So How Was York?

I have a couple of dealer friends who are very pleased with their sales at York last week. It seems like people were buying trains in spite of the economic problems we have. As I walked around the aisles I thought to myself that, wow, there are a lot of trains for sale! But, crowds in the halls on Friday were large. I had a nice time and enjoyed talking to a number of friends and meeting people for the first time, like Mark, Don and Naomi of New England Toy Train Exchange. I picked up some parts and paint, the new Lionel Fun Factory book, and a scarce C&F car. It was a good York for me.

Recently Dan and I took a river boat cruise on the Schuylkill River in Philadelphia, a river that is noteworthy for a number of railroad bridge crossings including this massive swing bridge. The center section reminds me of many of the toy train bridges that have been made over the years, including the great prewar AF wooden Wide gauge lighted span that is such an impressive accessory.

Jim

New Layout Pic

So, here's my first take at a new layout. After building a whole bunch of HO and N gauge (when I was a kid and teenager), I am giving standard gauge a shot. Actually, I have an O gauge prewar layout in my closet upstairs.

I need some feedback on my layout. This software (use the link here) is amazing.

This software really lets you do some great "what if?" scenarios. I've been buying track since I was 10 years old and it was always a hit or miss operation. No more. This software really let's me figure out how much space I need and the exact track bill of materials.

The only thing I am having a little trouble with (and it is more me than the software) is figuring out how to build tunnels. Right next to that big 115 station I am going to plop down a HUGE tunnel. I just can't figure out how to get the darn thing on the layout. I will figure it out and you will see a tunnel!

The other helpful thing is getting an idea of perspective with my accessories. That is hugely helpful with this softare. Two things the software seems to be missing: Leland Detroit Monorails and an easy way to do elevated train lines like 2 7/8. If anyone knows a way.... Please let me know!

Have fun at York!

Marc

Inside The Lionel Fun Factory

I'm working my way through this book now and I gotta tell ya, Jim Bunte's review in TCM was dead on. This book is absolutely fantastic.

The writing is eloquent and the detail is wonderful. I am in New York City, New Jersey and Connecticut constantly, just seeing the places that are discussed or mentioned in the book makes history really jump off the page.

Really this book is just one of the best ever done. Go out to Amazon or Project Roar and pick it up. We have to support the author and encourage him to do more work like this.

Marc

MTH 2008 Tinplate Catalog

The link is above. It's a great catalog, no doubt. MTH should be commended, no company has ever offered the depth and breadth of product that they offer in this tinplate catalog. Use the link at the top and download the PDF. This catalog is as good as it gets!

Marc

Project Roar Publishing

I just read Jim Bunte's terrific article on the new Lionel Factory book by Bob Osterhoff and I navigated over to this website. Pretty interesting stuff.

I ran out to Amazon and bought the book, go out and check the TCM website for the article/latest addition. With the economy tanking, about all I can afford is a new book!!

Marc

Home Brew Monorail

David Argent's home made monorail - what a craftsman!

Jim

Williams Motors Needed!!!

Motors needed! Below is a picture of a neat little revolution in motors. It's a can motor mounted on a truck from Williams. My guess is that these haven't been made in well over 2 decades.

My buddy Joe is trying to build some new standard gauge. These motors are tremendously helpful. They were originally built by Jerry Williams for his standard gauge trolleys. Nowadays, to purchase a completed standard gauge motor is ridiculously expensive and actually exponentially increasees the cost of Joe's production. The added hassle for my buddy Joe is getting motors and completed trucks (see below) seem to be only available in very small quanitties. Most of the motors he sees tend to be modeled after the Lionel Bild A Loco motor. Nice motor for a 400E, not so nice (like the below) if you have a limited amount of space.

He'd like to get his hands on these motors (see below) and I would like to help him. The genius of these motors is that they are so self contained. The truck, driving wheels, gears and can motor are all in one piece. This saves him a ton of manufacturing and provides a really robust motor for long term use. Yes, we all love Bild A Loco's and E-units (sort of). But this motor shines in its' simplicity.

