Some of those can be pretty valuable. 

George

A 13 year search just came to an end.

Steve

Tease!

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

A 13 year search just came to an end.

Steve

 Now I'm hearing the final jeopardy song playing in my head

Joe Gozzo

Trainlover160 posted:

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

A 13 year search just came to an end.

Steve

 Now I'm hearing the final jeopardy song playing in my head

Joe Gozzo

It’s one of three version of the first boxed set produced by Marx Trains (modern)

Steve

It's ok Steve, you can open it, put the fear and anticipation behind...and open that puppy!......the outer box at least...

Like the 3 legged pig, you don't want to finish it all at once

Ok, the box has been opened. The set I received is the 10251 C on top. I got the M in 2006 and the S in 2008. Been a long search for the C. These were the first boxed sets produced by Marx Trains, done in 1995.  The Rock Island set is commonly called the White Set. The difference is the special white hopper, only available in these sets. M is Monon, S is SOO and C is C&O. The WP boxcars came in four road numbers and were used randomly.

My experience is the M is the most common, followed by the S and the C being the rarest. Only a total of about 200 sets were made.

Steve

,

That......is a really nice set Steve. Congrats on the long wait!

beautiful set!

John Smatlak posted:

A while back I picked up an O gauge Flyer Hudson loco (1680/4680-1681 Type XII) with a sheet metal "flat top" fluted-roof (Type XI) tender. I just found a set of the 6-axle streamliner cars (in chrome) Ca. 1938-39 to go with it. I've always liked these cars, but have noticed they're hard to find in good condition. This particular set is a little played with, but overall has a quite satisfactory appearance. The celluloid window inserts (with the blue window shade stripe) are happily still in good shape, which is a really nice feature.

Looking at examples of this set owned by other collectors, and photos on the internet, the Hudson I have apparently does not have the correct tender for the sets with the chrome cars. The Greenberg American Flyer Prewar O gauge book, page 210 discusses "sets with chrome cars"- the No. 20 and 321 sets in which these chrome cars were paired with the Hudson came with the Type XII tender, which has a coal bunker and 6-axle trucks. The 6-axle trucks make sense as they match the cars, although a tender with the flat top roof (instead of the coal bunker) would match the profile of the passenger cars. I'm still digesting the info on page 72 re: the tenders. More info would be welcome.

AF Celluloid tends to stay better than Lionel.  Thankfully! Greenberg book is correct. The ribbed top tenders were 1936-1937 and the Die cast tenders with the Chrome cars came out in 1938 (4 car set) and 1939 (3 Car set). The ribbed top came with the green cars with black 4 wheel trucks and belly pans. Note that the stripe on the tender is similar to the green cars...

After my doctor’s appt today I stopped at a local antique mall. Went there with the intention on picking up some toy soldiers and at least checking for any new trains one of the stands might have when I stumbled upon this...

tag also said “loco runs and light works”. So I got my first Ives train! 3250 loco. At the price, even if it didn’t run, I couldn’t pass it up. 

Gave it a little TLC before putting it on the track and removing the body- and it runs! Makes it around the track fine the motor is really growls and creates a bit too much o-zone smell. Upon removing the body,The inside was incredibly dusty(all the coils had a thick coating of dust), I used some compressed air, toothpick, and q-tips- but it’s still making that noise and smell. I don’t plan on running it a whole lot since almost no restoration has been done(besides a new bulb), the wheels are cracking and it’s 94 years old with original parts it still works. The wheels aren’t the problem, so maybe when I’m feeling better I’ll take it apart and remove all the crap that’s probably causing the smell. Nonetheless, incredibly happy with this find.

I've found a decent amount of good deals at the antique shops. That Ives looks great! Love to come across one. nice find.

@Steamer thank you! Tons of antique shops in my area, this one is more of a “marketplace” that has a bunch of stalls and the vendors either specialize in one or two areas or have a hodgepodge. Regardless, when I saw that just sitting there(after spending a lot of time looking at prewar flyer electric outlines the last 2 days), my jaw dropped.

