Midwest Monday

@Don McErlean posted:

Detroit - All I can say is that it's sure going to take a lot of pancakes to use up all that syrup .  Lee neat video - don't think you have showed your RSD 12 very much, neat engine and seems a smooth runner.

Well my contribution today concerns the Minneapolis and St. Louis Railway.  This was a granger that ran in the states of Minnesota, Illinois, Iowa, and South Dakota. It lived on providing economical shipping rates to farmers for agricultural products.   Its maximum track mileage was around 1700 miles and it lasted from 1870 until 1960 when it was finally eclipsed by competition.  Sad to say, despite its name, it never reached St. Louis and its main terminal stop was in Peoria, Ill in fact the RR has the slogan..."The Peoria Gateway".  That slogan is part of the livery of both cars and those words are contained in the circle you see on the sides.

First just the bay window caboose.  This is a Lionel (MPC) #9271 from 1978

Now the caboose with my M&StL boxcar also a Lionel (MPC) # 9775 from 1976

Lee in your video I noted a M&StL boxcar but it appears to have a different livery.  Both the car and the caboose came to me via e-bay relatively recently, the caboose in Feb and the boxcar last summer so they are new to me. Both, despite their age, arrived in LN condition and still in their original box...so I guess I might be the first guy running them...cool!!

Best wishes to everyone, have a great week.

Don

Don it’s always a pleasure to see you posting. I wish the M&STL came to St. Louis. My car is a Weaver and I have that cat you have. To be honest I like the O27 car better.

Mike, Did you make this ramp from scratch? It looks amazing!

@Tom Densel posted:

A little AC&Y action at Kill Bridge:

Tom

Tom   Wow. that was a neat video this week a bridge crossing going into the Diamond and a nice lash up to. Do you mind if I ask what did you use for your background is that from Walthers? I’m try to figure out one for mine. Thanks for sharing this week.

From the MTH 2016 Vol. 1 catalog.  MTH Premier Wabash E8 AB (20-20618-1, and 20-20618-3) pulling some MTH Premier streamlined passenger cars (RPO and 5-car set).  I'll call it the Wabash Cannonball.

Also, requiem for my Midwest tinplate.  I've been selling off all of my Standard Gauge.

I shipped these three out this week:

@MikeH posted:

From the MTH 2016 Vol. 1 catalog.  MTH Premier Wabash E8 AB (20-20618-1, and 20-20618-3) pulling some MTH Premier streamlined passenger cars (RPO and 5-car set).  I'll call it the Wabash Cannonball.

A Penn Central local passes through town:

Tom

@lee drennen posted:

Tom   Wow. that was a neat video this week a bridge crossing going into the Diamond and a nice lash up to. Do you mind if I ask what did you use for your background is that from Walthers? I’m try to figure out one for mine. Thanks for sharing this week.

Thanks Lee!  Yes, the backdrop is from Walthers.

Tom

Well I can echo Detroit and say..."How about a little Rock Island"?

Here is the Marx Rock Island # 799 GE 70 Ton offered between 1959-1965.  The Marx Rock Island #147815 box car from 1952-1959 and the #17858 4 wheel Rock Island caboose.

And here is our switcher with the Lionel (LTI)  # 16519 Rock Island Transfer Caboose from 1990

Best wishes for a great week.

Don

Sorry guys I didn’t have anything to offer yesterday maybe next week. Al your pics look great this MWM.

@Tom Densel posted:

Thanks Lee!  Yes, the backdrop is from Walthers.

Tom

Tom. That was a great idea.

@Tom Densel posted:

A Penn Central local passes through town:

Tom

Another great video Tom kinda looks like a cold Eastern States day thanks for sharing.

@Don McErlean posted:

Well I can echo Detroit and say..."How about a little Rock Island"?

Here is the Marx Rock Island # 799 GE 70 Ton offered between 1959-1965.  The Marx Rock Island #147815 box car from 1952-1959 and the #17858 4 wheel Rock Island caboose.

And here is our switcher with the Lionel (LTI)  # 16519 Rock Island Transfer Caboose from 1990

Best wishes for a great week.

Don

Always a pleasure looking at your pics. Thanks for sharing

@DETROIT posted:

How about a little DT&I // N&W steel and autopart MwM?

Great Video Jim.  White Worms and Cigar Bands Boxcars nice lash up. Thanks for sharing.

@MikeH posted:

Also, requiem for my Midwest tinplate.  I've been selling off all of my Standard Gauge.

