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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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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.

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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:

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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):

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

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

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

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Tutbo Train in Grand Central Station:

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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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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.

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.

No, they didn’t use one of those to make dynamometer cars,.....I just thought this body shell would make a cool piece versus trying to convert a heavyweight,....the colors and the lettering are fairly accurate though,.....makes for a cool piece when videoing builds,...😁

Pat

@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

Vision Line Niagara as cataloged

Vision Line Niagara

It's a beauty for sure. On one of my last visits to Marty Fitzhenry's home, he had his grey Vision Line Niagara running on the layout and it was impressive for sure.

Of all the O-Scale 3-rail Niagaras, my favorite is my brass Crown Edition model made by Williams/Samhongsa. I know the shiny finish isn't prototypical, but I like it, and for sentimental reasons, the one I have was my Dad's, so nothing will replace it; and, now that Gunrunnerjohn has converted mine to DCS, it's a real joy to run and always a hit with visitors.

Here are 2 more: my MTH Dreyfus Hudson pulling my K-Line 20th Century Limited cars, and my Lionel 90th Anniversary Hudson pulling my K-Line "28th Anniversary" NYC heavyweights.

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Skip, if your 18045 is anything like mine was, take it out of the box. Grease it and lube it. Run it. And it will sound like a coffee grinder. The 18063, on the other hand, had great sounds for its time. The tender weighed a ton.

Interesting story. I got a call from Marty Fitz, however many years ago, who knew how I felt about the 18045. He told me that Andy or Rich needed one for MTH right away. I got in touch and shipped it off. I was amazed that MTH never made a Premier Vandy.

The Empire State Express is my favorite NYC steamer. I got Mike's when he released  it in the 1990's. It was my first Premier engine and with the passenger cars, it is a beauty (IMO). I had it upgraded to proto2 and still have it.

Gerry

@gmorlitz posted:

Skip, if your 18045 is anything like mine was, take it out of the box. Grease it and lube it. Run it. And it will sound like a coffee grinder. The 18063, on the other hand, had great sounds for its time. The tender weighed a ton.

Interesting story. I got a call from Marty Fitz, however many years ago, who knew how I felt about the 18045. He told me that Andy or Rich needed one for MTH right away. I got in touch and shipped it off. I was amazed that MTH never made a Premier Vandy.

The Empire State Express is my favorite NYC steamer. I got Mike's when he released  it in the 1990's. It was my first Premier engine and with the passenger cars, it is a beauty (IMO). I had it upgraded to proto2 and still have it.

Gerry

Gerry, I know they had the 6-18067 which was the "weathered/gunmetal" version. Which one was the 6-18063?

@gmorlitz posted:

The 18063 was black. They eventually came out with both a red version and a blue version. They were "hot" for a while. I guess that Lionel never sold a sufficient number of the grey, black and gunmetal versions to use up the shells they committed to when they first did the Vandy.

Gerry

I guess I lost "track" after the Silver. Was the 6-18063 cataloged? I like that one.

18063 was released in 1999. Gerry is calling it black but I would call it charcoal gray, the prototypical color. It had TMCC, RS3, a wireless tether, and rear electro coupler. When I ugraded mine I also had the Silver one. Rather than cut up the gray frame I swapped shells and sold the Silver one with the later CV features.

The Pullmor motor is the limiting factor on pulling power. Installing a Pittman nearly doubles the number of cars the engine can pull. Its heavy enough for sure.

Lionel says North Lima has both engine and tender shells though a bit pricey.

Pete

Last edited by Norton

I have the 6-18063 Commodore Vanderbilt. As has been stated here, it is a beautiful, HEAVY engine, but a disappointing puller. I think I would have to call it dark gray - almost black. Specifically to Skip’s question, being one of those weirdos who keeps old paper catalogs, I checked my 1999’s - I have 5: Heritage, Preview, Vol. 1, Vol. 2, AND Vol.3. I did not see the 18063 in any of them. I’ll have to keep looking in case there was a separate flyer (a strong possibility since I also purchased a set of heavyweight cars to go with the engine). Here are a couple of pics of the engine so you can judge the color.

9045E15B-C42F-438F-8D3C-D911C96993281528CEC4-0C87-4D1C-BB16-C9B741CCAC9D

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@Apples55 posted:

I have the 6-18063 Commodore Vanderbilt. As has been stated here, it is a beautiful, HEAVY engine, but a disappointing puller. I think I would have to call it dark gray - almost black. Specifically to Skip’s question, being one of those weirdos who keeps old paper catalogs, I checked my 1999’s - I have 5: Heritage, Preview, Vol. 1, Vol. 2, AND Vol.3. I did not see the 18063 in any of them. I’ll have to keep looking in case there was a separate flyer (a strong possibility since I also purchased a set of heavyweight cars to go with the engine). Here are a couple of pics of the engine so you can judge the color.

