Buy/Make Anything Cool Lately (Tinplate Version)

@Jim O'C posted:

Doll et Cie was eventually taken over by Fleischman but their Production was nowhere near the same quality.

Only a bit of the Doll tools was sold to Fleischmann, the tools for the steam engines and a few of the train tools. The tools for the great goods cars was sold to Distler. Cars like banana, beer, fisch and other was made by Distler till around 1950.

Arne

Well after being out of the hobby for near 10 yrs , picked up some standard gauge like I use to have back in the day , thanks to Art got my 400e again and also bought a dark green 9e passenger set , now getting the track ready for the tree

Bought this Hafner shell with the eyebrow headlight years ago. It had already been repainted. Many months ago I found a correct motor with the rear reverse lever, then promptly lost it. Doing some sorting this week I found the shell in the shed and the motor in the garage. They are now paired together as I intended.

Steve

@Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

.....I found the shell in the shed and the motor in the garage...

Steve

This sounds like every project I do!!!

That's a pretty little engine Steve, love the gloss black!

I got this Marx castle from Nicks Trains in Raleigh NC. Never seen this variation. I added the door and stairs - all easily removed.

Brand new, flawless mth olive green 2816. Love it 😁

These arrived yesterday!! Both bought from Dave Corbett of Wisconsin. Two more BIG DOGS to add the posse (or kennel) of American Flyer Wide Gauge train pieces. Woof, woof!

Got some more Ives in the mail, including a few I haven't taken pictures of. The Gondola and caboose are not new, I have had them for a few months.

First, we have a 3242 from 1922 in dark green with huge 187 and 189 cars. They almost look too big compared to the engine, but this is a real set. It was sold by Ives as 'Set no. 702'. There's even a three-car version with a 188 parlor called 'Set no. 703'. It does run, but I might send it off to be repaired.

Next, is an Ives 3255R in olive. I do not have the matching 130 Buffet and (129) 132 Saratoga observation cars for it. This engine was part of a set called 'The Green Mountain Express', or 'Set no. 508'.

Not shown is a Set 701/701R 'New Yorker' or 'Gray Ghost', a repainted 3255R, and my American Flyer 'All-American' I picked up from the Little Choo Choo Shop in Spencer, NC.

Telephone shed to go with the yardmaster's office:

Next up, the tool-shed.

PD

@Arne posted:

Only a bit of the Doll tools was sold to Fleischmann, the tools for the steam engines and a few of the train tools. The tools for the great goods cars was sold to Distler. Cars like banana, beer, fisch and other was made by Distler till around 1950.

Arne

I thought the chassis looked somewhat like Distler- although the detail was better refined.

Here are a few of my Tinplate pick-ups from last week which I haven’t had a chance to post:

the modified doll car and a Bing 2nd class passenger car in great condition

End of the Bing car

My journey to collecting 4 wheel Bing NYC  cars continues- got the steel sided express baggage(left)on eBay which arrived last week. The wood-sided is on the right

some of my other steel sides NYC Bing cars

Bing 2nd class Passenger car up front, Wood-sided litho And Steel-litho NYC 4 wheel passengers in the back

Prewar AF 3/16 on O gauge Shell tank car- Body in great shape butDidn’t come with any trucks so I bought a Marx 3/16 Niacet tank car from a junk pile, removed the trucks and added a plastic auto tilt w/ slot coupler and the normal tab and slot coupler.

Have 2 more AF 3/16 on the way, including an extra truck with link coupler. I plan on replacing one of the trucks on the shell car with the extra link coupler truck in order to have a nice transition car

Last, but certainly not least, what are slowly becoming my favorite types of figures- 30mm Comet Metal Products, Authenticast, Swedish African Engineer soldiers by Holger Erikson. Comet/Authenticast being the maker of AF’s Postwar lead figures.

first batch is  of lesser quality, appear to be German soldiers

These figures are definitely SAE Sculpted by HE. All in great condition, the soldier with the blue uniform being the real steal. In the back is a modern Lionel figure for height comparison purposes

A squad of 5 HE figures in a 1/50 scale corgi truck. These figures came with pegs on the bottom, indicating they were made to sit in a certain vehicle, unfortunately I had to remove them for functionality. The figure with the white helmet is a Corgi s scale soldier

I bought a three car 418 set two years ago, been looking for the add-on diner ever since. Found it yesterday.

Third car from the front.

Life is good, sometimes it’s the little things.

Bought some more junk  lol more project material! Yipee!

Plus an American Flyer 533 Northern to go with my 806 and 572...  Also got a couple of 517 cabeese and some other parts coming lol.  I seem to buy more leading up to Christmas for some reason lol.

@Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

Bought this Hafner shell with the eyebrow headlight years ago. It had already been repainted. Many months ago I found a correct motor with the rear reverse lever, then promptly lost it. Doing some sorting this week I found the shell in the shed and the motor in the garage. They are now paired together as I intended.

Steve

Steve, I am glad to know I am not the only one who does that!!  Can't tell you how many times I have picked up pieces to complete something only to not remember where the rest was hidden!!!

Cool little loco too!

"Bought some more junk  lol more project material! Yipee!"

I don't see any junk, Dennis, just a bunch of cool stuff for fun projects.

Great finds, enjoy

"Here are a few of my Tinplate pick-ups from last week which I haven’t had a chance to post:"

You've been a busy boy last week Steve.  I need to "shop" where you shop. Love those treasures

Dennis, cool stuff for sure.   The 607 / 608 look like a long way from Junk and you even have boxes.  The roof of the 608 could use some work but the 607 looks really good.  Now you need a 253 loco in "Stephen Gerard" green to match!

Don

Thanks guys, yeah the 607 and 608 are pretty good as is. I actually have another 607 in same condition with box to go with so full set of three cars.  I may even have a clear Green roof for the observation somewhere. I do either need a Green 253E or I could put them with a Black 262E or 259E.  I think the later Gunmetal 249E or 259E would have come with cars with Green belly pans instead of tanks.  Not sure when they switched from the early boxes to the Orange and Blue ones though either lol  If I get lucky, I may be able to just clean up the set of the three 600/601/602 as well who knows lol.  The fun of the journey!

I bought this a few weeks ago...a Lionel 400E.