After reading up more on the forum and looking at the original 1925 manual, gave the new stamped metal can some oil and viola! No more sparks or rumbling, runs great. I think the heavy stamped metal noise threw me off a bit(concussion has messed with my eyes and hearing). Will post some pictures and/or a video later

An ode to pre and early postwar tinplate, and their couplers- “why can’t we be friends”

Featuring:

Ives Railway Lines 3250

American Flyer Lines “American Railway Express” 1205

American Flyer Lines 3000

Bing Southern Railway Freight car

Bing Deutsche Reichsbahn Baggage Car 10/565

Lionel Lines Passenger Car 1690

Fleischmann 45070

Marx Northern Pacific Hopper 554

Marx New York Central Caboose 20102

Picked up a few Flyer 580 street lamps.

Steve

very nice, are those diecast Steve?

Steamer posted:

very nice, are those diecast Steve?

Yes, they are cast.

Steve

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

Picked up a few Flyer 580 street lamps.

Steve

these look dangerous! nice find!

I recently found a very nice early Ives 190 tank car (standard gauge). Lots of hand assembly work went into these, note all the railings, ladders and hand grabs, the suspended air tank underneath and the intricate ratchet brake wheel.  A few photos on the layout, and also together with two 190 examples owned by Hollis Cotton. The video shows the three cars together on Hollis's standard gauge layout. Enjoy.

Steve,

   Like the lights big time, I may have to look around for some!

PCRR/Dave

Really like the Ives tank cars. I have  three sets of passenger cars  but only one hopper car. but  I keep looking.

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

Picked up a few Flyer 580 street lamps.

Steve

I use round bulbs in some of mine.  I think you will like they way they look on  your layout.

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

Just picked this up - Hendrichs 'Gold Standard GG1'. Met a guy at the Oaks meet.

Unfortunately, this one is G gauge. But not for long. Needs to be 'Standardized'.  Condition is amazing. So is the drive! Motors are little over 3.5' in diameter.

Jim

Jim Waterman posted:

...Motors are little over 3.5' in diameter.

Wow, I bet the real GG-1 motors weren’t that big!!

Technically this is not tinplate, but it is certainly complementary. Picked up this Tootsietoy Union Pacific streamliner at the toy show a few weeks ago. It's now joined the display at the top of my desk.

I bought a 80s vintage Right of Way Industries brass B&O wagon top boxcar a while back . Someone had tried to mount a late 90s sound of steam system in it but the old lionel boxcar frame did not fit and I wanted to install the modular Railsounds 4 boards in a tender anyway. So my brass ROW wagontop did not have a frame or trucks.  I have dozens of the old 70s vintage Atlas O scale freight cars and I decided to rob the frame off one. It was slightly to wide so I took a sanding block and took a couple thousands of each side till it was a snug enough fit that it would hold itself in place.  I had some foot stirrups so I drilled through the new frame into a mounting plate the original floor was screwed to and used the screw holding the stirrups on to hold the floor on also. Anyway this is how it turned out. 

Awesome, John! Professional quality, for sure!

Hello,

A few days ago, I got a large train station, which the seller had completely disassembled. There were also various tabs broken off.

First, the missing tabs were replaced. More than 20.

After the first assembly. It lacked two small walls, on which the central roof rests. In addition, in the back wall of the central building was a large sawn-out hole.

With the help of images from a book by Michael D. Foster (British Toy Trains Volume 3 Brimtoy), the missing parts were traced.

These were then laminated to sheet metal.

Adjusting the wall elements. The various damaged areas are from former Hornby stickers, which were still partially present as leftovers. Under the glue, the paint had gotten rusty spots.

And done. This is the Brimtoy S4 station, built in 1927-31. He is considered one of the largest metal railway stations ever built in the UK, with a length of 66 cm (26 1/2 inch), he is really huge.

The only missing part is a signal, which belongs to the right of the building.

