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Along with all of our Custom Run ALCo C420's...... the largest train shipment we have ever received.... I have ay least 2 Hudson's left at our pre-order sales price of $1349.95. This is the only early Hudson Lionel made without the marker lights as you guys requested when the 2019V1 Catalog came out. You can order one here:

  • Lionel 1931810 - Legacy J3a Hudson 4-6-4 Steam Locomotive "New York Central" #5415 w/ PT Tender + Bluetooth - Custom Run for MrMuffin'sTrains

 

I will post pictures when I get one of them opened, on Friday. As soon as my daughter lets me have one.

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My Lionel 1931810 New York Central J3a Hudson #5415 from Mr. Muffins arrived today and it is perfect.

I installed a 10510 YLB Battery (with sound board plug) in the tender to assist the tender sounds over my Atlas O #5 switches. The tender rollers are very close together and have a small center roller footprint. Installations was easy once I figured that the RED and the GRAY wires are from the center roller.  BLACK is used for the electricity from the wheels and outside rails.

Here is a video of the quick pass of the Hudson #5415 pulling five milk cars and ten PRR 21" passenger cars.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

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Last edited by John Rowlen
John Rowlen posted:

My Lionel 1931810 New York Central J3a Hudson #5415 from Mr. Muffins arrived today and it is perfect.

I installed a 10510 YLB Battery (with electric plug) in the tender to assist the tender sounds over my Atlas O #5 switches. The tender rollers are very close together and have a small electrical center roller footprint. Installations was easy once I figured that the RED and the GRAY wires are from the center roller.  BLACK is used for the electricity from the wheels and outside rails.

Here is a video of the quick pass of the Hudson #5415 pulling five milk cars and ten PRR 21" passenger cars.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

I harvested a battery tether from one of my older legacy diesels that doesn’t require it.   For sure need the battery with the PT tender.  Had to do the same for the niagara.   Love it so far.   Great smoker, especially whistle steam.  

Jeremy,  I like the dome fitting for filling the whistle smoke with fluid. It lifts off easily and drops into the magnetized recess in the top of the boiler.  It is much better than pulling out a rubber stopper.

The PT Tender has the same fill hole in the front right of the tender, behind the engineer, as the Niagara.  I use a small flat screw driver in the slot in the cover box to coax it away from the magnets that hold the cover box in place.

The 1931810 Hudson #5415 is a very nice engine.  The graphite boiler front looks good without too much shine. A month of dust from the layout and it will be looking even better.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

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  • IMG_0944: Recessed mounting for dome covering whistle smoke fill hole.
  • IMG_0945: Underside of magnetic dome for whistle smoke.
  • IMG_0941: Magnetic cover box for tender spray smoke fill.
  • IMG_0942: Cover box in place over tender fill hole.

Dave,  My pictures of the new 1931810 Hudson #5415, the Challenger #3985, and Niagara #6013 are finally posted.  The Hudson and the Challenger appear to be graphite. The Niagara is silver.

The Challenger is absolutely flat.  The Hudson has a matte finish, almost semi-gloss depending on the light.  The Niagara is silver.

I hope this information helps.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

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Last edited by John Rowlen
John Rowlen posted:

Jeremy,  I like the dome fitting for filling the whistle smoke with fluid. It lifts off easily and drops into the magnetized recess in the top of the boiler.  It is much better than pulling out a rubber stopper.

The PT Tender has the same fill hole in the front right of the tender, behind the engineer, as the Niagara.  I use a small flat screw driver in the slot in the cover box to coax it away from the magnets that hold the cover box in place.

The 1931810 Hudson #5415 is a very nice engine.  The graphite boiler front looks good without too much shine. A month of dust from the layout and it will be looking even better.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

I agree on the dome filler very nice.   The filler on the tender is tricky at first but once you get the hang of it not bad at all.   Love the look.   I like dark engines.  No white walls, less shiny parts.

Depending on the lighting angle, reflection of the light, and the shadow areas, the graphite changes appearance slightly.  I can see how the lighting in the pictures makes judging the color difficult. 

If you have worked with graphite pencil lead in sketching, you know the hardness of the pencil lead changes the color on the paper.

The engine looks very good as delivered. I am very pleased with Mr. Muffins custom run Lionel 1931810 New York Central J3a #5415.  Any slight shine to the graphite paint will be remedied by dust and time.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

Last edited by John Rowlen

Well, mine will be arriving at my house tomorrow according to the tracking this morning. They have said delivery for Wednesday since shipping and I have no reason to doubt that(save some freak weather event). I can't wait for it as I want to have a good look at it myself 

As far as the boiler comparison, I think it was good to compare it to the VL Niagara giving that it was really shiny. I think the CC Niagara had a darker boiler IIRC(been a bit) compared to the VL. I did think that the boiler would be more like the other Hudson above much like the front of the B6(very dark).