While I wait for some of those other projects to show up, I pulled out a couple of old Blue Comet cars that I got a while back.  They were in really great shape having been wrapped up in the same news paper since 1964.  After cleaning and polishing the bright work and offering a light cleaning and waxing to the shells, these will look great.  Just need to find another 2614 observation in the same condition lol

Got some more cars in today, the three Grey and Red car 600/601/602 and they will need some work to be layout ready.  Also got an Apple Green 607 and 608 to go with the lone 607 I already had.  Staged em up with some other stuff for fun.

Made a tool shed for the tinplate layout:

From the "cutouts" section of an early-1950s issue of Toy Trains magazine. Changed it up slightly, and added a couple of signs made in Excel. Paper, some matt-board, a hobby knife, scissors, a matchstick, and a small piece of masonite...you can do a lot with a few bits.

PD

I'm in the process of making something that I hope turns out pretty cool. Below are some progess pictures of my Wide Gauge American Flyer Pacemaker Caboose. Right now it's just sitting on the trucks and the roof is not attached but it's coming along and I hope to have it finished in a few days.

New arrival today. Santa Fe LCT 400E passenger set.

Steve

I just tripped over this KBN 4-4-0 O gauge clockwork on a BIN for cheap and I have been wanting one of these American outline loco's for a while.  Will have to make a head light box and find a tender lol.  Can't wait for it to get here and see how well it will clean up.

Here is a link back to page 11 of this thread and John Smatlak's  loco for reference of what a nice one should look like.  John, if you see this, I would love to see an underside picture of your loco so I can see the lead truck and how it mounts.  Also, would like to know the diameter of your lead wheels!  Thanks in advance!

Steve, that Santa Fe set is pretty rare if I’m not mistaken, I’m fairly certain not too many were made.  I saw a set for sale on eBay recently, might this be the same set? At any rate, congratulations on the new set, it’s a stunner.  Maybe you can post a video of it running some time, it would be great to see it in action.

@Dennis Holler posted:

I just tripped over this KBN 4-4-0 O gauge clockwork on a BIN for cheap and I have been wanting one of these American outline loco's for a while.  Will have to make a head light box and find a tender lol.  Can't wait for it to get here and see how well it will clean up.

Really nice one Dennis, it seems you are finding some good pieces, buyers mode or the magic of Christmas maybe....

Very best, Daniel

@John Clifford posted:

Steve, that Santa Fe set is pretty rare if I’m not mistaken, I’m fairly certain not too many were made.  I saw a set for sale on eBay recently, might this be the same set? At any rate, congratulations on the new set, it’s a stunner.  Maybe you can post a video of it running some time, it would be great to see it in action.

John, there were only 10 sets made. Yes it was from eBay. He lowered the price some, then made it a “or best offer”. We went back and forth a few times and I finally went for it. More than I paid for my other 3 sets in the series, but nice to have it.

Steve

I was watching it too Steve. I'm glad at least I'll get to see it run! At some point at least.

@POC914NUT posted:

I was watching it too Steve. I'm glad at least I'll get to see it run! At some point at least.

Someday I need to get some Marx stuff to you.

Steve

Steve, which other three sets do you have, if you don’t mind me asking?  I used to have the 400E in B&O livery with the matching passenger set, it was gorgeous, I regret selling it.  Maybe I’ll come across another one some day.

@John Clifford posted:

Steve, which other three sets do you have, if you don’t mind me asking?  I used to have the 400E in B&O livery with the matching passenger set, it was gorgeous, I regret selling it.  Maybe I’ll come across another one some day.

As x Army, I have the Army Hospital train. Both my dad and stepdad were Navy so I have the Navy Hospital train. My wife is from Chicago so I have the CNW set. I live within earshot of the BNSF main so the Santa Fe set is a good fit.

Steve

Well Steve, a tip of the hat to your wife, I’m from Chicago and in fact still live here, although I can’t wait to retire so we can move.

@Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

As x Army, I have the Army Hospital train. Both my dad and stepdad were Navy so I have the Navy Hospital train. My wife is from Chicago so I have the CNW set. I live within earshot of the BNSF main so the Santa Fe set is a good fit.

Steve

Steve that anyone could gather more than two of these for themselves is amazing to me.   

That two tone stripe on the running board of the SF set is a super impressive detail !

Great Scores @Dennis Holler & @Steve "Papa" Eastman !!!

@Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

New arrival today. Santa Fe LCT 400E passenger set.

Steve

Steve,

What a truly sharp looking set!

Bob Nelson

Picked these beauties up over the long weekend.

@Steve “Papa” Eastman- awesome Santa Fe tin- love it! @Dennis Holler I wanted to comment last week I like the lime green 607 and 608 the most, they definitely are exemplars of the Prewar era bright paint/lithography! Regardless, all very nice. I happen to have a similar KBN(came w/o clockwork motor) that I recently disassembled in hopes of fitting in a different motor but didn’t work out.

Hope your efforts go better than mine! Yours is clearly in much better shape!

@Jon Edwards you described them perfectly- thoseare absolute beauts!

Wanted to post these early but was busy w/ the layout and making some modifications to some of the new pieces below. Nothing like some of the preceding posts but things I’ve wanted for awhile

lets start off with the odd-balls:

From pop’s collection. battery operated made in Japan Rock Island Line 3 piece set. Was surprised this little guy fit on o gauge track

Not sure if I showed this ever- Karl Bub s Gauge trolley(streetcar) from eBay.  Wind-up mechanism works. it’s on AF track and works more than decently well on that track(likely because it’s a single unit and clock-work). Also, the figure in front is an early AF minitoy/Comet/Authenticast by Holger Erikson figure- got it at Joe’s train station in Hatboro yesterday. Fits well with o and s

both of the above

Moving on- from left to the right:

Marx  red Pullman passenger set. Have wanted this since I rejoined the hobby!(2+years!) Got it at Joe’s train station for a deal and all 3 cars in nice shape

Lionel-Ives transition?/winner? Erie 1514 Box car. On the bottom of the frame, the part that holds the coupler in place on wind-up roling stock had broken off,  I made my own with thick styrene. One end has a Marx type tab/slot coupler, the other a Lionel latch

Adding to my Flyer 3/16 o gauge, came in the mail today, 486 hopper and 476 Gondola(came w/ Box- will add pic later) Also new- the link coupler on the Shell tanker which has a Marx t/s on the other side. The White containers are also new

Closeup/non flash of the 2 newbies

all the new tin!

