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 Posted - April 10 2016 : 8:17:40 PM
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I have been collecting trains for about a year from a local thrift store. They usually throw them in the trash, but have been setting them aside for me. I got a fairly complete Tyco HO Sante Fe diesel and Switch engine with nine cars and about 50 feet of track, most of it old brass tracks. I cleaned up the engines and wheels, polished up the tracks for a circle and built a 4 x 4 peg board table to put it on. I already know that will not be enough and have another piece of peg board for a second table. I got the HO buildings about six months ago from the same thrift store; 50¢ each for the houses and 99¢ for the train station. I paid $3.95 for the Tyco set and another 99¢ for a box of ez tracks. Also got the log dump track and dump and a loading dock. I have a lot of small diameter balsa wood for projects that I got for free and I am going to use that for telegraph poles, a trestle, a bridge or two and maybe some fences. I told the ladies at the thrift store to keep sending the trains my way, that I will buy them when they come in. This is the Tyco set up on the 4 x 4 table. The general store fits on top of the controller as if made for it.
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 Posted - April 10 2016 : 8:37:54 PM
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Wow, most thrift stores over-price the trains around here, like they're gold or something. You're getting one (and more) HECK of some great deals there. Even got them trained <PUN ! > to save them for you! You da man!  .  You have a good thrifty start on a layout, keep it going. Nothing wrong with cheap fun!
If you're looking for some reasonably cheap "grass", craft stores like Micheal's has adhesive felt, usually around $1 a sheet, you could cheaply carpet your layout, they also have black, which would make roads ( if a bit furry ). I did that with my N gauge and Z gauge "layouts", the Z is in a 16 x 20 sized keyboard drawer, the N I intend to put on a 2 x 3 foot corkboard. Haven't planted the grass on that one yet. ;)
Anyway, looks like you're having fun on the cheap, so keep it up. Lets see your town grow, and keep us posted.
Jerry, train repair tech, Virginia
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - April 10 2016 : 9:01:29 PM
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My set this week is one I acquired from the infamous flea market a few weeks ago. A Jouef set, high speed, when I saw it said Amtrak on it, I was hooked ( Don't know why? But I've had an interest in things Amtrak the last 2 years or so ). Anyway, the engine grease was turning into a sticky gum material, I had to clean it off the gears and axles, then re-lubed with modern grease. It ran noisy but smoothly after that tune-up.
Jerry in VA, train repair tech
 
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - April 10 2016 : 9:01:56 PM
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Argh! Now I hear about cheap adhesive grass felt! I paid
a whopping $30 for a Woodland Scenics grass mat when
all my other searching failed badly.
I tried making my own dyed sawdust, but the dye didn't
hold very well and looked like a major grass kill.
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Posted - April 11 2016 : 1:11:52 PM
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Both of my engines say Mantua on the bottom, the diesel 4301 says both Mantua and Tyco. What does that indicate and how old is this set? It does not look like it got used much. 
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Posted - April 11 2016 : 1:33:14 PM
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The Santa Fe C430 was made from ~1967 and probably in to the 1980's. It's hard to tell from your pictures but it looks like an early version. 1967-1973 would be my best guess. If you dig through the catalogs on HOseeker and compare the cars you may be able to find your exact set. Nice find!