9045E15B-C42F-438F-8D3C-D911C96993281528CEC4-0C87-4D1C-BB16-C9B741CCAC9D

Paul, I believe it was a separate flyer that came out. Around that time there were a few flyer engines that weren't in the catalog. I think the Pennsy Duplex was one, forget what another is but I believe somewhere in my mess of catalogs they are there.

@gmorlitz posted:


The Empire State Express is my favorite NYC steamer. I got Mike's when he released  it in the 1990's. It was my first Premier engine and with the passenger cars, it is a beauty (IMO). I had it upgraded to proto2 and still have it.

Gerry

Gerry, I believe I have the MTH and the MTH cars. But I also bought the Lionel Legacy Empire State Hudson. It baffles me that they haven't done the Dreyfus yet in Legacy. That will be a good one when it happens!

Over the years I have really turned into a NYC fan.  It all started with a Lionel 5344 F3 set some 30 years ago.  I could not find a B unit at a reasonable price so when Lionel MPC came out with a B unit with horn I bought two immediately.  Next  move was about 20 years later.  I bought a Williams NYC Niagara and a Lionel 0-8-0 switcher.  After that it was swiftly downhill with the "Christmas of 4 Hudsons", MTH Empire State Express, Williams master series Dreyfuss. Lionel 5343 with Vandy tender and TMCC and K Line Hudson with TMCC.  After that came two Williams Master series Hudsons and two Lionel 5344 Hudsons.  One of the last two was without a tender so I bought a Century club tender and re numbered the engine 5429 to match the tender.  A Vanderbuilt was next (silver) follwed by a Lionel 5444 with TMCC.  The last was  MTH premier with PT tender making the total 11 NYC Hudsons.  In addition to the Hudson fleet I have two Mowhawks, both from Lionel, one early (L2) and one late(L2a) both with TMCC.

In addition to the NYC Hudsons I have added a Weaver model of the Milwaukee Road F5 Hudson to the fleet and am looking for a Santa Fe Hudson I can afford.

Rolland

@NYC Fan posted:

Gerry, I believe I have the MTH and the MTH cars. But I also bought the Lionel Legacy Empire State Hudson. It baffles me that they haven't done the Dreyfus yet in Legacy. That will be a good one when it happens!

Skip,

That can be attributed to the MTH/Lionel lawsuit, sadly you wont see a Lionel Dreyfuss Hudson for a long time....

Bruk did upgrade a TMCC Dreyfuss to Legacy:
Lionel NYC Dreyfus 6-28084 LEGACY Upgrade-video 8-23-20 | O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum (ogaugerr.com)

As an aside, this is a fantastic thread!

Bryce

Skip,

That can be attributed to the MTH/Lionel lawsuit, sadly you wont see a Lionel Dreyfuss Hudson for a long time....

Bruk did upgrade a TMCC Dreyfuss to Legacy:
Lionel NYC Dreyfus 6-28084 LEGACY Upgrade-video 8-23-20 | O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum (ogaugerr.com)

As an aside, this is a fantastic thread!

Bryce

I find that so weird because Lionel originally planned to make a LEGACY Dreyfuss in 2008 (along with a LEGACY CNJ G3 in Queen of the Valley colors), but both were cancelled in the end. I'm assuming because of low preorders.Could someone please provide a short revue of Lionel 6-28084 Dreyfus Hudson from 2002? | O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum

@Mikado 4501 posted:

I find that so weird because Lionel originally planned to make a LEGACY Dreyfuss in 2008 (along with a LEGACY CNJ G3 in Queen of the Valley colors), but both were cancelled in the end. I'm assuming because of low preorders.Could someone please provide a short revue of Lionel 6-28084 Dreyfus Hudson from 2002? | O Gauge Railroading On Line Forum

I thought so!!!

When they announced the latest unstreamlined J3a's I figured the Dreyfuss couldn't be far behind.

I thought all of that was due to the lawsuit? Plus no tooling to boot, so no Dreyfuss (also Class A and Pennsy T1), unless I got my timelines mixed up?

I don't want to get too off topic but yes you are correct. Lionel has not made a Dreyfuss Hudson, scale Class A, and scale T1 since all those molds were used as examples of illegal appropriation of trade secrets. That is why in the 2010s Lionel could make the lionmaster Class A and lionmaster T1 since the molds were made post-lawsuit.

In response to Skip and Thomas, if I remember correctly, the ESE Hudson molds and tooling were not used in the lawsuit so they could use them without fear of litigation. I suspect that Lionel wont make a new 20th Century limited since the cost of new molds outweighs the predicted profit or they might get handed another lawsuit if they use the older mold.

