Make that 390E!

We can hope future MTH catalogs have a 390E! Hopefully in green and in Blue Comet colors.

Read my upcoming article on Mike Wolf and learn how to give strong feedback to MTH!

M

An old shot from Kughn

Carrail was my holy grail. I've always wanted to make mountains like Dick Kughn had on this amazing layout. I have most of the accessories and none of the room.

M

Mr. Powerstation

I am nuts for Power Stations and 217 Cabooses!

Not my layout (but I wish it was)!

M

The simple things in life...

I remember in my first quest for Lionel (and getting fleeced bigtime) purchasing this lampost.

It has since been reproduced and is still REALLY cool. I've seen one or two of these in Manhattan. It's really freaky when you see one for real.

M

Sept. 06 Pics

Famous shot off of a famous layout. Mo matter what, I love this friggin powerstation.

I've seen something that looks very much like it in the Bronx, NY. I wish I could have hung around in the Bronx when trolleys were powered by power stations like this one.

Somehow the bungalow next to it just doesn't seem right....

M

Some nice pics for Sept. 2006...

Hi All,

Been super busy. But I just can't let a sleeping blog lie.

I am going to post a ton of pics from some of my favorite layouts. I'm also going to post some new stuff. Just the pics mind you. I'll put a little blurb with them and then I'll let the readers fill in the blanks.

M

A new knobby roof daycoach....

Here's a newly primed brand new Knobby Roof Daycoach. It's about time someone made some of these. This one is Jim Cohen's creation. There's just no other way to put it; it is really good to see these getting made.

String a few of these behind a Brass 1912 and you have one heck of a nice train.

I'm looking forward to seeing the entire set.







Here's some brass parts to make more daycoaches. Kind of a nice change from the old Blue Comet cars and 400 series passenger cars.

I'll take more pics when they get closer to getting completed.

M

New England Toy Train Exchange Auction

The NETTE Auction is up! It has some absolutely terrific standard gauge.

PS A few of you have asked me why I like NETTE so much. Well, they are honest, decent and they are one of the few auction houses that bothers to answer my questions and treat me like a human being. If they treat me well when I'm not buying anything, I know their service will be (and is excellent) when I do buy something.

Go check out the new auction....

Marc

I'm not dead (yet)...

I am still here! Between work, writing the Mike Wolf article and general summer mayhem, I haven't had much time to post much of anything. I did post my new survey and I am interested to see how the results pan out.

The MTH article is tough. I want to make sure I get in as much info as I can, thus I am spending a ton of time pestering MTH for details. They've been very gracious about giving me information. Hopefully the article will prove interesting and worth the work...

A new NETTE auction is coming up. I just received the emailer from them. This is going to be one of their premium auctions, I am definitely looking forward to it.

By the way, the above pin is from Hakes Collectibles. If you have never seen a Hakes auction or auction book, they are one of the best. Check them out.

Marc

Train Video Poll

If TM Videos Made a Video about Standard Gauge Trains, which topics would you like to see most.

Select up to 4 of the following: Videos About Other Collectors (IE Frank Petruzzo, Chuck Brasher, Etc.) Videos broken up into O gauge and Standard Gauge Prewar Video's about specific manufacturers (Lionel, MTH) Videos about lower volume/lesser known manufacturers (McCoy, RichArt, Creswell) Videos about Rare Items or Accessories Videos about Early Toy Trains (2 7/8, Knapp, Howard, Voltamp) Videos about people that make and manufacture toy trains Videos about noted collectors like LaRue Schempp and Tom Sefton Videos about actual real trains that were made and built before WWII. A documentary about pre-WWII manufacturers (Ives)

Web Polls by Vizu

The Railway Channel

Yes, I know The Railway Channel has been discussed on the Groups and on other Blogs. This is just terrific. I can tell it is made by people that love trains.

Who knows, maybe if enough of us Yankees patronize this site, they'll come over here and do some of their mojo and film some of us train nuts in our natural habitat?

On another note, I watched the NETTE auction yesterday. The prices were outstanding. That means they were reasonable and completely in line with what we should or could pay for an item. I had a great time watching it on the web. There may be sensible people left that don't want to horde every train and don't jack up the prices on every auction! At least some nice trains got out there with some great collectors. Send me pics of those layouts!

Marc

Bits and Bobs of Tidbits....

Stout Auctions is rolling out another auction here. Not much major standard gauge but a few nice items. The NETTE Auction is also coming up. Both are being offered through eBay Live Auctions (a good thing I think).

