Toonerville Prototype

My buddy Capt. Joe Finelli has come up with another brilliant variation on a theme: the Toonerville Trolley. Again, this hammers home his ability as an artist as well as the need for manufacturers to do a little "out of box" thinking. Not everything needs to be a 400E or 200 series boxcar!!! I'll keep posting these brilliant creations as I see 'em. I know there are plenty more out there waiting to be found! Thanks again Joe for sending the pics. Keep up the amazing work! You are an inspiration!

Marc

Nice American Flyer Youtube from Pipes

Check out Pipes American Flyer Youtubes. Here is one (they are pretty darn neat). Try on HD and blow it up to full screen.

marc

And another Youtube...

I know, you are all getting bored. Youtube is so huge and substantial (there's so much out there) that I figured if I post them, it's easier than sorting through them.



Another great video from Daveclarklumber!
Marc

Rich Art Bi-Polar Video

Daveclarklumber posted another great video on Youtube of this Rich Art Bi-Polar. Absolutely fantastic!

Little McCoy Youtube

Dave Hess posted a really nice little Youtube of a rare McCoy Handcar rolling around on a standard gauge layout. I hope he can post more of these wonderful little videos of McCoy gear making the rounds. He's inspired me to make a few on layout as well....

Marc

PS I'd love to see a bumper car in standard gauge as well!

No. 1 Trolley at NETTE

Very nice set of trolleys and they very rarely show up in pairs (power and trailer).

At the NETTE auction in July 2009.

Marc

Stellar 400e @ NETTE

Here's a very high quality 400e at the upcoming NETTE auction. Original 400e's drive some high prices. I have two and I can say they were both worth it.

Marc

Voltamp at the NETTE Auction

Pretty sweet. New England Toy Train Exchange has an exciting auction coming up with some classic Voltamp like this. I've seen about a dozen questions in the last week; "What is Voltamp?". In a very small nutshell, some of the earliest and most innovative electric toy trains.

Marc

Just messin with the layout...

Debating about what trains I'm going to run next. I hate pulling off this Ives Prosperity Special. It's special. I just can't stop looking at the damn thing.

Marc

Back of 400 Series

400 Series cars from TTOS Meet

What's interesting about these cars is that they were overpainted at the factory. From the little scratches on the cars, you can see that there is typical Lionel Apple Green underneath. Yet these cars are not refinished, the orange you see is orange from the factory. I have these cars in Mojave (a light brown I guess) as well as MTH flavors in Green. They are some of the best all purpose passenger cars on a pike, largely because they aren't as ostentatious as State cars and they can handle smaller radius pikes with ease. I'll post some additional pics later on.

Marc

TTOS 9E Boxes

Check out how nice these prewar boxes are for the 9E. I'm not a box person however these boxes do tell an interesting story. Those 400 series cars don't look yellow to me!
Marc

Another Shot of the 9E

Some Seriously Nice American Flyer Standard Gauge

Pipes71479 posted some great Youtube of Standard Gauge American Flyer sets running. I've started a small Flyer Standard Gauge collection myself because the lithography is just amazing and I don't think the Flyer stuff will really get reproduced anytime soon. Plus its' just plain neat. Check it out:

Gorgeous Ford in CT

I wish the auto manufacturers still made cars like this. One could argue that modern amenities and electronics make current automobiles much more exciting. But these are still around and well, still simply like modern works of art in metal. I hope my country can produce items like this again....

Marc

Hello Mr. B-29!

Was hanging out last weekend at the Connecticut Air Museum; check out this B-29. You have to see this plane up close to understand how incredible it is. Nope, it isn't a standard gauge train but if you want to have a great time and see some real WW II planes, this is one great stop on the travel roster!
Marc

More of a gorgeous set...

This set is really unusual because of its' age and the quality of the set. I'll post more pics in a bit...

Marc

TTOS Meeting on June 7, 2009

Here is a great shot from a TTOS Meeting on June 7th, 2009. This set is a bit unusual. It's a a great set regardless because of the solid boxes and the general high quality of the set. More pics later...

Martin's Fabulous Collection

Ok, this collection isn't the biggest but it is probably one of the best I have ever seen. Add the 199 layout and I am just blown away. Thanks again Martin for sharing these!

Marc

Martin's Horde

All original, not refurbished, best of the best prewar trains. My living room floor sucks compared to Martin's!

199 Dealer Layout

Martin also sent me a pic of his 199 Dealer layout. Good things come in small packages. I love these little layouts. I can only imagine the personality of their creators. Damn this is great innovation packed into a small space!

marc

199 Continued...

Another shot of the 199 Layout.

Kachinga, Kachinga!

Martin sent me this awesome pics of his 400e's. Yes, the top is an original crackle black 400e. It in fact does exist. Wouldn't you have just loved to been in the Lionel factory when the guy figured out how to do this crackle black paint? I would have really loved to see this technique on some other trains of the time as well as rolling stock. I have a crackle black MTH 400e and it is really nice, I can't imagine how nice an original prewar Lionel flavor is.

Thanks for sending Martin! Martin and Rob Lear sent me a few other pics I'll post shortly!
Marc

Model Plans Shot at the Air and Space Museum

I love model planes as well. I took this pic yesterday at the CT Air Museum outside of Hartford. I do really like having little planes on my layout. However I do think planes belong in the air....

Marc

This kind of reminds me of a Lionel #8. Go ahead and click on it to expand it a bit. I took the pics at 10 megapixels so everyone can get an idea of detail...

Marc

Trolleys, trolleys everywhere!
Marc

Trolley Barn in CT

How about a real Trolley barn? Makes me wish there was one in standard gauge!

Marc

Sweet Little Switcher Idling away in Windsor, CT

Hi All, was just hanging out this weekend at the Connecticut Air Museum and I hopped over to the Trolley Museum for a quick stop. I've seen this in standard gauge from Bob McCoy Sr. and Jr.. Very cool little switcher. I'll post some pics of the trolleys as well.

Marc