Yep mine was the same price. I'm happy with what I got, going to modify the loco a bit tonight I think..
Loblaws/PC locos?
- Thread starter RobertInOntario
- Start date
Well, I finally 'broke down' and bought one -- the PC Loblaws CNR Hudson train set for $49.95. Actually, it was really a birthday present! It looks great but I haven't had a chance to run it yet. Cheers, Rob
Good that you got it now, they'll probably get rid of the leftovers soon to make way for this years model..whatever that is going to be...
The quality and detail is actually much better than I expected. It's also surprisingly heavy which should mean good pulling power. Actually, the weight was one of the things which really surprised me. Still haven't had a chance to run it yet .... Rob
Loblaws and the "Great Canadian Superstore" generally have them. But last year's is a bit of hit and miss... Christmas 2006 set comes out Nov 11, and is a 2-10-2 with ore cars.
Andrew
Andrew
I saw about 6 of the Hudson sets left at the large Loblaws Superstore in Don Mills where I got mine. They were stacked up high, out of the way, in a top corner shelf in the toy section. I've heard that a few other of the Loblaws stores still have some left.
I'm looking forward to the 2-10-2 on Nov. 11, but I'll probably wait until late 2007!
Rob
I'm looking forward to the 2-10-2 on Nov. 11, but I'll probably wait until late 2007!
Rob
JAyers: It may be in any store in the Loblaws chain -- ones that carry President's Choice products.
Well, I got around to running mine tonight and it runs very well. It's good at low speeds and can haul quite a long freight train (forwards and reverse) -- this is probably partly due to its weight. Just in case anyone is curious!
Regarding JAyer's question, there must be at least one Loblaws/Superstore in Sarnia. Otherwise, how about making a trip to London, Ont.? Just a thought!
Rob
Regarding JAyer's question, there must be at least one Loblaws/Superstore in Sarnia. Otherwise, how about making a trip to London, Ont.? Just a thought!
Rob
Hi Rob,
I bought one back in Jan of this year and have since had a decoder put in it by a friend of mine. I then had the light replaced with an LED. I also wired up the tender for all wheel pickup too.
I agee with all here in that it's a good hauler. I've pulled quite a few weighted cars up a grade, helix with it and am quite impressed.
On the other hand a couple of things that I didn't like about it is the tender is too long and all of the wheel flanges are oversized. That being said, if you're running Code 83 track, it will be no problem as I've run it on a friends layout on 83 track. Any less than that and the flanges will hit the rail spikes and not go over switches. The last thing to perhaps nick pick is the driving wheel sizes. They should be around scale 80" and the ones on the PC Hudson are far from looking that size. Have a look at a few photos of the CN Hudson and you'll see the massive sized wheels on it. No wonder that thing flew down the rails when CN ran it.
I bought one because I wanted to run "steam excursions" and thought this would be a neat addition without breaking the bank. So all in all, for the price that you pay one really can't go wrong with it.
Currently I'm looking to replace it with a Northern 4-8-4 locomotive and want to go brass on that one. That's a huge investment but love the look of those huge loco's CN ran.
Have fun running your loco, I know I do.
Cheers,
Heath
I bought one back in Jan of this year and have since had a decoder put in it by a friend of mine. I then had the light replaced with an LED. I also wired up the tender for all wheel pickup too.
I agee with all here in that it's a good hauler. I've pulled quite a few weighted cars up a grade, helix with it and am quite impressed.
On the other hand a couple of things that I didn't like about it is the tender is too long and all of the wheel flanges are oversized. That being said, if you're running Code 83 track, it will be no problem as I've run it on a friends layout on 83 track. Any less than that and the flanges will hit the rail spikes and not go over switches. The last thing to perhaps nick pick is the driving wheel sizes. They should be around scale 80" and the ones on the PC Hudson are far from looking that size. Have a look at a few photos of the CN Hudson and you'll see the massive sized wheels on it. No wonder that thing flew down the rails when CN ran it.
I bought one because I wanted to run "steam excursions" and thought this would be a neat addition without breaking the bank. So all in all, for the price that you pay one really can't go wrong with it.
Currently I'm looking to replace it with a Northern 4-8-4 locomotive and want to go brass on that one. That's a huge investment but love the look of those huge loco's CN ran.
Have fun running your loco, I know I do.
