Messages

376

Collector Corner / Odd Prewar Car Lighting Set

« on: June 22, 2021, 02:04:37 AM »

I put the dark green 9 loco into running order and decided to do the cars. They have added lights that appear to be from a kit:

 

 

I took the one out of the first car because I always put the trains back to stock, but when I saw the construction I realized this may be a kit by a company other than Lionel. The light head has a slot and a tab that were used to tie it to the crossbar in the cars.

 

Here's the contact end- a cotter pin on an end of the wire with the insulation bound on the end:

 

The set is two lights on a long wire. One set has been cut in half to make two lights - one for the combine and one for the observation.

This set of trains was made in 1929. I got it from the original owner's son along with the son's 1952-54 era O gauge trains I doubt the trains were ever set up and run after the mid-1950s.

Have you ever seen a set like this?

377

General Discussion / Re: The ebay rant.

« on: June 21, 2021, 02:05:29 PM »

Here's something interesting. . .

The Medium flat rate box is now $13.34. It was $13.75 last Thursday.

Also, I got a note from eBay saying they overcharged me and had credited my account:

Dear Terry,

Between June 2-3, 2021, we experienced a temporary billing issue that resulted in you being charged an incorrect final value fee for select items you sold on eBay.

We have resolved the billing issue and apologize for any inconvenience. A credit for incorrect final value fees will appear on the Payments tab in Seller Hub.

Thank you for your understanding.

The eBay Selling Team

I don't see any credits in the past few days.

378

General Discussion / Re: Next O Gauge train project

« on: June 21, 2021, 12:43:15 PM »

When I was in grade school I built Bandai tanks. They were 1/43 scale. You might find them on ebay cheap.

379

General Discussion / Re: Interesting Auction Items

« on: June 20, 2021, 10:10:52 PM »

Wasn't me.

Maybe we'll see an article or something.

380

General Discussion / Re: Modern O Gauge trains with computers

« on: June 19, 2021, 04:24:42 PM »

I was just out in my garage cleaning up. I have an old 2018 era Android phone hooked to an amplifier for music. It gave me a warning that is was no longer charging. Right now the temp. is 113 degrees in the shade. The garage is probably 120 or higher.

I know my 2020 era Android phone shuts itself off when I leave it in a car when the tempuratures outside hit 90 or above. The inside of the car is probably 150-180 degrees then. It's the batterie that are effected by the heat.

I have a plug in air conditioner for my garage.  I'm going to need to get it out.

381

General Discussion / Re: Modern O Gauge trains with computers

« on: June 19, 2021, 01:22:20 PM »

I bought a layout a few years ago that was all MTH and LTI locos with computers. It was on posts in the back yard, and the trains ran into a shed for storage. The shed was not air conditioned. The man went to NJ and the trains sat for a few years. Pack rats got in and made a mess, but the trains mostly still ran.

I also kept trains in outside steel sheds for years with no problems but for dead batteries.

382

General Discussion / Re: Recent Additions

« on: June 17, 2021, 05:35:01 PM »

I picked up some new purchases today at the Post Office.

Before opening the boxes, the dog making sure no cats have sneaked in with the mail:

 

 

Once she checked some boxes I brought in and freaked out. When I looked there were dead mice in the bottom of the box. That was trains that had been packed away for decades. Twice over the years I've found dead mice in boxes of trains.

 

But today she didn't alert so I unpacked the box.

Here's the trolley after unboxing:

 

This is a Dayton Hillclimber trolley. I always been fascinated by these toys, but all the ones I've had over the years were treated badly and not worth keeping. I saw this one on eBay and grabbed it for about $55 postpaid.

Dayton refers to the city it was made in.  There were a few different makers in Dayton. Clark and Schieble are the most recognized names.

Hillclimber refers to the mechanism:

 

There is a big cast iron weight that you get spinning by rolling the trolley on the floor and then picking it up. After a few times to get the weight spinning madly you set the trolley down and away it goes.

This is between 100 and 120 years old, and still manages to run 40 feet across the high nap carpet.

These toys were made as a wide variety of vehicles. The red steam loco is the most common vehicle.

383

Layouts / Re: Terry's Standard Gauge Layout

« on: June 16, 2021, 07:24:42 PM »

You all should get dogs that like to walk like the ugly poodle. Then you'll get some walking in.

