A desk can be cool...

I must be getting older, I think a desk is cool...

Marc

PS This desk was made in 1940. I wonder what my desk will look like 70 years from now?

largest poured concrete bridge....

Ok, again, not much to do with trains except that everyone loves a cool prototype bridge. So....

For those of you that want to be very proud of American ingenuity - I give you a new bridge, right by the Hoover Dam, that is the largest poured concrete bridge in the world. To see this thing in person is amazing.

Marc

Standard Gauge Desk...

Ya, I know it isn't a train. But damn, this thing is ridiculously cool. It is a solid metal desk! This isn't that flakeboard crap we have to deal with. It's actually one of two control desks from the Hoover Dam. Notice the built in heater on the bottom. Just tell me this isn't the coolest thing outside of a 400e you've ever seen! No, it doesn't have anything to do with toy trains. No, it isn't ergonomically designed. No, it isn't eco friendly. And man, I'd love to have one of these... If you could see this up close, it is built and will last FOREVER! It just reminds me of why I like so much old stuff like toy trains. Metal is king and there is no substitute for skilled craftsmen making great stuff.

Marc

Route 66 (The Grand Canyon Railway)

So I was hanging around Route 66 last week in Williams, AZ and I caught this quick pic. I love Route 66.

This town in Arizona is special because it is the home of the Grand Canyon Railroad. I jumped down there kind of late in the day and grabbed some pics as fast as I could before it got dark. The Grand Canyon railroad is really something. I've never seen so many fluted steel cars in one place at one time that were still in great operating condition. Check out this gorgeous postwar Lionel car (ok, it's the real thing, just pulling your leg...)
They had a couple of absolutely MINT ATSF Cabooses hanging around both in the train yard and at the place below. There is a little motel/RV Camping area outside of town that uses old train cars as offices, etc.. The cars were in really good shape and were interesting to see off the tracks.

The Grand Canyon Railroad also has a hotel that is spectacular and an absolutely beautiful station. If you like trains, get down to Williams, AZ. And the food..... More on that later...

Marc

Nevada State Railway Museum Cont.

More Pics from this great train museum in Boulder City. Check out the "Jackass and Western"; I love that. I also love the below work car. Very cool prototype.

Nevada State Railway Museum

Just out at the Hoover Dam earlier this week and I passed by Nevada State Railway Museum. Utterly fantastic. I actually first saw these cars on a siding:
They caught me completely by surprise. Like a typical train nut, I hopped over a small bunch of stones and started taking some shots. My haste was probably not a good idea. I forgot where I was (Nevada). I looked down and there were about 30 well dug, very neat little holes, one of which had a very large reptilian tail sticking out of it. I promptly hopped right back over that little stone wall and took pictures on pavement. I then proceeded to the Hoover Dam thinking that was the end of it.

Well, after the Dam I doubled back and checked out the train museum again. Here is the first pic of what I saw:

More pics later. This was one heck of a nice museum. They had a wonderful authentic car barn as well. I wish I was there while it was open, it is actually only open on the weekends. Still, it was a heck of a find I wasn't expecting.

Marc

Operating The LeLand Monorail

I have an original Detroit Leland monorail installed on my upper level where I run my 2 inch gauge trains. It operates smoothly and the wheels do not slip. My powered car pulls three upowered cars with ease. Maybe it's a weight issue? I don't know how heavy the MTH power car is but the original is pretty hefty.

Stout Today? April 17, 2010

Did anyone check out the Stout Auction today? Pretty damn good deals if you ask me. I was watching on line and the tinplate deals were excellent. I saw some wonderful prewar Flyer and Lionel going for reaonable $$$'s. Quite a substantial amount between the $200 and $600 range.

Did anyone grab anything of interest?

Marc

The Times, They Are A Changing....

So I made some big changes to my layout. I dumped the Gargraves track. Was just too difficult and always looked kinked. I flipped to MTH Standard and O gauge Realtraxx. The stuff is really quite nice. I do enjoy using it. It makes a different sound and set of sounds versus tubular. The contact is way better though and I don't think it will age the same way tubular does. We'll see, I'm pretty happy with it right now. I've backed out some of the buildings in the interest of putting up the Monorail. I haven't managed to get the wiring right yet and I have to add an AIU and TIU for the DCS stuff.

My Monorail wheels really slip ALOT. I'm trying to figure out what I need to do to keep them from slipping so much. There really isn't any grade on the surface of the layout. Any thoughts on stuff I should add?