Cheers,
Heath
Heath said:
Thanks, Heath. That's interesting and your modifications sound good too. Yes, it is a great addition to anyone's layout at that price. Yes, I've also heard that the tender is too long -- but is it drastically so? Thanks also for your note about the driving wheels being too small. I'll have to find some pics of some of the real ones to compare. I expected that a few things would be fudged. I guess it boils down to what one is willing to tolerate. I also heard that the smoke deflectors might not be 100% correct.
I also run several older locos on my layout -- models that were made in the 1960s and 70s -- so I'm used to the larger flanges. I actually didn't notice that the Hudson had larger flanges but I'm not bothered by it. I'm using Code 100 Peco track so I can run all of these older locos as well as brand new ones (with finer flanges).
Your plans for a brass Northern 4-8-4 sound really good! If possible, I'd enjoy seeing some pics of your layout sometime.
Cheers,
Rob
Color photo of 5702
Hi Rob,
Here's a picture of 5702 without the ears. Wanted to point out that this image was from a great book by Kevin J. Holland called Canadian National Steam Vol1: Ontario and East by Morning Sun books.
Have a look at the size of the driving wheels and compare it to the people standing beside the tender. Those wheels are huge. The tender isn't quite seen well enough here but is considerably shorter than the PC loco. But, I keep saying to myself, for the price that I paid, what was I expecting.
I believe about 8 years ago or less, LifeLike Heritage series made a CN Hudson, 5700 or maybe 02 and is quite spectacular. Everything on it is amazing, right size wheels, tender, paint scheme and so was the price. Was in the thousands I believe. I would have been very tempted.
Hi Rob,
Here's a picture of 5702 without the ears. Wanted to point out that this image was from a great book by Kevin J. Holland called Canadian National Steam Vol1: Ontario and East by Morning Sun books.
Have a look at the size of the driving wheels and compare it to the people standing beside the tender. Those wheels are huge. The tender isn't quite seen well enough here but is considerably shorter than the PC loco. But, I keep saying to myself, for the price that I paid, what was I expecting.
I believe about 8 years ago or less, LifeLike Heritage series made a CN Hudson, 5700 or maybe 02 and is quite spectacular. Everything on it is amazing, right size wheels, tender, paint scheme and so was the price. Was in the thousands I believe. I would have been very tempted.
Attachments
Heath: Thanks for posting that pic -- it's an awesome shot!! I see what you mean about the driving wheels and the tender. I really enjoy finding out the history of the locos that I have. I should probably get that book or a similar CN one. I believe there is also a Hudson on dislpay at the railway museum in St. Thomas, Ont. It's clean and immaculate but (to my knowledge) does not run. Still impressive though.
JAyers: Glad that you've found a Zehrs in Sarnia! Seriously, if you can't find the set there, I'm sure that there are lots of Loblaws stores in London. But you might want to phone around first. London would only be about 45 minutes from the border, right?
Cheers, Rob
JAyers: Glad that you've found a Zehrs in Sarnia! Seriously, if you can't find the set there, I'm sure that there are lots of Loblaws stores in London. But you might want to phone around first. London would only be about 45 minutes from the border, right?
Cheers, Rob
Sorry to resurrect an old thread gentlemen.
Quick intro. I'm quasi new to the board. I've been lurking for years and admire a lot of the time put in by a lot of members efforts. I don't have a layout myself, used to, but have been a fan of trains, loco's and model railroading for years. So my hats off to what everyone here has accomplished in their own homes.
Now on with it. I picked one of the Hudson sets a few days ago for $50, to set up as a mini layout underneath the Christmas tree. I would also like to repaint the cars as they do not go very well with my spouse's Victorian village set-up, (not to scale, may have to do something about that for next year...) which is also part of the tree set-up every year.
Would it be easy to re-finish the cars or even worth while? Do I need to strip the graphics off or would a smiple sanding and repainting job do the trick? Also it been mentioned that the cars could be weighted as well. I assume this means to make them a little heavier so that they don't wobble (I assume) while being pulled along. How would I go about doing that?