THIs weekend coming up I’m really hoping to get some nice tin at Renninger’s flash train meet

I finally found a McCoy car that I have been looking for since I began collecting McCoy Trains. It is the 1980 Christmas car that was given away by the McCoys to just close friends and associates during that holiday season. If you search long enough and hard enough, eventually you can find what you are looking for in this great hobby! Stay safe and healthy everyone!

I just found my Christmas Present....  It was listed as follows... "1971 Lionel 0 Gauge Train Set With Track, All Metal, Blue"  It's amazing I tripped over this and saw it in the first place so I made the offer and the seller accepted...  This will go with my other original Blue Comet   I think they will soon be coming out of my ears... Last picture is my current Blue Comet sitting at the Station Platform not waiting on #2 to show up...And this current set was lets say a lot less than a any MTH LCT Blue Comet set I have seen lately.  Probably less than some LCT 263E's I have seen lately.  Love the old stuff

Only you Dennis, only you😁!

For once, something on ebay that is better than described.

@John H. Shetler posted:

Only you Dennis, only you😁!

I concur !

@Dennis Holler this man is on a streak, ladies& gents, fantastic gets the last couple weeks!

As for me, 2 pick-ups today(so far). Nothing terribly special. Had an opportunity for a Prewar Flyer Hiawatha engine(w/o reverselever but w/ functioning F-N-R) for $65, coulda haggled down- I feel I’m gonna kick myself for not buying that one

My first unique arts train- the Caboose

And the collection of Prewar tank cars continues. Will try to post a pick o all of them later today. 804 no label with brass(?)trim.

I don’t know what happened to my other picture of these “odd balls”(as I call them). But these are all hubley, midgetoy or tootsietoy from my grandfather.unfortunately the entire consist of the rear train isn’t shown-I feel it’s supposed to be lead by a steam loco but I don’t have the appropriate tender- but I love the black switcher that’s leading this Passenger consist(brown observation after blue passenger). In front of that is the steam engine(midgetoy) and a yellow oil tender which I believe is tootsietoy. My tootsie toy pic didn’t save for some reason.

Behind the blue Passenger is the nose of an orange Hubley #31 engine with a SRR blue tender(not shown in picture)

because of these, I also bought this midgetoy tank car today. Will try to get the tootsie consist and rest of midgetoy consist up later

Figured I'd never come across an original in the condition I want for a price I was willing to pay, so I snagged the repro by MTH. Hoping it will arrive next week.

Picked up a 1:43 diecast Bentley 1932 convertible for my Upstairs O Gauge Layout Litho-Land area. Will be near the Marx Grand Central Station.

I'm a sucker for 804 tanks as well:

Even made a few one-offs along the way:

This guy started off as little more than a tank, someone having soldered the hand-rails directly onto the shell. Careful bit of refurb, a few replacement parts from George Tebolt, a set of repro postwar decals, and we have a never-was.

PD

I got this 263e with 263w tender. The loco has been restored but the tender looks pretty original except I think someone along the way drilled a hole in the frame between the two trucks. I need to rewire the tender and shine\clean them up a bit. There is a little crazing and some scrapes but it was to good a good deal to pass up. The loco runs good both forward and reverse and I had a friend(Rob English) take a look at it. Thanks Rob!

     Jon

Jon, That looks pretty great!  I wonder if the sticker is just to show the frame was replaced?  Might be the light Blue is original.  It does look pretty nice.

Picked up the chrome state cars from a few years ago and the add on Reagan car. Now I need to find the add on baggage.

Steve

Those are awesome Steve!

I got lucky!! I bought an MTH LCT Orange 255E from a forum member but it had gotten lost in the world of the the USPS...  All of a sudden it was scanned through Indy this morning and showed up at my doorstep by 3PM...  I do like it, I like the slightly darker Orange on the 255E.  The Blue is better in my eye as well.  Gonna have to look for the Orange 261E now... Hopefully, I can get some time tonight to get down and try and run it some!

Nice Dennis, I prefer the color of the 255e and blue roof and tender top makes it nicer too.

Still heavy buying mode

I've been wanting a 248 set for a while and finally found one that wasn't too beat up and at an acceptable price.  Paint appears to be original.  The wheels were replaced (stamped on the inside with Train Tender).  A little cleanup of brushes and commutator, some fresh grease and oil (it was clean but bone dry), and it runs pretty good.  For me the red color is perfect for my Christmas layout.

I was wondering if it's possible to determine approximate year based on the motor.  Also, the wheels move freely but the non drive side is really close to the motor frame.  Is this normal, or were the wheels not installed correctly?

Don

dmestan :  Yes its possible to date your 248.  In fact nearly the exact locomotive is pictured on, page 153 of Greenbergs large treatment of O-gauge from 1915-1928 (although his treatment of the 248 extends beyond 1928).  Your pictures of the motor show the following characteristics...flat rectangular brush plate , no gear cover, double reduction gears (change from 1925-1927), Phenolic intermediate gears, square holes for the pendulum reversing mechanism.  It is listed as a type 6 motor and dates from 1927-1929. Your pictures also show a type 4 pickup spring label which also equates to 1929.  I would say, based on my references and review of your pictures your 248 dates from 1929.

Great set, I have a red one and a orange one from 1928.   Both are great runners.

Don McErlean

@Don McErlean posted:

dmestan :  Yes its possible to date your 248.  In fact nearly the exact locomotive is pictured on, page 153 of Greenbergs large treatment of O-gauge from 1915-1928 (although his treatment of the 248 extends beyond 1928).  Your pictures of the motor show the following characteristics...flat rectangular brush plate , no gear cover, double reduction gears (change from 1925-1927), Phenolic intermediate gears, square holes for the pendulum reversing mechanism.  It is listed as a type 6 motor and dates from 1927-1929. Your pictures also show a type 4 pickup spring label which also equates to 1929.  I would say, based on my references and review of your pictures your 248 dates from 1929.

Great set, I have a red one and a orange one from 1928.   Both are great runners.

Don McErlean

Great info Don, thanks!

Don

I got this O Gauge Flyer 425 and 426 tender over the summer but was searching\waiting for the left side linkage to arrive. Luckily I found a one and it arrive this weekend. I looked at a whole bunch of pics on the web which showed this linkage with the curve up or down. Well this engine has one side up while the other is down. Anyone know how to date which year the engine is from? I have two different 426 tenders and am trying to figure out which goes with it. I believe the tender on the left is from 1938-9 due to the curly Q coupler and the heat stamped AF logo. The other one I think is from 1940 since it has the link coupler and 3/16 freight trucks and silver stamping.

