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That's a great scene -  always is to see a train I might have been traveling on.  I started going to Yankee Stadium in1947 and rode that piece of railroad many times in the 60's

To make it more realistic, get rid of that water tank and put in a warehouse  or street scene.

You're right about the water tank. On my layout to the right is my roundhouse and turntable. I'll see what I can do.

I went to my first game at Yankee Stadium at Yankee Stadium in 1958. The only thing I remember was Bob Shephard announcing "Jerry Lumpe." I was only 4 yrs old and thought that was hysterical. The first game I really remember was 1960 against Cleveland.

Thanks for the input.

s-l1600

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  • s-l1600

Nice looking scene Skip and nicely framed image.

My first baseball memory was at the old Forbes Field of the Pittsburgh Pirates. My cousin took me to the game in her Buick Wildcat convertible in 1967. A foul ball flew up into my section, almost in slow motion...sadly, I did not get it.

Hope you and your family are well.

Tom

@PRRronbh posted:

Did you have any problems with the D1a?  Mine has been at Lionel Concord for over 5-weeks now!

Also the A2a was actually a P&LE engine.  In fact maybe an engine that should have never been built.

Ron

No problems with the D1a.

Yes the A2a was the last steam locomotive built for the New York Central and used on the P&LE. When ALCO got the order they had already closed their tender production plant and refitted it for diesel production. The engine was made by ALCO and the tender was made by Lima. This Berkshire was a great engine that fell victim to dieselization just as the Niagara did.

@NYC Fan posted:

No problems with the D1a.

Yes the A2a was the last steam locomotive built for the New York Central and used on the P&LE. When ALCO got the order they had already closed their tender production plant and refitted it for diesel production. The engine was made by ALCO and the tender was made by Lima. This Berkshire was a great engine that fell victim to dieselization just as the Niagara did.

Skip, there is a great 121 page book "P&LE's Berkshires"/ by Jack Polaritz.  P&LE's management were ready to go with diesels in fact were going to sign the contracts when NYC stepped in and forced the P&LE to purchase 10 of these Berks from Alco.  Now the seven P&LE Berks that got built  before the P&LE canceled  the other three eventually got LOANed to the NYC down Cincinnati way AFTER the P&LE side line them.  The tenders were farmed out to Lima because these were the last steam engines built by Alco (and also why they were green) and by that time the Alco tender shop was converted over to diesels.

By home town was the western terminus point of the P&LE.  Up till I  was a lad of five our house was about 2 1/2-miles from were the Gateway yard  was built years later.  Now I see to recall seeing these P&LE A2a's running on the east side of town.

My local toy train shop owner ordered and sold me my P&LE A2a for cost since the O-gauge specialist and I rebuilt the store layout about that time.  I use to get a kick out of running the P&LE A2a on the layout when a NYC fan came in wondering were this NYC Berk came from.  After having my chuckle would point out to them it says " New York Central SYSTEM" not "New York Central" on the side of the tender also long the top of the coal bin it says "P&LE."

Ron

@NYC Fan posted:

Ron,

It is a beautiful locomotive. I love the all-weather cab, as did the crew I bet!!! Explain to me your reference as to why they were green???

Thought you might get a kick out of this picture!



well the best guess is that the one order the Alco had when these A2a's were pushed on to them was for 50 Mountain-type 4-8-2's for the Argentina State Railway which apparently were painted in this "Huntingford Green."  The engines also had some "gold" stripping which was quickly changed. You probably noticed that this 9401 had a passenger red and white smoke box number board.  September 1948 this engine pulled a special Tain of NYC executives after this trip the logo and number board was restored to the same black and white as the other side Berks.

Ron

Here’s some shots from Harmon .......I’ll try to keep them in order,...I hope,..

1 Mohawk class L2a # 2795 rides the turntable at Harmon....

2 the roundhouse at Harmon engine facilities....

3 Niagara class S1 # 6025 & Hudson class J1e fitted with PT tender # 5274 are spotted on the inbound servicing tracks having their tenders topped off,....

4 freshly shopped Hudson class J3a # 5410 sits along side Mohawks classes L3a and L2d  as the Hudson awaits orders to back down the reversing loop at Harmon,...