Bryce

I definitely would love a 20th Century Limited run from Lionel, that is if they can get everything that is not good right now, right. Until that time does arrive, I will hold buying certain items.

How about a little Ten Wheeler action? GRJ had told me that a few things need fixing on this in general. I think the resistor for the smoke unit was the main one, forget what the small list of others are, but they are minor. Smoke unit definitely needs fixing.

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I definitely would love a 20th Century Limited run from Lionel, that is if they can get everything that is not good right now, right. Until that time does arrive, I will hold buying certain items.



You would have a much better engine if you got an Odyssey Dreyfuss or MTH one and sent it to Bruk or Sid for a Legacy upgrade. The Lionel engine uses the Korean made frame, Pittman motor, and bulletproof gearbox as do the MTH engines.

Pete

@Norton posted:

You would have a much better engine if you got an Odyssey Dreyfuss or MTH one and sent it to Bruk or Sid for a Legacy upgrade. The Lionel engine uses the Korean made frame, Pittman motor, and bulletproof gearbox as do the MTH engines.

Pete

I have been hunting for one for some time. Have sort of put that on the shelf for a bit Pete. Every time I have seen one, it is gone on an instance. I know my LTS had one for a couple of weeks when I had gotten back into the hobby. I suppose that I could talk with him about finding one as he has some sort of magic with these sort of things. After that, the rest would be up to me. I can wait either way.

I definitely would love a 20th Century Limited run from Lionel, that is if they can get everything that is not good right now, right. Until that time does arrive, I will hold buying certain items.



I would also love a Legacy Dreyfuss!!! I have the TMCC Dreyfuss and the MTH Premier Dreyfuss. Only Legacy runs reliably on my layout. When I run MTH engines I do it conventionally. Perhaps an upgrade is in order!?!?!

@NYC Fan posted:

Question for the Hudson experts. The streamlined 5344 Commodore Vanderbilt made its inaugural run in February 1935. Why does it not have classification lights?

This is about the time the Central went to automatic train control, no class lights needed,....except big four locomotives kept there’s .......I believe ( and I really can’t be exacting ) grandad said the Hudson Division went first.

Pat

@harmonyards posted:

This is about the time the Central went to automatic train control, no class lights needed,....except big four locomotives kept there’s .......I believe ( and I really can’t be exacting ) grandad said the Hudson Division went first.

Pat

Oh...I thought it was right around 1937 that the rules did away with the requirement of class lights on the NYC mainlines.

@NYC Fan posted:

Oh...I thought it was right around 1937 that the rules did away with the requirement of class lights on the NYC mainlines.

My grandad told me all about it, I remember him telling us why one day when I was younger helping him long after his retirement when he was a volunteer on what became the Black River & Western # 60,.......pretty sure I remember him saying 34-35,....

Pat

@NYC Fan posted:

Oh...I thought it was right around 1937 that the rules did away with the requirement of class lights on the NYC mainlines.

It may have been a “rule” by 37, but maybe they were being removed as not needed sooner than it became standard practice, ......big four locomotives kept their class lights, and although the CV was a west ender, it very rarely roamed into big four territory,.....

Pat

@NYC Fan posted:

Hi Will,

My layout was in OGR Magazine in Dec 2016 and Dec 2019. Lots of photos especially the digital version. I plan to do an update article soon.

Skip,

I had a chance to read the two articles and wow! More spectacular than I ever imagined!

I also have lots of nostalgia for NYC Christmases, NY being my adopted city where I lived and worked for many years. I never saw the Lionel showroom, but I did noodle around in Madison Hardware.

But the city has become so crowded you can't move anymore, so I don't know when we will go in again. Last trip was not as much fun. You can't even move at Rockefeller Center.

Neither article had wide shots or a track plan though. I'd love to see those if they are floating around somewhere.

@NYC Fan posted:

Oh...I thought it was right around 1937 that the rules did away with the requirement of class lights on the NYC mainlines.

The "rules" did not do away with class lights at any time.   They were specified in the 1956 rule book, which was still in effect at the demise of the NYC.  By 1961, or earlier, there were special instructions in the timetables of most districts stating that the display of white signals should be omitted.  That was not true of green signals.  We didn't run many second sections of scheduled trains, but the rule was in effect.

@harmonyards posted:

My grandad told me all about it, I remember him telling us why one day when I was younger helping him long after his retirement when he was a volunteer on what became the Black River & Western # 60,.......pretty sure I remember him saying 34-35,....

Pat

Ah, BR&W #60. It is about 5 minutes from me resting in the shed.

Back to Dreyfuss talk though. I do remember that the buzz on Dreyfuss's was huge before the unveiling of the VL Niagara, that is among the community. I think a few people had sparked that conversation off and I do recall myself stating that if Lionel had produced several versions of the Dreyfuss, that I would buy at least 3(because of one of the old photos had 3 IIRC). I guess will just have to wait. Ugh.