MTH just started shipping their operating crane.

I ordered one of these. This is one heck of a neat item, I hope MTH keeps innovating. I've been working on my MTH interview. I just want to make sure I put together something better than ok; so I'm taking some time and doing it right. I gotta tell ya, that Mike Wolf has got real chutzpah and is one heck of an entrepenuer. I think the chronicling of his adventures is only at the beginning.

I've seen some interesting commentary on the forums about Lionel and how they seem to be missing the centennial of standard gauge. That's a mistake for them. I know this market is a niche, a niche that's lasted a hundred years. NASCAR and the UPS Centennial? That's not a niche? I read the O Gauge Trains interview with Jerry Calabrese and it looks to me like the secret to making Lionel successful is marketing and merchandising. Should be interesting; I know Jerry knows this market however I think Lionel still just doesn't get it. I couldn't find one O gauge engine I would go out of my way to own. The fact that they are not acknowledging standard gauge exists is short sighted at best.

I was checking out the Yahoo Standard Gauge Groups and I saw a little note about Jim's new layout. Click here to go see the beginning of a neat collection. Jim warns that his layout isn't for purists, he refurbs his gear. That's ok, it's still brilliant and I would also say his website his very well thought out as well.

By the way, I was in New Jersey this weekend at the shore. Got a few rides on this -

This would look neat in model form on any layout. For those of you that live out in the Western US or in another country, I highly recommend a trip to Wildwood, NJ. It was a little warm but there's tons to do and riding the tram is 2 bucks.

M

Just say "why".....

Another insane eBay auction. $150k for a boxed Lionel set. Not early (or as early) as the seller thinks. I won't dwell on it. And I'm not putting up any pictures either.

"Why are you fascinated with this?" Not fascination, just morbid curiousity. More importantly, another person setting unreasonable expectations for prices realized by toy train sellers.

Go take a look at the one (count 'em, one) picture they posted.

By the way, I have another poll coming up. I think you'll like the next one. The current poll has been very informative, I hope the manufacturing powers that be consider it a nice chunk of free market research. The next one is veeerrryyy interesting as well. As I was writing it down it got more interesting. Go figure.

M

PS As a slight addendum, read the questions on the above linked eBay auction. As far as I can tell, one of eBay questions asks the seller to offer free shipping at $120k if he includes "handling" of the buyers genitals. I'm going to watch the questions, something tells me these are going to be good.

New August NETTE Auction

NETTE has a "little bit of everything" auction up for the 9th. This one is a little different; they are using eBay Live Auctions. Should be kind of interesting. I'm going to watch.

I Like the David King Trolleys. Check it out. The only thing I didn't like was that they aren't breaking up the auction (Standard Gauge, O gauge, Post war, pre war and so on). I'll cut them some slack, their auctions are still consistently better than shows and most of their competition and their customer service is second to none.

The selection is very nice though, especially of Prewar O and Standard. It's absolutely worth checking out.

M

Polling Ends Aug. 15, 2006

I don't have much to report on lately; the polling ends August 15, 2006. Vote at least once. You can vote on my blog as many times as you like. Or go to the Yahoo Groups for more extensive voting.

Summer is one of those times when toy trains seem to take a backseat to the pool, beach and events that involve charring something on a grill. That's the way it is supposed to be! Now get out there and cut some lawns and earn some money to buy trains when summer is done!

M

Lego Modular Layout

Go check out Dave Hartmann's O Gauge Watch. He has an article on the NMRA train show and specifically a modular Lego layout (among others). You've got to check out this layout and Dave has a new Nikon D50 that he took some great shots with. Use the link on the right to get to this really cool article.

Marc

21st Century Trolley...

This is what a trolley looks like in the 21st Century. I'm glad they are still around (just not in the United States).

I wonder what this would look like in our favorite gauge (made out of metal)???

M

The Poll (slightly abridged)....

I've been told that quite a few of you don't want to join the Yahoo Groups. I think that's a mistake. It's a great way to exchange ideas on tinplate but if you must, here's an abridged version on the Standard Gauge Poll I mentioned in a previous post. Please don't hesitate to vote and vote often.

This poll (below) will let you vote as much as you want but only for one item at a time. The Yahoo poll will let you vote for as many choices as you would like to opt for.

Cheers,

Marc

If a standard gauge manufacturer were to produce any new train in standard gauge, which train should they produce? We are a market that is profitable and should be heard!

