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 Posted - December 11 2010 : 4:57:24 PM
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In Virginia, there was the TCA show in Fairfax, VA , one day only. In Fredericksburg, VA there is a show at the Armory, 10th and 11th. I hit both today, and got some GREAT HO deals ( and even a fantastic TT switch deal!   )
Starting with the TCA show, which is mostly large scale, but I've found guys dumping their HO or selling HO for others, you can get some great bargains, and today was no exception. I bought a Marx #10 Hustler engine for $10 from one guy, darn near mint. Next vendor had some all-metal cars, I wound up paying about $10 apiece for those, some Revell cars as well. I should have bought his UP Husky Lionel Hustler, but at $20, I balked, and when I came back later, it was gone ( missing the bottom plate, as most are ). Found a Piko french engine with pantagraph, $15, sort of like a Broken nose, but not quite. He also had a nice N gauge Reading Hustler, $15, so I got that ( that makes two N gauge Hustlers I have now ) Another vendor was selling Roundhouse kits already built for a friend, all had Kadee's on them, for $5 each, I bought 5 of them. They were REAL nicely done. At the end of my circuit there, maybe an hour, I'd spend $100 but walked out with some nice stuff for reasonable prices. I was thrilled!
Next stop, 40 miles south to Fredericksburg, VA and the Armory. Got there about 12:45 PM, and ate some lunch in the parking lot. Arby's, ummmmmm! Anyway ,had my strength back, so went in, paid my entry fee, and proceeded to check out the vintage stuff. Another small show, but well worth the trip, as you'll find out momentarily. I bought some Tyco and model power items at one vendor, went down the next aisle, hmm, some buildings...a KFC! Needed some work, looked like a slum district building, guy wanted $5 for it....SOLD! He also had some Playart ? Amtrak streamliner train set, 3 cars, with the nose that lights up. $5 per car/engine. I bought all 3. Nice! Has the plastic cheap pantagraph , but I like the turbo train look of it.  Around the next aisle, I spot a box with some switches....TT gauge switches! $50 firm for all . Turns out there were 15 in there, the ties are cardboard, and some were falling apart. But to even find TT, much less useable, is incredible. I passed for the moment, then went down the next aisle. Nothing there, so back up the previous, and checked the switches out. After checking my wallet, I had enough to buy them. While I don't have much TT, I do have some track and a set of Euro cars and engine. Finding 15 switches in TT is like finding...a box full of tyco Bubbleyum trucks? I had to get them, that worked out to about $3.50 apiece, literally a steal for TT stuff. I figure I could probably lay custom ties and redo some of them eventually if I wanted to. Seller said 10 could be made usable. So I think it's a worthwhile investment. Left with $10 in my pocket, after having spent a little less than $200 total today on trains ( my wife would KILL me if she found out! LOL ). But the deals were too good to pass up.
Pictures will be posted on Sunday of my 3 gauge acquisitions. I'm rather pleased with them all, having found some revell, ac gilbert, and other low-volume makers. Very sweet indeed. If you've never considered going to a TCA event, you might want to reconsider, as there's always some HO and N there for sale, maybe not a huge amount, but the deals can be nice. Was a good day for me! All for now,
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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Posted - December 12 2010 : 1:16:52 PM
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PICTURES POSTED - Dec 12th
Got some pictures of my purchases, and need some help ID'ing some of them. I've mixed the two show purchases, so won't keep'em separate. Anyway, here goes. Engines first -
here's all the engines I got. None over $15 each. I like that Streamliner Amtrak set, $5 each engine or car. I've got a blue and white version by Playart, not sure if these are, they say Made in Macau, not Playart. Same bodies, though. The Marx Hustler is sweet, $15 ( I said 10 yesterday, I think ) The little Reading Hustler was also 15.
I like the eletric engine, french maybe? It's a CPS ES4990001. I'll look it up online. $15 for it.
Closeup on the Amtrak units. The plastic pantagraphs are bent up some. Oh well.
Size differential between N and HO Hustlers. my 2nd N gauge hustler. The first ran, but jerky, so I took it apart and added more lead weight to it, it runs much better, just too light.
Here's 5 nicely done Roundhouse cars, each $5. Heck, you can't put Kadee's on a car that cheap hardly. All very sharp and well put together, a steal.
Here's all the misc. cars I got. Some metal, some plastic, some a mix. The hoppers I can't ID yet.
This Revell Maintenance car is great, it's got a screen door molded in , and off -kilter to boot! Even has the turnbuckle and cable door bracing detail embedded. Just really detailed NICE from the factory! Revell spent time doing their models.
An AC Gilbert all-metal caboose, needs some new truck parts. Not sure if it's been repainted, or was crude like it shows. Paint looks thick.
C&O hopper, all metal. Has operating doors. No maker listed, can anyone ID it? Very nice shape.
This Reading hopper has metal bottom and ends, but detailed cardboard sides. Has opening doors, but rather crude. No idea of maker, anyone ID it?
My $5 KFC purchase. Missing one side glass, top roof pillar, and probably other details. Make a good slum district KFC. LOL
\
Others not pictured was a blue Gerber boxcar, I gave that to a club member last night, who's been collecting those. Also a bag of lights and details I got for $2. No Tyco lights, though. Oh, yeah, I bought a box-lot of N gauge track for $5, and it had a few slot car parts in there, a Tyco hand throttle, and one slot car chassis, complete, and a spare motor. Oh, yes, and the 15 ( I still can't believe I scored those ) TT gauge turnouts, some need work or total rebuild, but 10 are usable, for $50, my most expensive purchase, but worth it for the pieces I got. I'm glad I did both events, it was well worth it for the pieces I bought there.
So, that's it, hope you enjoyed the show, and can help me ID those hopper cars. All for now,
Jerry
So, for two events in one day, 40 miles apart, I did rather well I think.
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
Edited by - AMC_Gremlin_GT on December 12 2010 1:17:18 PM
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 Posted - December 12 2010 : 2:02:44 PM
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Hi AMC_Gremlin_GT,
Nice! two shows in one day. I'm lucky to get in one show a year, if that.
I really like the Marx Hustler. I'm just wondering if the curved stripes came on a real Hustler, as they seem to be on all the Hustler models I see.
The Gilbert caboose looks like it has been painted for sure.
Nice finds
Mike
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Posted - December 12 2010 : 2:38:17 PM
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is the Amtrak passenger set HO? I The noses resemble the Japanese turbo train  Always look on bottom for the maker's mark
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Posted - December 12 2010 : 4:12:51 PM
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quote:is the Amtrak passenger set HO? I The noses resemble the Japanese turbo train Always look on bottom for the maker's mark
Originally posted by microbusss - December 12 2010 : 2:38:17 PM
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Yes, they're HO....and Macau is not a manufacturer, it's a place. Model Power might have had a run of these as well as Playart. Just not sure.
Jerry
" When life throws you bananas...it's easy to slip up"
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