|
|
 Posted - November 16 2019 : 9:30:31 PM
|
Here's my LOTW offering:
Double-dipping this week.....
First off, I got another Tyco U.S.A. Express ALCO C430!
Tyco Baltimore & Ohio (B&O) 4-6-2 "Pacific" steam locomotive. I got this one off of Ebay for around $50, a pretty good price in my opinion. Looks and runs awesome!
"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
Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/rpmodelrailroads
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rp_model_railroads/
|
Country:  USA ~
Posts: 4669 ~
Member Since: August 11 2017 ~
Last Visit: July 20 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 16 2019 : 11:05:16 PM
|
Nice steamer RP.
Yardmaster 54
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 277 ~
Member Since: October 01 2011 ~
Last Visit: July 29 2024
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 17 2019 : 12:17:53 AM
|
https://youtu.be/wp3CtLzDrao
An AHM CNJ Alco, layout of El Paso Model Train Club. I was
fortunate to see the CNJ back in its final days in 1976, just
before it got absorbed by Conral and NJ Transit.
A different time, not well known to the current generation,
it was in some ways a rather unhappy time. Post Viet Nam,
poor economy, and railroads going bust to the right and to
the left. American automotive industry on the ropes, in general.
Overall, the country was in an identity crisis: traditional industries
were going up in smoke, the Hippy Generation had relatively
come and gone, cocaine was epidemic, the post WWII generation
was loosing its influence. It was not an optimistic time.
On the bright side, there was Disco...and 8 track audio tapes.
And Tyco was abundant.
Edited by - Chops124 on November 17 2019 01:47:16 AM
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 11501 ~
Member Since: December 09 2013 ~
Last Visit: June 07 2025
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 17 2019 : 2:09:26 PM
|
Very nice LOTW's so far. Love that old Tyco Royal Blue pacific. My LOTW is a postwar (somewhere between around 1946/1947 to 1954) Varney 0-4-0 Docksider that I got at a train show recently for only $10. As soon as I put it on the test track, it ran like a champ, even before doing any maintenance on it. I can definitely see why this little guy was so beloved back in the day. It's a very good runner for its day (the entire thing is made out of metal, including the gears and motor), and it uses a Pittman DC60 motor. It's very nice and smooth. It's quite noisy, but that's how these old guys were. Despite only having two pickups, she goes over the dead spots on my layouts quite nicely, even before any maintenance.Love this cute little guy.
-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."
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3533 ~
Member Since: February 17 2014 ~
Last Visit: January 11 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 17 2019 : 2:39:15 PM
|
quote:Here's my LOTW offering:
Double-dipping this week.....
First off, I got another Tyco U.S.A. Express ALCO C430!
Originally posted by RP model railroads - November 16 2019 : 9:30:31 PM
|
I want one
this one didn't have a matching caboose but I wish it did
this IS NOT a Bicentennial Unit either!!
it came out at the tail end of Tyco Trains demise
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 14908 ~
Member Since: February 23 2009 ~
Last Visit: June 18 2025
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 17 2019 : 8:48:08 PM
|
Here's my Western Maryland SD70ACe, keeping company with my SD35's. It took a long time to track one of these down.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 202 ~
Member Since: June 22 2016 ~
Last Visit: August 02 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 18 2019 : 01:41:55 AM
|
That is some line up, Chevelle! That saddle tank is bomb, Kovacste.
It is amazing, and wonderful, something of that age, from the
early years of HO is still humming along.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 11501 ~
Member Since: December 09 2013 ~
Last Visit: June 07 2025
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 18 2019 : 07:18:53 AM
|
quote:That is some line up, Chevelle! That saddle tank is bomb, Kovacste.
It is amazing, and wonderful, something of that age, from the
early years of HO is still humming along.
Originally posted by Chops124Â -Â November 18 2019Â :Â 01:41:55 AM
|
To be honest, it’s not surprising this thing has lasted this long. It’s very simple and it’s also built like a tank. You could throw it at a wall and the wall would be much more damaged than the locomotive, which would only have maybe a dent and some scratches. I think I understand where the term “they don’t build them like they used to anymore” comes from. I can’t imagine, as nice as they are, any modern H0 locomotives chugging along strongly once they reach around 70 years old. They really don’t build these guys like they used to.
-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."
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3533 ~
Member Since: February 17 2014 ~
Last Visit: January 11 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 18 2019 : 12:39:36 PM
|
Totally agree. The biggest problem I see is these flimsy
plastic gears: pinion gears, drive axle gears that crack
with age, rendering the entire unit garbage. I wish manufacturers
would spend the extra dime and use metal gears. But then, that
would screw up planned obsolescence.
