This past weekend I had the oppertunity to open up some footlockers that have remained undisturbed stored away since I packed up the house after my fathers passing 30 years ago, here’s what I found:
United D&RGW L131 2-8-8-2
United D&SL 2-6-6-0
Key D&RGW 2-10-2
Key? UP 2-8-8-0 bull moose
Key? SP 4-10-2
Tenshoda Alco PA A-B-B-A set in black and gold, remotored and regeared, all four powered.
Tenshoda GP9 factory painted for Union Pacific
Balboa or Westside? GS-4 factory painted in Daylight
Complete California Skunk train, this consits of the 2-8-2 locomotive #45 and four former Erie coaches. This was presented to me for my 10th birthday, the open frame motor is burned up on this one, otherwise it is complete except for the missing stack. I later purchased the two spare coaches, where are the now?
With the exception of the Skunk, all were rebuilt with NWSL can motors and gear boxes, dad passed within weeks of this work being completed by a local builder, thus they have virtually no run time on them, guess i’ll have to rectify that injustice.
Interesting subject. I inherited one 1/16 scale live steam 4-6-0 locomotive, and one electric New Haven RR locomotive when my dad died, plus two short trains. And, his 1950’s collection of American Flyer S gauge trains. HO brass was three NH box-cab electrics, and an NH caboose. And a lathe and a milling machine, with all associated equipment.
However, we were both in the same hobby together, so it wasn’t the same as opening a trunk in the attic after decades of disuse. In fact, I had done most of the paint work on the HO stuff, and some on the live steam stuff. We used to operate on a 3/4" to the foot (1/16 scale) outdoor club track. Keeping up steam while keeping up with traffic is a fascinating challenge. Goggles are a must. Watching the track and the pressure gauge while working the fire requires lots of attention; it gives you an appreciation of how the real railroads divided the labor among two people. Much depended on the quality of the coal you had available. Beat the heck out of DCC!
Needless to say, my father introduced me to real steam and railroads in general, as well as marine steam and the world of ships and boats. No to mention a few million other things. Thanks dad!
Around 1980, my aunt, who then lived in Pelham, NY, picked up some large cardboard boxes of “toy trains”. The boxes were out on the curb in front of someone’s home, waiting for the trash collector. She told me it was mine if I wanted it. I expected the usual rusty Lionel track with a few broken up cars and a RR station, maybe a whistling billboard, some Plasticville fragments, etc.
What I found was a 1’ x4’ hard-pine baseboard with an O scale crossover between two main lines, linked to a miniature lever in quadrant, with brass push rods. No evidence of outside third rail. The two turnouts were fabricated from steel rail, and work flawlessly (to this day). I also unearthed a jig for mass producing frogs. There were a half a dozen O scale heavyweight PRR cars, with six wheel trucks, a dozen box cars built from kits of the 1940’s, box after box of Auel freight car trucks (with working spring planks), and folders of club records from the model railroad club which had been located in the Pelham Manor RR station up through c.1955. And, a good sized pile of manufacturers catalogs. All the equipment and documents pointed to c.1943 as the date of origin.
Pretty amazing for an accidental street pickup. I wish I knew the address of where it was found.
This was the only HO item: an early (earliest!) Pittman locomotive motor, wound for six volts, with papers and box. The DC6 dates from the era when six volts DC was a sort of standard for HO, based on car batteries.
PS: Rusty, I’m modeling the NH, PRR and LIRR, so I think I’ll hang on to those box cabs for a while!
By buying a “grab bag” box of mostly busted up Athearn HO, I also acquired two sets of Carl Auel Andrews trucks from the 1930s (Auel trucks were I think 1:45 ratio not 1:48 but used by O scalers of all types because the detail was and is so fantastic), and Picard wood house car bodies with the interlocking wood parts, one in HO, one in O. Those go back to the mid 1930s.