The whole model was assembled at Brimtoy from existing models, the buildings on the left and right are the big signal houses with modified front printing. The middle building is a small station, which was as single available too, this corresponds in size to the Brimtoy goods shed, which is a copy of the Bing freight shed.

Here in the size comparison with a station 60/61 from Bing.

Greetings

Arne

Fantastic work, Arne!

great job

George S posted:

Bought some Paya replica automobiles that are a good fit for Standard gauge.

George 

Hey George, Look what I found? Twins!

An interesting and very colorful tin floor train, made by Elenee Toys. It has a pull-rod spring mechanism and is lettered as "The Comet". Here are a few photos of it posed with a Hafner clockwork UP streamliner. From searching for Elenee on the internet, I see that they also made another version of this in an "American Freedom Train" version in 1947. Also, check out this page on the Binns Road site showing one that someone added Lionel trucks to so that they could run it on track: http://www.binnsroad.co.uk/railways/elenee/index.html

Elenee American Freedom Train

a Japanese take on the same pull-rod principle

Elenee also produced military-type wood accessories like the 50 cannon,110 anti-aircraft fort and the 200 flying field set

My flea market find today.

I bought all in a lot and appears to be as it was how many years ago. The A.F. Hudson actually tried to move and the headlight did light.

Beleive the standard gauge gon is A.F. and the tank is 1911 Ives vintage.

I know the two engines/tender and two freight cars are American Flyer,but am I correct on the standard gauge gon and tank ?

Added these two bottom pictures of the two manual switches. I’ve never noticed the center rail pin made like that. Any idea on year of the A.F. switches ?

Super cool find !!!  I don't know on the cars but very nice find.

I was notified by this via YouTube, so it is not a video by me. David Argent once was also on this forum and some of you might know the special builds and restorations he does. Here is his latest:

Regards

Fred

Last Sunday I went to the Greenberg’s Model Train Show at the Meadowlands Exposition Center in NJ.

I went for the two days and on the first I found this Lionel Prewar 150 under a table and was able to purchase it for $20.00.
The Train needs some TLC like new paint (As it was repainted) and new wiring as there are bare wires and shows as a short. These motors are very robust and should work fine.

Price was right and will rep[lace the pickup rollers with a repro that comes in parts and will accept the original badge, new repro couplers, new repro head light, new repro bell.

Not sure of the paint scheme but since it was a repaint I will strip it and may do a Lionel scheme paint job. Frame will be blue shell will be orange with a blue roof, blue window trim, blue doors on the sides and ends with orange wheels and orange cow catcher. Shell will be re stamped with the NY Central and 150 as was the original.

I would not call this a restore project but a Fantasy Engine Project

A unique structure for my layout, a General Electric cardboard building that was made as a store display piece. Speaking to antique lighting collector Marv Byers at the Toy Show I learned that GE had a whole series of these buildings for store display. You would put a light bulb inside and it that illuminated features like the sign through the pin holes in the cardboard. Pity these weren't available in tinplate! Also included is a shot of another one I saw (but did not buy) at the Glendale Toy Show. I found mine like new (still flat) on Ebay. 

Just my little clockwork Marx Seaboard diesel and some minty Hafner buildings from the 1200 accessory set. 

John Smatlak posted:

A unique structure for my layout, a General Electric cardboard building that was made as a store display piece. Speaking to antique lighting collector Marv Byers at the Toy Show I learned that GE had a whole series of these buildings for store display. You would put a light bulb inside and it that illuminated features like the sign through the pin holes in the cardboard. Pity these weren't available in tinplate! Also included is a shot of another one I saw (but did not buy) at the Glendale Toy Show. I found mine like new (still flat) on Ebay. 

John, 

I noticed this in a video of your layout last week and had to look it up. Thanks for sharing the details. The pinhole effect is cool. The graphics look like tin lithograph. It fits in nicely. I saw the other building in a Google image search too. I hadn’t really heard of GE Mazda, so it was interesting nostalgia research. I agree it would be nice to have in tin.

