Week End Photos, December 2024

[RBH29]

You even had matching booties for your striped pajamas - stylin'! What happened to the Christmas tree stand with tunnel this year?

[healey36]

You even had matching booties for your striped pajamas - stylin'! What happened to the Christmas tree stand with tunnel this year?

Life got in the way and I never got to building "Tunnel Tree-Stand Rev-2". It has slipped to the project list for 2025. I did make a template that will expand the tunnel width/height to properly allow for trains to round the curve unimpeded. That was a problem with Rev-1. The revised tunnel dimensions should not expand the overall footprint much, if at all.

I was a sharp dresser as a kid...women swooned over me until I was about seven, then crickets.

[healey36]

I went down to the basement yesterday to get a new cutting disk for the Dremel that I keep in a bin under the workbench, and while down there I noticed the company had put up the station Christmas tree:



Place looks pretty desolate, but that'll start to change next week. They are expecting a big crush of holiday travelers.

[healey36]

A shot of the 290E set circling the tree:



The set is all original except for the caboose, which is a repaint, the first I ever did. I kinda learned how to take these things apart, strip, repaint, re-letter, and reassemble using this one as a test. Probably 30 years ago, that was a time when I wanted stuff to look like new...could care less now. Every mark/chip/ding is noted as a blemish from its travels.

[healey36]

I remember wanting a set-up similar to this (of course having a grade crossing would have been optimal):



Never had any HO stuff, though; O, O-27, S, and N-gauge. The Old Man dabbled in HO, building a bunch of the Mantua kits back in the 1950s and later a decent sized shelf layout that sadly never saw completion. We had fun though...

[webenda]

The brass boxcar gets lowered.

[healey36]

Looking much better, Wayne.

Got a couple scale inches of snow on the basement layout tonight, just enough to throw a panic into the passengers looking to board the last express out of Lionelville:



No worries, though; they should be home a little before Midnight this Christmas Eve. Might even get a glimpse of Red One passing through.

As Tom McComas would say, "Merry Christmas everyone...Merry Christmas!"

[webenda]

Nice looking snow.

I was in a train station that had one large room with nothing in it except pictures on the walls. Your train station at night brings back that memory.

[healey36]

Thanks, Wayne. I've tried a number of "snows" to temporary cover on the layout and this stuff by Modern Miltex Corp. seems to work/look best. It's made of finely ground styrofoam, provides a nice white glint in color, doesn't seem too susceptible to static, and vacuums up easily. I've had the stuff for ages; can't remember where it came from. It looks much better than the stuff that was in a scenic set that Dept. 56 sold; that stuff looked like shredded up plastic. It was very coarse in texture and never really looks good.

Yeah, the Lionel station is vacant of furnishings (as are all of them). I've thought about making a drop-in interior with a ticket booth, benches, etc., maybe a good project for 2025.

What did everyone get for Christmas? We went noticeably lighter in volume this year...other than a couple of McComas DVD's, the only 3-rail item was this NOS MPC-era F3 in SP colors:



Can't recall where I found this, but I gave it to the wife to give me for Christmas. Figured it might be a good head-end alternative for the MTH Bantam Daylight set I have.

[webenda]

What did everyone get for Christmas?

I got COVID-19.

NOS MPC-era F3 in SP colors... ...I gave it to the wife to give me for Christmas.

So that's how you get what you want.

[healey36]

NOS MPC-era F3 in SP colors... ...I gave it to the wife to give me for Christmas.

So that's how you get what you want.

I've been doing that for years...York purchases, use-specific tools, they all frequently turn up as gifts under the Christmas tree. She says I'm difficult to shop for (not in my opinion).

Take care of yourself...hopefully a quick bout with Covid, then back on your feet.

[gregj410]

Nice to see Paul and some others are keep things alive over here. Pops PW set finally found a substantial presence in the house for Christmas this year. Built the basic structure in November, a quick coat of paint and some basic snow covering this year. Hoping to improvise a little each Christmas. However pops 2055 is popping the breaker now so I guess repairs are in order to be up and running by next Christmas. Anyone know a reliable source for repairing a treasured and sentimental 2055?

https://youtube.com/shorts/C25ykQDEnpg? ... heysQ7FMZW

[ScaleCraft]

Video doesn't help diagnose. Have you tried just the engine, to make sure the wires from tender pickups through frame aren't broken or suffering insulation rot? Usually e-unit does not cause shorts.
Caboose light wiring?
Armature shaft oiled?

[gregj410]

Video doesn't help diagnose. Have you tried just the engine, to make sure the wires from tender pickups through frame aren't broken or suffering insulation rot? Usually e-unit does not cause shorts.
Caboose light wiring?
Armature shaft oiled?

In the video there were no problems. I had it running for 10 minutes and came back to run it again and that’s wear the problem began. I placed the engine only on the track and it still tripped. I haven’t checked the armature to see if it’s properly oiled. Maybe I should try that first.

[healey36]

Anyone know a reliable source for repairing a treasured and sentimental 2055?

Sadly, both of my go-to repair resources are no longer available, so I've been looking around as well. I picked up a card for C&D Train Repair at the local show here in Westminster. They are the repair resource for Seaside Hobbies in Ocean View, Delaware (not sure if that is close to you, Greg...you're on the DelMarVa, aren't you?). I've not used them, but I might give them a call regarding my grandfather's Flyer 1096 that has unresolved issues. I attach a copy of their card with contact info.

I think I read a new shop has opened in Thurmont, Maryland, that offers repair services; I might check them out. Catoctin Mountain Trains, formerly located in Thurmont, repaired a number of MTH DOA's for me, but they closed a few years ago. Otherwise, I'll just ask around. I can fix most stuff myself, but every once in awhile I get a stumper.

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