@Will posted:

Skip,

I had a chance to read the two articles and wow! More spectacular than I ever imagined!

I also have lots of nostalgia for NYC Christmases, NY being my adopted city where I lived and worked for many years. I never saw the Lionel showroom, but I did noodle around in Madison Hardware.

But the city has become so crowded you can't move anymore, so I don't know when we will go in again. Last trip was not as much fun. You can't even move at Rockefeller Center.

Neither article had wide shots or a track plan though. I'd love to see those if they are floating around somewhere.

Thanks Will!

Our last family trip to the city was in December 2019 and we made the mistake of being there the weekend just before Christmas and waiting until dark to go to Rockefeller Center. I usually make a few trips to the area between Thanksgiving and Christmas but never that close to Christmas. During the day it wasn't bad but after dark it was wall to wall people. We got as close as 49th by the Today Show studio, took a quick photo of the tree from the side and aborted. Of course, 2020 was a wash out due to Covid and I was just talking to Roger Farkash and they're not sure if the train layouts will be back in Macy's and Grand Central in 2021. Social distancing is the big issue of concern. Hopefully the city will return to it's holiday splendor, especially 5th Ave, this coming season.

Here is about as wide a shot as I can get. Shot from the back corner. It takes in quite a bit of the layout.

*****Skip's NYC Skyline square SMALL

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@harmonyards posted:

My grandad told me all about it, I remember him telling us why one day when I was younger helping him long after his retirement when he was a volunteer on what became the Black River & Western # 60,.......pretty sure I remember him saying 34-35,....

Pat

You must be right. It makes sense. I just thought I read something that was specifically talking about the 1938 J3a's and why they didn't need the class lights and I thought it mentioned a date. I did a quick search but didn't find anything. I'll trust grandad and go with 1934!!!

How about some S2 Electric action? Don't know what it is about this little thing, but I liked it the moment my eyes caught it in the catalog.

IMG_20200115_163653

Totally agree. I grew up in the "Electrified Zone" often hanging out down by the river and watching Hudson Division trains pulled by electric locomotives and diesels. Wish I had been there when steam locomotives went all the way down the west side of Manhattan with freight.14876557_10211462131808516_8708326793525480475_o

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@NYC Fan posted:

You must be right. It makes sense. I just thought I read something that was specifically talking about the 1938 J3a's and why they didn't need the class lights and I thought it mentioned a date. I did a quick search but didn't find anything. I'll trust grandad and go with 1934!!!

Grandad was officially an employee of the Hudson Division, but I’m not saying what I mentioned is gospel,...I’ve reached out to some of my buddies in the NYCHS, we’ll see what they have to say,......according to Stauffer, all J1’s EXCEPT those assigned to big four territory, had their class lights removed,....and yes, the J3’s from what I can see, were delivered in 37-38 with out class lights,....starting around September of 37, ..( if my memory serves me correctly from what grandad said) .....he was there the day 5410 showed up at Harmon,....brand spanking new,...

Pat

@harmonyards posted:

Grandad was officially an employee of the Hudson Division, but I’m not saying what I mentioned is gospel,...I’ve reached out to some of my buddies in the NYCHS, we’ll see what they have to say,......according to Stauffer, all J1’s EXCEPT those assigned to big four territory, had their class lights removed,....and yes, the J3’s from what I can see, were delivered in 37-38 with out class lights,....starting around September of 37, ..( if my memory serves me correctly from what grandad said) .....he was there the day 5410 showed up at Harmon,....brand spanking new,...

Pat

Ah, that is just gold Pat. There isn't anything better than having something like that first hand. My maternal grandfather used to talk about coal a lot. That was because to him coal was tried and true. He never got an oil furnace. I remember asking him once in my teens about the BR&W leaving coal on the tracks. He said that wasn't uncommon to see at all. He said during the depression people would comb the tracks if they had to for coal. Only story I have from him, but my mother's cousin had an even better one. It was about the sale of land to the then railroad of the day from the old farm to the railroad. Wasn't a bill of sale, just change of title from owners to owners and the allotted land for the railroad. That is the land that the BR&W travels on for that stretch that abuts to what was my grandfather's property, now a park. Gotta love stories like that.

Ah, that is just gold Pat. There isn't anything better than having something like that first hand. My maternal grandfather used to talk about coal a lot. That was because to him coal was tried and true. He never got an oil furnace. I remember asking him once in my teens about the BR&W leaving coal on the tracks. He said that wasn't uncommon to see at all. He said during the depression people would comb the tracks if they had to for coal. Only story I have from him, but my mother's cousin had an even better one. It was about the sale of land to the then railroad of the day from the old farm to the railroad. Wasn't a bill of sale, just change of title from owners to owners and the allotted land for the railroad. That is the land that the BR&W travels on for that stretch that abuts to what was my grandfather's property, now a park. Gotta love stories like that.