I've been packing eBay sales for 90 minutes while the poodle sits and gives me looks:

 

She doesn't know it yet, but tonight we're going to see the c-h-i-c-k-e-n-s.

384

General Discussion / Re: Made a camera car

« on: June 16, 2021, 06:55:18 PM »

I was just checking this thread to see if I could mount a camera the same way. I can do that.

I fixed the 622 switcher that my dad had when he was a kid and broke one of the side rails. Seeing that car made me think maybe the endrails will make a good fit.

Back to the camera - you can see the camera on your phone screen. With the right adapter you can run MTH trains with your phone. I don't have the patience to learn new stuff like MTH protosound so I'll leave the rest to you all.

One last idea - mount a cheap tablet connected to the camera above the control panel so you can watch from the train as it runs around.

In fact, Thom's layout has cameras spotted around the layout with small CRT monitors mounted above the control panel. We did that in 1999 before there were cheap flat panels. I don't think Thom ever uses them. Just too much interference.

385

Layouts / Re: Terry's Standard Gauge Layout

« on: June 16, 2021, 12:53:02 PM »

I have derailments frequently. Most are from clutter on the track. Otherwise the switches are the biggest cause.  I'm checking everything to make the layout as trouble free as possible.

One thing I've learned is to put the loco on the track by the transformer. I don't know how many miles I walked because I put the train on by the 101 bridges and then walked around the layout to the transformers.

386

General Discussion / Re: Favorite Train

« on: June 15, 2021, 09:32:30 AM »

Ok. There's so much interesting stuff posted here I forget some.

387

General Discussion / Re: Favorite Train

« on: June 14, 2021, 09:39:34 PM »

Show us the Butler Brothers outfit Mike.

388

Layouts / Re: Terry's Standard Gauge Layout

« on: June 14, 2021, 05:01:08 PM »

All one room. The loop the camera is on is 18 by 27.5 feet. It's the outside loop of the mains. The loops with the 381 and 1835 sets are about 12 by 12 feet.

I really like the way your track (Jim) winds around and among the accessories, but I want to run long trains with little supervision. With the 00 and Marklin I'll try to do less of an oval layout.

389

General Discussion / Favorite Train

« on: June 13, 2021, 02:13:51 AM »

Here's an article I wrote for the local club.

My Favorite Train

People come over and ask me “What's your favorite train?

 

I could point at this 1909 Lionel steam loco and claim it was may favorite, but that would leave out these little locos from the late teens and early 1920s:

 

There are a lot of them so they must be special to me. I bought the first one in 1972 from the neighbor. I was nine-years-old. I spent the decades since searching out the different variations, but now they just sit there.

 

And what about these 33 locos? They fascinate me. I have over two dozen of them, and I keep finding new variations. When guests ask about these locos I can see their eyes glass over as I start pointing the differences. Come to think of it, these are usually the last trains I show people when they come over. As a group, they are neat, but individually they are boring.

 

This fancy black loco with it's walnut display board must be special because it has a place of honor over the door. Nope. That's more of a train my dad liked so I keep it.

 

Based on the way these cars are jammed into the shelves, they probably aren't special.

 

This big American Flyer loco is neat. It has bell in it and goes ka-DING. . . ka-DING. . . ka-DING as it goes around the layout. Of all the American Flyer trains I have this is certainly my favorite. But I doubt it's the most favorite. The dog really likes this one because it's loud, but she can write her own article.

Here's another loco on the layout:

 

This 392E is special. It's the first standard gauge steam loco I bought. It came from John Hammons in the mid 1980s. It has a mechanical sound system Lionel called a “Chugger” and I added an American Flyer smoke unit. It has had a place on every standard gauge layout I've ever had. While it's certainly A favorite, it's not THE favorite.

When I'm honest with myself, my favorite train is “The Next One.” It's the search for something interesting that drives me.

What's your favorite train?

390

General Discussion / Re: Interesting Auction Items

« on: June 13, 2021, 01:05:43 AM »

Regarding copyrights  -- We can do whatever we want on the forum under fair use exceptions, and furthermore I am pretty sure everything from before 1926 has no copyright protection because it's aged out. It's in the public domain.