Dave,  Enjoy your new Hudson.  This is my first regular Legacy Hudson in traditional appearance. I have the two Empire State Express streamline Hudson #5426 and #5429 to pull two seven car passenger trains I detailed with Presier people. Having an engine for freight cars is nice.  I am waiting to hear from another dealer on the arrival of #5416.  Then it will be time to open up my Atlas O NYC freight cars.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

John Rowlen posted:

Dave,  Enjoy your new Hudson.  This is my first regular Legacy Hudson in traditional appearance. I have the two Empire State Express streamline Hudson #5426 and #5429 to pull two seven car passenger trains I detailed with Presier people. Having an engine for freight cars is nice.  I am waiting to hear from another dealer on the arrival of #5416.  Then it will be time to open up my Atlas O NYC freight cars.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

John, Its your railroad but Hudsons would not have pulled freight until the very end of their existence. A better choice for these would be green or TT Gray heavyweights or mixed passenger.

Get some Mohawks if you are looking for freight engines. Lionel made some nice L2a's in both TMCC and Legacy.

Pete

Last edited by Norton
Norton posted:
John Rowlen posted:

Dave,  Enjoy your new Hudson.  This is my first regular Legacy Hudson in traditional appearance. I have the two Empire State Express streamline Hudson #5426 and #5429 to pull two seven car passenger trains I detailed with Presier people. Having an engine for freight cars is nice.  I am waiting to hear from another dealer on the arrival of #5416.  Then it will be time to open up my Atlas O NYC freight cars.

Have a Happy Thanksgiving.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

John, Its your railroad but Hudsons would not have pulled freight until the very end of their existence. A better choice for these would be green or TT Gray heavyweights or mixed passenger.

Get some Mohawks if you are looking for freight engines. Lionel made some nice L2a's in both TMCC and Legacy.

Pete

Agreed. Hudson's were opposite the Penny's K4 passenger service. I watched a video where they had one of the crew talking about racing the K4's into LaSalle Street Station and the Hudson's beat them out every time(according to the person telling the story). L2 Mohawks make great freight engines. There's also some great videos on YouTube with them as well.

I received mine Saturday and I must say I am impressed with the Muffins service..This was my first order from Steve and Jeff and they sent the e mail invoice on Thursday.. I called Jeff with the card info on Friday and the Hudson was on my doorstep Saturday evening! Pretty good service if you ask me..

BTW: The Hudson is awesome too... the PT tender makes it and it looks great pulling the six 18" aluminum Empire State Express cars.. 

 

Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 posted:

Well, mine will be arriving at my house tomorrow according to the tracking this morning. They have said delivery for Wednesday since shipping and I have no reason to doubt that(save some freak weather event). I can't wait for it as I want to have a good look at it myself 

As far as the boiler comparison, I think it was good to compare it to the VL Niagara giving that it was really shiny. I think the CC Niagara had a darker boiler IIRC(been a bit) compared to the VL. I did think that the boiler would be more like the other Hudson above much like the front of the B6(very dark).

Dave let us know what you think when you get yours.

Doug N posted:
Dave NYC Hudson PRR K4 posted:

Well, mine will be arriving at my house tomorrow according to the tracking this morning. They have said delivery for Wednesday since shipping and I have no reason to doubt that(save some freak weather event). I can't wait for it as I want to have a good look at it myself 

As far as the boiler comparison, I think it was good to compare it to the VL Niagara giving that it was really shiny. I think the CC Niagara had a darker boiler IIRC(been a bit) compared to the VL. I did think that the boiler would be more like the other Hudson above much like the front of the B6(very dark).

Dave let us know what you think when you get yours.

Will do.

@Doug N, so mine arrived today while I was still at work, looks like the box must have taken a slight header which is typical for any package traveling, but minor bump. I love this thing, even despite the silverish boiler. It looked darker while it was still wrapped up, so I am curious if the light really plays with it a bunch.

IMG_20191120_163635It looks dark only because like I said, it is undercover currently, with just the reflections of whatever is around it to light it up.

IMG_20191120_164056Spare traction tires, not sure what the little doodad next to it is, looked in the instructions, but didn't see anything(someone knows).

IMG_20191120_164101It is well packed save the wrench for the drive gear, that was a little loose(opposite end of where we currently are). I re-positioned it and wadded up a paper towel on it to keep it from moving, it was right by the drawbar for the tender, don't want it messing up the infrared sensor now do we.

IMG_20191120_164456IMG_20191120_164508IMG_20191120_164516IMG_20191120_164527IMG_20191120_164540The tender is really nice, had to brush off a piece of foam that stuck from the static when I took it out. It is very hard to open the hatch to access the sound and smoke effect, took me about seven tries. I had it open and went to get my thumb in a better position and it closed back down. The space between the rollers is 2 1/2" or so(if I measured right), not a good amount of space.

IMG_20191120_164703IMG_20191120_164711IMG_20191120_165103I took this close up because the color between these and the boiler was that these were only slightly darker.

IMG_20191120_165123Doesn't even look close. Drive is way darker.