@Jon Edwards posted:

I got this 263e with 263w tender. The loco has been restored but the tender looks pretty original except I think someone along the way drilled a hole in the frame between the two trucks. I need to rewire the tender and shine\clean them up a bit. There is a little crazing and some scrapes but it was to good a good deal to pass up. The loco runs good both forward and reverse and I had a friend(Rob English) take a look at it. Thanks Rob!

     Jon

You are welcome Jon!

Found these at my local train shop. American Flyer 2012 single arm semaphore circa 1922-27, 2009 single Arc light 1920-26. They had just got them in and both the semaphore and lamp worked as soon as I replaced the bulbs(I just threw a random bulb in to test). The water tower has a little paint flaking on the top, should clean up nicely.

     Jon

Here's my latest purchase

Well, I bid $4.99 on this giant double semaphore and won the auction lol.  I assumed it was Bing, there was not a photo of the underside.  However, I found this reference to American Flyer on line and interestingly wonder if it could be AF instead of Bing... or possibly Bing made for American Flyer....If it is the Flyer version, I guess I paid exactly twice the original list price from 106 years ago! LOL And shipping was a whopping 4-5 times the original cost!!

Good deal Dennis, those BING signals are nice and better match with standard or wide gauge than O. They are big models.

Daniel

@Dennis Holler posted:

Well, I bid $4.99 on this giant double semaphore and won the auction lol.  I assumed it was Bing, there was not a photo of the underside.  However, I found this reference to American Flyer on line and interestingly wonder if it could be AF instead of Bing... or possibly Bing made for American Flyer....If it is the Flyer version, I guess I paid exactly twice the original list price from 106 years ago! LOL And shipping was a whopping 4-5 times the original cost!!

Dennis,

Flyer's early signals were indeed made by German firms.  I am not sure exactly which firms made their items, but I know that Bub made at least a few of them. 

Your signal certainly appears to match the one from the Flyer catalog. 

This is what my wife is getting me for Christmas, American Flyer station 101 circa 1925-27. The lithography is so awesome I don't even mind the Navy recruiting post too much. Semper Fi!

            Jon

Jon:  Beautiful station outstanding lithography. Merry Christmas

Don

Go Navy!! Great station Jon!

@Dennis Holler posted:

I got lucky!! I bought an MTH LCT Orange 255E from a forum member but it had gotten lost in the world of the the USPS...  All of a sudden it was scanned through Indy this morning and showed up at my doorstep by 3PM...  I do like it, I like the slightly darker Orange on the 255E.  The Blue is better in my eye as well.  Gonna have to look for the Orange 261E now... Hopefully, I can get some time tonight to get down and try and run it some!

Just curious

What year did Lionel really firm up the orange/blue colors as part of their trademark? I know the boxes started coming out in the 1930's some time, right?

Jim

@StevefromPA posted:

@Dennis Holler this man is on a streak, ladies& gents, fantastic gets the last couple weeks!

As for me, 2 pick-ups today(so far). Nothing terribly special. Had an opportunity for a Prewar Flyer Hiawatha engine(w/o reverselever but w/ functioning F-N-R) for $65, coulda haggled down- I feel I’m gonna kick myself for not buying that one

My first unique arts train- the Caboose

And the collection of Prewar tank cars continues. Will try to post a pick o all of them later today. 804 no label with brass(?)trim.

I don’t know what happened to my other picture of these “odd balls”(as I call them). But these are all hubley, midgetoy or tootsietoy from my grandfather.unfortunately the entire consist of the rear train isn’t shown-I feel it’s supposed to be lead by a steam loco but I don’t have the appropriate tender- but I love the black switcher that’s leading this Passenger consist(brown observation after blue passenger). In front of that is the steam engine(midgetoy) and a yellow oil tender which I believe is tootsietoy. My tootsie toy pic didn’t save for some reason.

Behind the blue Passenger is the nose of an orange Hubley #31 engine with a SRR blue tender(not shown in picture)

because of these, I also bought this midgetoy tank car today. Will try to get the tootsie consist and rest of midgetoy consist up later

The diecast yellow tender was made by Londontoy of London, Ontario.  It goes with a Canadian National style semi streamlined locomotive and four piece set of freight cars.

It also came in black.

The complete Midgetoy Old West train looks like this....

-Mark

@Jim Waterman posted:

Just curious

What year did Lionel really firm up the orange/blue colors as part of their trademark? I know the boxes started coming out in the 1930's some time, right?

Jim

Jim, I think maybe 1934-35 time frame.

@Mark S. Thank you for clarifying! I really appreciate the info. I figures the passenger cars didn’t go behind the switcher but my Wild West engine is missing the tender. Good stuff- thanks again!

I posted this in the Tinplate photos thread but meant to post it here. I felt that my tin has been lacking so I bought this guy today(yesterday). Already gave Arne and rdigilio shout outs for helping with identifying it, so I won’t bother them again, but I cannot fail to mention them as I wouldn’t have known what I was getting without them

front(or rear)

Rear(or front)

Side entrance with ticket window

underneath

Found at a local antique mall months ago but didn’t want to buy it without more info.  The eye catcher for me,initially, was the “A.D. 1898” above the clock- which I now surmise is like the stone on a building saying when it was completed. I posted a picture the other week to ask for help identifying. This station was sold by both Carette & Karl Bub- but it was made by Bub. Produced from 1902- 1911. Possibly made until 1913, per this link which has pictures of the station which I used for reference along with the photo from the 1902 Bub catalog which Arne So helpfully provided https://www.historytoy.com/car...-toy-railway-station

I have some neat European Prewar buildings and accessories- but always wanted a larger, older station. FInally snagged one! I find the use of the tin lithograph station on a pressed metal(correct term?) base with the pressed metal waiting area to be interesting- it’s different.  

Downers: it’s missing the flags, the awning above the ticket window has broken off, the bell atop the tallest/middle spire is broken off on one side

pros:  the lithography is in pretty good shape, no signs of warping, the railings and bench are sturdy and intact, with the possible exception of the red roof, it does not appear that anything was repainted

Very, very happy to have this on my layout.

A Christmas Gift to myself.

Steve

I managed to find a couple more McCoy Christmas cars to add to my collection. Speaking of which, Merry Christmas everyone!