Here’s another version, and I think I found at least one other version of the house.

George

My first candle-powered accessory! A Bing signal box (switch tower) with candle holder inside for lighting (and smoke). Really like the colors and litho on this one. I've hunted for it in the Bing catalog book but can't quite find one that's an exact match, although there were clearly a number of variations.

Alongside is my Hafner UP clockwork streamliner. I cleaned/oiled it and ran it for the first time in many years. It easily makes two circuits around my O gauge loop. I also tried to get the headlight working (battery powered), but so far no luck. I cleaned all the contacts and the bulb checks out fine, but no light when it's all put together. A video of the streamliner zipping by the tower is included below. Enjoy.

Hello John,

your signal box has the GBN diamond sign, this was made before 1919.  Here pictures from the 1912 UK catalog.

This is similar to yours, but with signal

This is yours, the catalog picture shows a other roof but was made with the same roof like the model with signal.

Arne

Arne posted:

Hello John,

your signal box has the GBN diamond sign, this was made before 1919.  Here pictures from the 1912 UK catalog.

This is similar to yours, but with signal

This is yours, the catalog picture shows a other roof but was made with the same roof like the model with signal.

Arne

 

Arne- many thanks, and excellent point about the change in logo. Looking through the Bing catalog reprint book it was also interesting to note that the candle illumination lasted until at least 1928- noting this similar structure in the catalog of that year.

Darstaed illuminated E2 extended engine shed from the UK.

Not easy to find since the double ones have been sold out for years. I was looking at vintage Hornby, but for price, condition, and extra features, I went with the Darstaed.

George

that is beautiful George! Shame you can see all the interior detail all the time. Almost would want to do a clear side on it.

Steamer posted:

that is beautiful George! Shame you can see all the interior detail all the time. Almost would want to do a clear side on it.

Actually, this one does have clear windows as opposed to the Hornby. The Hornby has no interior detail and does not have real windows. I didn't get a great picture due to some reflection, but you can definitely look through the windows on the Darstaed to see the neat graphics inside. When I get it on the layout and get it lit up, I'll get some more pictures of that.

If I ever want to hide the interior detail from the outside, it would be relatively easy to add a tinted film to the inside.

George

USTTC Caboose and fun little car from Michael’s.

A strange visitor has arrived....

I guess you could say I made this; I upgraded the lighting on my JAD Lines Hiawatha, thanks to lighting products from Evan Designs and royztrains.com. This was a fun project and it really improves the overall appearance of an already beautiful train. 

John

sorta not yet. Found a Postwar Tie Ejector chassis at one of our local antique shops. It was marked 10% off, so at $12 I got it. Really didn't know why other than the price. Was thinking of making some kind of MOW Doodlybug or something.....

I have a junk box refuge 1682 body.....

Fits rather well

Steamer posted:

Wreck-de-tie-fighter?.... I mean wrecktifier?... I mean rectifier?  

Or does being a "boxer" make it a wrecktifighter?

Or is the coopla a diesels radiator?

Hmm... What was it that there wheel arrangement would B called again? 🤔

                  😬

Paint it black or blue with a flaming yellow text and call it it a.......a.....

Burnin' ya' rectifier 😬

Steamer, can the cabin cars shell be clearanced and coop lifted opened to allow filling of a homade bin? (does the mech work?) Even a good styrene copy seems possible looking at a good one. 

It was missing the pickup collector, but I fabbed one from the parts bin...and the fjector mech works like a charm.

If I get what you mean, make a bin to use it as a tie ejector? I have a bin off a work caboose I could use.....still not sure where I'll end up with this.

New to me British tinplate. Trying to test it but don’t have wide enough curves on the test track. She runs on the straights.

George

What did I buy here?  I really have no idea. I thought it would look cool on my next layout.

George

love it George!

A Very large Built EZ set. I intend to use mine to build a station for my MTH Leland-Detroit monorail. Nice.

