Tinplate photos 📸 and videos 📽

I have some new fun prewar standard gauge trains to share.  Stay tuned for some awesome videos.

As always Cheers!       W1

Excellent !!!!   at @Buco your conversion looks very well made, congrats and many thanks for the idea I do have some worn models that could have a new life.

A video from @William 1 is always a great pleasure for me to look at, hope to see many more in a near future and maybe with some new pieces....

All my best wishes, Daniel

Hey guys - I was lucky to score this super nice 385e while in exile.  This guy likes to run and will haul tons.  Sure is handsome too, I like em!

Cheers,       W1

Thanks Daniel......if you need any tech info on these conversions, feel free to ask. I get a lot of help and tech advice from my good friend "Swissjohn" (Hans Schweizer) in Switzerland. He is the expert on modifying Buco trains!!!

Peter....Buco Australia.

This is what it’s all about.  My dad’s gray #10 set.  96 years old and is the smoothest running sweetest honey in the fleet.  I guess you could call this a reaquisition, spare you the details but I had to wrest her back from my brother in law who tried to claim the set after my dad died.  Not happenin bro, she’s comin back home with me where she belongs.  Good for me - Yay!  

This set is what got me into the prewar std gauge bug, something inherently cool about a 96 year old set that runs and looks like new, with just the right touch of patina from being played with by my dad and my uncles.  Doesn’t get any better than this in my world.

Cheers,       W1

On the last day of 2023 I finished another project, rebuilding 2 BUB cars from 1910.

They were homemade converted into a cable car.

Soldering the roofs

Hand made replica of the couplings

Made new wheels (hard lead)

And finish.

Arne

Just for fun, another not so hard to find but I found it, this 511 flat car in the darker green with bronze stakes and brake wheels, other guy is all nickel.  Now all I need is a 514r with a blue roof and I think I might have all the major color schemes of 500 series freights, in case anybody has one they can part with for a fair price keep me in mind…. Haha There are some rogue 515 tank cars, a yellow shell I see Trainz had for $360, I don’t need it that bad thx.  I’ll keep my eyes peeled for a blue topped reefer.

All my boxes in a row, all I need is the 514r with the blue roof to complete this package.  Sure is a colorful train as is, just needs a chaser  haha

Cheers and happy 2024, let’s make it the best ever!

Time for a blue baby state run.  This engine is a honey, smooth as hash under glass with a Jim Beam chaser…

Funny, even on a layout of this simplicity some engines run better on the loop one way or the other.  She likes it this way, if you’ll pardon the expression, I like it too!

@William 1- Beautiful Comet William and she does sure seem to run smooth.

My post today, is a repeat of one I put on "Front End Friday" because that was the day I was able to open the box that this gal came in over the Holidays - she arrived while I was out of town.  She is a Lionel #253 from 1925-1926 period.  After examining her in some detail (details of the motor will have to wait till I get her apart), she is period correct except appears to have aftermarket replacement roof handrails.  They are supposed to be brass and these are nickel. Every other detail is correct from the flag pole holders to the name plates and reverse switch handle. She needs a thorough cleaning but that will come later as I work her up to operation.  So here she is , my "new" Lionel #253 now about 100 years old.

Best Wishes Everyone...Happy New Year

Don

@William 1 posted:

This is what it’s all about.  My dad’s gray #10 set.  96 years old and is the smoothest running sweetest honey in the fleet.  I guess you could call this a reaquisition, spare you the details but I had to wrest her back from my brother in law who tried to claim the set after my dad died.  Not happenin bro, she’s comin back home with me where she belongs.  Good for me - Yay!  

This set is what got me into the prewar std gauge bug, something inherently cool about a 96 year old set that runs and looks like new, with just the right touch of patina from being played with by my dad and my uncles.  Doesn’t get any better than this in my world.

Cheers,       W1

I wanted to revisit this.  I suspected that this gray #10 was a bit different because it has a green frame.  I’m looking at the Greenburg guide that is telling me that the green frames were used in promotional sets around 1930.  This gray with with a dark green frame is part of set PO-99.  I think that’s cool.  There are also peacock colored models with green frames.  Ok, I’m not a freak about collecting but I will keep my eyes out for a smooth running peacock colored Macy’s special #10.  I might need one of those in my life some day…

I have a Mojave too, another beauty, #10s have a lot of trim pieces, actually fancier in my opinion to a #8, 318 or 308.  Begs the question, what sets ran with the peacock #10s.  It had to be a passenger set, I don’t know so I’m askin.