@POC914NUT posted:

I managed to find a couple more McCoy Christmas cars to add to my collection. Speaking of which, Merry Christmas everyone!

Your getting quite a collection of them.

Steve

I have the complete TCA 25th Anniversary set,  but have always wanted to add a few extra cars. Bought a 3 cars set in kit form and this is my first one roughed out.

Steve

Very appropriate!

@Steve "Papa" Eastman posted:

I have the complete TCA 25th Anniversary set,  but have always wanted to add a few extra cars. Bought a 3 cars set in kit form and this is my first one roughed out.

Steve

Arno was such a nice guy!  He advised me when buying this at Cal-Stewart in 2012.

@Jon Edwards posted:

This is what my wife is getting me for Christmas, American Flyer station 101 circa 1925-27. The lithography is so awesome I don't even mind the Navy recruiting post too much. Semper Fi!

            Jon

Very nice, but Go Army!

Tom

@Nation Wide Lines posted:

Arno was such a nice guy!  He advised me when buying this at Cal-Stewart in 2012.

What a neat tribute to Arno - good friend of mine. Miss you badly, been 4 years now. I have to credit him with getting me into the train building business. He arranged the deal that brought the Lee Lines tools and parts to his house, we were going to team on it, but by the time I drove to his place in Atlanta, he let me have all of it, he was too sick to participate.

I made him a shorty streamlined observation passenger car. He got it the day before he died, and sent me a quick text 'Looks like you had a few extra parts laying around, I love it'. Had his name on it as well, 'Baars Lines #1'

Jim

I made some scrap metal loads  for gondolas. pics are in the Sunday Scenic Showcase thread.

Here's something I think is pretty cool. I was looking over this Lionel #124 station today and it looks like somebody put a home made smoke unit in the chimney. They soldered up the seams on the chimney corner and inside the base to make it liquid tight. There's a little heating element looks like 3/8" square of mica with nichrome wire wrapped around it. I don't know enough about post-war Lionel to say but the smoke unit may have been pirated from a PW engine. Looks like the work was done a long time ago...like 70 years ago. A little crusty but I'd like to try it out someday,  would be neat to see smoke wafting from that little chimney again.

I never really studied this station before but the detail's on it are impressive. Besides the fine stampings, the corner light stanchions are made of heavy castings and the spring-loaded/self -closing litho doors with their little brass knobs are great.

I guess it had to be nice to justify the princely sum of $9.00 in 1925 !

An Ives 113 station:

   
                                               Trainfam

This repro Standard Gauge Dorfan Electric engine is currently on its way. Snagged on the evilBay.

With this addition (a filly) to my Standard Gauge "stable" of engines, I will have in repro or originals:

Dorfan Electric, AF "Shasta" Electric engine, AF Gold Millenium "Commander", Ives 1134 loco, Lionel 392E loco, Lionel Electric 381E, Lionel Electric 408E (filly).

One more is soon to be forthcoming- an original 1931 AF bell ringer Brass Piper locomotive, with an original  AF 1931-1932 Vanderbilt Tender.

@Carey TeaRose posted:

This repro Standard Gauge Dorfan Electric engine is currently on its way. Snagged on the evilBay.

With this addition (a filly) to my Standard Gauge "stable" of engines, I will have in repro or originals:

Dorfan Electric, AF "Shasta" Electric engine, AF Gold Millenium "Commander", Ives 1134 loco, Lionel 392E loco, Lionel Electric 381E, Lionel Electric 408E (filly).

One more is soon to be forthcoming- an original 1931 AF bell ringer Brass Piper locomotive, with an original  AF 1931-1932 Vanderbilt Tender.

They are very smooth running, you'll like it. They do have a unique coupler though.

Steve

I've seen several of Steve's run and have wanted one ever since. I'm glad I had other projects brewing and didn't run the price up on you as I quit bidding as the price went up. I look forward to seeing it on your new layout!

This American Flyer 3190 cast iron steamer c. 1931 arrived in the mail today.  It has a complete set of original die cast side rods on it!

NWL

I made this out of a junk Flyer Standard gauge boxcar.

@Pete in Kansas posted:

I made this out of a junk Flyer Standard gauge boxcar.

Beautiful job!

Bob Nelson

I have been making balustrades/guard rails for my Christmas "display layout". Here are some along the front in their unfinished state. They are made from poplar with small gallery rail turnings. I am debating whether to make them cream or green. I think I will start with cream, which will differentiate them from the station platforms behind them. You can also see the unpainted fascia with moldings that is the front of the table.

The scenic plot on this layout, seen in the background of several photos, can be seen in OGR Run 315 in an article on making the trees.

I haven't posted pictures of the whole thing this year, because I have been trying to get it more finished.

Very nice Will, one thought- you could paint similar to the scheme on Lionel bridges such as a #106. Maybe try a mock up in card board first?

Will those look great! These will add a lot of character to the display. Initially I had the same thought as John for the color combination. However, the question I have is what about the display fascia and molding, is that staying natural or being stained/painted? That or the railing would influence my decision on the other. Again, I really like the finished detail these will add to what looks like a fantastic display.

@G-Man24 very interesting pre-war modifies smoking station! The station itself look in nice shape. Apples to oranges, but I have a K-line ranch house with a smoke unit(the kind you see in a modern day train) that doesn’t work. Hope you have more luck with yours!

making an interesting connection with the aforementioned and @TrainFam ‘s post of his Ives 113. First- very nice pick-up, looks to be in fantastic shape. I have an Ives 115? It’s very similar but only one door that “opens” on each side. Gray tile like sidewalk around it. Someone modified it to have a light on the inside quite a long time ago- the wire is covered in old fabric- but it works well.

@Carey TeaRose very nice loco! Also/ congrats on your photos appearance in the most recent Interchange!

@Will very nice consist- looks great for a Christmas layout! The cars are in great shape!

@Pete in Kansas FANTASTIC work on “turning garbage in to gold”(as one of my favorite sports commentators used to say). That Reading paint job is great. Kudos on the wonderful work!

Picked up this little guy recently. 1920s Bub produced , from what I’ve read, and also sold by Issmayer and Carretes however the Issmayer version that I’ve seen has the typical “Bing style” l European type couplers. No clear markings on this car. The fixed upright tab and oval opening is I assume because it was a wind-upz simple car but colorful and actually in decent shape except for the lack of a roof

on the tracks, side A

Side B, looks like there was a marking in the middle long ago rubbed off

One of the ends

@StevefromPA

do you mind sharing a picture of your station?