I shipped these three out this week:

Mike I like that MoPac one thanks for sharing.

Thanks Lee!  Best wishes

Don

@Don McErlean posted:

Thanks Lee!  Best wishes

Don

Thanks Don. Maybe next Monday will be better for me

Well M.W.M. fans, we seem to be slowing down a bit and here it is the FIRST MONDAY in a new month ... 4 April !  So today, I thought I would start off with a loco you have seen before but with a new train.  This is my very early MPC loco # 8040 from 1970-1972 so just about the beginning of MPC making Lionel trains under license.

So here is the Lionel (MPC) #8040 NKP 2-4-2 loco from that early MPC era. This engine also headed up an MPC set, same engine different cars, called for some reason "The Wabash Cannonball" even though everything was labeled NKP.  I posted pictures of the Wabash Cannonball set back in February.

Here she is with her little tanker train...pulling the Lionel # 36152 "high octane gasoline" single dome tanker from about 2011 and the Lionel lines 3 dome tanker.

Here is her Lionel (LTI) #6919 NKP caboose from 1986-1991

Well folks that's it for me today, hope you have a healthy and happy week.

Best Wishes

Don

C&NW and The Milwaukee Rd.

CB&Q GP7 (MTH 20-21540-1) custom run from @Berwyns Toys and Trains

(Berwyn's website)

Here in eastern South Dakota, old railroad right-of-ways quickly disappear into the prairie since cuts & fills are minimal, so this historical sign caught my eye even though no sign of a RR still exists.   It seems like the SDCR was one of many RR's chasing small amounts of SD revenue.

Hello everyone - here we are again at MWM...it is a rather dark and dreary Monday in central Texas, so I thought I might "lighten" the day and show you some trains that (at least in some circles) would be considered nonsense.  We have to remember however that maybe (just maybe!) for some small person this might be their favorite toy or Christmas present.

This is a train set, I "found" at my wife's antique shop (she has a booth) for the amazing sum of $5.  Now I must admit, nonsensical though it was, no train collector can resist a fully complete, boxed set, for $5.  This set is called (appropriate for Midwest Monday) the " Western Train Set" by Grayco Toys of Hong Cong.  Here are some pictures:

Here is the box lid picture clearly identifying it as a "Western Train Set" with a figure 8 of track.  The track by the way is all plastic, does have a 90 degree cross over as pictured and the gauge is rather strange its 1 1/8" actually considerably larger than HO and even larger than S but smaller than 0 ... The trains however, you will see, at least the freight cars are quite small but larger than HO although very "shortened".

In the classic and usual standard let down that the trains look very little like the cover picture, here is the inside of the box with the protective cardboard insert. Note loco as pictured on box is 2-8-2 and in reality is an 0-4-0.

Here is the mighty 0-4-0 locomotive.  Powered by 1 "D" battery that goes in through the cab, it does have (as advertised) a headlight and "choo-choo" sound.  It is supposed to have smoke but there were no directions on how to initiate that so I never tried.  It has no speed control so keeping it on the track as you switch it to "on" and then stopping it is tricky. To give you an image of size the engine is 7 " long and the tender is 2 1/4" long.  Everything, as you might guess, including the track, is plastic.

Now here (reasonably close to the cover picture) are the freight cars.  Now B&O is a Midwest RR but Santa Fe is not and Southern is not but at least they "book end" the Midwest.  These cars are rather small.  The Santa Fe (outside braced no less) box car is 3 1/4" long and the Southern hopper car is 3 1/2 " long.

Now here Midwest fans is the real mystery.  We have a B&O steam locomotive and tender, Santa Fe boxcar, Southern Hopper  so why in the world would be have a Pennsylvania RR caboose. Who knows???  Even more interesting, the freight cars have their RR names on a printed paper label, so changing them in production would be easy and inexpensive.  Why not label the caboose more appropriately?   Perhaps this caboose is left over from another set and was left over inventory.

OK MWM fans, there is the Grayco Toys, Western Train set.  I am counting it eligible for this thread due to its Baltimore and Ohio tender and ignoring the mysterious PRR caboose.  This post to me was just for fun and a few smiles on a dark and dreary Monday and I hope no one is mad or insulted at the nonsensical trains pictured.  Remember its all for fun!!

Best wishes for a great week

Don

Thanks for kicking things off this week, Don.

