I'm working on finishing the repair and repainting of a very early ca. 1906-08 Lionel No.6 Steamer. This is a picture of the motor. The motor has a brass frame with bronze (probably) bushings for the armature shaft. Notice the scribe line for centering. Click on the picture to enlarge it. I hope to have the job done so that I can take the loco to show it at the SGMA display this weekend at the World's Greatest Hobby Show in Oaks, PA.
Jim
I'm going to start posting some great toy train dealers out on our links area. I'm not going to put out tens, hundreds or thousands. We may get a dozen or so if we're lucky. The goal is to identify great toy train dealers that don't just vomit out postwar price lists but have standard gauge on the shelves all the time. I think we should patronize these people more often than not.
I'm not a great fan of Classic Toy Trains magazine because my interests are out of sync with the focus of the magazine. However, once in a while an issue of CTT does contain the kind of article that resonates with me. In the January, 2009 issue there is an interesting article on Standard gauge collector and operator Chuck Stone. I've met Chuck a few times at York, he's a nice, friendly guy who is fun to talk with. His collection, which focuses on Lionel and IVES, is extensive. The CTT article includes some good photos of Chuck's layout and collection. The text of the article points out that this is actually Chuck's third collection...he had to dispose of earlier 0 gauge collections for personal reasons. Today his interests in prewar Standard gauge are well represented on his shelves and on his layout.
Each of the eight Standard Gauge Module Association members who participated in the Syracuse Train Fair display have a car named after them. We ran the "SGMA National Limited" during the show. The Syracuse SGMA group came up with the idea. Pretty neat!
Just doing a little web surfing and I found this neat little site called "Metal Museum". It's a little repository of Buddy L toys. Seems like there are quite a few Buddy L collectors out there. I do periodic searches on eBay and see the Buddy L prices are up there. Check out the Metal Museum. It's always interesting to see what other collectors are focusing on.... Marc
Some additional pics from the NETTE Auction on 11.22.08.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
arc
Some scumbags hacked my site today and put up some social networking garbage. I don't belong to any group called "Hi5" nor will I ever. I had to dig the HTML out of my site which tells me that this isn't some ordinary spammer.
Mr. Finelli just finished his rendition of an Army train in standard gauge! I haven't seen this in person however I must say Joe has really outdone himself on this. The train is striking and is probably the best interpretation of the Prewar (WWI) Lionel item I've seen. 
Stopped by the NETTE Auction today in Connecticut. I gotta tell everyone, eBay is a terrific place to find trains but actually seeing them in person is still way better.
I know this January is going to kick off a whole bunch of things; a new President, a new year, leaving 2008 behind and a new layout in my attic!
I bid on 24 lots, but not many of my bids were serious and I didn't come even close on all but a few. I lost two lots that closed at my maximum bid to floor bidders including one C & F stock car that I really wanted. I did win this restored 1912. The 1912 was made for three years only, 1910, 1911, and 1912, and it's a pretty special loco, the forerunner of Lionel's great 42/402/408E series of electrics. Some of the closing prices are mind boggling like the Howard steeple cab that went for $24.5K. I think that now days auctions are NOT the best places to pick up trains at good prices. You're likely to be up against some deep pockets at high end auction houses. 
Here's the first of several short videos I took at the SGMA event last tweekend. This video features SGMA Syracuse member Dick Gordon's McCoy Circus train.
Photo: one of SGMA member Pat Rolland's creations running at Syracuse, a steel-bodied steeplecab on top of a Lionel chassis and motor
A large part of the fun of running standard gauge trains at shows like Syracuse is watching the reaction of the public and especially, the interest that kids have in these big trains. Yesterday I watched a couple of young boys as they ran around the entire perimeter of our 60 x 36 foot modular layout chasing one particular train that was running on our outside loop. I think we've made an impression with a lot of people at this big train show.
Today the show opens at 9 AM and the joint Philadelphia area/Syracuse area SGMA team will be back running trains. Later on we'll pack up a bit before the show ends and start our 5-1/2 hour trek back to the Philadelphia area. This show has been a lot of fun to do and well worthwhile from the standpoint of attendance and interest.
Watch for a full recap with more photos and videos in the next issue of Tinplate Times that I hope to publish around Thanksgiving.
Jim
Here are a couple of photos from Friday. On the left is a shot of some of the Syracuse Standard Gauge Module Association members: kneeling is Dick Grodon; standing behind Dick is Max Champion; in the blue jacket is Charles Glover, and standing holding the module leg is Jim Cottzolla. The below photo shows the Standard Gauge Module Association Philadelphia area team loaded and ready to go to Syracuse, left to right, Pat Rolland, Chris Bogus, Jim Kelly, and Kirk Lindvig. The trailer is 20 feet long and is literally filled up against the back door with modules, trains and accessories, stored for transport in specially designed cabinets.
Wow! The next auction at Stout is up and on EBAY. What a selection of goodies in Standard gauge! This is Dorfan's "Palmetto Limited," featuring the IVES 1134 casting loco and tender in green. With the economy in distress, it will be interesting to see the prices realized on some of these high end rarities.
I used to think that the Rolls Royce Blue 1928 President's Special set was the prettiest AF Wide gauge set. But now I like this handsome Flying Colonel set most of all. It is noteworthy that MTH reproduced this set.
I've wanted the great AF Standard gauge Flying Colonel set for years. Finally, I have it, but look at the blown wheels on the pony trucks of the locomotive! There has been a lot of discussion on the STANDG list about the lack of availability of AF Standard gauge replacement wheels. I did buy eight pony wheels from George Tebolt at York, but that was all he had. Hopefully, MEW will be in a position to provide these AF replacement wheels before much longer. I can't wait to get this great Flying Colonel set running on my layout!