Yep, during the depression the folks at the Central did the same thing, grandad often talked about driving his 23 Chevy up and down by the coaling towers at Harmon to fill his trunk with spilt coal,...I have a picture of him with his 23 Chevy after he left work to pick up my grandmother and the back end of the 23 was sagging to the ground,...😁....clearly he had just picked up a load,....

Pat

Wow! That looks spot on. I'd love to see the rest of the layout. As a native of NYC and always finding excuses for visiting, I find you've squeezed an amazing amount of NYC into a small space.

Thank you Joe. I grew up in The Bronx and Yonkers, going into Manhattan with my parents especially around the holidays with visits to the Grand Central Terminal, Lionel Showroom, Macy's, Radio City, Rockefeller Center, The Empire State Building, Times Square and much more.  I tried as best as I could to continue that tradition with my children. I started off selecting buildings relating to our holiday visits so the layout would be meaningful to all of us. It was a 17 year project. Unfortunately my parents never got to see it finished but my kids and I enjoy it.

@harmonyards posted:

Yep, during the depression the folks at the Central did the same thing, grandad often talked about driving his 23 Chevy up and down by the coaling towers at Harmon to fill his trunk with spilt coal,...I have a picture of him with his 23 Chevy after he left work to pick up my grandmother and the back end of the 23 was sagging to the ground,...😁....clearly he had just picked up a load,....

Pat

When I was in my early teens, grandpop wood go to the lumberyard where they also had coal. We'd load up his pickup truck and haul back to his place. Shovel buckets, and pop it into the basement in his coal hoppers by the furnace. Sure do miss those days.

I have been looking for this photo since this thread started.....and, I found it this morning (looking for something else, of course!).

I took this picture in mid-May of 1984. I was traveling from Baltimore to visit friends in Buffalo. I stopped in Rochester near the Amtrak station. I saw one of those short-lived Amtrak streamliners, that was in NYC/Buffalo service, pass by. However, my attention was drawn to a small freight yard where I took a series of pics (with a Monolta instamatic camera and 126 color film). This is my favorite picture of the lot.....

B41BD012-0572-4275-88A1-0376401FC002_1_201_a

I think that the paint looks pretty good, considering it was 17 years since the New York Central went out of existence.....and, it was also 8 years into Conrail......

As you can see by the small patch of sky, it was a dreary day with a minimal (if any) hint of spring. I remember it cold and a little damp. However, I was able to walk around the yard taking pictures of rolling stock for about a half hour.....

Peter

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Last edited by Putnam Division

I have been looking for this photo since this thread started.....and, I found it this morning (looking for something else, of course!).

I took this picture in mid-May of 1984. I was traveling from Baltimore to visit friends in Buffalo. I stopped in Rochester near the Amtrak station. I saw one of those short-lived Amtrak streamliners, that was in NYC/Buffalo service, pass by. However, my attention was drawn to a small freight yard where I took a series of pics (with a Monolta instamatic camera and 126 color film). This is my favorite picture of the lot.....

B41BD012-0572-4275-88A1-0376401FC002_1_201_a

I think that the paint looks pretty good, considering it was 17 years since the New York Central went out of existence.....and, it was also 8 years into Conrail......

As you can see by the small patch of sky, it was a dreary day with a minimal (if any) hint of spring. I remember it cold and a little damp. However, I was able to walk around the yard taking pictures of rolling stock for about a half hour.....

Peter

Yours looks to be in better shape than the one I found in Harmon right around the same time. It was a thrill to find it though, wasn't it?

NYC BOXCAR

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@NYC Fan posted:

Yours looks to be in better shape than the one I found in Harmon right around the same time. It was a thrill to find it though, wasn't it?

NYC BOXCAR

It was a great find.....I was quite excited to see it in such great shape....

To Skip and all, do not hesitate to download my picture for your own NYC picture collection. Please enjoy it. To repeat, it was taken in Rochester, NY in mid May, 1984.

Peter

Last edited by Putnam Division

Here is the New York Central Buffalo loop (Belt line) bridge over Delaware Ave. I am told, it has been repainted since 1967.....

FF30B24D-472D-4258-9B6C-98190D511C02

This is a former passenger station on the New York Central's Buffalo loop (Belt Line) that is now a private residence.

F3FA1C0E-154F-4374-8A45-22C95DCBFA47

For more info on the loop or Belt line:

https://buffaloah.com/h/belt/tc.html

Peter

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@NYC Fan posted:

29433146_10216601049878256_6866733437273767936_o copyDSC04940 copyIMG_2469IMG_3876

I didn't have room for a big Harmon facility, but I did the best I could in the space I had.