Marc

Pride Lines

Sad news - John Davanzo of Pride Lines passed away April 6, 2010. John was beyond knowledgable about toys, toy trains and he was a pivotal member of the toy train community. His innovation and courage will be missed.

Marc

2010 Lionel Catalog

Coincidentally the Lionel catalog (from Lionel the LLC) came out last week as well. It isn't loaded with tinplate however it is loaded with Postwar goodness. I actually cracked this catalog (Signature) readying to be heavily critical and mildly irritated. I wasn't. I was really impressed at the style and content of the catalog.

Again, while not loaded with prewar excitement, Lionel under Jerry Calabrese has really found its' niche and hit its' stride. The two items that struck me most was the 700e and the jet powered passenger train. Lionel also did a great job of integrating some new accessories and K-Line items. Check out the above.

Marc

New MTH/Lionel Tinplate Catalog

Impressive, yes. Do I need to have every item in it? Probably not. But I have to say this is one of the strongest toy train catalogs to come along in almost half a decade. The Brute was a huge step forward in 2009 for MTH/Lionel. The addition of the scale State Cars, some really unique American Flyer sets and the addition of the Blue and Silver Streak are substantial offerings for any company, especially in a fragile economy.

As always, when I see an offering as strong as this one I hope that the catalog has legs beyond us tinplate toy train nuts. I really hope that others will adopt some of the outstanding products offered inside the catalog.

As I've said on this blog before, the opportunity to open a brand new Blue Streak and run it with your son and daughter or grandkids will only happen once in a lifetime. That's one heck of a catalog MTH.

Marc

Interesting way to run O gauge...

I have to hand it to Bluecomets, he's a hoot. He figured out a way to run O gauge track over standard gauge. Ultimately he's probably right, it is probably one of the best ways to run O gauge trains with standard gauge track. Check out the Youtube.



Marc

MTH Ready To Run Catalog

MTH's new Ready to Run catalog is out. While not earth shattering from a Standard Gauge perspective, it's not a bad place to start for a Christmas set. Take a quick look and start holding your breath for the new Lionel Corp. catalog. With MTH saying that most of the catalog will be brand new tinplate, 2010 should be a great year for standard gauge!

Marc

MTH European Trains...

Go check out the MTH website. In lieu of having the new Lionel Tinplate Catalog uploaded.... This new catalog of MTH European Trains is spectacular. I was a huge fan of European trains when I was a kid and when you go to Europe and ride on the modern and "not so modern" gear it is even more impressive.

Check out these trains and don't discount them one iota. They're a brilliant idea and at least one should grace your pike!

Marc

This track is killin me!

 

All the tubular track is gone... I just need to figure out how to get this Gargraves rolling! Arrgh.

Marc

Track Hassles

 

I love this picture on the back of the Lionel Catalog. It's so well drawn, makes you think of Grand Central on a rainy, smokey night. I've been there plenty of times in real life and the Lionel lights really plug into the reality of that building well.

At any rate, I've been struggling with Gargraves Flex track on my layout. I got about 3 pieces down and they just looked all wrong. I ripped them up and started all over. I am getting really frustrated. I like the Gargraves wooden ties and the five rail track. It looks good and I've seen it on plenty of layouts. It's just been a bear to Dremel it properly and get the 72 inch curves measured up on my tiny layout. Yes, there is enough room for it on the layout. It just is really difficult getting these curves right. I am almost ready to pay someone to come help me with this! Once I see it done once I think I can replicate it, it's just getting it done correctly. Not running my trains is turning out to be easily one of the most frustrating things on earth!

Marc

In just three days the Standard Gauge Module Association, Inc. will be setting up what we hope will be the largest Standard Gauge operating layout ever at a public event. This weekend, the World's Greatest Hobby Show On Tour comes to the Dulles Expo Center located in Chantilly, VA (suburban Washington, DC.) The SGMA is planning a complex layout measuring 76 ft. by 40 ft. and featuring five sepatate Standard Gauge operating loops. It will be a sight to see! If you can make it to the show, don't miss this opportunity to see our largest ever layout. BTW, bring a train to run on one of our loops if you come.

Al's GG1

Al Merris bought a GG1 from me years back. He took out the failing old motors and put in two terrific Aristocraft Motors. This thing runs like a Rolls Royce now. Check out why GG1's were made for Standard Gauge...

Marc

NETTE Feb. 6th Auction Highlites

Hi All,

NETTE (New England Toy Train Exchange) sent over some pics from their upcoming Feb. 6th Auction. Please note they also are on Live Auctioneers if you can't make it to the auction.

Some very nice 200 series cars (near mint).
Marc