Lately I’ve been collecting mostly new old stock HO Atlas C-420’s. Got 2 Lehigh Valley units off ebay, one red and one yellow and grey. Got an Erie Mining unit and a Lehigh and Hudson River unit last Sunday at the Allentown Train Show.
I just don’t need some of the more recent and higher-end (more expensive) models. They are great, but I just prefer the Atlas C-420’s over most other HO Alcos due to the assembly quality and the way they run. I can take an 18-year old Atlas unit out of the box, put it on the track, and it runs great with no issues…
Hi TF, I ordered a Atlas N code 80 Custom line switch to replace one i tried to solder to the connecting track but ruined because I did not remove two ties and use a heat sink. To my great suprise, the new Custom switch came with “Continouous Point rails” rather than mechanical hinges. This switch is at the throat of an industrial yard and should perform and hold up well. Consldering ordering more like this.
Probably the best “goodie” of the year i found was at a west coast trainshow earlier this year. It was there that I found a autographed copy of photographer Richard Steinheimer’s book “A Passion For Trains”. The book itself was in mint condition and I was able to buy the first edition book at a much cheaper cost from the vendor than I thought it would be.
I’ve been a fan of Richard Steinheimer since I met him by chance at the Sacramento Railfair (I think it was in 1991). While I was talking to him about what to do about the collection of B&W negatives I had inherited from my grandfather, he asked me who my grandfather was. When I told him, he surprised me when he said he knew my grandfather, who also liked to railfan/photograph the same places such as Cajon Pass and elsewhere in Southern California!
It is really cool I now have a book with Mr. Steinheimer’s autograph. Definitely my best find of the year!
Now that there are Black Friday and Thankgiving Deals, ScaleTrains has a 15% off deal with a code so I ordered several models including the ExactRail PC&F MP Applicance boxcar and ExactRail PC depressed center flatcar (my first depressed center car) and an N scale carbon black and got free shipping to-boot!
TF, Thanks for starting a great thread, like seeing and hearing about everyone’s ‘goodies’, along with the pleasure of having Jeff B open my eyes to the talents of the late Richard Steinheimer. Also enjoyed your Torino story, the ‘Striped Tomato’ was a 76’. Not sure if the Artitec Model A roadster is year specific. Floor jack is from a JL Innovative Design gas station interior detail set.
I recently got an amazing deal on an EP-2 Bipolar from NJ Custom Brass (early run by KMT), which is a model I’ve been on and off wanting to get for a while. It’s currently disassembled because the owner was trying to install what look like Sagami motors and then gave up, and it’s been sitting in a bin ever since. Aside from a missing gear cover plate (which is easy enough to replace), it looks like it’s all there, and all for only about $200! The cheapest I’ve ever seen one of these going for was around $350, so considering the quality motor upgrade included, I think this is about the best deal I’m ever going to see on one of these!
I browse the site of an online retailer based in Maryland on occasion. They recently had some items listed with sale prices. These Rapido RS-11s were 60% off! I bought the pair for just a little more than the decoders alone would have cost. Couldn’t say no [:-^]
So about a month and a half ago I scored an MTH Rio Grande Challenger, MTH cab-forward, and a Rivarossi Allegheny for a nice price. The cab-forward is missing some parts and has wires loose, but the other 2 locos just have wires loose. I gutted the MTH electronics on the Challenger and put in a Tsunami 2 decoder. Today was final testing and programming. This thing runs and sounds nice!
I picked up a Cary Pittsburgh 4-4-0 boiler on the 'bay, for a Tyco General I got a while back for that purpose. I’ll post pix on WPF when it’s interesting enough to do so. Dan
Got a three car Beaver Creek Yosemite Valley combine/coach/obs set for about half what they’ve been going for on eBay: slight tarnish, someone had removed the vestibules, which I never cared much for and would replace, anyway. Felt like a deal to me!
It has been a long time since I searched eBay for any goodies but I decided to have a look a couple of weeks ago. I found two items close to my heart. They are both old Athearn metal 40’ boxcar kits with wood floors. One is in the Canadian National maple leaf livery and the other is a Santa Fe in the ‘Scout’ livery. For some reason, I love the old kits. I’d rather have them than newer RTR stuff.
With a couple of minor exceptions, they are in really great condition! One of the kits has a couple broken white metal (Zamac maybe?) castings. The roof walks on both cars are no longer straight, and my very gentle attempt to straighten one of them resulted in it breaking immediately. I would like to keep the cars as original as possible, but if I can’t straighten the white metal roof walks then I have some etched roof walks which I can substitute.
I am amazed by the number of parts in the kits. They will be fun to assemble.
Looks and sounds like you’ve all found some good stuff this year, enjoy! Thanks for sharing.
Had almost finished up another attempt to catch up with this thread again, commenting to everyone individually, and posting a picture of one of my more recent finds. The “Aw Swap! Something Went Wrong” message came up, and the whole page was lost again. This has been typical for me on this thread this year, and was guilty of throwing in the towel awhile back.
The screen is still glitching, fluttering, changing frames, and freeze framing, with pop-up-ads taking over the whole page, also making things even more difficult.
The Diner has been having the same Flukes while posting, but not near as wicked.
I’ll give her another try a bit later, after this pissed off Scotsman cools down a bit[(-D]…[;)]
Thanks for posting[Y]
TF
PS I’ll figure out a way to get this neglected site to work somehow.
Ken Patterson recently had something in one of his YouTube posts about inexpensive LED light strips that are available from Walmart. 100 ft (2 50’ strips, power connects in the middle of them). It comes with the power supply and a remote for changing colors and brightness. Just happened our local store had them on sale for 1/2 price, so I got two. Not really bright enough to use for daylight lighting, but the blue shades look great for nighttime operations.
I found a copy of Model Railroading with John Allen at a local train show. I’ve always wanted to read through it, so am finally able to. Such a fantastic layout, and I wish here were more with a similar imaginitive look and feel while also incorporating in the operating style.
