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 Posted - October 07 2011 : 10:05:52 AM
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Occasionally I peruse Craigslist, and while searching for something for work on Monday , I decided to punch in Model Trains. I came up with an ad for a lot near my workplace, misc. stuff, 2 pictures. fuzzy, but I THOUGHT I spotted a BL-2 nose poking out. So,I emailed, and went by to view them on Wednesday. Lady was asking $150, had a nice Tech II transformer with the lot. bout 7 engines, 15 cars, and lots of accessories by Tyco, Bachmann, Lifelike, etc. Everything looked exceptionally mint except a few pieces, had some broken hand-rails, etc. I offered 120 for the lot, considering the transformer is an expensive piece. Didn't really need it, but I can use it over my older Tyco and Model Power cheapie power packs now. So I brought this lot home, and sorted through it. Wow, really impressed with the overall condition. Only 2 of the 7 engines ran, 2 were dummies anyway. Tyco F7 has a broken wire, and only turns over slowly directly. Tyco Comin' round the Mountain diesel lights but doesn't move. Lifelike Delaware and Hudson GP-38-2 has severe wheel oxidation, yet the shell is darn near perfect. The New Haven RSO Hustler runs jerkily, needs some run time, I think. The BL-2 C&EI ran when bumped, so it needs some run time, too. The shell is mint. Got a Tyco Coke tanker, among the better pieces. Got a few to trade to Microbusss, D&RG over-height boxcar, UP low hopper, etc. Overall a pretty good find. AND, bonus, she was selling these for someone else, and apparently the guy has more stuff packed away he wants to sell, so I told her to contact me when he digs it out of storage to get rid of. So no auction competition! Yay! I think I paid a fair price, not a bargain price, but got a lot of stuff I can use. I figure average 10 bucks per engine, 5 per car, and the transformer, plus all the other accessories, buildings, I may have gotten a bargain compared to buying auction and paying shipping too. I'll get some pics today to post. Got a Sawmill in the lot, going to rename that for a PA friend's old family business, even has a plastic narrow gauge track molded in to run to the main line. Can't wait to see what else this person has stashed away.
So, if you haven't tried Craigslist yet to find model trains, it might be worth a shot. this is the second lot I've bought through ads I've found on Craigslist, bought a Tyco lot last year for $75 with about 20 cars and some engines, so you can find good local buys occasionally. Just gotta search them out!
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - October 07 2011 : 11:01:02 AM
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Jerry ;
* A word of advise.
* Realy a lot of wods of advise.
* When you get a engine that hasn't been run for a long time. Do what is necessart to disconnect the motor from the drive wheels. Clean it. Apply a needle piont of oil to bearings. Then turn, move the motor armiture with as little pressure as possiable. You must see if the motor is seezed, or free. If it moves easily, is clean, and oiled. Turn armiture slowly, a few rotations to get the oil on the bearing surfaces. Then apply power to the brushes to see if it will turn. If ok, put it back together, lub all moving surfaces, and test run by aplying power to motor. If all turns ok, now you can clean wheels and axels and test run on track. Do this on all the engines you want to keep, and not fix.
frank
toptrain
" It's a Heck of a Day " !!!
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Posted - October 07 2011 : 11:26:55 AM
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quote:Jerry ;
* A word of advise.
* Realy a lot of wods of advise.
*
frank
Originally posted by toptrain - October 07 2011 : 11:01:02 AM
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And a lot of good advice there, Frank. I don't try to run them long, but I do try to see if they'll move at all. Obviously "breaking them in" after a long storage period would not be advisable without proper cleaning, re-lubing as necessary, etc. I left that dunce hat in the corner a LONG time ago.  But your words of wisdom definitely apply here, as none seem to run other than erratically, so I will be taking them apart to do as you were saying. And, now I have pictures! As Bugs used to say, "Now on with the show...."
Above, the Hot Tub cam reveals all that I got for my $120. After figuring out roughly 10 per engine, 3 per car, 20-30 for the throttle, misc. for the rest, I think I didn't get burned. Lots to play around with here, and possibly more to come!
Above, here's all the Tyco rolling stock and accessories. The Virginian caboose will go well with my two 4301 diesels of the same roadname. Didn't have one of those yet. Coke tanker, awesome. Autoloader missing upper deck, but I got all 6 cars for it.
Above, Round the Mountain Tyco and caboose, I think this is my 3rd set. I'll have to get the triplets together eventually for a photo shoot.
Above, all the Bachmann rolling stock. Burlington gon , RI boxcar, and thrall-door are keepers, the rest not sure yet.
Above, nice AHM spotlight MOW caboose, that's a definite keeper. Will probably keep the rest as well. Add to my roster.
Above, all the buildings and accessory pieces. some broken, some need work, but overall nice shape.
Above, sawmill with cast-in narrow gauge to main line run. I'm going to rename this from Winters Sawmill to Stahls, in honor of my PA friend's old family business a half-century ago. I like it.
Above, is this a coal dump? Or maybe a sand dump? I'm not sure.
Well, there's my Wednesday haul. I'm rather pleased with it. Got some nice pieces, and complimentary to some items I had that were lacking matching pieces. Hope to use these someday on my train modules or even my test track.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - October 07 2011 : 6:45:42 PM
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To Answer Your Question, A Coal Tipple. Flip The Top Upside Down. Then It Will Become Tipple.
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Posted - October 07 2011 : 6:46:54 PM
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Nice finds Jerry! Up here in Canada the site to use is Kijiji. It's essentially the same as Craigslist...we do have Craigslist, but Kijiji seems a lot more organized. Kijiji has a dedicated "Model RR and Slotcar" section which I do check periodically. I haven't found any good scores yet, but I have sold a thing or two 
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Posted - October 07 2011 : 6:49:32 PM
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Craigs List Has Some Train Stuff, Mostly Those N Scale El Cheapos I Collect.
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