Oldies but Goodies. The Old Stuff.

I have a roll of brass, 20' feet long, 16" inches wide, and around .032" thick, maybe more. It was given to me by a friend of mine who gave me most of his metal stock. It is sealed in cosmoline, so it would polish beautifully. I will probably be using a section to make a custom Dashboard inlay for my M.G. :)
 
Custom dash inlay is nice and tricky. I had to do one on my 81 toyota 4x4 that is now my farm truck. Toyota that year had tiny little radios, when that one died, no aftermarket unit would fit in the hole, so I had to do some serious chopping. not being a smoker, I could sacrifice the ashtray, but by the time I had a radio in the truck the plastic dash had an odd hole in it. I used cardboard to make a template, and when I was satisfied I cut a thin piece of oak plywood. It's not quite perfect, but way more than agaquate for what is now a farm truck.
 
Gents,

Last month while working in the Green River, WY yard I had some downtime and made my way over to a train show they were having in Evanston, WY. I managed to pick up a few oldies, one both myself and Bill have been wanting for a long time. First up is this Triang LNER Coronation. It does have some minor damage to the cab but mechanically it's fine. No big plans for it, my wife likes it so I'll keep it as is. I bought it in a grab box of parts locomotives for $20.20150808_164559.jpg20150808_164539.jpg Bill also has breathed life into one of these before, an older Life-Like 0-4-0. This one I'll just clean up and sell, I have no use for it and should sell easily. 20150808_164917.jpgNext are the basket cases that I've already sold off, all diesels. The Santa Fe SD45 is an ealry run Athearn with the metal sideframes, the high nosed GP is a Lionel that was missing everything internally and the low nosed GP is a Mantua with a frozen motor.20150808_164759.jpg20150808_164856.jpg Last up is the one Bill and I have wanted for ages. It's the Mantua Belle of the Eighties 4-4-0. Whoever had this before put some time in detailing it as well as making sure it ran good. I've yet to get it on my test track because of my other projects ahead of it but it shouldn't take much to get it reliable.20150810_141640.jpg20150810_141526.jpg
 
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Wow, what a haul. I know nothing of the value of trains, but I sure do like them. That streamlined locomotive is awesome, as is the tiny locomotive. You stole those, legally of course, I would have gobbled them up too!!
 
Here's one of the more rare items in my collection. It's a old Laconia dry ice car that was made before WW2. 1449806396797-1384194423.jpg
I found this car on eBay and the seller erroneously thought it was a Life-Like tank car. I messaged him to inform him that he was wrong and he swore up and down that it was just that. So I bought it from him for the .99 he offered (plus shipping). It only had minor damage to one side of the foil wrapper, which I carefully tucked and glued back into position. I also added decent trucks and Kadee couplers as I intend to operate this car when my layout comes to fruition.
 
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Toptrain here, Still getting around. I didn't know the Laconia dry ice cars were that old. I very unique car.

Here are three interesting old round roof express reefers made by kitbashing old wood standard reefers. I didn't do them. I just found them at a train show.
toptrainIMG_3944.JPG
 
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Sorry not around. health stuff and dumb-ness.

IMG_3677.JPG Well a very nice Coronation class in Blue, the color of the matching passenger cars. I got the loco in blue also, as shown, but no set of cars. They are a high priced set, Here is a red one. Its name is the "City of Bristol"
frank
 
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Beautiful!! I could spend many hours playing and tinkering with a setup like that. :)
 
zathros said:
Beautiful!! I could spend many hours playing and tinkering with a setup like that. :)
Click to expand...
* Playing and tinkering are very descriptive word that are my Model Railroading life stile. All I do is Play, and tinkering is my repair method.
I know you have heard the phrase " It Works For Me".
toptrain
 
We are of one mind. I'm right there with you. :)
 
** Here is a scratch-kitbashing I did on a Mantua Reading 4-4-2 cast and brass model. There is a reason that the only 4-4-2 type locomotives on the Reading that were not camelbacks were 4 class P7sa types. There were a heck of a lot others and all were camelbacks. So what model does Mantua pick out to make a 4-4-2 Atlantic. One that only has four prototypes. I think it is because the 2-8-0 and the pacific were Reading, mantua just kept them all the same.
** In 1914 the Reading shocked the PRR with a very fast Reading type, 4-4-4 C1 class for use in direct competition with the PRR on the Atlantic City run. Their big P6s Atlantics that a few years ago blew the PRR away with their speed, were answered by the PRR's with the first three Atlantic class the E-1. PRR's improved copy of the Reading C-1. These were made as camelbacks. The only 3 Camelbacks that the PRR ever owned. They were even bigger and faster than the Reading C-1s. Reading took the challenge, and did some very radical design things and came up with the a new type of locomotive. The 4-4-4 Reading Type. No one made a 4-4-4 type since the 1840. Reading had vibration problems with the C-1 in high speed turns which could have caused derailing. This early type was quickly replaced by many others in the progression of locomotive design. Now here it is 1914 and the P&R unveils this new, old style, 4-4-4. Definitely not your Father's old engine. This was a huge monster if put along side its 1840 version. This was built to do over 100 mph on the almost straight Atlantic City run. The only problem with the design was the 4 wheel lead and trailing trucks weren't stiff enough. In turns of which there were very few, they caused vibration. So these locos had to be slowed before entering a turn. Even with this they were faster then what the Pennsy had. Now the Pennsy was not idle and had the answer already on the drawing boards. The PRR E-2 Atlantic. Still even bigger, heavier and faster. Now the P&R's answer was a remake of the C-1 in a less complicated Atlantic type. Curing the vibration problem and beating the PRR's speed. It was easier to rebuild the 4 C1's then make 4 new ones. These became the P&R's four P7sa class. These two railroads keep this one up-man-ship going for years. Now you know why there are only 4 non camelback Atlantics on the Reading.
frank
Oh here are some photos of my C1 Reading type speedster.

P2282498 s.JPG
23 11-19 RDG C1s.JPG
04 s.JPG
 
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Love the big driving wheels. My understanding is that this is what gives steam lokies speed. Do you have any more explanation as to the vibrations encountered on entering curves with this high wheeled beast? Trying to figure that out a bit more. Doc Tomthumbsup
 
This ones for Ray ! You spoke of a Athearn Hi-Fi hustler. Well here is a hard to find one Athearn made for Lionel to sell, in 1956. I think it was listed in their (Lionel's) first and second catalog. When the 1958 was published Lionel was making their own form of gear driven hustler.
In those first 2 years Lionel only had 2 hustlers. One was a blue U. S. Navy, the other DRGW black and orange with a Athearn hustler snow plow on the long Hood ( Ha- ha-ha) end replacing the coupler.
Once you see it you will know which one I got. I'll post it in the next post so as to keep in after this I hope informative text. I just realized I didn't have a photo ready to go. So I'll have to place a link here to a Video of one running on my layout last month or earlier.
Frank

www.youtube.com/watch?v=8qyQC4pxh7g
PS
The first loco is a the RED Lionel made Hustler M&StL. The other running is the Blue US Navy made by Athearn. And yes it has a Hi-Fi Drive. Not bad in 2016 to see two little HO locos from 1958 1and 1956 still like us running around.
 
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