Essentially, if not this year then the next I hope to have the layout running on a 4 x 5 ft section built with 1/4 plywood and then 1 inch foam. Simple oval, nothing spectacular. I have to incorporate a stand to support the tree legs and give some more height to it as of right now it sits kind of low. (It's artifical too, so the height of it's lowest branches is always a constant.) I may even splurge and put down a road bed as well and ballast the tracks. Ideally, at the end of each year, I'll be able to remove the buildings and just pick up the track and base as one piece, and put it away for the year (or set it up down stairs on a bench so I can "play" with it once and a while). It might be a little awkward to carry, however I'm still a young guy and don't mind. Besides, it will only be once a year anyways.
It's been awhile since I've done anything with model trains. I used to have a layout with my uncle when I was a young teen. Sadly after he passed away all of the stuff went "missing" and it has always been a fond memory of mine. So I'll do this as right as possible in honour of those memories and of him.
I may have to start a separate thread once I get cracking on this.
Quick intro. I'm quasi new to the board. I've been lurking for years and admire a lot of the time put in by a lot of members efforts. I don't have a layout myself, used to, but have been a fan of trains, loco's and model railroading for years. So my hats off to what everyone here has accomplished in their own homes.
Now on with it. I picked one of the Hudson sets a few days ago for $50, to set up as a mini layout underneath the Christmas tree. I would also like to repaint the cars as they do not go very well with my spouse's Victorian village set-up, (not to scale, may have to do something about that for next year...) which is also part of the tree set-up every year.
Would it be easy to re-finish the cars or even worth while? Do I need to strip the graphics off or would a smiple sanding and repainting job do the trick? Also it been mentioned that the cars could be weighted as well. I assume this means to make them a little heavier so that they don't wobble (I assume) while being pulled along. How would I go about doing that?
Essentially, if not this year then the next I hope to have the layout running on a 4 x 5 ft section built with 1/4 plywood and then 1 inch foam. Simple oval, nothing spectacular. I have to incorporate a stand to support the tree legs and give some more height to it as of right now it sits kind of low. (It's artifical too, so the height of it's lowest branches is always a constant.) I may even splurge and put down a road bed as well and ballast the tracks. Ideally, at the end of each year, I'll be able to remove the buildings and just pick up the track and base as one piece, and put it away for the year (or set it up down stairs on a bench so I can "play" with it once and a while). It might be a little awkward to carry, however I'm still a young guy and don't mind. Besides, it will only be once a year anyways.
It's been awhile since I've done anything with model trains. I used to have a layout with my uncle when I was a young teen. Sadly after he passed away all of the stuff went "missing" and it has always been a fond memory of mine. So I'll do this as right as possible in honour of those memories and of him.
I may have to start a separate thread once I get cracking on this.
cyclingshane: I think the cars in the Hudson set are reasonable for repainting. At worst, you can use them for pratise. I think stripping the PC paint off is the best idea; sanding is the worst. I would probably go for a single plain colour on the cars, and simple graphics. CDS lettering makes (or made -- i think they're retiring) Canadian road names.
There is a standard for weight, which I forget. It cuts down wobble sometimes and helps the cars stay on in longer trains. You can replace the wheels as well.
Check the weathering threads for painting examples.
There is a standard for weight, which I forget. It cuts down wobble sometimes and helps the cars stay on in longer trains. You can replace the wheels as well.
Check the weathering threads for painting examples.
If you want to remove the lettering, you can use a wet/dry 400 to 600 grit sandpaper (use it wet). It will do minimal damage to the paint while nicely removing most "stamp printed" lettering. That way you avoid the whole painting regime - strip, wash, prime, paint, decal. Works especially well if you decide to repaint the same colour. If you are going from (for example) black to yellow, you might want to strip it right down.
What cars came with that set?
Andrew
What cars came with that set?
Andrew
MasonJar said:
Thanks for the suggestions gents.
The Mini Chef's. Like everyone else has indicated, they look like the old Tyco cars. I think the plastic is the colour that it is. Meaning they are not painted. FYI - Three box cars (Green, Yellow & Red), one hopper (Blue), and a white & blue caboose. The graphics are "cute", but annoying at the sametime. They kinda take away some element of class from the locomotive. In my humblest of opinions.
Another question. I used the smoke generator on the loco once and it seemed to work fine. I tried to use it again last night and noted that I couldn't insert the oil syringe into the small tube in the center of the stack. Almost like it was plugged or something. I heeded the warning label on the instructions which stated that running it dry could cause the smoke stack to melt. So I did not run it dry and turned it off afterwards. Is there anything I can do to "unplug" it?