PatEC00E702-CA89-4F54-A3B7-10F57239B396D9EC5B5B-4757-40E7-B77B-8DA81C95F0765DEC0D09-1FD6-4095-9F3A-BD4716BA8A3DADCEF3CD-4D5F-4665-835D-815A83C4FA83

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@harmonyards posted:

Here’s some shots from Harmon .......I’ll try to keep them in order,...I hope,..

1 Mohawk class L2a # 2795 rides the turntable at Harmon....

2 the roundhouse at Harmon engine facilities....

3 Niagara class S1 # 6025 & Hudson class J1e fitted with PT tender # 5274 are spotted on the inbound servicing tracks having their tenders topped off,....

4 freshly shopped Hudson class J3a # 5410 sits along side Mohawks classes L3a and L2d  as the Hudson awaits orders to back down the reversing loop at Harmon,...

PatEC00E702-CA89-4F54-A3B7-10F57239B396D9EC5B5B-4757-40E7-B77B-8DA81C95F0765DEC0D09-1FD6-4095-9F3A-BD4716BA8A3DADCEF3CD-4D5F-4665-835D-815A83C4FA83

Beautiful!!!! I might have mentioned before, I spent about 8 years working in Ossining 1983-1991. I spent quite a few lunch hours hanging out by the yards near the shops where the turntable and roundhouse once were. That was obviously prior to 9/11. Can't do that anymore.

62010949_10220317723512774_2591374384966926336_n

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@gmorlitz posted:

Always great to see Skip's layout. Skip, are you running any passenger cars? There's a particular set I'd like to see.

Gerry

@harmonyards posted:

I tried to do a motion shot, kinda hard to do with an iPad,...😉.....so let’s call this one photographer unknown please,...

never made in 3 rail O,...on the move is Mohawk class L2d # 2967, northbound, out of Croton,....

PatF807E524-4C63-4877-B0C2-70FD5FC8CBB3

Pat,

Got any more photos of this L2d Mohawk?? There were about 75 of these made between 1929 and 1930. Some of these were the first Mohawks that were converted for high speed passenger service. Yours looks like a beauty.

Last edited by NYC Fan
@NYC Fan posted:

Pat,

Got any more photos of this L2d Mohawk?? There were about 75 of these made between 1929 and 1930. Some of these were the first Mohawks that were converted for high speed passenger service. Yous looks like a beauty.

Sure Skip, ...I thought I did a build thread on this one, maybe I didn’t,....don’t get old, ...it sucks,...I built this L2d from a L2a chassis combined with a modified L3a boiler,...I removed the Worthington feed water, and added in the Elesco ( courtesy of PSC) also added in the correct external plumbing for the Elesco, ....I’m sure a couple of guys will catch the one part that doesn’t belong, but I’m waiting for PSC to cast it,...I’m sure Jack ( HW) would catch it,...( it’s getting fixed Jack 😁) ...anyways, here’s some quick highlight pics,...I built this one during my Christmas break, which lasts all December,...😁😁😁

Pat27A23CDB-85EE-470B-9387-B10DDC7C1E0765FD5B7D-B063-49C5-AAC8-0EE5F7DD9658032BB7D3-F365-46D4-B91C-A9FE90AD65717C6997EB-8D80-4CA9-A780-1061CB43B539

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The middle pic above this reply, is of the rod bolt detail I had been working on with my good pal Pete ( Norton ) that pic is one of the first prototype rod bolts I made with the stud detail....after discussing back and forth with Pete, I finally nailed it down to look like this: ....this is much more “correct looking” ...it shows the stud with a tiny bit of thread and the centering mark on the stud,......I never could find a O scale cotter key,....😁

Pat26E9739B-78D9-46F3-89F6-A4B76350AF92

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@harmonyards posted:

Sure Skip, ...I thought I did a build thread on this one, maybe I didn’t,....don’t get old, ...it sucks,...I built this L2d from a L2a chassis combined with a modified L3a boiler,...I removed the Worthington feed water, and added in the Elesco ( courtesy of PSC) also added in the correct external plumbing for the Elesco, ....I’m sure a couple of guys will catch the one part that doesn’t belong, but I’m waiting for PSC to cast it,...I’m sure Jack ( HW) would catch it,...( it’s getting fixed Jack 😁) ...anyways, here’s some quick highlight pics,...I built this one during my Christmas break, which lasts all December,...😁😁😁

Pat27A23CDB-85EE-470B-9387-B10DDC7C1E0765FD5B7D-B063-49C5-AAC8-0EE5F7DD9658032BB7D3-F365-46D4-B91C-A9FE90AD65717C6997EB-8D80-4CA9-A780-1061CB43B539

That's awesome Pat!!! I admire the attention to detail. You and Pete do some really cool things.