Hudson Tube Train Creswell 600E (or some form of a Hudson) 1010 Interurban, Boucher Blue Comet Hardcars, Doodglebugs, Galloping Goose Smith Metalworks Type Buildings (new car barns, roundhouse, Bridges. etc.) Modern Era in Std Gauge (Santa Fe, EP-5, DD1) Trolleys Flyer (Brass Piper, Pocahontas, Statesmen) Streamliners (Blue Streak, M10000, Zephyr) More Classics (390E in different colors, etc.), Ives and Flyer

Web Polls by Vizu

More Prague Toy Train Museum II

Blow these up! For a static display, these have a ton of detail.

M

More Prague Toy Train Museum

Here's the monster Marklin station I referred to in a prior post. Pictures don't do it justice, this thing is majestic.

It has a very close prototype in Budapest, Hungary. Actually the model train station looks much better than the Budapest station.

One thing that struck me after seeing pics of all of these great toys, I always wonder if this is a lost art. I hope not.

M

The Poll Is Up

I thought this "polling thing" to send a message to standard gauge manufacturers was a good idea. So I have developed the poll based on emails I have received as well as feedback on the Yahoo Groups and the Tinplate Forums.

What I plan to do is leave the poll open a couple of weeks and get as many people as I can to reply to it. I'll take it and send it off to manufacturers. If they want to ignore a market and revenue, that's their perogative. I am tired of "hoping" that manufacturers read my webpage or the Groups Pages or the forums. Hope isn't a bad thing (now I sound like the Shawshank Redemption) but it doesn't always pay the bills. I don't like people that set around and bellyache without offering up some solutions so this is my start at an offering.

"What are you talking about Marc? What's the problem you are solving?" The problem is that the O gauge market seems to get a newly tooled set of engines from every manufacture at least once every twelve months. New rolling stock, new buildings, new signals. Std gauge seems to get an periodic remake of a Lionel Classic Period peice or Ives peice once or twice a year. While I think we should be thankful for that fact it doesn't exactly float for innovation.

So I have compiled a list from "All the things I'd like MTH to produce" as well as the O gauge forums to the best of my limited ability. Hopefully the list will never really be finished (because everyone's imagination is really unlimited). It's a first crack at starting to expand the standard gauge catalog beyond the stock items. There has been so much fantastic standard gauge built since World War II ended, we need to give it recognition as well as new items that should be but have never been produced.

Go vote! Use the link above. And get others in the TCA, TTOS and LCCA to vote as well!


Marc

What Can MTH Make?

Folks,

I did the interview with Mike Wolf and I am jelling the parts to make it interesting reading. I spoke to Mike extensively about what will get made and why.

Before you all fantasize too much (hence the nice looking automobile on the left) on what can and cannot be made, I can tell you that MTH's focus is on products that will sell.

Mike told me they put out the articulated 400E and there were almost no pre-orders. Suffice to say, he wants to make sure everything MTH produces finds a home in a collection or with an operator.

So here's what I propose: either I'll do it or we can do it on the Yahoo Groups - we create a list of all items we would like to see produced, rank them by putting out a survey and then send them to MTH. It's the best way to be straight with what we would like to see. I'll either build the list or the survey, one or the other, I need some help (please volunteer because it won't get done any other way). It will give our friend's at MTH a roadmap for things we'd like to see.

Any thoughts?

M

It got away....

The insane collector in me rarely pops out. But when he does (Mr. Hyde) I obsess about certain items. This standard gauge work car I just lost out on on eBay is one of them.

Am I nuts? Well, yes. This is the only one of these I have ever seen. The price went way too high for me to pay. All I can think of is Smeagol from Lord Of The Rings jabbering on about "my precious". It gives me the creeps. Has anyone seen this and where in blazes can I get one?

It is likely and even probable that this car is a Wakeling. Since Arno introduced me to these things I can't seem to get enough of them. I only have seen them once or twice on eBay. This is the kind of low hanging fruit I wish standard gauge manufacturers would pursue. I love the Blue Comet but sometimes track needs to get fixed and my Westphal car just doesn't have maintenance of way rights. Seems like this would do the trick.

I hope it shows up again (and no, I am not eating any raw fish or prancing around talking to a lake (a cheesy, geeky Lord Of The Rings joke)).

M

New Hope, PA Trains

My Buddy $$$mint was in New Hope, PA and managed to grab some nice shots of an engine under steam.

Yes, I know it isn't standard gauge but who cares? This is one really nice engine and set.