That Varney drive gear is solid brass.
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 11501 ~
Member Since: December 09 2013 ~
Last Visit: June 07 2025
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 18 2019 : 1:00:34 PM
|
Just a word to the wise about brass gears: Keep them lubricated and they'll last a long, long time. On the other hand, brass gears are reputed to wear very fast if you run them without lubrication.
Carpe Manana!
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2406 ~
Member Since: September 17 2013 ~
Last Visit: June 18 2025
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 18 2019 : 3:13:16 PM
|
Yeah, scsshaggy, that's the first thing I did when I brought it home. I lubricated the gears and now it should be good for at least a while. Also, Chops124, I have to agree with you on that. If it wasn't for the fact that most of these older locomotives I've seen at shows are in pieces and horribly beat up beyond my capabilities, I would definitely have more of these older H0 locomotives because the quality (and even running quality, in some instances) are, in my opinion, superior to modern H0 locomotives. As you mentioned, most modern locomotives use plastic gears which, as you said, are prone to warping and cracking after about 30-50 years while these old guys will probably still be running with their original motors and gears once they reach about 100 years old. Nothing inherently wrong with those engines with plastic gears necessarily, just if you're looking for a train you want to be able to pass down to future generations, those all metal ones are ideal. It's kind of a shame that manufacturers ditched metal for plastic in the last few decades. I've said it before and I'll say it again; I consider the 1940's-1950's to be kind of the H0 equivalence of the Classical Era.
-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."
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3533 ~
Member Since: February 17 2014 ~
Last Visit: January 11 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 18 2019 : 7:57:07 PM
|
what I like about Heritage Units
is that I think of them as a "what if the railroad existed today?" hehe
Course I'd LOVE to see The Rock (would do that irl on a real loco) Milwaukee Road & any of the ones that BNSF has merged into
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 14908 ~
Member Since: February 23 2009 ~
Last Visit: June 18 2025
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 18 2019 : 9:23:37 PM
|
On the subject of plastic gears, I have some very old Mantua locomotives with plastic gears, and I've never seen a split gear in one. I don't know what kind of plastic they used, nor what molding techniques. I was just looking at the mold parting line on a Mantua worm, so I know they're molded and not machined, but still they don't split.
On the other hand, I have an old Marx drive with a split gear, and there's a lot of talk about some of the more recent LifeLike and Bachmann stuff with split gears. Fifty years after Mantua made plastic gears to last the ages, our technologically advanced age can't make one that'll last the time it spends on the store shelf?
Carpe Manana!
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 2406 ~
Member Since: September 17 2013 ~
Last Visit: June 18 2025
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 18 2019 : 9:25:32 PM
|
quote:On the subject of plastic gears, I have some very old Mantua locomotives with plastic gears, and I've never seen a split gear in one. I don't know what kind of plastic they used, nor what molding techniques. I was just looking at the mold parting line on a Mantua worm, so I know they're molded and not machined, but still they don't split.
On the other hand, I have an old Marx drive with a split gear, and there's a lot of talk about some of the more recent LifeLike and Bachmann stuff with split gears. Fifty years after Mantua made plastic gears to last the ages, our technologically advanced age can't make one that'll last the time it spends on the store shelf?
Originally posted by scsshaggy-November 18 2019: 9:23:37 PM
|
Absolutely agree!
"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
Youtube Channel: www.youtube.com/rpmodelrailroads
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/rp_model_railroads/
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 4669 ~
Member Since: August 11 2017 ~
Last Visit: July 20 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 20 2019 : 11:56:37 PM
|
Mike
|
Country:  Canada ~
Posts: 1586 ~
Member Since: December 07 2007 ~
Last Visit: June 12 2025
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 22 2019 : 4:46:16 PM
|
I just discovered my Varney Lil Joe has a fabric wire inside of it instead of a traditional smooth wire (whatever it's called ). I looked on H0seeker, and it seems that after about 1948, the wires were changed to the more modern style from the old fabric wire. So, this engine (based on my findings) may very well be from anywhere between 1941 and 1947.I could be wrong though, but it does seem that is the case so far. So, if that's the case (and even if it's not), it's amazing that this thing is still going strong even though it's more that 70 years old.
-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."
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 3533 ~
Member Since: February 17 2014 ~
Last Visit: January 11 2023
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
|
|
Posted - November 24 2019 : 10:56:17 AM
|
| Great detective work!
|
|
Country: USA ~
Posts: 11501 ~
Member Since: December 09 2013 ~
Last Visit: June 07 2025
|
Alert Moderator
|
|
Home
Forums
Events Calendar
Forum Admins & Mods
Register
