Model Train Journal

webenda wrote:I wish you would stop posting them... they make me want to buy one of those beautiful restored or new locomotives.

Well, you can keep posting them, they provide the opportunity to practice for self-control.

You are getting sleepy, your eyelids are heavy, your mouse arrow is hovering over that engine on Feebay, you cannot resist!

Rich

It has been sleepy around here, eh?

From the archives, a Lionel 35 and 36 I cosmetically refurbished a looooooong time ago:


Lionel 35


Lionel 36

I never got around to rewiring the lighting...need to do that. Also have another 35 in pieces someone gave me...it's on the project list.

Healey

My guess is that before you re-did them they looked like junk.
In my opinion they are now beautiful model train cars.
I understand that some pieces of "junk" will sell for more in that
condition than after they are refurbished. Why?

To be honest, I've never understood that either, Roger. I don't see much value in a piece that retains some small percentage of its original paint, but then I'm an operator, not a collector. I will say that as I've gotten older and further down the road in finding stuff, I've grown somewhat reluctant to refurbish stuff. I don't need everything to look pristine...I've come to appreciate a few nicks and scratches, they are toys that were played with, after all.

The 35/36 were in very rough shape. I bought them from an old guy at a meet who had refurbished the 33 locomotive that went with them, but had never gotten around to the cars. At the time it seemed a good idea to finish what he started.

Standard gauge whilst travelling in the way-back machine:



Some serious 1930s coin to be seen here.

Healey

Yes! Very nice.
And your comment is very true.

healey36 wrote: ...snip... they are toys that were played with, after all. ...snip...

I remember a friend in Baltimore would set his standard gauge up around Christmastime on the floor and run it as it was meant to be. One year a local serious standard gauge collector heard about it and was invited over; he almost had a coronary when he saw us "playing" with the trains. He said words to the effect of "Those are valuable collectibles, why are you damaging them?" My friends answer "They toys, meant to be played with; we are playing with them!". The guy turned around and left. Good riddance!

Dave - Jacques Kelly, columnist for the Baltimore Sun, has a great standard gauge set-up in his Charles Village home's basement. Most of the stuff belonged to his father or grandfather. After nearly 100 years of use, it's far from pristine, but damn fun to see.

Paul

From the archives, a Franklin Mint Mercedes 300SL matched up with an MTH 9E:





I need to find a source for replacement tires for the Franklin Mint stuff. This one is pretty old and they are starting to crumble.

Healey

The ten-year licensing arrangement between Lionel and MTH for the production of Lionel Corp. branded toys expires in 2019, and MTH has announced that their production of those will end. See here:

https://mthtrains.com/news/618A

I suspect sales of reproduction tinplate have fallen to levels where it's no longer economically viable to produce it and pay Lionel its licensing fee. If production continues, it will most likely be branded "MTH Lines" as it was in the past. That's actually fine with me, because that's what it is. It would be great if MTH could muster up the where-with-all to produce some unique stuff, i.e. a 600E (4-6-4), or a tin SW-2 or something, but I suspect the economics of creating new tooling has passed.

Life goes on...

Healey

In 1982 we flew down to Orlando to go to Disney World. After Disney we drove down to Miami, We went to Cypress Gardens and down to Sarasota to see the "Lionel train and Seashell museum".This is one of the pictures I took while we were there and a link to a video that someone else took.

I believe that Richard P. Kughn bought the museum

Sarasota, FL Lionel Train Museum
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l3kfLfDbNLI

[img][/img]

Nice stuff. I always liked the 408, the sheer mass of it.

To some extent I figure Kughn "saved" the 3-rail toy train industry, while at the same time, he was an example of wretched excess.

Roger - Saw an example of your big Flyer wide-gauge bridge at York...asking price was $550.

Healey

healey36 wrote:Roger - Saw an example of your big Flyer wide-gauge bridge at York...asking price was $550.

Healey

WOW! Did it sell?