@harmonyards posted:

I tried to do a motion shot, kinda hard to do with an iPad,...😉.....so let’s call this one photographer unknown please,...

never made in 3 rail O,...on the move is Mohawk class L2d # 2967, northbound, out of Croton,....

PatF807E524-4C63-4877-B0C2-70FD5FC8CBB3

Pat, this is a great motion shot. Trust me, I know what bad ones are since most of mine you can't make out s##t. Looking at the driver rods, that is perfect. You can see part of them look still, but further down towards the cab, you can see a bit of a blur. The background is blurred too. This is a great shot. Be sure to tell the photographer he did a great job. 👍

Pat, this is a great motion shot. Trust me, I know what bad ones are since most of mine you can't make out s##t. Looking at the driver rods, that is perfect. You can see part of them look still, but further down towards the cab, you can see a bit of a blur. The background is blurred too. This is a great shot. Be sure to tell the photographer he did a great job. 👍

Thanks Dave,...mechanical engineer, yes, .....painter ...yes,...photography....that would be a negative ghost rider,...I’d better leave motion picture taking to the motion picture takers,...😉

Pat

@harmonyards posted:

Sure Skip, ...I thought I did a build thread on this one, maybe I didn’t,....don’t get old, ...it sucks,...

Sorry buddy, but getting old is a whole lot better than the alternative. I have some aches, I have some pains, I have trouble bending my body, but I can still bend my elbow with a glass in my hand and enjoy family, friends and life.

Gerry

@Norton posted:

How about some smaller steam at work.

imageimageimage

Pete

I'm a big fan of scale small steam locomotives. I love the Ten Wheelers, Consolidations, Moguls, Suburbans, Switchers, etc. They really look great and work well on our smaller layouts!53121464_10219496049051426_2637227112221638656_n

119094707_10224973241217807_3365654262738759366_nConsolidation14876648_10211462129688463_7771935200894067001_o

I would love to see Lionel make a smaller D-2a 2-4-4T Forney type commuter locomotive used on the Getty Square Branch Line on the Putnam Division.

IMG_5911New York Central RR 087

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@harmonyards posted:

Small world Skip, grandad worked at Harmon, during the steam era. When he retired, he’d still take us down to the ( existing) facilities and we’d wonder around ....right around 79-81......we all lived in Poughkeepsie at the time,....I couldn’t get enough of it,....

Pat

Here's a great photo of the Harmon Shops! 266 and 278 are T Motors. 240 ia a P Motor.172120868_3964718980250824_2764164260444411929_n

Hal Smith photo.

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Last edited by NYC Fan
@NYC Fan posted:

Here's a great photo of the Harmon Shops! 266 and 278 at T Motors. 240 ia a P Motor.172120868_3964718980250824_2764164260444411929_n

Hal Smith photo.

That’s really cool Skip, ....that’s where grandad worked, he was a mechanic on the electrics, mostly S motors ......during the war, he got OT working in the roundhouse as a mechanic and hostler,......he loved backing down the Hudsons to couple on the north & west bounds out of Harmon,....thanks for the photo!..

Pat

@gmorlitz posted:

Great thread. Did I miss it, or are there no Vanderbilts? Truth is, I don't much like that design.  I had 2, an 18045 and 18063, but got rid of both of them. I like the Dreyfus as much as I disliked the Vandy.

Gerry

Just before the original 18045 was released, Neil Young brought the layout that he had on his HORDE tour to York. Lionel had it in a huge tent with a Jumbotron outside. Neil was in the tent running trains with Jim Bunte. The Commodore Vanderbilt comes by and I said something like, look at the unpainted Commodore Vanderbilt!!! To which Jim Bunte replied, "Those are the correct colors. We got the actual paint chips from Alco." Well, the thing came out and it was obviously wrong. A while later they came out with a corrected version in a darker gray.