Here's another rendition of the Dreyfuss Hudson, 1946 edition.  It's probably the first  model of this engine to ever appear in hobby shops.  It was available from Lionel only in sets and only in 1946.  There was a 1947 edition, but it was black. L 221

I've included a photo of the train set.  Not exactly the Century, but if you can stretch your imagination from blue to two-tone gray ---.  The Commodore might have been a more appropriate engine actually for this train, given the open platform obs.  The Commodore must have pulled the best passenger trains, and it was gone before the NYC had a streamlined observation car./L 221 train

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Here's another rendition of the Dreyfuss Hudson, 1946 edition.  It's probably the first  model of this engine to ever appear in hobby shops.  It was available from Lionel only in sets and only in 1946.  There was a 1947 edition, but it was black. L 221

I've included a photo of the train set.  Not exactly the Century, but if you can stretch your imagination from blue to two-tone gray ---.  The Commodore might have been a more appropriate engine actually for this train, given the open platform obs.  The Commodore must have pulled the best passenger trains, and it was gone before the NYC had a streamlined observation car./L 221 train

That was the first Dreyfuss I had. I bought it sometime around 1979 at a long gone train store "World of Trains" in Woodhaven, Queens, NY.

@Apples55 posted:

I have the 6-18063 Commodore Vanderbilt. As has been stated here, it is a beautiful, HEAVY engine, but a disappointing puller. I think I would have to call it dark gray - almost black. Specifically to Skip’s question, being one of those weirdos who keeps old paper catalogs, I checked my 1999’s - I have 5: Heritage, Preview, Vol. 1, Vol. 2, AND Vol.3. I did not see the 18063 in any of them. I’ll have to keep looking in case there was a separate flyer (a strong possibility since I also purchased a set of heavyweight cars to go with the engine). Here are a couple of pics of the engine so you can judge the color.

9045E15B-C42F-438F-8D3C-D911C96993281528CEC4-0C87-4D1C-BB16-C9B741CCAC9D

Here is the first Lionel O-27 Commodore Vanderbilt.  It was made only in 1936-37.  The first O gauge model was produced in 1935.

L 1689

Here is the whole freight  train set with which the Commodore was sold.  There was also a passenger train, but I don't have those cars passing through my collection this year.  The caboose wasn't made until 1940, but I wanted to show Lionel's affection for NYC.  In the 30's, NYC was the only road name on their cabooses other than Lionel Lines.

L trainL caboos

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@Norton posted:

Inspired by a classic poster.

image

Pete

Totally agree, Pete... truly iconic. I can’t remember where I bought it, but I had a copy of that incredible poster hanging in my office at work for around 15 years... it now hangs by my layout in the basement (not a great pic, but it’s the only angle I could get without lights reflecting on the glass).

F03DA76A-737F-4AD3-A100-0ABA288EFC56

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I have been looking for this photo since this thread started.....and, I found it this morning (looking for something else, of course!).

I took this picture in mid-May of 1984. I was traveling from Baltimore to visit friends in Buffalo. I stopped in Rochester near the Amtrak station. I saw one of those short-lived Amtrak streamliners, that was in NYC/Buffalo service, pass by. However, my attention was drawn to a small freight yard where I took a series of pics (with a Monolta instamatic camera and 126 color film). This is my favorite picture of the lot.....

B41BD012-0572-4275-88A1-0376401FC002_1_201_a

I think that the paint looks pretty good, considering it was 17 years since the New York Central went out of existence.....and, it was also 8 years into Conrail......

As you can see by the small patch of sky, it was a dreary day with a minimal (if any) hint of spring. I remember it cold and a little damp. However, I was able to walk around the yard taking pictures of rolling stock for about a half hour.....

Peter

Hey Peter, when I was scrolling down on my phone to the picture(before reading), I thought for sure this was either Lionel or MTH. I believe somewhere in my mess of boxcars, I have one of those light green boxcars. If I remember, it is a bigger boxcar than most of what I had had at the time I bought it(mostly postwar size until then). The only other light green NYC rolling stock I have is an HO caboose that I thought looked like dynamite when I was probably about 10 or 11. I was tired of the red Santa Fe colors we had on our HO set up and wanted something that was completely different, and that caboose really changed things. Sad thing was, it was pulled by a Pennsylvania 2-10-4 Texas as I never got any NYC engines that I can think of until Bachman released their Spectrum series. I bought the diesel F3's or F7's of B&O and NYC as they looked great to me. The old hobby shop owner Jack wasn't sure I would want them but I told him yes please. I think I was 16-17 or somewhere there, can't remember, maybe a little older.

