Model Train Journal

I might get banished for asking this; but why is there so much discussion in this forum (2 rail) regarding eBay and the O Gauge Railroading forum?

It seems to me that those types of talking points should be in the "crew lounge", no?

If you don't like either of those sites, just ignore them; I would have thought this group is for sharing information about...well, 2 rail model railroading.

With that in mind, this is what I'm currently working on:



...unknown brass hopper and a Scale Craft flat.

Mark in Oregon

WindyPines-1810 wrote:With that in mind, this is what I'm currently working on:

...unknown brass hopper and a Scale Craft flat.

Watcha' doin' to them?

Could that hopper be an Arvid Anderson (..sen?)? I once found a complete rtr ERIE one at a show for $15.00; it was in a Weaver ERIE box in amongst a bunch of other $15.00 Weaver hoppers.

Rufus T. Firefly wrote:

WindyPines-1810 wrote:With that in mind, this is what I'm currently working on:

...unknown brass hopper and a Scale Craft flat.

Watcha' doin' to them?

The flat car was lacking trucks, couplers and the brake wheel. For that, I'm simply making it operational and will leave the original finish as is.

The hopper need some soldering repair, trucks and couplers; dunno what I'm gonna do to it, finish-wise.

Mark

J. S. Bach wrote:Could that hopper be an Arvid Anderson (..sen?)? I once found a complete rtr ERIE one at a show for $15.00; it was in a Weaver ERIE box in amongst a bunch of other $15.00 Weaver hoppers.

I'm not sure, but I don't think it's Anderson: I have one of those, and the truck bolsters are soldered brass; the car in the photo has plastic(?) bolsters that are held in place with screws...I put some really nice KTM trucks under it.

Mark

Nice hopper, I'm going to guess Railcraft? Look forward to seeing the finished product.
Rufus didn't you buy a rough pair of similar hoppers from the RMCA club pile?

De Bruin wrote:Nice hopper, I'm going to guess Railcraft? Look forward to seeing the finished product.
Rufus didn't you buy a rough pair of similar hoppers from the RMCA club pile?

Yes, but this is much nicer with those center interior braces.

the car in the photo has plastic(?) bolsters that are held in place with screws

Plastic bolsters (black?) tends to tell me this is a later USH car......but seeing the underbody would help.
Could very well be an upgraded car from.........

WindyPines-1810 wrote:I might get banished for asking this; but why is there so much discussion in this forum (2 rail) regarding eBay and the O Gauge Railroading forum?

No, you likely won't get banished, but the group already has a Moderator, and a VERY good one.

WindyPines-1810 wrote:It seems to me that those types of talking points should be in the "crew lounge", no? If you don't like either of those sites, just ignore them; I would have thought this group is for sharing information about...well, 2 rail model railroading.

As mentioned above, the site already has a Moderator. To paraphrase a new member: If you don't like posts about Ebay and OGR, just ignore them. Some of us find them interesting/amusing/informative, as in "I never knew that item existed" or that OGR topic might be worth a look/amusing and sometimes just for a good laugh.

You haven't been around long enough to know it's the "Club Car", not "Crew Lounge", maybe you should hold off a while before revising the Forum.

The easiest action if you're not interested in a topic is to move on.

Rich is correct so far as Ebay being grist for relevant discussions here regarding models listed therein, I have to admit (and guilty as charged) I pile on though with some of the absurdities wandering Caveat Emptor Land. Rest assured though I for one thought your questions Mark, were relevant and did not see it as any attempt at "revising the forum."
As an side I get more feedback on my posts on OGR than I do here. I don't post on 3-rail forums unless it's specific to that long ago attempt at scale 3-rail (Gargraves) experience or ancient pile of Marx/Lionel. I know there's good modeling going in the scale 3-rail realm and I respect it, but it's just a matter of scope control, as in too much media to bother with.
My opinion he can say whatever he likes here just as the rest of us.
Crew Lounge, Club car, who cares, I know what he meant, and my opinion he's not wrong.

Maybe a better and more simplistic solution is just read what you find of interest and forget about the rest, the only caveat being the topic is at least somehow related to 2 rail trains.

Well, this one is apparently all 3-Rail, but I opened it out of boredom. Man, if I did plastic, I would have a train of these!

https://ogrforum.ogaugerr.com/topic/let ... 9534183227

There are some serious modelers who can handle rather ugly track. I am impressed.

And here I take on DaveScale Craft’s persona - this is a genuine International UP Challenger offered not only at roughly ten times its market value, but also as a genuine 1939 World’s Fair model, roughly copying the Lobaugh model of the same era.

I am not sure, but I believe International was 100% postwar Japan.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/134906886042?h ... R4rkuMSpYw

Seller might be D Schmitt - he was asking questions on cs.trains forum, and as near as I can figure, used my photos posted here, but thankfully called them Bob Jones models, and from there decided that his was a copy of Lobaugh for the fair.

Edit: Don Schmidt was just trying to help. Here is the original post, by someone else:

Scale Locomotive from 1939 World's Fair - Need help with ID
Posted by beachmlb on Monday, December 24, 2012 4:32 PM
My grandfather gave me a scale locomotive (and tender) that was used in the model train display at the 1904 World's Fair in St. Louis. It has no markings on it, except for the 3939 number. I have no idea who the manufacturer was. Does anybody has any suggestions on how to find out more about this locomotive and perhaps how to validate it? Thanks for your help.

From the date, I would say that mr. beachmlb is no longer the owner, and the seller is an eBay pro. Asking $4300, reduced from $4900. The guy has good reviews. This one is stretching it - most of his models are offered at only double the market. He has a Scale Craft K4 for $500 and a similar priced Varney ten-wheeler. He might get those prices. All of his sales start with "reduced from . . ."

It is more likely that the Treasure Island exposition ran western RR models - and that, by today’s standards, they were fairly crude - not as good as contemporary Lobaugh.

Here is a 1939 Treasure Island model locomotive. We have no idea who built it, but it is indeed one of a kind, and a pretty good model for 1939. Personally, it would not fit in my collection, but neither would the more refined IMP Challenger in the above link.

Photo by Bud Cantlay, when he was maybe ten years old.

Maybe somebody should tell the seller of the Challenger that his model has a roller pickup for a center third rail, while the World's Fair layout was two-rail.

Or maybe not.

I did politely let him know it was a 1950s International, by the raised number and legend. He answered very politely and said that he could not correct the listing because he has offers. He also asked a few questions that I was unable to answer, like "why is this model so big."

I think most folks would never make an offer much lower than half the asking price - so my guess is that he has at least one offer in the neighborhood of a couple grand. If so, this will be a record, but we will never know.

This is an interesting sales technique - I suppose I could use it on my 1964 1/2 Mustang Convertible - " a knowledgable person told me it is among the first thousand Mustangs ever manufactured." My old buddy John Dill (RIP) used to use it without caveats - "This is an Ed Alexander locomotive." Nope - just another poorly constructed homebuilt.