I never liked the look of it much to start, mine coming in that silver gray color didn't help. I don't think I've ever taken it out of the box.

6-18045

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@NYC Fan posted:

Just curious, I thought Lionel put out a correct gunmetal version. Is this that one? Looks a bit dark but it may just be the lighting.

The Lionel Commodore was a 2-4-2, coming in several versions.  It was black in the first year  Later there were many variations in both gunmetal and black.  It was also done in red for a passenger set called the Red Comet.

Some NYC / PC pics taken in the late 60's by a young teenager with a 124 roll film Argus along the Harlem and Hudson rivers. 😊

Between the Marble Hill and Spuyten Duyvil stations:

20210412_191232

At the start of the Putnam Division:

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Just south of the old Marble Hill station heading to Grand Central Station (I had to duck right after I took the pic because I had almost no room between the track and the river):

20210412_192058_001

A train waiting just north of the Spuyten Duvil station for clearance to proceed down the west side freight line along the Hudson River.

20210412_192402

An outside braced wooden box car still in main line use in the late 1960's:

20210412_19264420210412_192734

Scene outside Penn Station at the beginning of the old High Line down the west side of Manhattan:

20210412_192542

Tutbo Train in Grand Central Station:

20210412_191446_00120210412_191331

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Last edited by West Side Joe
@Ron H posted:

Skip, thanks,

I super detailed it using NYC historical books on the Hudsons.

For example: All correct piping, wheel sanders, pony truck wheels, trailing truck wheels and brake detail etc..

Ron

First thing I notices were the pony truck wheels. They really make a huge difference in realistic appearance. Excellent job.

Back in 1990, Lionel offered scale pony trucks to go with the 1-700E Hudson. I bought several at the time. They look great on any Hudson.  

Well, NYC Fan, this thread is growing into a beautiful bunch of NYC Diesel and Steam Locomotives, all unique and massive in their own rights. My favorite steamer, a K-Line NYC Hudson, which has been recently re-built in the Harmon Shops, at Harmonyards by The CEO Pat, is a stump puller. I’ll soon post the steamer with its new set of passenger cars. (I’ve had a small health set back, but working on a cure, not Covid, an ear situation) He took this K-Line steamer and made it one of the smoothest running, huffing, puffing, chuffing, smoking, command locomotives I’ve ever owned. Happy Railroading Everyone E7B89E27-45D5-4A1B-B6BA-3ABD1FC13D9E700C03DA-789D-4817-80B8-5E27E0C1DEC4C6C44AD4-3933-4525-830D-5CB99161A18277C84EE3-97FA-4862-A265-4ADF56A75DB8

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Ah, I had to pop this old one out. Way back when I think I was 6 or 7, my Uncle Dick(Richard), the biggest train guy I knew gave me this engine with track, transformer, and plastic cars. Sadly, the engine was the only thing that got saved. The track rusted(evil basement), transformer not sure exactly where it went, probably with the cars in the heap, and the engine managed to get out of the basement. I don't remember what teen years I was in, maybe before my father got sick, but I took the engine apart, that is the shell I mean. Mistakenly sanded down stuff that shouldn't have been, side plate on one side. Gave it a primer coat(advised by my future brother in law, and painted it black after. Reassembled it, and it still looks like it did all those years ago, minus the rust. I haven't had it run in years, but those old motors don't seem to die as they say.

PXL_20210413_010710304PXL_20210413_010731316PXL_20210413_010746659PXL_20210413_010809224

It sits on a shelf in my room, a harsh reminder of youth to take care of your trains, something that didn't ring to anyone in the family when I was young. Basement storage was a thing with little space. Wish I had kept things like that in my bedroom, but sharing with my brother, just wasn't possible especially when there was three other siblings in the house as well. Despite all that, I can recall when that headlight shown bright on the old track, going around and around with plastic molded cars with just the two axles for each car. The entire bodies of the cars molded including the trucks. I don't believe that the two cabooses, one red, one green were NYC though. Fail to remember what was printed on them.

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I ran a new classic earlier today.....

6F8FEF3D-BAD8-49CA-B360-394590786362

The Niagara is a classic. Opinion question: Wonder how many like the way Lionel painted the Vision Line Niagara?

Personally I like the looks of the Century Club Niagara, which is how they advertised the Vision Niagara in the catalog.

