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 Posted - September 14 2019 : 7:39:16 PM
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Here's my SOTW offering:
3 Tyco chrome tankers - unfortunately the Texaco one has a broken step, but...the good news is I now have 2 chrome Shell tankers! (I got the other one at the Train Show.) 
"Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in Heaven." - Matthew 5:16
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Posted - September 14 2019 : 9:24:39 PM
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Nice set of tankers! For my SOTW, I'm doing an East German-made Piko train pack. It's their "old-timer" pack, which is a model of a pre-WW1 German freight train (the box says 1913). I bought the set off of Ebay, and it was obvious it had only been used to be tested, because everything was there, including a little plastic pin.The little sheet it comes with (on the right of the first picture) says that the engine is from November of 1986, back when the Berlin Wall was still up. The first thing I noticed about the engine when I got it out of the box (gorgeous artwork on the box, honestly. I would frame it if I could) was the weight. It was heavier than I thought it would be. I also noticed that the cab was loose because it was only being held on by some flimsy plastic details.  Anyways, I fixed that, lubricated the locomotive, added the extra details (it didn't look right without them, especially the top headlight), and it ran surprisingly well. It's a little wobbly, and is not the biggest fan of one of my switches (especially at slower speeds), even though it has 8 pickups total. The motor is probably the strangest thing about the model. It's this bizarre almost pancake drive-esque thing. I have never seen anything like it. And the body is held onto the chassis by just one screw on the top of the locomotive. That screw holds the shell and the weight onto the locomotive. Makes it pretty easy to do maintenance on it, which is awesome. All in all, I find the set quite neat, mostly for its historical value. I also love how the engine looks, looks oddly Christmassy.Definitely one of my most unique items.
 
-Steve
"A lot of modellers out there who go to these train shows see broken HO stuff and go, 'This is useless' when, in reality, they can still be used for modeling whether it's as a prop on your layout or a cool project to make something old new again."
Edited by - kovacste000 on September 14 2019 9:25:09 PM
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Posted - September 15 2019 : 11:28:25 AM
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Whooa Nelly, never knew Tyco made a Sunoco tanker!
That East German set is astonishing. It appears to have
some quality control issues, which is to be expected given
its provenance. But wow, thank you for posting this most
interesting set!
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Posted - September 15 2019 : 2:27:39 PM
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quote:Nice set of tankers! For my SOTW, I'm doing an East German-made Piko train pack. It's their "old-timer" pack, which is a model of a pre-WW1 German freight train (the box says 1913). I bought the set off of Ebay, and it was obvious it had only been used to be tested, because everything was there, including a little plastic pin.The little sheet it comes with (on the right of the first picture) says that the engine is from November of 1986, back when the Berlin Wall was still up. The first thing I noticed about the engine when I got it out of the box (gorgeous artwork on the box, honestly. I would frame it if I could) was the weight. It was heavier than I thought it would be. I also noticed that the cab was loose because it was only being held on by some flimsy plastic details. Anyways, I fixed that, lubricated the locomotive, added the extra details (it didn't look right without them, especially the top headlight), and it ran surprisingly well. It's a little wobbly, and is not the biggest fan of one of my switches (especially at slower speeds), even though it has 8 pickups total. The motor is probably the strangest thing about the model. It's this bizarre almost pancake drive-esque thing. I have never seen anything like it. And the body is held onto the chassis by just one screw on the top of the locomotive. That screw holds the shell and the weight onto the locomotive. Makes it pretty easy to do maintenance on it, which is awesome.All in all, I find the set quite neat, mostly for its historical value. I also love how the engine looks, looks oddly Christmassy.Definitely one of my most unique items.
Originally posted by kovacste000Â -Â September 14 2019Â :Â 9:24:39 PM
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I would love to see more pictures of this equipment. How about some close ups
of the engine and cars and a picture of the loco's mechanism!
Proudly keeping Tyco Pluggers out of landfills since 2016
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Posted - September 15 2019 : 8:02:35 PM
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Three very special Erie passenger cars by Hobbyline which are green gray and black instead of standard Green and gray.
frank
toptrain
" It's a Heck of a Day " !!!
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Posted - September 15 2019 : 9:02:03 PM
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Alright. I just got more pictures of the East German set. As you can see, the engine is surprisingly detailed for something made in East Germany. I did notice when I first got it that there was some excess plastic, which I immediately chipped off with a flathead screwdriver. Otherwise, though, it's actually quite nicely molded and painted. The little railway logo on the cab is nice and crisp, as is most of the lettering on both the locomotive and the rolling stock. On top of that, the rolling stock is surprisingly free-rolling. They roll much like most modern H0 rolling stock. Both the tender and the freight cars have typical Marklin-style couplers and are surprisingly rugged. The connection between the tender and the locomotive use a typical hook as seen in, for example, Bachmann engines from the 80's. The tender has a hole on a metal bar, and the locomotive has a metal bar right underneath the motor which goes into the tender hole. Inside the box, there were two papers. One seemed to be a sheet which told consumers where they could either buy more Piko trains or have them repaired. That sheet shows all the locations for both all across East Germany, and it shows that the set was made in 1986. The instruction sheet (the other paper), shows some basic information about the model and the prototype in German, Russian, and Czech (in that order), and shows you how to add the extra details in the pack. It even tells you how to lubricate it, which is pretty neat.I will admit, though, those sheets look a lot older than 1986. They look more 50's-60's than anything else, honestly, and kinda feel that way. The pin that came with the model, is this very cheap plastic coin thing literally glued on to a metal pin with what looks like hot glue.When I was applying one of the parts to the locomotive, I couldn't find the holes they were supposed to go in, so I looked around, and eventually I found the holes on the front part of the locomotive on the very bottom, even though they were supposed to be on the top!Looks like someone in the factory screwed up.As I've said before, though, the mechanism is this odd little thing. It kinda reminds me of a pancake drive, but not quite. The commutator is on one of those plastic cylinder things on the sides, and I guess it connects with the plastic gears which move the model. The plastic gears are far from the most rugged I've ever seen, but I have yet to see one anywhere that's actually cracked, so... It basically juts out of the cab much like those old AHM Rivarossi models from the 1960's and 1970's.