                                                    Trainfam

@Rich Wiemann posted:

Will those look great! These will add a lot of character to the display. Initially I had the same thought as John for the color combination. However, the question I have is what about the display fascia and molding, is that staying natural or being stained/painted? That or the railing would influence my decision on the other. Again, I really like the finished detail these will add to what looks like a fantastic display.

This reply is for John Shelter too. I actually have a pair of 106 bridges on the layout. I hadn't thought about a two-color scheme, so I may have to ponder on that. If they matched the bridges, I guess the columns would be cream and the actual balustrades green. Or maybe the opposite would look better. Not sure.

The table fascia will be painted cream like the prewar table layout in Ron Hollander's book. I may put a "Lionel Trains" logo on the face. I probably should paint the fascia first and prime the ballustrade in cream and see if it looks ok blended in.. Then decide if I want to take the plunge and add green. There is already a lot of green in the two 46 crossing gates and the two 156 platforms which are right behind this. They are hidden by the train in these photos.

@TrainFam posted:

@StevefromPA

do you mind sharing a picture of your station?

                                                    Trainfam

Trianfam, no prob. That said, I’m sorry because I got my Ives items and catalog numbers confused. I have the  rather cumbersome115 FREIGHT station and, according to the Ives Society, an early version of the 201 Passenger station(1923-1928) which I think I also combined with the #96 Prewar Flyer station that has a baggage room door and waiting room door, though no lithographed people on that station. Anyway, the pictures of the 201 are below.

Front:

Back

The light used to hang from the ceiling via two wires that went through holes made in the station roof(due to the darkness of the 2nd photo you can’t really see them). Now they just go in the back door.

I have another prewar Flyer Northern on the way. Tender is a little rough, but should be able to get it back running again with some side frames and a pilot. Looking forward to getting this one as it as nice solid numbers on it unlike my other 806.  This would be the 1939 spur gear motor version with the RDC reverse (sort of like Lionel's Magic Electrol).  It triggers using the Lionel whistle control if you don't have the proper Flyer RDC controller button.  It is a little interesting that the tender is a chugger which they did not start making until 1941 so either it's a put together loco and tender or the accepted timeline is  suspect.

I picked up this Marx Clockwork Seaboard set recently.

  The box graphics

The price tag from Montgomery Ward - original sticker and mark down.  I paid a tad more but I have no regrets

...and the set

This nice Marx Commodore Vanderbilt locomotive followed me home from the local train shop today. It runs great, of course.

Even if it didn't run it would be an attractive art deco display piece.

-Mark

@Dennis Holler posted:

<snip>  This would be the 1939 spur gear motor version with the RDC reverse (sort of like Lionel's Magic Electrol).  It triggers using the Lionel whistle control if you don't have the proper Flyer RDC controller button.  It is a little interesting that the tender is a chugger which they did not start making until 1941 so either it's a put together loco and tender or the accepted timeline is  suspect. <snip>

The chugger tenders were offered for separate sale in 1941, so the mating of an older spur gear version of the Northern with the newer tender is easy to imagine. I have a complete No. 4024 set (OBs) with a No. 554 and the three die cast Tuscan heavyweights. The pulling power of the Gilbert prewar Northern is truly amazing.

Have fun!

Bob

This is kind of funny.  I do have a 001 Hudson in great  shape already, but I also have a spare boiler and bare chassis.. well just because...  Anyway, I was  surfing like I tend to do and the old keen eye caught something in these pictures and I was able to win this little pile for about $18...  I don't see any pest at least not in the pictures of the listing.  I'm not sure if this is a two rail or a three railer missing the center pickup.  Would the two rail ones have also had the reverse unit?  Will still have a few parts to track down, but this should about wrap up a second 00 Hudson sans tender lol

An early Valentine's Day present … a new-to-me 435 Lionel power station now graces the downtown area of my layout. Thanks to my wife.

Here's hoping a long search is over. Nothing exotic, but for some reason a single arm A.R. Fergusson semaphore has been tough to find. This showed up last night as a buy it now, listed as Ives/Flyer. Won't know for sure till it gets here. I've "bought" a few that turned out to be 2 arm ones with a missing arm. Seeing this, if it's real, there is a definite difference in height.

Steve

I didn't make this...someone long, long ago made it. It's a Standard Gage crossing made using a wooden base and rails scavenged from some old tubular track. Really neat the way they notched, folded and soldered the corners to make the 90* bends. Small screws on top of the track flange hold the track to the base. They even ran some type of jumper within the wood to carry power through the center "+" section. Likely made out of necessity by someone who needed a compact (7") crossing for their layout or by someone who couldn't afford to buy one from the catalog. I always enjoy seeing stuff like this.

@Dennis Holler posted:

I have another prewar Flyer Northern on the way. Tender is a little rough, but should be able to get it back running again with some side frames and a pilot. Looking forward to getting this one as it as nice solid numbers on it unlike my other 806.  This would be the 1939 spur gear motor version with the RDC reverse (sort of like Lionel's Magic Electrol).  It triggers using the Lionel whistle control if you don't have the proper Flyer RDC controller button.  It is a little interesting that the tender is a chugger which they did not start making until 1941 so either it's a put together loco and tender or the accepted timeline is  suspect.

I've got a love/hate relationship with those prewar Flyer 3/16ths O gauge locomotives - my first exposure to them was rebuilding a small fleet of them for a train  museum. I loved the look, especially the UP 4-8-4 and long tender - I quickly discovered the dirty secret of the prewar Flyer pieces. I chose a 4-8-4, started to back out a screw and suddenly a chunk of the casting came off with the screw in place - grrrr, the dreaded Dorfan's Disease (zinc pest) reared its ugly head - this would be where the hate part ot the equation came into play. The shell disintegrated - I ended up with a chassis which I got running, all the non-cast detail pieces and luckily a boiler front; the tender shell had crazing and crumbling, all the steps had snapped off, and the chassis was warped from front to back L got all the trim pieces, a drawbar and unbelievably a pair of tender trucks with minimal bowing of the  sideframes. Each piece was a crapshoot- some were solid, others looked solid but turned to zinc crumbles - never a dull moment working on those Flyer locomotives.