Couple of questions:

Does anyone know where Joe can buy these motors (see below) in quantity?
Are the avaialble anywhere new?
Do you know of someone that might have access to them?

If we get Joe these motors we'll see quite a few unusual trains for sale very soon. The motor is the most complex part of Joe's manufacturing process, it will make his job much easier if the toy trrain community can help him get the parts he needs!!

Marc

Check out this cool bridge kit I found on Ebay!

The link to these bridges is above. Apparently these are sold as kits and they can be painted to whatever color you like. I am betting these can handle standard gauge track. I love bridges, they are my favorite part of ANY layout. The arched bridge is exactly like a bridge that goes over the Croton Reservoir in New York State. Absolutely gorgeous rendition. Check them out. Pricing is completely reasonable as well.

Marc

Steve Schuler's Layout in Progress

Steve Schuler is working on a new layout and has posted pics of his progress on his website. It should be one heck of an amazing layout. Go check it out using the link above...

Marc

PS Credit where credit is due: Ray has been posting to the standard gauge listing. I just managed to get the link together and get out to take a look (you should too).

Work Car

Saw some great pics of Pat's new Work Car on the forums. Thought this work car in 2 7/8 by Jim Cohen might provide some food for thought.

There are plenty of prototypes for work cars. Arcadia Publishing has a wonderful book on New Haven Trolleys with some really nice pics of work cars. They look much like the one below. Typically the trolley lines would "repurpose" old trolleys or rolling stock used for local shipping. There are plenty of very close prototypes to the 2 7/8 gauge versions and my guess is Pat's won't look a whole lot different than the prototypes when he is done. Makes me wish all the manufacturers would stop making so many GG1's and Hudsons and start making stuff that was in quite a few neighborhoods.

Marc

Dave's Bridge

Dave sent some unbelievable pics of the bridge he built. Really, this thing is amazing. Dave, can you shoot us some vital stats on this: how much did it cost, how long did it take to build, how much does it weigh?

Also, the Pride Lines Voltamp Interurban running on it is a one of a kind paint sample. The bridge is truly spectacular and goes to show that not all layout challenges in standard gauge has been conquered yet. Not even close.

Marc

Prewar Prices?

Currently there is some discussion of prices of prewar trains on the Toy Trains Yahoogroup. One commenter lamented the fact that his 0 gauge cars didn't get any bids on EBAY even though they are in good condition. In another post, someone suggested that the prices for more common prewar trains are falling as older collectors unload their collections and flood the market with prewar trains. Only the rarities command top prices, one person commented.

I'm not so sure about this. First of all, if you limit your examination to prices realized on EBAY, that, I think, will not provide an accurate gauge of the actual value of vintage trains. For some reason, it seems to me that a lot of collectors with deep pockets do not use EBAY for buying and selling. In watching yesterday's Philip Weiss auction, I was amazed at some of the high prices realized, and not just on high end rarities, but even on boxes full of a jumble of accessories and parts. If I had a collection of prewar trains to sell, I would NOT use EBAY to dispose of them. Rather, I would sell them at auction. When I go to toy train auctions I think I see a lot of people with deep pockets buying stuff at prices that exceed what the items would go for on EBAY. When you watch these auctions live it's amazing how many lots are won by bidders on the floor vs. online bidders. There are simply a lot of people who frequent auctions with pockets full of money. I've seen this many times.

The lot in the photo is part of an IVES set - loco and four cars. The cars are AF body IVES transition cars. Including the 18 percent buyer's premium, this lot went for almost $8,000 yesterday.

Jim

A Lot Of Standard Gauge!

I'm watching the Philip Weiss auction live on EBAY. There are a lot of interesting groupings of standard gauge trains going up right now. Here's a photo of a mixed lot of American Flyer and Lionel.

Jim

T-Repro Track Inspection Car

T-Repro mailed me pics of a new Track Inspection car they are coming out with in the next few weeks. Check it out...