M

Prague Toy Museum

That Boxcab intrigued me too. I am guessing it is a Bing 1 Gauge but I could be wrong. Fandor?

I have quite a few more pics to upload. The one's of the huge Marklin station are really something to see.

M

More Prague Toy Museum....

By the way, the trolley pictured below is a current trolley from Prague. They call them "trams". Roland told me that they have trams running in Prague, Austria and all over Europe.

Looks like we gave up yet another bright idea to get gouged for gas prices instead.

I have some tram pics I can post if anyone would like to see them. They are just too cool. Roland said he might send me some movies later on.

M

You guys are quick!

Damn, you guys are quick!

Roland sent me these pics from the Prague Toy Museum and some pics of trolleys in Europe. He sent me so many they clogged my email today for over 2 hours and sucked up around 3 gig of HD space.

Here's a few to get you started.

I know these aren't Lionel authentic standard gauge and the like but I know that you'll still find them really interesting. Especially when it comes to percolating some ideas for tinplate.

I could spend the next 4 days posting these things. I'll post as many as I can. They are really intriguing.

















Here comes a few more in another post...

Where was this taken?

If anyone can tell me where my buddy Roland took this picture, I'll post some pics of the biggest station I have ever seen. It's Marklin but it is friggin amazing.

Truly, this thing is just enormous. I'm not posting diddly until someone tells me where this toy museum is!

M

PS He took pics of the rest of the toy trains in this museum as well. They kick ace!

Lots of good stuff on the way....

I can't post much this week but I will post some good stuff in the next 4 or 5 days.

Stay tuned - a standard gauge interview with Mike Wolf is coming up in the next two weeks. If you have any questions for him, send them to me at:

mrkuffler@aol.com

No patently stupid questions (such as anything with profanity or that will be an insult to our collective intelligence (like "What does MTH make?" as an example). And NO lawsuit questions! Everything else is fair game!

Cheers for now!

Marc

Great Rich Art Article

I was pouring through some ancient TTOS bulletins and I found this amazing article on Rich Art. Blow it up and read it using "Full Page View" on IE. Hilly Lazarus did some great writing for the TTOS bulletins. His knowledge and study of trains is exceptional.

This article is really worth reading. I am anxiously awaiting Arno's book on these makers of toy trains. I expect every reader of this blog to pick up a copy as soon as it is available!

As I have said in previous posts, much of their production is exclusive; one off's that are rare and almost always wonderful. I know Dick Mayer cranked out a ton of great trains and many are documented and many are not.

Take a gander at this article; what I am hoping is that it will inspire many of you out there with mechanical talent, patience and skill to think about building toys like these. Remember, we are remembered by our actions and the decisions we make. Great products and thought translated into amazing toys like these will make them the rare inspired artists of the future.

What I would like to see (and your ideas)...

Aye Carumba! I almost forgot my yearly babble on what I would like to see in standard gauge!

How could I be so stupid? Probably because I keep buying trains and not making my friggin mortgage payment.

By the way, that loco pulling out is one of Jim Cohen's. I like the engine but it's the shed that has captivated me.

If our hobby is going to have a future, we need to slow down the recreation of the old favorites - 400E's, 408's and so on. Here's my ideas for some things I'd like to see in standard gauge in the future:

An American Flyer Brass Piper (been looking for a Rich Art one but they aren't easy to find).
A Lone Scout Set
A Pocahontas Set
A #3 Trolley
A Statesmen Set
An Ives Tiger Set

Ok, let me get out of the Prewar mode and into new operating equipment:

A Blue Streak Set (yes, in standard gauge)
A Decent Zephyr or Flying Yankee
A Comet set (no, not the Blue Comet, the New York Central Comet. If you haven't seen it let me know and I'll post a picture).
The i5 (probably one of the nicest engines ever designed).
A Carlisle and Finch mining set
A Voltamp set
A decent Hudson
An American Flyer Aeolus Set

All of the above needs to be made IN STANDARD GAUGE.

I'd love to see some new tinplate accessories. Heck you could reproduce the Smith Metalworks gear above and I'd be happy. By the way, I called Smith Metalworks and the lady that answered said she would get back to me (and never did). Guess she thought I was some nut that was bugging her about something they never made.

Accessories:

A decent engine house like the one above from Smith Metalworks
A new station (something a little closer to Grand Central or Union Station in Kansas City).
Some new tunnels and mountains that make it easier to model prewar tin into the landscape.
How about a decent prewar backdrop for a layout?