I didn't buy it but I spotted this interesting item in a recent auction lot. It was presented as a "Dorfan O Gage Helix" and sold for just under $1,000. That seems an awfully long unsupported section at the top.. must have been exciting !   Does anybody have a catalog picture of this ?

I’ve been busy working on cleaning a motor that was, well, to put it lightly, dirty. Needless to say the motor had most likely not been cleaned in a long while, most likely years. I used q tips, a toothbrush, oil, toothpick‘s, and a paint brush to clean the motor up. It will still need some work as it needs a new pickup plate and new wiring, but I’d say it’s quite the turn around:

before:

after:

                                                Trainfam

@TrainFam posted:

I’ve been busy working on cleaning a motor that was, well, to put it lightly, dirty.

                                             

Nice job. Is there a solvent , like mineral spirits or naphtha , where it would be safe to soak the entire assembly ?

.

@G-Man24 posted:

Nice job. Is there a solvent , like mineral spirits or naphtha , where it would be safe to soak the entire assembly ?

.

Hi @G-Man24

I am not aware of any solvents that this type of assembly would be safe to totally soak in. I’ve always taken the whole thing apart to clean the motor as some parts (such as the commutator and it’s windings and rings) react differently to solvents, and can be damaged easily. Maybe there is a solvent that could work, but I am not aware of it. Interesting idea.

                                                     Trainfam

@G-Man24 posted:

I didn't buy it but I spotted this interesting item in a recent auction lot. It was presented as a "Dorfan O Gage Helix" and sold for just under $1,000. That seems an awfully long unsupported section at the top.. must have been exciting !   Does anybody have a catalog picture of this ?

I don't believe that is a Dorfan item.  I have seen those helixes advertised, but I do not recall who made them.  I do recall that they were not made by one of the train manufacturers.  I believe they were sold in both O and Standard gauges.

NWL

@Nation Wide Lines posted:

I don't believe that is a Dorfan item.  I have seen those helixes advertised, but I do not recall who made them.  I do recall that they were not made by one of the train manufacturers.  I believe they were sold in both O and Standard gauges.

NWL

Interesting now that I did some searching it definitely looks like there were other manufacturers of those helix setups. However I did find a photo of another example with identical support bracing and it has a very detailed description to go with it ( if it's to be believed.)   I'm not a Dorfan collector so I can't even give an educated guess.

DESCRIPTION

Here's my latest, an Edaville RR train in Standard gauge. Now I know standard gauge is far from what Edaville was but some time ago I made an Edaville boxcar from a junk 114. I couldn't have just one car so I put together a small train. A green 33 ( as I recall Edaville had a small center cab and I think it was even green) my 114 boxcar, a 116 ballast hopper, and a reworked 117 caboose.  Overall it makes a nice little train.

25 years ago I acquired a white Ives Limited Vestibule Express  Yale car in super condition.I've always been interested in completing the 3 car set and yesterday I was the winner of  the #60 mail/express car in prettyin pretty good shape though not as pristine as Yale. Beggars can't be choosey.  Now, all I have to do is find the early White Harvard 8 wheeler with tab and slot couplers.Here are two photos.  When Nr 60 arrives I'll take some shots of the two cars being pulled by an Ives Nr 17. It will be my version of the famous New York and New England White Train.

Lew Schneider

This Marklin schlafwagen was delivered to the passenger car shops at Ophir recently. Now all I need are the correct personenwagen, speisewagen and an appropriate engine to go with it and I'll have another passenger train.

The Amazing American Flyer No. 5 1/2 Clockwork Locomotive

  Not too long ago I won a bid for an American Flyer clockwork set.  I was almost certain the pictured set and possibly its set box weren't - that is to say I didn't think the set was an actual issued set and I didn't think the set box corresponded to the illustrated contents.  The reason I was interested in making the purchase was because I had parts of other American Flyer sets in need of the pictured items to make them complete.

  When everything arrived my suspicions were confirmed - the set box was for set #16 ca. 1918-1920, the two passenger cars were from about the same period but had nothing to do with a Set #16 nor with the engine they came with. The engine was a Greenberg Type IX with no brake which made it a No.1. The tender put the engine/tender combination in the 1920-1921 time frame.  This, coupled with the count of straight and curved track that was part of the purchase suggested the engine, tender, and track were most likely from Set #1 ca 1920-21.

  The only thing missing was the No.1103 passenger car...fortunately I just happened to have an orphan looking for membership in a set so I put everything together (the 1921 catalog cut is a modification of an earlier catalog illustration. By 1920 the #1103 just had "American Flyer" on the letter board) .

  The Type IX engine can be found just with cast "A.F." letters under the cab window or with the cast letter and number combinations of  "A.F. 10" or "A.F. 11". Over the years I've seen all three types.  The Greenberg book states," It would make sense that American Flyer would use "A.F. 10" for No. 1 and "A.F. 11" for No. 2, but in true American Flyer fashion both numbers show up on both locomotives."

  Once I got everything cleaned up I took a closer look at my No.1 and found something curious...

  Instead of a 10 - which would be the accepted code for a No. 1 the cast letter/number combination under the cab is "A.F. 1".  Needless to say, I was a bit surprised.  When I checked the other side I found...

which is in keeping with the Greenberg quote. So, since, 1+10 = 11 and 11/2 = 5.5 it is obvious what we have here is an American Flyer No.5 1/2.

  Seriously, what is interesting is this casting would suggest for some short period after the introduction of the Type IX engine Flyer did turn out No. 1 engines with a #1 cast under the cab window on both sides...now all I have to do is find one.

  As for the why of this engine I'm sure it is just the standard Flyer practice of using up old inventory. I have several Flyer items which are the result of this parsimonious manufacturing methodology.

A hand-crafted "remake" of a prewar composite Elastolin castle and tunnel, with a number of artistic liberties taken:

Hats off to my friend Howard (sawdust43) for the inspiration and motivation, not to mention a few supplies.

Now, what to do with it.

On to the next.

PD

@pd posted:

A hand-crafted "remake" of a prewar composite Elastolin castle and tunnel, with a number of artistic liberties taken:

Hats off to my friend Howard (sawdust43) for the inspiration and motivation, not to mention a few supplies.

Now, what to do with it.

On to the next.

PD

Okay, that's one of the coolest things I have ever seen. Tell us more.

@pd posted:

A hand-crafted "remake" of a prewar composite Elastolin castle and tunnel, with a number of artistic liberties taken:

Hats off to my friend Howard (sawdust43) for the inspiration and motivation, not to mention a few supplies.

