Weekend Photos - April 2023

[RBH29]

Based on the context, I always thought it meant something similar to "And there you go." I have no idea about what Bob has to do with it. Does it mean something else?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Based on the context, I always thought it meant something similar to "And there you go." I have no idea about what Bob has to do with it. Does it mean something else?

"Bob's your Uncle" is a Brit phrase that translates to "and there it is", or "and there you have it", etc.

[gregj410]

Ok enough of the Bob’s your uncle stuff although I’m going to have to use that one on my daughter who says ‘Nobody says that dad’ about any of my cliches

Sarge’s caboose looks amazing, nice scene too! I like the plywood over the window and the weathering is tastefully done. Is that his work?

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Ok enough of the Bob’s your uncle stuff although I’m going to have to use that one on my daughter who says ‘Nobody says that dad’ about any of my cliches

Thing is, just about everyone seems to have an Uncle Bob,

Sarge’s caboose looks amazing, nice scene too! I like the plywood over the window and the weathering is tastefully done. Is that his work?

Most probably. For one that claims his own scenery work and all is not that good, it is quite good and well done.

[healey36]

That cab started as a partially-completed Weaver "Northeastern" model which had a bit of conversion work started on it. It was little more than a box of pieces when he got it. Sarge finished adding the windows on the ends (which the previous owner had begun), installed blanks on others, then added all of the wire grabs and bits, changed out the trucks, then painting, lettering, and a bit of judicious weathering.

Weathering is a skill for sure. Subtlety is the key, at least to my mind, and his methods yield nice results. I have an MTH L-1 that he weathered for me; looks just lovely. I need to get that out and back on the track (like so many things).

[healey36]

Went over to the indoor flea-market out of boredom. The vendor spaces were sold out and the place was packed. Saw a few friends while wandering around. Picked up a couple of railroad-themed items, a Victronix pen-knife manufactured as a promotional item for CSX Intermodal, and a Pennsy spanner culled from a tub of tools:



Two bucks all in. A good walk spoiled.

[healey36]

One hundred years ago, the Easter egg roll at the White House, April 2, 1923:



Courtesy of the Library of Congress.

A decade later, Lionel produced this:



Legend has it that they manufactured and sold these as a novelty item, trying to generate some desperately needed cash to supplement lagging electric and mechanical train sales. I've seen a few over the years, and they are often in pretty rough shape. They likely weren't expected to last much past the holiday.

Anyway, hope the rabbit was good to ya.

[gregj410]

That’s an interesting piece. Don’t know if I’ve ever seen one of those before. I remember a few years back when Lionel was at York they had this roller coaster type apparatus they were marketing. I remember thinking Lionel just needs to stick with marketing trains; what they’re known for. I wonder if people felt the same way when that was produced. It’s much closer to a train than that roller coaster thing they were marketing. Don’t know what ever became of that. Thanks for sharing and the rabbit was good to me. Nodding off in a diabetic coma now

[healey36]

Yup, they are kinda neat. There are a number of different versions of the handcar, the first featuring Mickey and Minnie, but they followed with Pluto/Donald Duck, Santa/Mickey/Christmas-Tree, Santa/Christmas-Tree, and Peter Rabbit/Basket. They're tough to find in decent shape, as the figures were molded out of some sort of fibrous-plasticine type of material that didn't hold up very well.

The history says Lionel first entered into a marketing agreement with Disney around 1934 and started cranking out the Mickey/Minnie version. Lionel was desperate to generate some cash-flow as toy train sales were rather depressed. I think they sold for a buck back in the day; seems cheap, but actually not an insignificant amount given the state of the American economy in 1934. I think my grandfather was making about twelve bucks per week in the mid-1930s.

Schylling took the idea and made their own version two or three decades back. I got one for my daughter:



Schylling made their figures out of some sort of plastic, so likely to out last her (and me). Unlike many modern repro wind-ups, the mechanism is pretty nice. It runs well on two or three rail O-gauge tinplate track. Some of the mechanisms used in other repro tin toys are pretty awful.

[healey36]

Wburg Pete sent me a few photos of his fine narrow-gauge layout to share...check 'em out:













The layout runs on On30 track, uses both On3 and On30 rolling stock that is all equipped with Kadee On3 couplers at On3 height. They can run 4 trains at once using a NCE 10 an mp system. All locos are DCC with sound systems.

I'll leave Pete to fill in any additional details or answer any questions.

Thanks for the photos, Pete...the layout looks grand.

[Wburg Pete]

Healey,
Thanks for posting the photos for me!!
Pete

[sarge]

I am not a habitual poster here anymore, but this really gets my attention.

Pete, I have to complement you! This looks to be a model of a well-maintained operation running through towns that people actually live and work in.

How refreshing and rare to see, rather than the cliché run-down faeces-hole that narrow gaugers (and short-line people) love to caricature, every automobile 2/3rds of a Model T in the front yard with a tree growing through the frame, scenes with some bewhiskered jug-swilling idiot sitting on the front porch (with half the planks missing) of a wood shack playing the banjo, and the eaves of the roof broken, rusted corrugated tin and torn tarpaper everywhere, and nobody on the entire scene owns a paintbrush, a sharp saw, a square, a straight-edge, or a chalkbox, let alone a level.

This is just really nice to see. Well done!

[v8vega]

Sometimes i see features of highly acclaimed layouts in Model Railroader magazines where everything is grey.

[Rufus T. Firefly]

Indeed, a very nice presentation!

How refreshing and rare to see, rather than the cliché run-down faeces-hole that narrow gaugers (and short-line people) love to caricature............

Completely agree - so tired of all that nonsense........

......some bewhiskered jug-swilling idiot sitting on the front porch (with half the planks missing) of a wood shack....

Have had a few neighbors up in PA that that does describe,

[gregj410]

Pete’s work has always been top notch. I can remember when he had a beautiful 3 rail layout he tore down before he built his On30 layout. Nice work!