Have a great weekend all you train nuts!

Cheers,       W 1

Another in my series of really bad videos of really great trains.  My precious 384 pulling a good string.  She’s a honey but she takes no prisoners, best hauler in the fleet.  It’s her way or no way.  Give me all you got she says, I can take it.  Well, yes ma’am…

#384 workin the nite shift haulin commodities.  Oil straight from the Straits of Hormuz and lumber sticks from the sticks of Alberta Canada.  I don’t know where those two spots are on the planet she says, or how they got here, but let’s get hooked up and take ‘em where they gotta go since they’re here.  Trains bring the world together ok.  
Pretty as a peach but never a diva, she’s very practical, hard working and always ready to roll, and we all appreciate that on the Floor Layout Central, very much.

Cheers,       W1

Btw - don’t know if you noticed or anyone cares but there is a 90 xover that got moved by a crew to the center of the layout.  Rumor has us there a big changes afoot for the FLC.  Something about new track, switches, maybe more.  I think we got some new investors who want to expand operations.  Over my pay grade till told otherwise.  Kinda would be cool to get off the floor and have a layout in that spare bedroom…  

I just got handed this by mgmt.  Here is the layout.  I love this plan.  2 remote switches, 2 manual, xover.  Can reverse direction.  If I have the space I will put a 2 track yard on the LH side. 2 sheets of homasote a few sticks and a burst of motivation this might get done.  Might be fun too.

Added a tinplate firehouse thanks to a friend.

Well Tinplate fans, I have some "Hafner" for you today.  At a recent Train Show just last Saturday I ended up acquiring a Hafner 1010 loco and train.  I was interested in just the tender but the seller wanted to sell the entire train and the price was so reasonable I took it all... it turned out well because as well as the tender I got a great operating loco and a somewhat uncommon caboose...so all was good.

Well here is the entire train.  The oil car and caboose are late Hafner freight cars made from 1937-1951 (after 1951 Hafner was acquired by Wyandotte toys ...the "All Metal Products Company" and their logo began to appear on the cars).   The #81932 PRR lithographed caboose is one of Hafner's short streamlined cars (see today's "Tail End Tuesday for more pictures of the caboose).  The 1010 oil car is somewhat common and came in a bewildering number of variations, this one with white ends.  The 1010 engine (by the way 1010 was the street number of the Hafner factory in Chicago) in black and silver is a Type 1 (per the reference nomenclature) with the streamlined cowl hiding the domes and stack and the sideboards running the entire length.

Close up pictures of the 1010 loco.  Just to be complete, the sideboards would have originally been fastened to the loco body by rivets not screws, screws are likely a later replacement.

Ty

This tender was what originally I was most interested in.  I did not have any example of a Type Va tender (reference book nomenclature again) in black.  The all black sides with the gray / silver lower coming is like the original but the "Hafner" sign is not as best I can tell.  Likely added by a user.  The original would have either a blank panel under that sign or the word "Hafner" embossed in the sheet.  Tenders of this sort while not exactly rare are not easy to find.

"

The rounded "wings" on top on either side of the coal pile are called "coal boards".

And here she is...my new Hafner loco and tender.

So that is my new Hafner clockwork tinplate train and loco.   OBTW she runs fine.

Don

Flyer 2005 manual signal:

Looks like a prop from a Dr. Who episode.

PD

Nice example pd,

As an FYI it comes in green and blue.

Exterminate!

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

Some big changes are afoot on the FLC.  Got the big rig on the job and some fresh track.  Boss says we gotta job to do so let’s get to it.  This could get interesting…

Reminiscent of photos from the 1930s...standard gauge running on a wood floor. Wonderful!

PD

This house was built in 1927, about the same time that beautiful 384 was as well.  Going on 97 years, I think that’s cool.

Very cool...you can't beat an old, well-maintained house.

I feel like this thread has run its course...not!

A selection of prewar American Flyer tank cars:

PD

Look at all the sizes of American Flyer O ( Narrow Gauge ) gauge trains.

and some Wide gauge mixed in

Northwoods Flyer

Greg

Yay! a revival lol ...