I caught this Penn Central manifest freight passing through the village of Killbridge.  I don't know if the elderly gentleman is a railfan or just checking out his tomatoes:

Tom

Don, great little set! Thanks for sharing it with us!
Tom wonderful Penn Central. As for the old man standing there with his dog, he might have just forgot what he was going to do next! I know I have done that several times! Love the video!

@Don McErlean posted:

Why not label the caboose more appropriately?   Perhaps this caboose is left over from another set and was left over inventory.

The people that produce these sets don't know and don't care that the caboose matches the loco.  They're just looking to make sure that everything is labeled differently to catch the eye of a consumer that most likely isn't a model railroader.

Rusty

Tom / Mike g - thanks for your comments and thoughts.  Tom, I hope that old man is as near deaf as I am or getting some sleep in that house which looks just a few feet from those huge growling diesels and squeaky freight cars is going to be a problem .  Nice action though and cool video.

@Don McErlean posted:

Tom / Mike g - thanks for your comments and thoughts.  Tom, I hope that old man is as near deaf as I am or getting some sleep in that house which looks just a few feet from those huge growling diesels and squeaky freight cars is going to be a problem .  Nice action though and cool video.

After speaking with the gentleman, I found out that the tracks are a little used branch line that normally only see one or two trains a week.  Due to a derailment, the PC is diverting traffic over the branch line for a short time.  He was admiring the large road locomotives and various freight cars not normally seen on these tracks.  He also hinted that he didn't want any hobos jumping off the train and stealing his tomatoes, corn or watermelons.

Tom

Rusty re your comment, I am sure you are correct. It just seems a shame to me that the mfr cannot expend a minuscule amt of extra effort to greatly improve the product.

Tom that old man is pretty savy. I hope he enjoys his rail fanning I know I would.

Detroit - cool PC F unit looks new did you just get it?

Best wishes all have a great week

Don

@Tom Densel posted:

Thanks for kicking things off this week, Don.

I caught this Penn Central manifest freight passing through the village of Killbridge.  I don't know if the elderly gentleman is a railfan or just checking out his tomatoes:

Tom

Nice run Tom and a very good Manifest. I see that garden there wish it would stop raining here and warm up so I can get mine out. Thanks for sharing

@Don McErlean posted:

Rusty re your comment, I am sure you are correct. It just seems a shame to me that the mfr cannot expend a minuscule amt of extra effort to greatly improve the product.

Tom that old man is pretty savy. I hope he enjoys his rail fanning I know I would.

Detroit - cool PC F unit looks new did you just get it?

Best wishes all have a great week

Don

Don I also want to thank you for kicking the thread off this week sorry I’m a slacker lol

See some exceptional midwest modeling at my post about the Prairie Scale Model Railroad Club on the HONZ forum.  Here is the link:

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/...odel-rr-club-tour-ho

NH Joe

Lee - you are more than welcome, glad you are back with us again.  Best Wishes

Don

Penn Central SW8 8623 (Lionel) leads a short freight down a decrepit branch line:

Tom

Tom : Great video.  The train was super but I loved the dog / dog house/ boy playing with dog and the BBQ grill in the background was really neat.  Never saw that before.  Super scene.

Like Tom I am sort of late today on Midwest Monday.  However you all know that railroads sometimes use "run through" power.  Well that is happening today as a Wabash F-3 AB unit is bringing a "Lionel Lines" passenger consist up the main line past the Savannah Depot.  The Wabash F-3 is a Lionel 2240 from 1956 the train is a series of 2400 type cars from the 1950's.

Hope these come out, never too sure of my "video" skills.

Happy Monday everyone

Don

Rusty

What can be more Midwest than Burlington and Milwaukee Road? (good thing they shortened their name from Chicago Milwaukee St Paul and Pacific - thats a mouthful)   These just arrived from Trainz.

@Tom Densel posted:

Penn Central SW8 8623 (Lionel) leads a short freight down a decrepit branch line:

Tom

Nice run Tom like all the different views you post

@DETROIT posted:

MwM to you all - Jim

From a very old floor layout

I like that Coil car Jim. Thanks for sharing

@ScoutingDad posted:

What can be more Midwest than Burlington and Milwaukee Road? (good thing they shortened their name from Chicago Milwaukee St Paul and Pacific - thats a mouthful)   These just arrived from Trainz.

Nice looking Burlington car I like DF on the sides thanks for sharing

@DETROIT posted:

That's a nice looking Geep!

Tom