I am guessing that the answer to this question is yes, but I am just wondering how many folks out there are interested in vintage HO trains, like 1940s-1960s. I would like to learn more about this area of the hobby.
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Yes, I have some Tyco/Mantua, a Varney sw7, Feischmann Baldwin switcher, and a wide selection of various other makes. Interesting development in drives,as years went by. It feels comfortable, because I grew up with Tyco.
Paul
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I collect HO trains. I’m not a serious collector, I buy things as they appeal to me regardless of age. I do this across all scales.
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Do you run them? Locos and rolling stock? I have always been O27. When I realized my layout would be too small for a continuous over and under track plan, I made plans for a two level layout with the top level also being O27. But interest in other aspects of the hobby made me think of S gauge or HO. I have settled on S for now, but am still really interested in learning more about HO, but my area of interest for all gauges is primarily “vintage”
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Yes. I collect Lionel’s line of HO trains from the late '50s and the '60s, as well as HO trains made by AC Gilbert and Marx.
I also collect Märklin HO trains, which are 3-rail and AC powered.
I do also have a few odd HO trains from other makes. I enjoy “oddball” stuff- one of my favorites is the Varney ‘Lil Raskal’, a bizarre HO train line that was supposed to be durable enough to survive rough handling from small children. All the equipment was single truck, 4-wheel, including the F7 diesel locomotive.
-El
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I had Gilbert HO trains along with Tyco and Athearn. I gave them all to my brother when I went back to S gauge exclusively. He has a fairly large collection of Gilbert HO but does not participate in any forums.
The quality of Gilbert’s HO items seems to have been pretty great until the Pikemaster era. I’m not sure if Gilbert HO was the best value for realism at the time (I sure know Lionel HO wasn’t), but it was at least well made initially. I really like the HO steam engines with smoke and choo-choo.
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I have a few HO locomotives from the 60’s. Mostly brass, with a few diesels. But they have all benefited from some upgrades (new motors, wheels, details, etc.), plus decoder installs. As is, most locos of these generations were poor runners compared to today’s standards. Some brass have aged remarkably well, like the PFM Shays.
Simon
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What is that?
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A decoder is a digital control board that goes inside a locomotive for DCC control.
Sheldon
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I consider my self much more of a modeler than a collector. But I do have lots of very old HO stuff that I run on my layout. And I have old unbuilt kits that I will be building.
Stuff from the 50’s and 60’s mostly, some a little older. Rolling stock and model structures mainly.
Sheldon
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Neat @ATLANTIC_CENTRAL
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Yes, many people are collecting these vintage Revell locomotives from the 50’s. I find most of mine on eBay. Many of the diesel locomotives from Revell had a backed on scratch resistant paint and they hold up very well.
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There is a nice example of the Revell F7 Santa Fe listed on eBay for $28.
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Thanks @Dub1 this is fascinating. Do these older units have open frame motors? I guess people like the Tyco and Mantua, too
You could sorta include me here. I mostly work in other scales, but I like some older HO stuff too. Ever seen one of those Marx UP F3s? I still need to get a new universal shaft for mine…
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I believe the Marx F-Unit is more representative of an F2 due to the number of porthole windows on the side, but at any rate not only have I seen them, I have some myself! I have a few generally complete, working examples, as well as some damaged and incomplete ones. So far I have examples of Santa Fe, Rock Island, and New Haven units, and recently a friend found me a black New York Central. I also have an incomplete Pikemaster-era Gilbert C&O F unit, which is a pretty direct clone of the Marx (though identifiable as being made from different tooling).
-El
Yes, most vintage HO trains have some form of open frame style motor. Many ‘pancake’ style motors began to appear in the 70s and 80s as well. DC can motors didn’t really start to take over until the 1990s.
Thanks @El_Fixes_Things for the clarification I wasn’t entirely sure
