Model Train Journal

First photo post of 2018!

Hope everyone had a happy new year & holiday. I spent the week in TN so not much on the train front. I did get the new Madison Hardware book for Christmas & a couple of freight cars. The book is very good, I recommend picking it up.

In other big news, the photos below are the last ones of my layout. Spent last weekend starting to rip it down. I know, I know lol. Our family is expanding in the spring & we need the room the trains are in. I am building a smaller one in the office. As long as trains are running, I'm happy. Lorenzo personally picked all the accessories that I'll be using on this new layout. He was very instrumental in the design

New motive power in the form of Lionel's first MPC era GP - the 8030 IC GP9 & the 1978 SS set found there way to my rails last week. The IC is riding on a PW frame.







2026 on the upper level -



Lorenzo & Giovanna enjoying some of the action





While we were in TN last week, we stopped by TVRM for a bit & did some railfanning for a bit ( bless my wife)










CSX SD70MAC 4727 leads Q145 out of downtown Atlanta


Running LHF, NS SD60E 7032 (rebuilt from NS SD60 6514 (former CNW 8013) leads 83G through Eckman, WV

The Old Man had the earlier version of the 2026, a 2-6-2 that was based on the prewar 1666. It seemed to me that wheel arrangement always looked a bit better balanced than the 2-6-4 Adriatic set-up of the later version, plus it had wire handrails.



I have a 2018 I run occasionally...same casting as the 2026/2037, but without magnetraction. I seem to recall there was a 2016 as well, but that was a 2-4-2 maybe...?

Looks sharp Christopher!

Healey

healey36 wrote:The Old Man had the earlier version of the 2026, a 2-6-2 that was based on the prewar 1666. It seemed to me that wheel arrangement always looked a bit better balanced than the 2-6-4 Adriatic set-up of the later version, plus it had wire handrails.



I have a 2018 I run occasionally...same casting as the 2026/2037, but without magnetraction. I seem to recall there was a 2016 as well, but that was a 2-4-2 maybe...?

Looks sharp Christopher! AGREED!!

Healey

Healey,
Question from a mostly Marx runner:
Will a 2026 run on O27 or does it need an O31 radius?

Thanks,

Jim K

both 2026s, 2018, 2016, 2029 & 2037 will run on 027 w/ no issues.

All of those are 2-6-4 except the early 2026 which was a 2-6-2

There is one thing for certain.3 young ones that have the best father this world has to offer.

Keep up the good work Christopher and keep posting the pictures. It's very enjoyable.

Jim, as Christopher said, the 2026 was designed to be O-27 capable. The Old Man's layout featured O-31 curves (Lionel O-gauge track) but we kids would frequently run the 2026 on O-27 track on the living room carpet.

This might be Lionel mythology but my understanding was that, at least for PW steamers, four-digit loco numbers were O-27 capable while three-digit loco's were best suited for O-gauge (O-31). That might be a bunch of baloney, especially when considering the Scout and other low-end stuff came with both three and four-digit loco numbers. Theoretically, using this scheme, a 675 was O-gauge while the 2025 and 2035 were O-27.

Healey

675 and 2025 are identical (other than the number). The three digit vrs four digit number doesn't mean much on this engine as the wheel base and drive flanges can handle tighter radius O-27 with no problems.

Today as a big day. Almost 5 years from the first check being cashed my wife got her naturalization. It was 6 weeks shy of 10 year process. After the ceremony we headed over to the Reading terminal. Lunch and donuts. Lunch was meh. Donuts the best ever. This place(Beiler's) by far the best i ever tasted. It's a bit of a strange place. They sell donuts pickles,pickled eggs and pickled salads. It's a place where pregnant women and fat man gorge themselves.What could be better then a dozen warm donuts and a dozen purple pickled eggs?

robert. wrote: ...snip... It was 6 weeks shy of 10 year process. ...snip...

Wow, ten years? It took my ex-wife about a year or maybe a just little longer for that process. I was amazed at some of the hoops that she/we had to jump through but overall it was a relatively smooth process. If anyone wants to know, she was from Latacunga, Ecuador.

J. S. Bach wrote:

robert. wrote: ...snip... It was 6 weeks shy of 10 year process. ...snip...

Wow, ten years? It took my ex-wife about a year or maybe a just little longer for that process. I was amazed at some of the hoops that she/we had to jump through but overall it was a relatively smooth process. If anyone wants to know, she was from Latacunga, Ecuador.

I'm going to guess that was before 2009. In 2009 us closed a military base there. The people of Slovakia wont allow a us military base in their country. They fill it would place them in the middle of a USA and Ukraine fight. The Czech republic has a base. Their people get quicker Citizenship. That's the word on the street. Who knows if its true. Also sept.11 made things harder.

HONDO74 wrote:There is one thing for certain.3 young ones that have the best father this world has to offer.

Keep up the good work Christopher and keep posting the pictures. It's very enjoyable.

Thanks! I appreciate that

Congratulations Robert!

Yes, do keep up the good work Christopher!

George

healey36 wrote:I have a 2018 I run occasionally...same casting as the 2026/2037, but without magnetraction. I seem to recall there was a 2016 as well, but that was a 2-4-2 maybe...?

2016 was the same casting as the 2026/2037, but no Magne-traction or smoke. It was the least of the line. 2036 had no smoke, but did have M-T. 637 was the same as the 2037, but was sold in O/Super O sets.

There were two versions of the 2029, which was the last of the line. Earlier ones were US made. Those from 1968 and 1969 were made in Japan.

christopher2035 wrote:

I really like that Theater!

Sure does look like their having a blast!!

Since I don’t have a permanent layout set up anymore (maybe again some day...) but here’s another shot from the under the tree.

@Christopher does that Pacemaker look familiar?