This thread should never die , but sadly I have not been doing a heap of collecting recently, but I did just luck into a nice pair of cast F.W.Strong level crossings. These were made here in Australia in the 1950's and are very reminiscent of actual crossings in Australia at the time , with the classic crossed arms signs and swing gates

Getting harder and harder to find so thankful I got a couple

Also added a few items to the steam accessories division .. some Fleischmann and Arnold pulley driven toys

The Scissors Sharpener guy is the coolest , he shoots sparks LOL!

@Fatman The crossing gates are very nice. Are they stamped underneath by the F.W. Strong company?

Tom

Good to hear from you again Fatman.  Those crossing gates looked very familiar....I thought I had a set when I was but a boy, many moons ago!!!

I have no idea where they are now....maybe you are the proud owner of them???

Peter....Buco Australia.

Nice level-crossings, FM. I could see making a few of those from bits of cardboard and basswood.

PD

@Fatman- Great to hear from you again Mate!  Neat crossings and steam powered figures at work.

@Greg J. Turinetti - Hey Greg, beautiful passenger cars and what a size difference...but don't forget the "little" guys!  The engineer in me loves that these were all stamped on one flat piece of tinplate then folded into a car like Origami!.

Also Greg, don't have anything like your selection of lumber cars but here is a log car from the late 30's and the beginnings of AF moving into 3/16" scale.  This one is 3/16 scale but 0 gauge.

@pd...here is another American Flyer tank car...similar to one of yours but with red lettering vice black

GREAT to have the "tinplate" thread back guys...best Wishes and Happy Easter.

Don

Marx 3/16" tinplate cars converted to Flyer 3/16" with Flyer trucks.

A pair of repainted Flyer 3/16" hoppers.  The Burlington car has a cover from a postwar S gauge car.

Industrial Rail Atlantic with prewar 3/16" Flyer K5 Pacific tender.  Best of both worlds - tinplate and modern.

New in the collection.

Found a Bing Loco 19592 from 1906. But was missing 2 Buffers and a side rod. And the clockwork was complete destroyed.

With parts from a other clockwork repaired.

Before

After repair

New side rod made from a computer part

Orginal part on top

Loco finished.

And new in the collection:

Bing indicator 14132 made 1906 - 1907 with stations only in Berlin

A indicator 2003/6/18 made by Kraus Fandor in the 30s

Arne

A temporary layout for the 40th anniversary of the French toy train museum, the "Rambolitrain"

You can see trains from LR, Hornby an JEP.

Daniel

Just Thursday I received my first Marx, which is also my first lithograph train. When I got into O gauge 3 years ago, this was another thing that I'd never buy. "Too much like a toy," I thought. But we change, so now I have a Marx 9452 "Diesel Type Electrical Train" set with B&O #62 AA units. The box is in great shape. No track or transformer, but in addition to the 7" #37956 PRR Merchandise Car, #80982 Wabash Gondola, and #C506 B&O Caboose that -if I understand correctly- were part of the original set, the seller included a 6" #28500 Lehigh Valley Gondola and #86000 Lackawanna Hopper. They're all in what is to me great shape for being about 70 years old. As a tin litho newbie, I appreciate details like the shadows on the box car grab irons and in the engine's windows and the roof walk that isn't just flat but is stamped out with ridges as though it's separate boards. Marx didn't have to do that but they did. All beautiful, and 100% pure toy goodness! When I first put it on a temporary O-27 loop and gave it power it wouldn't go much. I had to push it. But I've seen enough YouTubes and read enough forum postings that I did my best to service it. Cleaned the wheels, oiled the wheels, sprayed contact cleaner in the reverse unit, removed the brush plate/commutator cover/or whatever it's called and wiped the commutator although it doesn't look good. Now it runs great. It's kinda funny sometimes with the reverse unit, but that might be my transformer.

John

@Arne- beautiful work Arne, lovely piece.

@FRENCHTRAINS- Great to hear from you again Daniel, really nice set up and layout for the museum anniversary.

@John's Trains- Be careful, take it from me the Marx "bug" can be catching!  Thanks for posting John.

best wishes to all

Don

My tiny 3x4 all tinplate all the time layout featuring Lionel,  MTH, American Flyer and Marx trains and accessories.

Nice candy-apple red finish on that Marx CV.

PD