-Steve
"A lot of modellers out there who go to these train shows see broken HO stuff and go, 'This is useless' when, in reality, they can still be used for modeling whether it's as a prop on your layout or a cool project to make something old new again."
Edited by - kovacste000 on September 15 2019 9:07:29 PM
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Posted - September 16 2019 : 10:31:41 AM
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Thank you for the additional photography. I note a couple of
things, one is that the wagons are all brown which looks to
be a. probably quite prototypical, and b. not a lot of paint
to go around in Communist East Germany, so an effort to
streamline the decorative process needed.
Also of interest is the drive train: each driver has its own
cog, where other models rely on the side rods to propel
the drivers. And yes, that motor is an looking bodkin.
Love those coaches, Frank. Were they made when
Erie was still operating passenger service?
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Posted - September 16 2019 : 11:26:12 AM
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quote:Thank you for the additional photography. I note a couple of
things, one is that the wagons are all brown which looks to
be a. probably quite prototypical, and b. not a lot of paint
to go around in Communist East Germany, so an effort to
streamline the decorative process needed.
Also of interest is the drive train: each driver has its own
cog, where other models rely on the side rods to propel
the drivers. And yes, that motor is an looking bodkin.
Love those coaches, Frank. Were they made when
Erie was still operating passenger service?
Originally posted by Chops124Â -Â September 16 2019Â :Â 10:31:41 AM
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Yeah, most of the colors are just colored plastic. And one thing of note is that the model (along with the mechanism and motor) came out in 1966, and that at the point that model was made, it was already 20 years old. That's probably one of the main reasons why the model itself seems older than 1986. It is interesting how all the wheels are geared, unlike most models of its class even in West Germany. Manufacturers all around the world in 1966 (and even 1986) were using Pittman-style motors and mechanisms on their steam engines. Tenshodo, Mantua, Varney, Hornby, etc. It's definitely different.
-Steve
"A lot of modellers out there who go to these train shows see broken HO stuff and go, 'This is useless' when, in reality, they can still be used for modeling whether it's as a prop on your layout or a cool project to make something old new again."
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Posted - September 16 2019 : 6:45:09 PM
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Well, sorry to veer off the rails again, but I'm most enjoying my OO passion this week. This Hornby
Mallard (the prototype set the world steam speed record) is probably contemporary within a
few years of Steve's magnificent Piko set. Call this the "Rake of the Week." Tender drive,
Works like a charm, seen here on layout "Henley" pulling a string of six coaches.
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Posted - September 16 2019 : 10:35:07 PM
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quote:
Well, sorry to veer off the rails again, but I'm most enjoying my OO passion this week. This Hornby
Mallard (the prototype set the world steam speed record) is probably contemporary within a
few years of Steve's magnificent Piko set. Call this the "Rake of the Week." Tender drive,
Works like a charm, seen here on layout "Henley" pulling a string of six coaches.
Originally posted by Chops124Â -Â September 16 2019Â :Â 6:45:09 PM
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Hey, I have no problems with it.Love those British steamers.
-Steve
"A lot of modellers out there who go to these train shows see broken HO stuff and go, 'This is useless' when, in reality, they can still be used for modeling whether it's as a prop on your layout or a cool project to make something old new again."
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Posted - September 17 2019 : 12:25:17 AM
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Yep. If the house was on fire, which would I rescue? The OO or the
Tyco? Be a close toss. Tyco is Nostalgia City, but requires a lot
of tuning up to get it to run reliably, while the OO is pretty much
fool proof, comparatively. Thanks for the vote of confidence,
Steve.
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Posted - October 20 2019 : 12:05:15 PM
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I have a piko br80 that I got for $4 total on eBay, (no money for the seller there) and it has that same drive, but horizontal, has that same motor, very strange. I tore it apart for a kitbashing project I am currently working on involving the shell of the br80, and a bachmann 0-6-0 chassis. A thread on it is coming soon...
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Posted - October 20 2019 : 12:47:29 PM
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Posted - October 20 2019 : 3:01:25 PM
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quote:I have a piko br80 that I got for $4 total on eBay, (no money for the seller there) and it has that same drive, but horizontal, has that same motor, very strange. I tore it apart for a kitbashing project I am currently working on involving the shell of the br80, and a bachmann 0-6-0 chassis. A thread on it is coming soon...
Originally posted by BlaxlandAlex3Â -Â October 20 2019Â :Â 12:05:15 PM
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Oh, those little guys. Yeah, I found out the only thing holding the motor onto the locomotive is a strange metal bar that kinda holds onto the motor. After you take that off, the whole motor comes out. There's these 2 copper or brass brushes that basically grind against the armature, which causes the motor to spin. Very odd design but oddly simple.
-Steve
"A lot of modellers out there who go to these train shows see broken HO stuff and go, 'This is useless' when, in reality, they can still be used for modeling whether it's as a prop on your layout or a cool project to make something old new again."
Edited by - kovacste000 on October 20 2019 3:01:38 PM
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