In my area, we have one and only one train show every year. This particular one is sponsored by the LCCA, and is usually a pretty advertised and attented show both by train collectors and by the general public. There are always two or sometimes three well-done operating layouts, including standard gauge.
Today was that day, and so I made the trip up with a few specific things in mind that I was after. In particular, I wanted a tender for my 2055, and some “junk” to give me a good winter fixer-upper project. In the past, this sort of stuff has abounded. One year, in fact, someone set up a table full of steamers in that condition and sold them for $5 a pound.
This year, there was almost none of that. In fact, the only thing of the sort I saw was a 2026 in really rough shape for $35. It looked to have too many missing parts to make it worthwhile, especially for that price.
In fact, it seemed that the bulk of this year’s show was modern trains, many of which were being sold at or close to retail price.
There were a few deals to be had, though.
The first stop of the day was at Grandpa’s Toy Train Parts, where I picked up a few odds and ends I needed. I order from him often enough that I keep his number on my cell phone’s speed dial, howerever it was nice to have a face-to-face chat and see in person what I was getting.
Some browsing turned up a 91 circuit breaker at a cost of $2. It looked to be in rough shape, but having heard of the great virtues of this little gadget, I figured I didn’t have anything to lose at that price.
As it turns out, it works great. It trips at almost any sign of a short immediately, which is better than many modern breakers. Plus, I can’t beat the price.
I’ve always had a liking for dump cars, but had never managed to get my hands on a 3469. I found a table several marked at $35, and, with a littl