No motor in it (the Buddy L's didn't have them).

I really wish we had something like this in standard gauge. The Wakeling cars were really cutting edge. There was nothing like them. And I think that this rendition is every bit as good as the Wakeling stuff. Hmm. I'll have to get some good pics of the full Wakeling line for a comparison.

Marc

e-Books on the TCA x-Change

Two new e-Books are out on the TCA x-Change. Click the link above to go to the x-Change. The books are excellent, both Greenberg by Robert Osterhoff:

Greenberg's Guide to Lionel Paper and Collectibles ($13)

The Lionel Patent Archives (ebook $21)

Both are excellent books and are nice to have in electronic format. We should encourage this, especially from Greenberg Publishing. There are several other books out there from Greenberg I know EVERYONE would like to see electronically (think Lionel Prewar catalogs).

Marc

Another S-1

Along the lines of amazing S-1's, here is another model of one. Dave saw it on an old archive of an eBay live auction. I'm kind of kicking myself for missing this.

It's all scratchbuilt and make entirely out of wood in Gauge 1. It's friggin clockwork (if you can believe that!)

Check this thing out, it went for 110 Euros (a little over 200 bucks). Sheesh, I can't get a tank of guess for that kind of money!

PS I'd still like to save the real S-1. Please, if anyone knows anything; we need to save this loco for future generations. Let me know who owns it, if they want to sell it or if we can get someone like a train museum to take it!

Marc

October NETTE auction

I had to post these... This is from the upcoming Oct. 2008 New England Toy Train Exchange Auction. The below #2 is actually one of the rarest trolley's anywhere. There were about 10 Edmonson Ave #2 Trolleys made and this is one. I am going to definitely go to this auction just so I can get some 10 Megapixel shots of this trolley.

Oh yes, and a fully excellent State Set would be nice too....

Marc

Wrecking Crane

Wrecking Crane

Looks like T-Reproductions is back up and running again. Go out and take a look at their website. They do have some really nice toy train items and they have some wonderful cast metal trucks.

I'm actually glad to see them back up and running again. I know everyone doesn't feel the same way I do, however I'm still glad to see another tinplate manufacturer re-enter the fray. It's always good to have options.

And these options look pretty damn neat!

Marc

A Little Off Topic

But still one of my all time favorite movies:



Marc

More On The Rotting NYC Electrics

For several years now I've been trying to follow the saga of the decaying S-1 and T3-A former New York Central locomotives that Marc has posted about.

A little background as this relates to toy trains: Lionel, as we all know, based much of their prewar toy train electric locomotive production on the S Class electric locomotives that the New York Central used to pull trains in and out of Grand Central Station starting ca. 1906. In Standard gauge they made the 42, 402, and 408E, among others. Needing to be competative in the 20s, American Flyer used a different, more modern prototype from the same railroad, the T series boxcab, known as "T-Motors," which did the same duty during the mid-1920s that had previously been done by the S class electrics. This is the locomotive that served most famously as the inspiration for the 1928-on 4689 Rolls Royce Blue President's Special loco, the 1927 light blue enamelled 4687 President's Special loco, the ultra rare chrome "Mayflower" loco, and the beautiful dark blue 1929 Flying Colonel ("The Ace") locomotive, among others. So the T series New York Central T-Motor boxcabs played an importand role as prototypes in prewar electric train production, along with the S series electric boxcabs.

From what I've been able to learn via online research, there are SEVERAL surviving S series boxcabs in various locations throughout the country. However, there appears to be only ONE surviving T-Motor, the T3-A (former NYC #278), the one that sits decaying near Albany. I don't know the ownership status, but here's a website that has a lot of photos and updated information as of about a year ago: S. Berliner. III's site

Like Marc, I am worried about the fate of these historic locomotives, especially the T3-A. Maybe the tinplate community could become involved and have a role to play in helping to insure their survival.

Something to ponder: there is not ONE surviving New York Central Hudson. Imagine that.

Jim