Train99 Forum
Discussion Boards => General Discussion => Topic started by: Terry on May 06, 2020, 12:55:13 AM
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New members introduce yourself here.
I'll start.
My name is Terry Gibbs. I currently collect Lionel trains made before 1925. My dad, Cole Gibbs, got his trains out when my older brother was born in 1961 and never put them away. He started buying trains and adding to the layout. I grew up with walls of train shelves.
My dad sold the postwar trains when I was 12 to concentrate on prewar Lionel. He joined TCA in 1977 when I was 14, and we went to the TCA convention in Texas.
Over the next 30 years my dad and I attended many train meets all over the country. We built a large collection of prewar tinplate. We collected variations, and had much of the Lionel production from 1925-42.
After my dad died in 2008, I sold much of the collection to concentrate on the earlier trains. I kept some standard gauge brass trim trains made between 1924 and 35 and O gauge nickel trim trains from 1935-42 to play with.
Today I collect only Lionel trains made before 1925. I'm still putting the trains out in my new house, but here's pictures of some O gauge trains, and a few of my standard gauge 33 locos.
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Hi all! Great story Terry, love your collection. New to the site, I got an invitation in the box, with a great 831 lumber car I bought from jdpltd . Never got a first name, but sure appreciated how well it was packaged. I tried to pick a user name train related, so went with Loco. I haven't played with trains for approximately 50 years, (dating myself right there). I bought a fairly rough set on ebay for a display piece, It is prewar small cars. I will be able to name the cars by number as I get more educated on these great little trains. I'm hooked, lol. I knew so little about them, I ordered a prewar caboose 817, and didn't realize it was twice as big as the set I got. It was a great mistake, because I love the bigger cars, just ordered a 810 crane to go with that caboose, I need a bigger locomotive to match.
I haven't got any track yet still working on buying some cars. I bought a 253 locomotive and three passenger cars from a fellow locally. I'll post some pictures when I figure that out. Looking forward to participating on the site, probably ask more questions than answering them.
If your looking for suggestions for the site, I would love to see a forum on paint restoration. I might try to restore some cars, some I will leave original. Thanks for the invite, and thanks to the people that make this site possible. Loco
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Hi Loco, this is Jim of JDPLTD. I sent you the invitation to the forum and info on our YouTube videos in the package with your 831 lumber car. I try to pack items like I would want someone to pack something he was sending to me. Welcome to the Forum, and check-out my Youtube videos when you get a chance. Just published a Winter Holiday Special.
https://m.youtube.com/channel/UCUfhIqTj6nbDLmY3rXzvn7g
Above is a hyperlink, easy way to find the videos.
For those who appreciate early Lionel O Gauge, my 156X, 610, 612, maroon outfit No 169 is shown running in the Winter Holiday Video that I just published.
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Thanks for the welcome Jim. Wouldn't hesitate to buy from you again. I will check out your video's. Thanks for doing what you do. Loco
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My history, in condensed form, is I got my first train in 1955, a Lionel 2338 freight set. Started "collecting" prewar Lionel in the early 1970's, joined LCCA, TCA and TTOS, went to most conventions and TCA York shows until the early 2000's. My wife Debby and I licensed and produced tinplate Marx Trains from 1991 to 2004, then sold the company. Now we are retired, live on the lake in KY. I have recently shifted my emphasis from collecting to operating, and do so in front of a GoPro camera, to share my collection through video stories with anyone interested. Welcome to the Forum!
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Check out "In the Beginning" under Collector Corner for more info.
Mike
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Right, that is the best place for history.
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Hello everyone. I'm pjdog350 (jack). I've been running Lionel trains sense 1948. My father gave me my first Lionel train December 25 1948. It was a 224. It took 4 or 5 days before I got to play with it my train finally when my mother told my father to give the kid a chance. A couple years later I got a 2026 that smoked. I still have them and they still work great. My father bought my uncle Dick a Lionel Jr streamliner in 1937 (red & Chrome). My uncle gave it to me in the late 1940's. Somehow the Jr got lost in one of my many moves. So I bought one from Train99 the other day a got a notice that this forum was here and ask that I join.
I have lots of O gauge trains mostly post war but I do have some modern Lionel & MTH. I have a small layout in my garage. Most mornings you will find me out in the garage working on or running my Trains. I should say that I'm a toy person. I've had Radio control almost everything. Even submarines. But my real thing are the Lionel Trains.
I love to find a beat up something and restore it as best I can. Currently I restoring two Lionel Jr streamliners.
Jack
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Welcome aboard!