Here's one that's constantly overlooked: most of us are still using the same lock ons that were used 100 years ago (literally or technically). Can't we get a lock on that looks like a tinplate switchhouse with some lights in it and some new fangled power/surge protection?

Well, I put myself out there. It's up to you guys to come with some more ideas on things we'd like to see. Being that the number of manufacturers is dwindling rapidly, I think we need to let people know that if products are made, if I ideas are made real, we'll support them. I'm always amazed whenever I see some dufus walking around a train show and belly aching about how he wants a mint condition standard gauge "whatever" (you fill in the blank; freight car, fancy motive power, etc) for 10 bucks. Just won't happen. It actually almost never did happen. But I think all of us are willing to go the extra distance for quality.

Ideas?

M

Simply Wonderful....

Believe it or not, the world of standard gauge is rife with news. There seems to be a substantial amount of activity going on. Every time I speak with a fellow collector, there are new things happening in the world of classic toys, especially in our little patch.

I liked this picture because it so aptly describes a little slice of our hobby. It's simple and has a common set of toys. Yet their assembly creates something uncommon; memories, elegance and plain old fun. It's great to watch a 408E and the 400 series passenger cars go through their motions! What's the most interesting 408E story anyone has? Where is the most unusual place you've found the venerable 408?

M

Sitting and Watching Stout

I'm just sitting here watching the Stout Auction online. Seems like there are some good deals, especially if you are looking for MTH Standard Gauge Boxcars.

Here's something I noticed though; MTH sets seem to be going much higher than I would have expected. The Olympian set just went for $2200 and that is without the buyers premium, shipping and so on.

Hey, don't get me wrong, buyers are getting something they want and I am glad the sellers are making a couple of bucks. I just can't figure out why these folks didn't buy these sets from MTH brand new when they had the chance. MTH gives plenty of warning and they even offer some of these sets from catalog to catalog. I do like the fact that MTH offers them because I tend to like running new gear vs. the older stuff. We won't go down that road again.

I also noticed another eBay anomaly; I just saw one of those compiliations of prewar catalogs from Greenberg go on ebay. Jumped from 91 bucks to 188 in the last few minutes. I haven't seen one of the Greenberg books go for less than 120 smackers. I've seen them on Amazon.com ranging from $145 to $250.

So maybe thorough books and reference materials do have a market? I've seen a few posts on the forums stating there is no market for standard gauge and books relating to prewar trains. Have you looked at your local train store book rack lately? How many books does there need to be on balasting track and building lichen trees? For a real train person, that was mastered long ago (I figured it out in 1976 without a book).

M

PS Current train books that are basically "coffee table books" by Roger Carp and price guides don't count.

I liked this ad

I just saw this ad and I liked it. It got me thinking of a quick story my buddy Jim Cohen told me -

He was in New York City in 1951. He was looking for an O gauge switcher. He decided to pop into Madison Hardware.

Madison was the usual amazing place full of amazing stuff. Jim let his mind wander a little and decided he really wanted some Stephen Girard cars.

Lou pulled out the box. That is, A full set of Stephen Girard cars, brand new in the box including the master carton. Not "like new", not sort of new, just new.

Madison wanted $175 for those cars. Jim scoffed slightly, a nice set of used cars could be had at a meet or from another collector for under a hundred bucks. Why the hell would he pay big money in those days for a full set in boxes?

(I had to leave the room for a minute and bang my head against something repeatedly). While my friend has no regrets, he did wish he had the 175 bucks that day.

By the way, call me when Lionel produces a catalog page or advertisement like the one above. The current "go back to when you were a kid and could have your dad buy you a $700 GG1" nostalgia advertising and marketing really doesn't do much for me. I showed the current train advertising du jour to one of my kids and asked what he thought, he asked if the train game was available on the Playstation 2. Doesn't that say it all?

M

Station Envy......

My 116 Station and 129 Terrace seems so insignificant next to this thing.

I just bought a whole bunch of TTOS Bulletins and I saw this on the back of one. It's a model from the Worlds Fair of Grand Central.

Where did this station go? Please tell me that it wasn't lost to antiquity. What can anyone say when they see something like this?

I've been walking through Grand Central Station in NYC for more than 18 years and this is the first model I have seen that comes even close. The 116 station was close or at least I thought so. 1930 isn't that long ago, did anyone see this? What I wouldn't give to hang out with Sherman and Mr. Peabody and jump in the Wayback Machine" with as much 21st century multimedia gear as possible.

This by the way, is ignoring the simple fact that the trains leaving the station are also amazing....

M