George S posted:

What did I buy here?  I really have no idea. I thought it would look cool on my next layout.

George

****, came in second again.

Steve

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

George S posted:

What did I buy here?  I really have no idea. I thought it would look cool on my next layout.

George

****, came in second again.

Steve

Sorry Steve. I wasn't sure I would see one again. 

Now I know it is a building based on Bilt-E-Z sets from 1924 by Chicago Scott Mfg Co. There are a few original sets on the Bay. Not sure how many you would need to buy to build this.

George

Found this in another listing...

Looks like there is an outfit #0, a #C and a #00 available on the Bay in the original boxes. 

George

George S posted:

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

George S posted:

What did I buy here?  I really have no idea. I thought it would look cool on my next layout.

George

****, came in second again.

Steve

Sorry Steve. I wasn't sure I would see one again. 

Now I know it is a building based on Bilt-E-Z sets from 1924 by Chicago Scott Mfg Co. There are a few original sets on the Bay. Not sure how many you would need to buy to build this.

George

Modern Marx sold some small sets with identical parts. I have a couple of them. No originals though.

Steve

Those are very cool. I think it was el gaucho that had given us some great shots shots of elevated lines in and around a variety of these, as well as a variety of prewars O's smallest stock cavalcading through them.

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

George S posted:

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

George S posted:

What did I buy here?  I really have no idea. I thought it would look cool on my next layout.

George

****, came in second again.

Steve

Sorry Steve. I wasn't sure I would see one again. 

Now I know it is a building based on Bilt-E-Z sets from 1924 by Chicago Scott Mfg Co. There are a few original sets on the Bay. Not sure how many you would need to buy to build this.

George

Modern Marx sold some small sets with identical parts. I have a couple of them. No originals though.

Steve

you would need 4 "OO" Bilt-Ez sets or maybe one "B" set to make a structure that large, I think maybe one or two of the Modern Marx sets.

George:  That is great looking set. Haven't seen that colour before.  Is this new?   I have a small set from the 30's and I think it really fits in well with my other tin and sheet steel buildings.  Thanks for posting.  Waynew

waynew posted:

George:  That is great looking set. Haven't seen that colour before.  Is this new?   I have a small set from the 30's and I think it really fits in well with my other tin and sheet steel buildings.  Thanks for posting.  Waynew

I don't even have it yet. I won it in an auction. It's not new and it has no box. I agree on the colors. Those were not listed as one of the four original colors. I'm pretty sure this was painted. The seller took good pictures of all sides. The back has some grey metal pieces. The cornices seem to have a grain in the paint like they were hand painted.

I'm not sure that it will stay named Lionel on my layout. That part is printed on paper and I suspect it was the owner's creation. I won't discard it. I just might want a different name on the building.

George

I am still working on some Marklin gauge One trains and as I enjoy tinkering with old electric systems I just finished a set of electro magnetic switches with their command control box.   The control box is a transformer using 110 v or 220 v to send a 30 v impulsion to the electro magnet of the switches.  The lanterns on the switches are lighted and indicate the way the train is going to take, typically German. Now all is tested and can be used safely and it is always a great pleasure to use original models.

.

Daniel

Given my Bilt-E-Z building shipped from only about 150 miles away, I received it today. 

One of the panels was damaged in shipping which cracked the paint. Luckily there was an extra painted piece on the back that I was able to use to replace it. 

George 

My Latest Mth 2816, 10-8020

This is certainly not the most rare or photogenic, but it is part of my quest to get one example of each mth 816/2816. I am up to 10 so far.  A few more singles and I will soon be up to the set-only offerings.  ( Then I will be lucky to get 1 a year!)

I scored a pair of Seaboard coloured Bogota and Observation passenger cars from the bay. That little diesel sure is a good puller, still really happy with it. 