IMG_20191120_165232Here is a close up of the boiler and builder's plates. It looks darker up close, so you got me there.

IMG_20191120_170448IMG_20191120_164953Just for another comparison to a different engine I shot the PRR B6 and then the Hudson. The B6 is much darker, and I even had more light on that. Either way, I love this engine, bits of Styrofoam sticking here and there with other bits that I brushed off the front of the boiler after seeing it in closeup shot.

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Dave,  I have a 6-11411 New York Central 4-8-2 Mohawk #2791 I will use for freight trains.  I would like to see Lionel remake the NYC Mohawk with whistle steam and pop-off valves.  

Now with Hudson #5415 and #5416, management may force them into fast-freight service. My two Empire State Express engines #5426 and #5429 will pull the two seven car 21" ESE passenger trains.  I still need older NYC pullmans, but NOT with green tinted windows.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

John Rowlen posted:

Dave,  I have a 6-11411 New York Central 4-8-2 Mohawk #2791 I will use for freight trains.  I would like to see Lionel remake the NYC Mohawk with whistle steam and pop-off valves.  

Now with Hudson #5415 and #5416, management may force them into fast-freight service. My two Empire State Express engines #5426 and #5429 will pull the two seven car 21" ESE passenger trains.  I still need older NYC pullmans, but NOT with green tinted windows.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

John, I too would love to see the Mohawks come back, but I think we'll be waiting a few more years from them. I have the engine and the caboose to the Water Level Freight Set, but none of the freight cars(got those off of Ebay), I have the CCII ESE, and the Legacy ESE, I have the TMCC Mohawk, and the conventional one(in need of repairs and upgrade). At York this October, I bought MTH Madison Passenger Cars New York Central of course plus I will have the Pacemaker Hudson set coming too. I have one VL Niagara and the CCII one(that was upgraded by Alex M to be a real engine). Plus the Mallet and the S1 Electric as well as a diesel or two(not a big diesel fan, but I like a few).

I know that if Lionel does do Mohawks, I hope they give us a few choices in that pool, some L2's, L3's, and maybe L4's. I don't know what an L1 looks like, I think that was on one of the discussions from last year or the year before.

John Rowlen posted:

Dave,  I have a 6-11411 New York Central 4-8-2 Mohawk #2791 I will use for freight trains.  I would like to see Lionel remake the NYC Mohawk with whistle steam and pop-off valves.  

Now with Hudson #5415 and #5416, management may force them into fast-freight service. My two Empire State Express engines #5426 and #5429 will pull the two seven car 21" ESE passenger trains.  I still need older NYC pullmans, but NOT with green tinted windows.

Sincerely, John Rowlen

Best bet on green heavyweights are MTH. I think they are the best bang for the buck in 18" cars. Interiors with figures. Windows you can see in, best exterior detail.  K-Line cars with interiors are also good. Mix 'em up. Lionel, MTH, and K-Line also made TT Gray cars too. If your engines have PT tenders that would put your trains post WWII. By then there were very few passenger trains made up of matching cars. Check out the youtube videos on the NYC. Most trains were a mix of green, TT Gray, and stainless and green streamliners.

Pete

I am curious about the smokebox fronts. The fronts on the TMCC 5444 that came with class lights was missing a rivet right behind the light. If these fronts were from that engine then not only did they have to fill the screw hole but also remake the rivet. The rivet doesn't appear to a patch job but part of the casting.

Some of us who used the class light front and removed the lights had to make that rivet usually with brass or steel wire.

Pete

Last edited by Norton
John Rowlen posted:

Pete, Thank you for the information on the passenger cars. I have a MTH Erie smooth-side passenger set that is very nice.  I will look for MTH NYC passengers.  

John Rowlen

John, they have made them many times over the years. Starting with sillohuettes, then interiors and no figures to interiors with figures. Starting around 2005 the MTH Premier heavyweight came with figures. The latest ones now have LED lighting as well.

Pete 

Those rivets look so uniform its hard to imagine they aren't part of the original casting. I am not sure you can remove the front without removing the shell from the frame as the screw is usually underneath but if someone were to remove the front there should be evidence of a hole for the class lights on the inside too. I doubt they would smoothed that to match the interior surface if this was a patch job.

Pete

Norton posted:
John Rowlen posted:

Pete, Thank you for the information on the passenger cars. I have a MTH Erie smooth-side passenger set that is very nice.  I will look for MTH NYC passengers.  

John Rowlen

John, they have made them many times over the years. Starting with sillohuettes, then interiors and no figures to interiors with figures. Starting around 2005 the MTH Premier heavyweight came with figures. The latest ones now have LED lighting as well.

Pete 

John, this was the MTH cars I picked up at York. Look them up if you need to see exactly how they look.IMG_20191019_195211

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OGR Publishing, Inc., 1310 Eastside Centre Ct, Suite 6, Mountain Home, AR 72653
800-980-OGRR (6477)
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