Now, what to do with it.

On to the next.

PD

I had an original similar to it, but sold it a few years ago.

Steve

Elastolin had an extensive line of toy forts/castles it developed during the interwar period which they produced up until 1941 or 1942, than resumed production following the war. The prewar toys were manufactured of a fibrous composite material; after the war Elastolin moved to an extruded/formed plastic. During the 1950s, the range was expanded to include HO or OO scale versions.

Here's an example of a composite Elastolin castle toy which included a tunnel (not all versions had tunnels running through the base):

We used this version as the basis for a remake. It's missing a few bits, but provides a good sense of what the components and structural scale is. The Elastolin version is basically the base with a number of components that are arranged to form the castle. We built our interpretation in two sections: (1) the tunnel base and (2) the castle structure on a separate base.

Construction of the base and tunnel was pretty straightforward using traditional model railroad techniques. We used papier-mâché to cover it, not plaster-cloth, as we thought this was something often used by the various toy manufacturers for such things during the prewar period. I hadn't done any papier-mâché since high school and had forgotten a number of its characteristics, one being its tendency to shrink as it dried. This resulted in the underlying ribs becoming visible in a few places, but no worries. The papier-mâché comprised torn up paper grocery bags and diluted white glue.

Nearly all of the materials used for construction, with the exception of the drawbridge hinge, a small bit of chain (leftover from a Christmas "garden" project), and a couple bottles of acrylic craft paint, were either scraps from the workshop or bits found for free. Cereal boxes, USPS shipping boxes, single-faced corrugated from liquor store signage/displays, and a few scraps of O-scale brick-paper were all used. Here's a montage of construction at various stages:

The dimensions are approximately 16 inches end-to-end, and roughly 18 inches tall. I intentionally compressed the design a bit while making it taller and a bit closer to O-scale. I freely admit to making a number of design gaffes along the way resulting in "Oh, that's why they did that" moments.

I can't stress enough, Howard (sawdust43) blazed the trail on this with a version of his own. He included a number of features in his that I omitted, including some very professionally designed and installed LED lighting. I can't say I would have ever attempted this without seeing his first, together with the words of encouragement and the hints he provided along the way. Perhaps the best result was I got a new friend out of the process.

That's about it. Should make a nice backdrop for a few European clockworks I have. Hopefully I won't inadvertently put my foot through the side of it before then.

PD

PD: What a great castle and tunnel for the layout. Thanks for your construction notes as well. Not sure I would ever attempt such a project but it’s fun to know how it was done. Hey what about that engine exiting the tunnel. My guess was either the Lionel “Harry Poter” engine or a Hornsby LMS tank.

Thanks for posting

Don

@Mark S. posted:

This nice Marx Commodore Vanderbilt locomotive followed me home from the local train shop today. It runs great, of course.

Even if it didn't run it would be an attractive art deco display piece

Mark,

I love that short video of your layout and the Marx run-by, plus the track ballasting. Do you have any more photos of your layout you can post? I am always looking for inspiration!

Thanks!

John

Thanks Don...fun project.

The loco is a prewar Marklin 970.

PD

Here is my latest acquisition the large 0/1 Gauge Kibri 48-20 signal bridge. What a monster -- 44 cm long. Fortunately I still had a bit of room on my layout.  But I think it's the end for any further large structures.  Enjoy the photos.  Lew Schneider

@John Smatlak posted:

Russian-made "Moskobel" O gauge diesel locomotive of the 1950's. Quite an interesting piece, and a real brute, weighing in at 6 pounds, 2 oz. Luckily there is a good amount of info on the internet about these, starting with the TCA page:  http://www.tcawestern.org/moskobel.htm (note also the links down at the bottom of that page). After a clean and lube, it runs, although some additional tweaking is needed to get all the wheels to sit squarely on the track (the way the couplers protrude through their slots is giving the idler trucks a bit of "lift" that they don't need), and to take out a little bit of a lean to one side. A short video clip is included, enjoy!

And is that a Ralstoy Allied semi in the last picture?

@Forty Rod posted:

And is that a Ralstoy Allied semi in the last picture?

That is a Grimland  (crazy name for a toy company eh?) Allied van, with the incorrect tractor. Great colors!

Thanks, PD, for the additional info and photos. I had sort of forgotten about paper mache as well. It was used for a lot of tunnels, pre-plastic, and is easy to do and would look right at home on a tinplate layout. Great job!

Thanks, Will, it was a lot of fun while cooped up in the house. I was thinking that the base, with a few modifications, could make a great stand for a small (four-foot or less) artificial Christmas tree.

PD

Ralstoy came out of Nebraska and had a lot of really nice metal tractor-trailer rigs (and possibly tractor and trailers sold separately) for awhile.  Their later stuff looks like painted wood block, nbut is still usable way back.  I'm always on the look out for the early rigs, but will take what I can find.

This is the first I have heard of Ralstoy.  Are the trucks and cars pretty close to O gauge?  Where can I find more information?

Northwoods Flyer

@Greg J. Turinetti I also hadn't heard of them, so I did a search on Ebay and found a lot. Like Forty Rod said, mostly trucks and in the 1950s or 60s.  Details and windows printed on.  Those are pretty reasonable. Seem like they would work with O scale. The few early pieces were pricy.

@Greg J. Turinetti posted:

This is the first I have heard of Ralstoy.  Are the trucks and cars pretty close to O gauge?  Where can I find more information?

Northwoods Flyer

I'm guessing that they are bit small for O gauge, more like S.  The details aren't much to shout about, but they are great for back on the layout a ways or if ....like me.....you are running O-27 Marx toy trains, they will work.  I'm not above running very detailed stuff alongside  something that has a shape sort of like the real thing, and I really like Marx lithograpy and some other painted on details.

I received my restored display and conversation AF piece. It looks great and smells like fresh paint. Ha. I’m prewar focused right now. Mostly unrestored. I have no permanent layout and this is a temporary layout to play with all of this crazy in the interim. Lionel JLC GG1 and a PRSL passenger car in the background.

Wow, that is nice!

PD

I’m pretty excited about a (hopefully) nice prewar Std Lionel No. 8e with the original box in olive green. I purchased it over the weekend. It might arrive before the weekend. Or not. Shipping lately has been problematic. I’ll share some photos when it arrives.