Standard Gauge stuff

[E7]

At 42 inches, it's a bit big for a round-the-tree loop. Gotta think of something.

A great find for sure! You could always store the two lead in ramps and only use the bridge section which is really the focal point! This stuff has a charm the the later production just doesn't possess.

[healey36]

Found eight pieces of three-tie standard gauge track on eBay for five bucks (plus another ten for shipping). While I'm not sure of the manufacturer, it fits perfectly, so it might be early Lionel.



I've seen folks use the center-span exclusively on a layout, Greg. It works pretty well, but you have to have a tailored place for it where it sits a bit below track-level. I took all of the standard gauge off my layout years ago, so this thing, if it ever gets used, will be on the carpet.

The next question is, how do you bend the track-pins so they have the correct angle for each section of bridge/track?

[E7]

Healey, My first thought would be pliers with non-serrated (smooth) blades. You could also drill holes into hardwood (slightly larger than the diameter of the pins, to the depth where want the bend to be. Stick the pin in and bend away. There are any number of ways you could bring pressure against the pin at that point. Depends on how particular you are about the "cosmetics" of the pin.

Rich

[healey36]

I was just thinking of putting the pins in the bench vise and give them a few gentle raps with a hammer. Maybe I should rethink that, as your approach seems a bit more refined, lol.

[healey36]

Someone suggested using pins fashioned from an old wire clothes hanger, being quite a bit more malleable and easier to cut/bend than original track pins. I found an old one in the hall closet of a suitable gauge, but it has some sort of plastic coating on it that I'll have to strip. Looks do-able.

[healey36]

I picked up this early 517 caboose years ago from someplace. I bought it as a potential replacement for a late nickel-trim red version that I got in an MTH set of brass-trimmed 500-series freights. A few scuffs, a minor dent in the roof...glad it never went into the strip-and-repaint pile:





Needs a good clean and polish.

[J. S. Bach]

It must be a very minor dent, I do not see it!

[healey36]

In the second picture, there's a slight bend along the edge of the roof at the front of the cupola. Certainly not worth trying to straighten.

[WindyPines-1810]

Nice piece...

I've dabbled in Standard Gauge a little; is there a "safe" way to straighten a bent coupler (like your caboose has) without snapping it off?

MM

[J. S. Bach]

In the second picture, there's a slight bend along the edge of the roof at the front of the cupola. Certainly not worth trying to straighten.

Now I see it, and I agree with you about straightening it.

[healey36]

Nice piece...

I've dabbled in Standard Gauge a little; is there a "safe" way to straighten a bent coupler (like your caboose has) without snapping it off?

MM

I have used two pair of needle-nosed pliers to straighten these in the past. One can usually get enough of a grip to gently bend them back into their approximate original shape.

One thing I've noticed, on most of the originals the latch bit has a spring that will hold it in place once two are coupled together. I've never seen a repro version that includes the spring, so things are more likely to become uncoupled once replaced. I try to get the originals back into shape rather than use a repro (unless they are just terribly rusty or hopelessly twisted).

Then there's the question of how did they get so bent in the first place...

[ScaleCraft]

Nice piece...

I've dabbled in Standard Gauge a little; is there a "safe" way to straighten a bent coupler (like your caboose has) without snapping it off?

MM

I have used two pair of needle-nosed pliers to straighten these in the past. One can usually get enough of a grip to gently bend them back into their approximate original shape.

One thing I've noticed, on most of the originals the latch bit has a spring that will hold it in place once two are coupled together. I've never seen a repro version that includes the spring, so things are more likely to become uncoupled once replaced. I try to get the originals back into shape rather than use a repro (unless they are just terribly rusty or hopelessly twisted).

Then there's the question of how did they get so bent in the first place...

A) dropped.
B) shipping (see A above).

[healey36]

Or the constant packing/unpacking from traipsing this stuff from one train show to the next. People say, "Oh, I don't repaint if a piece has a few chips/dings; that's the character of the piece." My question is, how many of those scrapes, chips, dings, bends were caused by the huckster schlepping it back and forth trying to unload it, rather than some kid playing with it under the Christmas tree back in 1938.

[E7]

My question is, how many of those scrapes, chips, dings, bends were caused by the huckster schlepping it back and forth trying to unload it, rather than some kid playing with it under the Christmas tree back in 1938.

Interesting thought, that. I'm not familiar with this stuff, but I'm guessing the gauge of the steel used in original pieces is substantial.......correct?

[healey36]

The steel is a decent gauge, but the solder joints, in my experience, are pretty fragile. Lionel seems a consistently sturdy product, Flyer and Ives a bit less so. As far as locos go, AF and Ives stuck with cast iron much longer than the guys in New Jersey, so their stuff is much less likely to survive a drop on the floor.

When you look at 1930s-era Lionel tinplate rolling stock, I think that stuff was dipped in paint rather than a spray or brush paint application. Lionel’s paint seems quite a bit heavier, therefore more durable. The other guys, not so much. Some Flyer stuff loses half it’s paint over the years, especially if handled without much care or packed poorly. What’s weird is it seems dependent on the piece. Flyer prewar tank cars seem to suffer a lot of paint loss, box cars and gondolas fare much better.

I don’t know, environment means a lot. I see dealers drag stuff show-to-show with cars just piled in a box, lurching around, unpack, repack...ugh, it’s like carrying stuff around in a rock tumbler