The 1700 you bought from me is a rarer one with the aluminum nose. I got my first one at the 1977 TCA convention for $35. At one time I had all of them. I remember the rush of buying the yellow and brown one. It was beat badly, but so rare I'd never seen one. Those are fun little trains.
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Hello all.
Came across the site while searching Prewar.
I guess the forum is fairly new?
Reading some posts I see no dates to go with them. Why is that?
I have G scale for under the tree, a bunch of O scale in my basement. (on a small layout).
A bunch of HO, all packed away for many years now.
And a bunch of N scale I got in a deal, along with a small N scale layout.
Oh, I have one S scale locomotive too. :)
I did have another but gave it to a friend.
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We started in late April or early May 2020.
The idea was this would fill in for the inabilty to go to train meets. Right now the majority of posts are about Lionel trains from before 1925 because that's what the people I know collect. Hopefully as time goes by, more people with other interests will join.
I have a New One CNJ camelback imported by GHC on the table downstairs. It's oversize for HO and I was thinking I could widen the drivers and run it on the 00 layout, but I think it's too small. The same thing was imported in the 1950s by Polk's under the Aristocraft brand.
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The more Prewar the better, the older too.
There are not too many sites for Prewar info.
Someone started a site and a few of us got it going by adding pictures and fixes.
Then after a year the guy who started it went AWOL.
After some internet sleuthing we found his email and emailed him.
Still wouldn't answer the emails, someone found his phone number and got a hold of his sister.
She said he just lost interest and abandoned the site.
We did try to buy the site but he didn't want to sell, don't know why it was strange the way he just went MIA.
We all were making the site come alive.
I have little Prewar. I am mainly Postwar, I have very little new fangled electronic trains.
Most of mine are saves from the dumps or buy and fix it's.
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This forum is dominantly Prewar Lionel, because that is the main interest of the early members. We have been trying to expand into postwar LL, American Flyer, Marx, Ives and others, but need the help of new members to make their contributions of information, experiences and pictures.
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Hello my name is Dino and I live in Rhode Island,
I'm delighted to be labeled a "newbie" here because I just turned 60. I only started collecting Marx around 2014 or so. When I was young, my dad had an inexpensive Marx 400 set with about 6 tin litho cars and a few basic Plasticville structures. I don't ever recall seeing it in operation as a child, but my older brothers did. As a youngster I was an avid model builder and accumulated well over 100 by the time I became more interested in other things (driving cars & girls). I did set up that train set when I was 13 or so, it was a basic 4x8 layout, and I used the same plywood that my dad used the last time he set it up. The thing I remember was he let me do it all on my own, I guess he had enough faith in me.
When he passed in 1993 I inherited that set. By that time I had been married 10 years, had a 4 year old daughter with a son on the way. Those trains remained boxed all through my first marriage, followed me for 10 years as a divorcee, and was still boxed in my second marriage, never assembled since the last time I put it together when I was 13 or so.
Then one pivotal day I believe around 2014, my darling wife Lori asked that infamous question, "when are you going to get those trains out of those boxes and set that thing up?" Within days I did so, and set up a 4x8 layout similar to what I remembered when I was younger. Do you know that Marx 400 locomotive, though sluggish, ran on the first attempt after being boxed for over 40 years, with the original transformer!
And then of course as we all know there was no going back. I read about collecting and scenery and discovered Ebay! My old layout came down, I took over an entire room in my basement, started collecting and you know the rest.
I learned to repair just about any issue with any Marx train through trial and error, YouTube and my bootleg copy of Repair Manual for Marx Trains by Dr. Julio Castillo. I have slowed down a bit with the collections though, the one's I don't have are hard to get or very $$. But I have loved every minute of the work and play that I have put into this hobby and continue to do so. I'm so fortunate to have a wife that understands my passion for this hobby as well. As she always says "I always know where to find you." The best part is she can never blame me, it was her fault that I got back into this hobby in the first place!
I'm blessed and honored to be part of this group,
Dino Ferro, Feb. 2021
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Great to have you. My wife would have said "When are you going to get RID of those trains?" Just kidding!
Mike
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Welcome Dino, good to have another "Marxist".
My first train, about 1954 or 55, was a Marx 400 with 6" tin litho cars, also remember having the litho tunnel and circuit breaker. Next year I got a Lionel freight with a Mil Rd 2338 diesel. At that point I was hooked, joined LCCA in 1974, TCA in 1977, then TTOS, collected Lionel, went back to Marx, produced new Marx Trains from 1992 to 2004.
Now have a layout and produce youtube videos of Lionel, Marx, AF etc. After all those years of dusting trains, now it is more fun to run them, so the dust doesn't have a chance to settle.
Hope you explore the Forum and find the great wealth of information that has been assembled in just a short time.