MTH Tinplate Traditions (10-4026) "Ives 1867 Signal Tower"

I bought a batch of Dorfan/Fandor stations with a few other items. This truck was in the background but not mentioned in the auction so I wasn’t sure it would be included. It’s worth what I paid for the lot. The tank seems to be a shaving cream aerosol can. The last picture is a internet shot of what I think it was made from.

well that was a nice bonus Steve!

Ratty and in need of  friend, but anyone recognize this one? Latest acquisition.

Jim O'C posted:

Ratty and in need of  friend, but anyone recognize this one? Latest acquisition.

The motor and key remind me a lot of Hafner, as well as the remnants of the cab

The wheels and key are a perfect match, the motor is most definitely of Hafner origin.
Hope that helps

sheetmetal version of the 100 

Produced near the end of WWI because of the cast iron shortage.

Nice little loco.  I have several-Lionel, Ives and AF. No tin ones though-yet.

i Picked up a few items at a small show in Philadelphia PA last Sunday. Here are two of the items , An Ives single arm street light ( needs to be striped and repainted,  $20.00,   It does work and it now has become Another Standard gauge Project, LOL ) plus I picked up the taxi and a few lead figures .

Another recent purchase was this LCCA 28th Annual Convention  luggage cart  by Pride Lines .  This one is the Philadelphia convention .  Well worth the $5.00   I spent  !

JohnnieWalker posted:

Another recent purchase was this LCCA 28th Annual Convention  luggage cart  by Pride Lines .  This one is the Philadelphia convention .  Well worth the $5.00   I spent  !

That’s a steal.

Steve

This is my DooHickey. Grandma always called something she wasn't sure of a DooHickey, and since I'm not sure if it qualifies as a Doodlebug, I'll go with that. I spotted this at one of our antique malls, on sale for $12. 

Missing the P/U, I fabbed one

A look in the junk bin and a couple 1682 bodies were there. 

The other side was covered in surface rust. So a clean up and a trip to the paint shop.

A few detail parts from the junk bin.

Sure looks like a DooHickey to me !!

Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

JohnnieWalker posted:

Another recent purchase was this LCCA 28th Annual Convention  luggage cart  by Pride Lines .  This one is the Philadelphia convention .  Well worth the $5.00   I spent  !

That’s a steal.

Steve

Yes it was !!   I was caught off guard when the gentleman  said $5.00 .   

I wanted a windup and a Bing and got the opportunity to get both. 

These are among the best condition, prewar trains I ever acquired. There is virtually no rust or scratches. There may be one little touch up spot on the bottom of the tender. The litho looks great. The box is coming apart, but it has all its flaps. It even came with the track and the section that stops the train.

George

Spent train $$ on a WW II paratrooper jump suit-just couldn't pass it up. That will limit trains awhile-maybe ??

Speaking of Bing, I remembered I posted these somewhere else on the forum but I haven't posted them here.

My happy little junk pile, all for 110 Bucks
Can't wait for it to arrive

Edit: I realize the thread also include tinplate things that we've made, so I guess I should include this

Poor mans tinplate, hehe.
I decided to challenge myself, to see if I would be able to make a train outa junk.
I've been working on it the past three days, with some pretty good progress coming out of the past two.
Working on wiring up the lighting today, shouldn't be too hard

George S posted:

I wanted a windup and a Bing and got the opportunity to get both. 

These are among the best condition, prewar trains I ever acquired. There is virtually no rust or scratches. There may be one little touch up spot on the bottom of the tender. The litho looks great. The box is coming apart, but it has all its flaps. It even came with the track and the section that stops the train.

George

fantastic acquisition, George. looks like it was stored in a safe deposit box.

Jim O'C posted:

George S posted:

I wanted a windup and a Bing and got the opportunity to get both. 

These are among the best condition, prewar trains I ever acquired. There is virtually no rust or scratches. There may be one little touch up spot on the bottom of the tender. The litho looks great. The box is coming apart, but it has all its flaps. It even came with the track and the section that stops the train.

George

fantastic acquisition, George. looks like it was stored in a safe deposit box.