How about some late night goodies? First is from August 2019 at the Trolley Museum at Streamtown. The Trolley Museum I would say can be overshadowed by Steamtown, but my oldest niece and her family convinced my brother and I to go there since we did Steamtown the year prior. It looks like there is one of those S series electrics to start things off. The Trolley Museum has a lot of great things. We had talked to one of the volunteers who was an old railroad man himself who was working on all the signals that are displayed there, and could tell you everything you needed to know. He was helped by his grandson IIRC.

IMG_20190831_151338

Second one here is York 2019, with the one that got away. It did not sell at York, but disappeared from Tony's shelf sometime in November making me say, "aw shucks"IMG_20191019_123115

Here we have December 2019 of a great showdown. B6, Ten Wheller at the top, K4 Black Vanderbilt middle, Mohawk to J1 Hudson in front, 3005 & 5344(can't believe I thought a Hudson was a Mohawk, must have been really tired). Had to edit that miscarriage of justice this morning.IMG_20191208_131434

And here also in December 2019 is the 5415 Mr. Muffins Trains special run Hudson. I was so excited when this had showed up at the door the day it was delivered, smiling ear to ear. What is it about a Hudson?IMG_20191120_164703IMG_20191120_165305

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Last edited by Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4

First a couple of stories.

To put the first story in perspective (Santa) broth me my first Lionel train set Christmas 1947. About a week ago went up to my semi-local toy train shop to pick up an order of one flat car w/Humvee.  The owner was all excited to show me something he bought as part of an estate buy.  After completing my transaction he asked me to guess what it was.  I said an original Lionel scale Hudson!  We went around to one of his display cases and there was in fact one of the second generation Lionel scale Hudson's init's own display case in perfect condition.  This was one from the early 50's production.  This was the first one I have ever seem.  This week when drove up to pick up an ordered item was going to take a picture.  But, he had already sold it on the "bay."

When in the late 80's/early 90's I turn from HO back to O stated buying up MTH RK streamline steam engines.  Well then decided to go scale. I wanted a scale Commodore Vanderbilt, my then local dealer in Charlotte had just received one of the new Lionel engines and add on passenger car sets.  He would NOT sell it to me!  He stated of his O-72 display track it could hardly pull its own weight and could not pull the associated passenger cars.  So never a correct color CV.

Now I have MTH Premier Dryfuss and a Niagara and a K-Line Hudson but no pictures!  Only have pics of  the RS-3, U25B, NYC electric plus my P&LE A2a and related GP-7 and PA-1 (with correct road number for P&LE)( NYC System engines.  Oh and my D2 just before it went up in smoke.  (Just got it back have not had a chance to test it!

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Last edited by PRRronbh

Very much on topic of NYC Classics, here is one pictured. From 2019 Strasburg with 611.

IMG_20191018_091324<------That's Skip alright.

To the build plate on the Mr. Muffins 5415 Hudson.

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Some action from the Raritan Valley Hi-railers from a show in 2019

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Making our way to the NJ Hi-Railers celebration of the 50th Anniversary of OGR Magazine. I believe that the engine in the stall on the far left is indeed the NYC L3 Mohawk #3005(at least it sure looks like it is).

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Some of the green NYC boxcars sitting or moving along slowly, can't recall.

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Some NYC Lightning stripe diesel in action hauling trailers.

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Some NYC coal hoppers(along with P&LE far left) on a siding.

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In the lower left there are some containers rolling along, and in the next picture they are being hauled by that same Lightning stripe diesel.

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A little smoke coming out.

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These next few are from early 2017, look at those NYC engines waiting to be bought.

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NYC Niagara(CCII) sitting in the back(as well as the top photo), flanked by a Pennsy and a Black River engine.

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The Raritan Valley Hi-railers love putting NYC steamers in the roundhouse for some reason.

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This is from I think June 2017, Raritan Valley Hi-railers still popping steamers in the roundhouse.

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Yeah, it got away again. this is at my local train store when I had popped in one of the times to place an order or pick up something I think.

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Ah, can you smell it in the air? This is my first York in October 2017. I have said that I have a deep fascination with tinplate though I never seem to buy any of it. I haven't a clue why, but I always walk through this section and stare intently at some of these engines. I believe I had told Peter that Friday before the OGR Meeting had began in the Gold Hall about these sitting out. My coworker Bob had come along as my guest, though he only bought food. Glad that has changed though, he is still waiting for some things he preordered in 2020 catalog(starter set stuff he wants to show off to his grandson). I think he had picked up something before that, though I don't remember what.

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Now there is something you don't see everyday?

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Yeah, the Dreyfuss got away yet again. I did not have enough money on me to get that and what I had already picked up. To quote Ralph Parker(A Christmas Story), "Skunked again!"

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The engine that had everyone buzzing like crazy, the VL Niagara. Dave Olson had told me that Ryan had overfilled the smoke fluid in the tender. This thing really took a beating, they even managed to burn out the traction tires and still keep it running. Didn't someone say something about traction tires and how they should last?