Century Club II Niagara

Niagara CCII

Vision Line Niagara as cataloged

Vision Line Niagara

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Last edited by NYC Fan
@NYC Fan posted:

The Niagara is a classic. Opinion question: Wonder how many like the way Lionel painted the Vision Line Niagara?

Personally I like the looks of the Century Club Niagara, which is how they advertised the Vision Niagara in the catalog.

Century Club II Niagara

Niagara CCII



Yeah, the CCII Niagara was a beauty, just the gears and the apron were bad things. I got mine fixed up by Alex M., but the apron was not going to last as it was when it came out of the factory. Somewhere I posted the improved mega smoking version in weekend photo fun after it came back from Alex before/after Christmas that year. It smoked so much, reminded me of when I ran the Sharknose Century Club versions around for a few minutes(in a circle). Niagara was just back and forth in a straight line.

@NYC Fan posted:

Just curious, I thought Lionel put out a correct gunmetal version. Is this that one? Looks a bit dark but it may just be the lighting.

Skip, mine was silver like yours and I was ecstatic to find the dark gray boiler and tender shells for sale at York a few years ago. I bought them immediately.  

469A23E5-2D99-463D-A33C-4135FADD1EF8

The lighting isn’t ideal but it is a very dark gray, almost black.  Here is a short video of the updated Commodore.

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Last edited by rjsmithindy

Skip, that's a good-looking Red Comet; that set came with either the 261T or 265W tender; I can't tell from the photo which one you have. I have the same set, which was my Dad's, with the 261T; it's all original except for the loco, which he restored.

It's a 261T.  I can tell by the rounded corners at the front.  the 265 was like a box at the front.

Ah, I had to pop this old one out. Way back when I think I was 6 or 7, my Uncle Dick(Richard), the biggest train guy I knew gave me this engine with track, transformer, and plastic cars. Sadly, the engine was the only thing that got saved. The track rusted(evil basement), transformer not sure exactly where it went, probably with the cars in the heap, and the engine managed to get out of the basement. I don't remember what teen years I was in, maybe before my father got sick, but I took the engine apart, that is the shell I mean. Mistakenly sanded down stuff that shouldn't have been, side plate on one side. Gave it a primer coat(advised by my future brother in law, and painted it black after. Reassembled it, and it still looks like it did all those years ago, minus the rust. I haven't had it run in years, but those old motors don't seem to die as they say.

PXL_20210413_010710304PXL_20210413_010731316PXL_20210413_010746659PXL_20210413_010809224

It sits on a shelf in my room, a harsh reminder of youth to take care of your trains, something that didn't ring to anyone in the family when I was young. Basement storage was a thing with little space. Wish I had kept things like that in my bedroom, but sharing with my brother, just wasn't possible especially when there was three other siblings in the house as well. Despite all that, I can recall when that headlight shown bright on the old track, going around and around with plastic molded cars with just the two axles for each car. The entire bodies of the cars molded including the trucks. I don't believe that the two cabooses, one red, one green were NYC though. Fail to remember what was printed on them.

If you would like to upgrade that engine, you can get the name plates, NYC oval, smokestack and chrome domes for about $30 from trainpartsformarx.com

@harmonyards posted:

With all the locomotives we build it only makes sense to have a dynamometer car!..here’s X8007 awaiting pickup to test a freshly delivered locomotive,....

Pat0008D5BD-4131-4BF5-96E7-EC624294C58D

I'm thinking did the NYC actually convert a gas electric to a dynamometer car ?  In the the 50's, they converted two Brill gas-electrics to a rail detector car (8015) and the clearance car (8016).   They were re-equipped with Caterpillar diesel engines.  I learned about those conversions when I spent the summer of 1960 on the 8016 measuring clearances.  I think that I would have heard about it if they had also converted one to a dynamometer car. 

@harmonyards posted:

Hmmm,....can motor swap, fan smoke, ERR, .....fat boy speaker in the tin tender,....could happen,...😁.....I see “ upgrades “ in a reply and my ears perk up!..

Pat

Unfortunately no tin tender in mine. All were plastic cars that went the way of the dodo bird. Every York, I always have at the old tinplates for some reason. Who knows though Pat, I have a bunch of TMCC NYC engines that haven't had a chuff in a long while.

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