Another Day on the Pike....

I just thought this was a neat picture. A dimly lit caboose, heading into a tunnel, noisily clanking away with the rest of the rolling stock. The bright red cabooose color contrasts wonderfully with the cool, muted earth tones of the Olson Displays Tunnel.

Yes, I know the tunnel has a little overhang. It's to remind me to expand the layout sooner rather than later. It's so stable (both the layout and the tunnel) it won't budge one iota.

Marc

New England Toy Train Exchange Dec. 12, 2009

A really nice NETTE auction is coming up with some great Standard Gauge and prewar O gauge as well. Check out this gorgeous Ives set. I've seen some recent postings on the Tinplate forums where people are asking or looking for original prewar standard gauge. NETTE is probably one of the best places to invest in original prewar pieces.

Marc

Stout December Auction

Looks like if you are in the market for authentic American Flyer Wide Gauge, then you should take a look at the December 2009 Stout Auction. Some very nice Flyer and some pretty decent Lionel Standard Gauge as well.

Marc

Circus Train at Cal-Stewart

I've been invited to Cal-Stewart at least 15 times. 2010 is the year I'm going! I'm not a huge fan of Circus Trains (I have the MTH/Ives Flavor, nothing else). This flavor of the McCoy Circus train is pretty rare to see running and shiny in almost any state.

Marc

Another Brute Convert...

My friend and train colleague Mike V. just received his new Brute. He purchased the Buddy L flavor of the Brute. Apparently there were fewer pre-orders for this flavor thus it is officially going on the "rare" or "medium rare" list. Whatever the case may be, it looks pretty damn good on Mike's mantle. This engine was a work of art when JLC commissioned it from Italy and it still looks great in 2010. The fact that some dealers have sold out of both versions says volumes.

Marc

Dave Hess 4 Wheeling

Dave Hess put up some great movies. They are so dang good I had to post them.

Little Speeder

My son and I were hanging around the train museum the other day and I saw this. I have never seen a speeder in standard gauge (but I'd like to!!)
Marc

Overwhelming? Why yes....

Probably one of the coolest engines I've ever seen. And I even like the color (s)!

Marc

Half My Layout....

Two Brutes, one small layout. It's half gone...

Marc

Lionel 840 Power Station Restoration Project

Here's a fellow who restored a Lionel 840 Power Station...what a project!

The Brute Has Arrived!

Well, the Brute has arrived. As many of you know, I am not a "box saver". However the graphics for this box, well, seem to be just oustanding. I have to rank this right up there with any prewar box I've ever had. They are definitely getting saved after the Brute is removed. So what would everyone like to see on the Brute? Some pics of it running? Some pics of it crushing my layout? Some movies? What should I put up on the blog that everyone would like to see (besides me crashing my trains)?
Marc

Standard Gauge In The UK!

There was a huge Standard gauge display at the UK Train Colllector's Autumn Event, held in Leicester, England. What a surprise to see all the big colorful Standard gauge tinplate at this overseas event! Click on the title above to go to the site and view more photos.

Yet Another Layout Shot

Kind of a topdown shot of part of the layout. Check out the smoke remnants and the rest of my prewar, super messy attic. Yep, my house is 115 years old, thus it is in fact older than the trains.

Marc

More Layout Pics

It's train time again! My MTH Brass Piper seized up. I read about the info in the Tinplate forums and I felt lucky that it wasn't happening with me. No sooner than reading that info... My Piper seized up. I'm probably going to tap one of my esteemed train friends/colleagues to help me un-seize my Piper. I absolutely love that engine and want it back on the roster asap! I have an original Piper I may press back into service.

So here are some more pics, I know some folks would like to see a picture of the whole layout, I'll try and work on that a bit later. Please don't hesitate to write or comment. The blog only gets better with reader pictures, feedback and info. The great thing about trains is not just the toys but the great folks you meet along the journey....
Marc

Some Tunnel Pics....

I have quite a few layout pictures to post. Plus some tunnel pics for our anonymous request....

A cool prespective shot...

I was messing around with this Kodak camera and came up with this neat perspective shot. Click on it to blow it up. Please don't re-use the pictures without permission first!

marc

Ives Cars

Some Ives cars humming by a 116 Station...

Marc

385E coming out of the Tunnel

This new Olsen Tunnel is outstanding. As you can see, it is pretty darn large (hangs off the side of the layout). There's a major manoil traffic jam as well. I wonder how the Brute will handle those portals?

Marc

Two giants meeting

I dumped one of the stations to the left. Seemed kind of redundant having two of the same station on the layout. I am going to sell the one with the auction tag still on it (if anyone wants it, let me know). Another busy day on the layout!

Marc

Blow this one up!!!

It is an absolute hoot! I was fooling around with the flash and the F-stop. I got an interesting effect with the smoke on a white backdrop/surface.

The smoke does tend to give off some ghostly aura when you let this run, especially in low light. I love these MTH switches, they work very well. It has been one of the only things keeping me from flipping (immediately) to Gargraves Track.

Marc

A closer shot of the 385e. By the way, I've optimized the blog to be viewed on the iPhone and Windows Mobile. You can now look at the blog and your favorite tinplate and it should look good, even on a teeny tiny screen. Yes, tinplate isn't really optimal for teeny tiny screens. It is still better than nothing and the formatting won't frustrate you into oblivion.

marc

Click on this and blow it up. The 1134 is hissing away at the station. I have to say I LOVE running this engine. Smooth as glass and the cars with the little people are really something different. I have a Manoil traffic jam going on.