Thank you Jim! Any idea about the wheels on the engine? The number of spokes seem like a lot for this set. I would think this is a low-end set, but the wheels appear to be more elaborate than what you would find on low-end sets. If I didn't know anything about Bing and just looked at condition, I would think this was a set from the 60's, but Bing went out of business in the 30's.

George

the wheels look correct for that jointed side rod.

Jim O'C posted:

the wheels look correct for that jointed side rod.

Excellent. Thank you.

A new O gauge arrival- a Zeuke FD50 streamlined 4-6-0 (or 2' C in Europe), made in East Germany. Several interesting features- it's made largely of Bakelite, including the wheels. It was designed to operate on 3-rail track with the outside rails isolated from each other, which was used to implement reversing. To make it operational on ordinary 3-rail track I isolated one of the two outside rail pickups (after checking which one would result in forward operation). It runs fine, although it does not like the gaps in some of the Lionel switches on my O gauge loop. It's a nice looking train. Zeuke also made TT gauge trains, check out this website for more info on the O gauge products (follow the links at the top to browse through the Zeuke / Liebmann product line, all kinds of interesting stuff there): 

http://www.spur-null.de/triebfahrzeuge/z_fd50_2c.html. 

John Smatlak posted:

A new O gauge arrival- a Zeuke FD50 streamlined 4-6-0 (or 2' C in Europe), made in East Germany. Several interesting features- it's made largely of Bakelite, including the wheels. It was designed to operate on 3-rail track with the outside rails isolated from each other, which was used to implement reversing. To make it operational on ordinary 3-rail track I isolated one of the two outside rail pickups (after checking which one would result in forward operation). It runs fine, although it does not like the gaps in some of the Lionel switches on my O gauge loop. It's a nice looking train; check out this website for more info (follow the links at the top to browse through the Zeuke / Liebmann product line, all kinds of interesting stuff there):  http://www.spur-null.de/triebf...euge/z_fd50_1c1.html. Zeuke also made TT gauge trains.

Fascinating! I was wondering how it would get track power with bakelite wheels. Now I see the sliding pickup shoes on the underside. Is it hanging up on the switches or losing power? I'm not sure why it would lose power since there are two sets of pickup shoes that seem adequately spaced. Maybe it's the outside shoe on the frog side rail since you isolated the opposite side?

George

George S posted:

John Smatlak posted:

A new O gauge arrival- a Zeuke FD50 streamlined 4-6-0 (or 2' C in Europe), made in East Germany. Several interesting features- it's made largely of Bakelite, including the wheels. It was designed to operate on 3-rail track with the outside rails isolated from each other, which was used to implement reversing. To make it operational on ordinary 3-rail track I isolated one of the two outside rail pickups (after checking which one would result in forward operation). It runs fine, although it does not like the gaps in some of the Lionel switches on my O gauge loop. It's a nice looking train; check out this website for more info (follow the links at the top to browse through the Zeuke / Liebmann product line, all kinds of interesting stuff there):  http://www.spur-null.de/triebf...euge/z_fd50_1c1.html. Zeuke also made TT gauge trains.

Fascinating! I was wondering how it would get track power with bakelite wheels. Now I see the sliding pickup shoes on the underside. Is it hanging up on the switches or losing power? I'm not sure why it would lose power since there are two sets of pickup shoes that seem adequately spaced. Maybe it's the outside shoe on the frog side rail since you isolated the opposite side?

George

It loses power going through the curved part of the Lionel 022 switch. Since it's only picking up power between the center pickup and one outside pickup, it stalls on the insulated section intended for anti-derailing. The springs under those pickup shoes are also a little weak and sometimes the shoe sticks in an up position. I will also add jumpers inside so that the outside pickup shoes are common, that should resolve the problem.

No zincpest, but Bakelite is brittle and a drop could mean the end for the shell or the wheels.  I've seen a couple of those on line and wouldn't mind adding one to the pile...

Wondering about replacement parts? Especially the wheels - a candidate for 3D printing?  Very cool piece!