Messing with Some Vintage HO Stuff....

I enjoy pulling out my vintage stuff every now and then and oogling them, too. My HO "collectables" () are primarily "Lindberg Line" items.

Now, I do have some HO vintage cars that are in service on my layout, running among the Athearn, MDC, Atlas, and what have you. They look fine mixed in among them.

Some of them I purchased because I had them as a lad... others I purchased because... well... because I liked 'em!

Here's a string of three Varney  tinplate cars:

Andre

You guys know that Stevenson Preservation did a Varney boxcar underbody in brass for me?    They shrunk slightly, but they will never crumble or warp.  He has the master.

Mark, Andre, thanks for sharing a token of your HO memories with OGR members.  How many of us Old Heads made the switch from tinplate to HO starting in the mid-50s and beyond?  I was no exception.  My first venture was to purchase a Revell HO scale catalog from a bicycle dealer in Dallas Oak Cliff in 1956.  I paid a whopping 10 cents for it.

A great site to stir up those HO memories is www.hoseeker.net   It can be summed up in one word:  WOW!

Joe

Joe:

Yup, I went from a Marx 3-rail 25225 set to my first scale HO "Lindberg Lines" set in Christmas of '62. I've pretty much been in HO in some form ever since. Here's a picture of my current Linberg Lines set that was just like the one I received back in '62. Here's the box cover:

And here's the set:

I was wowed by my original set like this one way back in '62. I loved the fact that the cars looked like cars I saw around KC (the above cars are actually painted in flat paint and in railroad schemes), and I liked that it had a switch engine similar to what I could see in KC. I was hooked into scale model railroading with the above set.

Andre

Andre:

I well remember the Lindberg Line.  Their SW1 really blew my mind when it was announced in the model magazines.  Revell's SW7, like the Lindberg SW1, featured pretty good detail for the time.

I well understand why you have made the decision to return to HO in lieu of S scale.

When time permits, please update your Kansas City & Gulf page.

Joe

HO is but a memory for me now, but I have retained some of my favorites.

I guess these would classify as vintage nowadays.  My PFM Russian Decapod.  I bought this at Pro Custom Hobbies in 1977 during the NMRA convention.  It was probably a 5-10 year old locomotive at that time:

I prefer it over the current Bachmann versions.

My AHM 0-4-0T, I can't recall when I picked it up, probably in the early 1970's:

I think there used to be a law in Model Railroading back then that everyone had to own a so-called "Docksider" at some time in their lives.

Unfortunately, my Lindberg SW1 has gone to Val-Halla, the frame had deteriorated beyond repair, so it only exists in a photo:

My crude paint job was for the Manufactures Junction Railway, a 1-1/2 mile long railroad that switched the Western Electric plant in Cicero, IL.

Rusty

Rusty:  Love the PFM 2-10-0 Russian Decapod.  I well remember when PFM introduced their sound system too.  If I recall, it was a big hit at Hall's Hobby House in Dallas.  I'll have to ask one time part time employee Steele Craver though.  My how times have changed, including prices.

Thanks for sharing your treasures.  What caused your Lindberg SW1 frame to give up the ghost?

Joe

I'll throw down a loop and run my two Rivrossi steamers occasionally. NYC Hudson, and PRR Y6-b. They see occasional Christmas tree duty as well.

I got the Hudson when I was about 10 ('72), and the Y6 several  years later. I ran the wheels off of the Hudson but the Y6 is like new. I've replaced the motors in both (hard to find btw), and the worm gear case on the Hudson.

@Trinity River Bottoms Boomer posted:

  What caused your Lindberg SW1 frame to give up the ghost?

Joe

The legendary zinc pest.  I had two mid-1970's Athearn U30C's with the same problem.

@RSJB18 posted:

I'll throw down a loop and run my two Rivrossi steamers occasionally. NYC Hudson, and PRR Y6-b. They see occasional Christmas tree duty as well.

I got the Hudson when I was about 10 ('72), and the Y6 several  years later. I ran the wheels off of the Hudson but the Y6 is like new. I've replaced the motors in both (hard to find btw), and the worm gear case on the Hudson.

I still have two 1970's vintage AHM/Rivarrossi's, but they didn't escape my razor saw and X-acto knife.

Underneath the SP style shroud lies an ex-NKP Berkshire:

And had I known the B&O "Big Six" 2-10-2 would become a rare bird, I might not have modified one:

Rusty

Wow.  Great looking locomotives. Beats the heck out of anything I owned when I had a big HO layout.

I am currently trying to install a small oval of HO track, inside one part of the figure 8 in my O gauge layout.  I plan to run an HO Gandy Dancer Handcar on it.   My little oval has 12R curves (24 inch diameter curves).  I have ordered the Handcar, and hope that that tiny short wheelbase loco can make it around those tight curves.

Mannyrock

@Mannyrock posted:

Wow.  Great looking locomotives. Beats the heck out of anything I owned when I had a big HO layout.

I am currently trying to install a small oval of HO track, inside one part of the figure 8 in my O gauge layout.  I plan to run an HO Gandy Dancer Handcar on it.   My little oval has 12R curves (24 inch diameter curves).  I have ordered the Handcar, and hope that that tiny short wheelbase loco can make it around those tight curves.