Marc

Welcome to November, 2010, otherwise known as PRIME TIME FOR TOY TRAINS! Here's a 385 chugging around the laoyout with some transition cars. This must have been a prototypically familiar site out of NYC in the 1930's. Steam train outside NYC, Electric trains inside NYC. I know everyone likes 400e's, they are graceful, big, noisy, almost as fun as their real life counterparts. But the 385 is almost as fun. It has a ton of pulling power and can fit in some very small spaces. Check out that Olsen Tunnel in the background. The 385 loves that tunnel!

Marc

Dick Tracy Oh My!

Dick Tracy is racing a train, probably to catch Clay Face! He cut off Scrooge McDuck, probably to pass the Brass Piper and see the new Brute. The Brute actually sounds like a Dick Tracy Villan. But enough about the Brute, the Piper is pretty enough on track as is.

Marc

Missing my airport!

I miss my Buddy L airport but I absolutely love the Olsen Displays Tunnel on the layout. It's amazing how this airport fits right into the action of a train layout. Not quite prototypical but really fun nonetheless.

Marc

MTH/Lionel Club car (new)

I've been looking forward to the Lionel Corporation Club car for 2009. And in MTH's new catalog (at the back), it looks like the 2010 club car is a hopper! All told, some very nice tinplate. I get a real kick out of the fact that there seems to be 4 tinplate cars and only 1 G-gauge car. I do really like the Lionel graphics on the car. Looking forward to the Lionel Corporation 2010 catalog. I hope Mike hits us with a 1-2 punch after the Brutes!

Marc

Collect With Your Heart

I've seen a lot of discussions over the years about toy trains as an investment. The New York Times has an interesting article today (click on the title link) focusing on the financial aspects of collecting rarities. The bottom line is that you shouldn't view your collecting as an investment for several reasons, including the difficulty of buying at the right price. The bottom line: “People who collect with their hearts are best at it.” This is because at least they truly enjoy what they acquire even if they don't make an eventual profit on their treasures.

The Dorfan 1134 making a station dropoff. Almost November. I gotta get some of that Christmas smoke!
Marc

Fun Online Viewing the TCA Quarterlys

Knapp find at York.

One of the great services offered by the TCA is their reference library and recently, the availability online to TCA members of scanned copies of all of the Quarterlys dating back to the first issue.

Here's a tidbit from the January 1960 issue. Oh, if only we could turn back the clock!

Al Roth is thinning his collection,dups,
color variations, etc. Howard, Elektoy,
Knapp, C&F, Ives, Lionel and good old
Voltamp.There will be also odds and ends
of separate locos, cars,and accessories.
Some catalogs, tremendous amount of parts.
Indicate your wants now..
Al is having a get-together in Baltimore
at Munder's Lauraville House Aug.6,1960.
Lunch and dinner at nominal fee.. Make
reservations early as there is space for
only 75. 3401 Parkside, Balto 14, Md.

MTH @ York

Check out MTH's York booth here. You get a nice birds-eye view of the MTH-Lionel set up along with a few shots of the Brute. All told, I have to say this is one of the more spectacular booths I have seen in many years of attending trade shows and train shows.
Very cool.

Marc

NETTE Auction plus posts

A little pic of a Weeden Dart from the upcoming New England Toy Train Exchange October Auction.

Always worth a look.

Well, I apologize for the dry days of no posts, I have this really nice Kodak camera that takes great pictures but eats batteries for lunch. I bought a really expensive battery at one of our nationwide electronics stores. I charged the battery, put it in the camera and I can take about 5 pictures before it goes dead. It isn't the camera. I took the battery back to the store and they told me "30 days and you own it, we don't stand behind rechargeable batteries". Essentially making it difficult for me to take pictures.

Thus I found the same batter on eBay for 1/3 of the price with a longer warranty. Ergo, I should start posting soon.

I just took delivery of the amazing Olson 123X tunnel. For slightly under $300, this tunnel is sure to be a classic. Some pictures are coming up shortly (as soon as I get the battery from the store in Boston). Brian Olson is really an artist, I can't say enough good things about these people and the quality of their work.

York is upon us as is the season to aggressively play with trains. This week on my layout I've been running a Gunmetal 385E and Ives Transition cars. It was almost painful to take them off. I'm putting on a Dorfan steamer and some passenger cars though, I really enjoy watching the Dorfan steamers chug around the layout. I'm also pulling a station this week and probably putting up the Hellgate bridge. I'll post some pictures.

I've watched a ton of chatter on the Tinplate Forums. Pretty good stuff. I was very greatful for the advice on the Gargraves track. I'm still mulling it over. I like switching and I can't do any switching with the 5 rail track. I can however, have fewer derailments and better conductivity. So we'll see. I have enough Gargraves track to do the whole layout. I guess I just need someone to talk me into it! ;)

Looks like the Brute is starting to ship according to Charlie Nassau. I like Charlie. He's always what I think of when I see a reputable train dealer that cares as much about his customers as he does his own store and emloyees. I'm still trying to figure out how I am going to pay for my Brutes. Insane? Yes, most definitely. I've sat way too often with people that didn't buy a train when they had the chance or missed an opportunity. I know, it's stupid. I've been waiting for these engines for over 10 years. As soon as I saw the real Brute I wanted one, I just couldn't afford a half million bucks! I know this is going to be a terrific engine and I'll post a review as soon as I scare up the funds to pay for it.

Comments? Thoughts about the upcoming train season? Surely there must be some speculation on the new Lionel catalog ala MTH?

Marc