Edited by - DaCheez on April 11 2016 1:35:35 PM
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Posted - April 11 2016 : 1:50:55 PM
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| I thought the set seemed early. None of the later Tyco sets that I have seen in my searching seem the same. This set would have come out when I was 7 to 13, I am 56. The thrift store I go to is part of a non profit animal rescue group, they get donations from home being cleaned out by family members who do not want to take the time or effort to sell the stuff. I bought a rhinestone butterfly broach made in Chechoflavkia for 50¢ from them, went home and looked it up and found one going for $49 on Ebay that was identical to it. A lot of the stuff they get in their donations are from attics and closets being cleaned out after a loved one passes away, there is never the same things in the shop. I go by there at least 4 times a week and by habit I go right to the donation door to talk to Dea or Christine in the back. They hold on to train sets for me, pond and aquarium supplies, gnomes, frog items and miniature buildings and now mini people, plants and so on. I tell them what I am looking for and they keep their eyes open for it. Last year I wanted frogs for a friends birthday, she is a herpetologist , and in three months acquired more that 40 frogs in different media. My best find was a 50's era California rangers hat, felt, perfect condition and my size, band and all, made by Stetson that goes for nearly $300 on the net, I got it for $49 along with a Stetson gambler hat for $34 and an Indiana Jones Stetson hat in miniature for $7. The Rangers hat and gambler are both size 8 and fit me perfect. LOL, I do not wear hats. :)
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Posted - April 11 2016 : 1:56:46 PM
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Here are closer shots of the 4301 and the Booster 
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Posted - April 11 2016 : 2:12:48 PM
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The metal tabs on your C430 suggest an MU-2 motor and the coupler pocket pictures you posted in the other thread are also the older style. So yes...definitely late 60's early 70's. Unfortunately steam engines are not my forte so I can't help much with the age on that one.
It sounds like making friends with thrift store employees is a good idea. I've found some great deals in the past (mostly on vintage cameras, old video game consoles, etc.). Since this is SotW, here's a Tyco set I scored at a thrift store a few years back. I think I paid ...$15?
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Posted - April 11 2016 : 3:34:55 PM
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quote:
Something in the color palette of these photos, with so much jade and orange placed against the green vegetation and accented by stainless steel, is very pleasant. Even the brass wheels of the loco's rear truck, despite their exposure being a result of a missing sideframe, have a certain elegance in that color context.
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Posted - April 11 2016 : 5:14:18 PM
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quote:| Something in the color palette of these photos, with so much jade and orange placed against the green vegetation and accented by stainless steel, is very pleasant. Even the brass wheels of the loco's rear truck, despite their exposure being a result of a missing sideframe, have a certain elegance in that color context. |
The fall colours on that layout were great for taking photos. After spending the past year on my city block trolley layout I actually miss having greenery in my scenes. Vintage model trains also have a certain character to them that the newer stuff doesn't seem to capture. The colours, the grime, the chunky ruggedness...something about them that you can't buy new at a hobby shop. Glad you enjoyed the pictures. 
Edited by - DaCheez on April 11 2016 5:14:50 PM
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Posted - April 11 2016 : 5:18:18 PM
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That Joeuf is the cat's meow. I had to blink a couple of
times while taking in the buffers.
I love the cast off theme of Dragonslayer's collection.
Wonder what would I find if I dove into one of Walt's
HO dumpsters??
Edited by - Chops124 on April 11 2016 6:57:08 PM
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Posted - April 12 2016 : 12:18:02 AM
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Buss!
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Posted - April 15 2016 : 12:42:41 AM
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I added Youtube video of my set in action on another site and thought I would try it here too.
I added some vehicles from a farmville set a friend gave me years ago that was still in its box.
https://youtu.be/5wkT0MHYvRw
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Posted - April 15 2016 : 10:58:39 AM
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| Those are nice running locos. Way to go!
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Posted - April 15 2016 : 11:16:59 AM
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Nifty little video, Dragonslayer. I really enjoy the fact
that you assembled this little creation out of salvage.
It is a clever counterpoint to these massive opuses
in the glossies, which, to be honest, don't captivate
me. Your kind of creation does.
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Posted - April 23 2016 : 08:54:39 AM
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I'm working a deal on this "fantasy set". An Amtrak TGV! I can't wait for it to arrive!
Edited by - IslandTrains on April 23 2016 08:58:55 AM
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Posted - April 24 2016 : 10:28:37 PM
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Island, that is a JR Shinkansen, not at TGV. Fantasy, nonetheless. Like it, though!
-Peter
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Posted - April 25 2016 : 10:27:09 AM
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quote:Island, that is a JR Shinkansen, not at TGV. Fantasy, nonetheless. Like it, though!
Originally posted by dastumer - April 24 2016 : 10:28:37 PM
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me too & I want this plus a model of the real one
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