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I probably could have posted about another 40-45 photos of shows and such, but I didn't want to water things down. I just love popping out and seeing all the stuff the world offers from time to time, particularly NYC Steam. You gotta love the classics, even if you didn't manage to buy them yet.

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@PRRronbh posted:

NYC Fans a question, I thought grey colored cab units were for passenger service where as black cab units were for freight.  Is this a correct assumption or not?

Ron

I'm thinking that's how it was intended. Probably the experts can confirm the differences. As with steam locomotives I'm thinking some were geared toward high speed passenger service and others for pulling power. Most of the photos I've seen seem to confirm that the grey cab units were intended for passenger service.

Yeah, I wish I had taken more pictures of the people around Peter. I think I was overly excited to be standing that close to 611. I do know that when I saw Skip, I did a double take to be sure I knew whom I saw, thus snapping that picture of him.

That was a fun day, especially for those of us who grew up with the late 50's early 60's Lionel catalogs featuring the 746. I'm glad we all got to blow that whistle!!! Let's do it again.IMG_9523

Thanks to my long time friend Joe Sadorf for this photo!

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Last edited by NYC Fan

The engine that had everyone buzzing like crazy, the VL Niagara. Dave Olson had told me that Ryan had overfilled the smoke fluid in the tender. This thing really took a beating, they even managed to burn out the traction tires and still keep it running. Didn't someone say something about traction tires and how they should last?

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Dave,

That is the way a Niagara should look!!! That must be the pre-production Vision Niagara. Sure wish the production model looked like that!!!

Skip

Yeah, 611 has always been one of those engines that I've pined for. I didn't grow up in the 50's or 60's, I grew up in the 70's. Seeing it though as a kid modeled, it just was something incredible to see, made me dream of the Dreyfuss and other streamline steamers. I really do hope we get a Dreyfuss soon that doesn't blowup. Maybe it will be here before we know it. Until then, we'll have to catch 611 more.

@Randy_B posted:

How does K-Line 1295 compare to Lionel 1297? I noticed the tender lettering is different which I didn't notice previously.

1295 is TMCC and 1297 is Legacy with Whistle Steam. 1295 required a small modification in the wiring to get the sound and smoke to work correctly together. If not using the smoke it ran perfectly out of the box. I find the increased number of speed steps on the Legacy model  is the most significant difference. 1295 has a very dark graphite grey firebox and boiler front. 1297 has a lighter graphite grey fire box and boiler front. I have enjoyed both of these models.

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Interestingly, this locomotive spent the overwhelming majority of its time on the B&A. Their time on the parent NYC  is better measured in months than years. They were transferred during 1950 and all 5 were all scrapped by 1952.

B&A



1297 is actually lettered correctly as seen in this photo.

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1298 was never actually lettered except for a stenciled NYC! Here it is already white lined.

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I don't know which if any of the other 3 were formally lettered like 1297. These are the only two NYC D2a 4-6-6T photos I know of. If anyone has any others please share.

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Last edited by NYC Fan

Happy Woodside Wednesday!!!

Locomotive #7745, an 0-8-0 switcher, pulls a string of A&P Woodsided Refrigerator Cars heading to the West Side Freight Line and the St. John's Park Freight Terminal near Canal Street. The goods will be trucked a few short blocks to the A&P Warehouse on Vestry Street in lower Manhattan for distribution.

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Last edited by NYC Fan
@leapinlarry posted:

NYC Fan, the above picture is beautiful, and your correct, It’s 5-O’Clock somewhere. (I like your clock) You have a nice layout, and this is a great thread. Pete Norton, beautiful NYC Switcher and you have a neat layout also. Happy Railroading Everyone

Thanks Larry, That sign is a landmark.  For decades it has faced lower Manhattan from Jersey City, New Jersey, but I consider it a New York Classic. Any by the way, isn't it always "happy hour" when we're running our trains!

mqkshshmnyhclomnkccvColgate Sign

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@ConrailFan posted:

Skip, if you don't mind me asking, where did you get the A&P cars? I used to work for them when I was young. First in Bushwick Bklyn then I transferred to Elmhurst Queens. I would love to have a couple of them! Ahhhh memories, memories!

Two of the A&P reefers are Atlas O. One is 36' and one is 40'. The other 36' reefer is RMT Aristo. The other 40' reefer is K-Line. The Atlas O cars came from AM Hobbies quite a few years ago. The RMT car and the K-Line car I found on EBay. The Atlas O are my favorite, followed by the RMT. Lionel also made one but it is not as detailed as the others. There are several of the Lionel A&P reefers currently on the Bay. There is one K-Line on Ebay.

A&P Kline

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