Mannyrock

Should be no problem.  Tyco once made 4-1/2" radius street car track for their trolley, which had a longer wheelbase than your handcar.

Rusty

It appears that I wasn't the only one to get their first taste of "scale" model trains in HO. Rusty, you did a terrific job on that "Big 6", and I remember making a few purchases (by mail, of course) from Pro Custom Hobbies.

Sometimes I think that the 20 years I spent in HO (1970-1990) were particularly good ones for the scale: there was still a focus on assembling stuff yourself, with lots of kit-bashing going on and parts available. And who didn't LOVE those cool Ulrich truck models? 😊

Mark in Oregon

How many of you Old Heads (Gads, I'm one now as well; havingj passed Milepost 75 on 7/4/2021) shopped at Woolco in the late 60s/early 70s and purchased AHM HO train products?  The Woolco in Irving, TX even had an employee who was a model railroader.  He moved lots of AHM for them.  I don't think the store posed a problem for Hall's Hobby House in Dallas, but you could sure save a lot of $$$ if you shopped at that Woolco in Irving, w/o having to pay retail at Miss Hall's.

Even today if I were to re-enter the hobby I would probably model in HO again (my O and S scale study didn't give me the thrill I thought it would) and look for nice price like new Rivarossi products.  The Union Pacific Big Boy comes to mind.  To enhance the roster, the plastic Revell (marketed in Europe) Big Boy kits are perfect for a roundhouse scene w/o dropping lots of $$$ for additional powered models.  That would be overkill insofar as they wouldn't be operated but only serve as static models at best.

Rusty:  I hit the like button regarding the zinc pest problem you encountered in your reply to my question.  NOT because of zinc pest issue but as a thank you for answering.

Joe

As I mentioned before, I have a Rivarossi/AHM "Big 6" in which the entire boiler weight was infected with the zinc issue. Since that weight was somehow tied in with the drive mechanism (I don't remember exactly how), it rendered the engine inoperable. Fortunately, I was able to find a replacement piece on eBay...

Rusty: you also did a great job on that Berkshire, by the way...🙂

Mark in Oregon

I still have a 1x8 foot switching layout from back in the ‘80’s, and a 4x8’ layout that was a remnant of a much bigger layout that I was building before I reverted back to my 3 rail days and finished my 5x9 layout. Here’s some shots of the unfinished 4x8, and the switching layout. I still occasionally run both layouts.

The switching layout ( complete with an old Varney metal reefer, and custom painted Athearn SW8. The 1st and 2nd photos show the 4x8’.

@laming posted:

I enjoy pulling out my vintage stuff every now and then and oogling them, too. My HO "collectables" () are primarily "Lindberg Line" items.

Now, I do have some HO vintage cars that are in service on my layout, running among the Athearn, MDC, Atlas, and what have you. They look fine mixed in among them.

Some of them I purchased because I had them as a lad... others I purchased because... well... because I liked 'em!

Here's a string of three Varney  tinplate cars:

Andre

Those Varney "Tinplate" cars to me look more realistic than a lot of modern offerings.  Gordon Varney was a master of decoration for the era these cars were made.  I have quite a bit of Varney, but between my Uncle and my Father, they have nearly every piece made by Varney post war.  Their diesel locomotives were not the best runners after Varney and Lindberg parted ways, but still fun to work on.  The steam locomotives could be made to run like clockwork when built well though.

I agree, Jonathan. That same yellow ART reefer is on the left side of my switching layout spotted at the warehouse. I have only a few vintage cars on my layout, but the detail is almost as good as some of my scale built kits. Here is a closer shot, along with a weathered Varney plastic flat that I think looks credible with some weathering.

@Trinity River Bottoms Boomer posted:

How many of you Old Heads (Gads, I'm one now as well; havingj passed Milepost 75 on 7/4/2021) shopped at Woolco in the late 60s/early 70s and purchased AHM HO train products?  The Woolco in Irving, TX even had an employee who was a model railroader.  He moved lots of AHM for them.  I don't think the store posed a problem for Hall's Hobby House in Dallas, but you could sure save a lot of $$$ if you shopped at that Woolco in Irving, w/o having to pay retail at Miss Hall's.

Even today if I were to re-enter the hobby I would probably model in HO again (my O and S scale study didn't give me the thrill I thought it would) and look for nice price like new Rivarossi products.  The Union Pacific Big Boy comes to mind.  To enhance the roster, the plastic Revell (marketed in Europe) Big Boy kits are perfect for a roundhouse scene w/o dropping lots of $$$ for additional powered models.  That would be overkill insofar as they wouldn't be operated but only serve as static models at best.

Rusty:  I hit the like button regarding the zinc pest problem you encountered in your reply to my question.  NOT because of zinc pest issue but as a thank you for answering.

Joe

Back in the 70's purchased many AHM items at various F.W. Woolworths in NYC and Long Island.  My prize score was on a post Christmas clearance - a Rivarossi Tuscan GG-1 and full set of smooth side Tuscan passenger cars.