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Hi everyone. Just signed up. Looking forward to commications with everyone. I collect, sell, repair post war Lionel. I also have operating layout......not finished of course LOL its always work in progress and when do you find the time???? I have nive parts invintory, wheel press etc. Its not a business but a hobby. I learned repair work from watching a friend for many many years.
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Welcome. We can always use more advice on repairs. Some members ahve ongoing progress reports on their layouts, you can start one iwth your layout.
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Welcome AT4 good to have new members. We look forward to your input on repairs and other subjects. Some of us also have operating layouts and we try to encourage each other. I take Youtube videos of mine, attached is a link to my latest. There is a lot of great info here on the Forum, so do some browsing of the many subjects covered. You will see a lot of Prewar Lionel, but we welcome more posts on Postwar and other trains. I operate Post and Pre Lionel, plus Marx and other trains on my layout.
Welcome aboard!
https://youtu.be/6s-4Qiys7cU
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Thanks everyone. Looking forward to it. I just finished repairs on MARX 999 for someone. Neat little loco. I also liked the Video. Great job filming.
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New blood is always good! Hope you enjoy the forum.
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Hope to see more comments and introductions here.
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Hello all. This is Charlie in Western NC, joining after seeing the flyer in an Ebay purchase. My first set of Lionel was for Christmas in 1957, which I still have and run. Of course as a kid I 'modified' the loco, which I did not put back right until 1980 or so when I could find the pilot truck I had removed for some odd kid reason. When my closest childhood friends moved away...to Brazil when I was 7, I found in their backyard, the only turnout I ever owned, and a Sunoco tank car in the dirt, have them still. I never knew one of my uncles was into Lionel until he called one day and said he was sending me his trains. I received a large lot of 1950's O gauge track, turnouts, cross overs, locos, steam and diesel, and freight cars, plus some LCCA specialty cars, all shipped via the Greyhound bus, in their original Lionel shipping boxes. By this time I had 2 sons and the dining room floor was the 'train room' where we could leave it set up except for Easter, Thanksgiving, and Christmas, where a smaller version went around the tree. I've never owned a house with a garage or basement, but, when all my kids finally moved on and made their own lives, I laid claim to an 11X14 playroom with dormer ceiling that is 6'3" in the middle and about 60" around the long sides, I built over my 'garage'. I don't consider the room called the garage on this house a garage, unless this was 1922 where I could park my Model T in it, because that is about how big it is. I can only stand up in the middle of the room, otherwise, I scoot around on a wheel stool. So, I have an around the wall double track layout still in various phases of completion and maybe one day will post it here. Not really a collector, like to run them, and really like to find the things I want, without the boxes. I watch the various sell sites, use Greenberg's and what things have sold for to figure out if the seller is anywhere near realistic, many are not.
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Forgot to mention, my wife bought a set of pre-war cars and a loco from her friend as a b'day gift for me. I have been constructiong a 30X60 inch layout just for them using a plan I found online that just seemed like a neat layout. Pic attached. I had to replace the loco drive wheels, they had the zinc rot problem, and I found a couple more cars and a freight loco to add to it. Think my ebay purchase of a prewar car is the one that came with the Trainz99 flyer.
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Welcome.
The little layout looks fun. You might want to consider putting the two parrallel sidings about 14" apart so you have room for a 97 coal loader or 164 log loader.
We should have some new people this week as I found a backlog of emails with requests to join the forum.
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Welcome Newbie, always good to hear from someone new. You will find a wealth of information here, just go exploring. Your comments, stories and photos are always welcome.
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Welcome CALNNC:
Glad, to see another new member. Terry & Jim are full of toy train knowledge. They have always helped me.
I love your introduction story. That’s one of the best things about toy trains from the old days. It’s how we came by them and how we spent our time playing or fixing them.
Jack
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Hello All!
I just got approved and have not even looked around yet. I will give my Lionel story.
You see, I was too young to get it so my oldest brother received a Super O set with the Mopac AA units 205. i was old enough to see it set up on the ping pong table and did get a few lessons on the throttles. I was an early preteen when the set was given away to in laws and I was into slot cars at the time.
Big brother was in the navy and finding out what happened did voice his disagreement. Years after the fact it was returned not sure when, but it was about the time when the Wilmington Train Show was young. He was in college then. I do remember and being amazed at all the trains. The most impressive site was the Prewar of course.
My story begins in college where I met my wife and she introduced me to antique shops. One of my first purchases was three tin cars, The Babe Ruth car, the red caboose and I think the third car was a metal tender. That started my collection.
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Welcome, the site is slow right now.
Post away. ;D