Weekend Photos - May 2025

[webenda]

Your 261 problem reminds me of my 2026.

[gregj410]

It can be heartbreaking to see them go, but the fact of the matter is that there are few with any interest in this stuff coming up behind us.

No truer words have ever been spoken. My buddy was a contractor for this couple in Cambridge for years. They were both white collar folks with no children. He passed and she was in a home. He called me to see if I had an interest in any of it. I took a gaggle of trees, salvaged the trestle bridge, some lamp posts and the wall sections you see in the photo and a few figures.
I felt a little bad walking over that layout and pillaging the remnants and the truth be told I’ll only use the trees and the lamps. Having buddies in the hobby I decided that maybe somehow I could preserve a part if this guys blood sweat and tears.

The wife’s friend who was managing the estate had a boyfriend who took what was suppose to be the good stuff, trains, buildings, track etc. I think he had ill intentions to be honest with know real place, or from what I could tell interest in model trains.

She was hoping someone would take that mountain section which actually looks better in person than the photos.

[G3750]

First attempt at weathering a slag car.

IMG_0854.JPEG (2.68 MiB) Viewed 8632 times

George

[gregj410]

Looks pretty good to me for an in service slag car! When I duck duck go ‘slag car’ most are out of service and have that rusty orange color. What’s your technique?

[G3750]

Looks pretty good to me for an in service slag car! When I duck duck go ‘slag car’ most are out of service and have that rusty orange color. What’s your technique?

Greg,

It's kind of a long and winding road. First, I used gray acrylic paint and a sponge brush to sloppily (it's what I do best ) coat the interior of the thimble. That looks like slag residue / dust. Then I covered the trucks and used flat black primer on the ends to paint over the white number. MTH has built a really nice slag car, but they painted it glossy black. That makes it look like it was just delivered (like 5 minutes ago) from the builder's shop.

Then, to avoid taking the trucks off (this is a complicated disassembly process), I covered them and sprayed flat black somewhat unevenly on each side. Then I applied Doc O' Brien's weathering powders. First, "Highlight White" went on the frame and part of the thimble. Then "Rusty Red" and "Rusty Brown" were applied to the thimble base, the car tilting end mechanism, and around the frame. Then I hit the whole thing with DullCote.

Make sure you rust the couplers and trucks.

George

[healey36]

That's the 261 on the left, the 249 on the right. You can see the screw position on the 249 is clearly visible, while that of the 261 is tucked up under the collector assembly.

Here are photos (from eBay) of a 261 and a 261E.

The mounting location looks the same as on your 249.

Hmmm, those pics almost look like the opposite of what I'm looking at, Wayne. The screw on the 261 I have here is tucked way up under the collector plate...you can't reach it without pulling the motor. As Sarge and I discussed while we were mucking around with this, there's no telling what's original and what's been tinkered with or replaced with the nearly hundred year-old trains. A couple of the ones I saw on eBay looked like someone had taken a grinder to the wheel-arches on the frame to improve clearances.

[healey36]

Yup, it's awful, Greg. A guy here in town, a former USN nuclear sub commander, recently diagnosed with dementia issues. He has a massive postwar collection that will need to go somewhere. Fortunately, his wife, who is overseeing his care, is also an antiques appraiser and archivist, so she likely has a pretty good grip on what she's dealing with down in the basement.

That said, I have no intention to preemptively jettison the stuff I have here (at least yet, lol). I told the wife that I'll leave 2-3 phone numbers of folks who can handle disposition. I also told her, worst case, I'll leave you a fourth number...that'll be a guy that can bring a roll-back.

[G3750]

Yup, it's awful, Greg. A guy here in town, a former USN nuclear sub commander, recently diagnosed with dementia issues. He has a massive postwar collection that will need to go somewhere. Fortunately, his wife, who is overseeing his care, is also an antiques appraiser and archivist, so she likely has a pretty good grip on what she's dealing with down in the basement.

That said, I have no intention to preemptively jettison the stuff I have here (at least yet, lol). I told the wife that I'll leave 2-3 phone numbers of folks who can handle disposition. I also told her, worst case, I'll leave you a fourth number...that'll be a guy that can bring a roll-back.

(roll-back).

George

[healey36]

Wayne, that 2026 pictured at the bottom is the one made during the years immediately following the war (1948-49). According to Greenberg, it was an update of the prewar 1666. The one at the top was made later (1951-53). It's a 2-6-4 Adriatic wheel arrangement. It used the same boiler casting as the 2016, 2018, 2029, 2036, 2037, and 637. Even the pink Girl's Train's 2037-500 used this boiler. Probably a bzillion of them out there. I know I have two, a 2036 and a 2037 waiting to be repaired, along with a 2018 made the year I was born.

[healey36]

George, your slag car looks appropriately well-worn to me. I've never seen a real one, but I suspect they look pretty similar.

Didn't someone make a slag car with a glowing load of muck in the bowl? Maybe I'm dreaming that...

[webenda]

Hmmm, those pics almost look like the opposite of what I'm looking at, Wayne.

I noticed that.

Wayne, that 2026 pictured at the bottom is the one made during the years immediately following the war (1948-49). According to Greenberg, it was an update of the prewar 1666. The one at the top was made later (1951-53). It's a 2-6-4 Adriatic wheel arrangement. It used the same boiler casting as the 2016, 2018, 2029, 2036, 2037, and 637. Even the pink Girl's Train's 2037-500 used this boiler. Probably a bzillion of them out there. I know I have two, a 2036 and a 2037 waiting to be repaired, along with a 2018 made the year I was born.

Ok.

[healey36]

Wayne, sometimes, most times as far as I'm concerned, common stuff can be advantageous. The 2036 I have is in nice cosmetic shape, but the motor is somehow wracked around to a point where the drivers won't all rest on the track. How can that happen? If dropped, one might think there's be some other stuff broken. Maybe a good whack with a hammer will sort it, lol.

Meanwhile, I have a 2037 that Rufus gave me. It's in terrible cosmetic shape, but the motor runs well and true. I think the only difference between a 2036 and a 2037 is that the 2037 has Magnetraction, the 2036 does not. I'm thinking purist be damned, easy swap of the motor from the 2037 into the 2036. A terrific little loco for a kid's trainset (presuming I could ever find another one with any interest).

BTW, your 2026 looks to be in fabulous condition. That'd be a keeper.

[ScaleCraft]

I have scrapped at least 2 large layouts. Families and realtors can be clueless (the railroad upstairs in a purpose-built HUGE room is an ASSET....until the place sold, and we had two days. At least 40X20, two-rail 0, all trains inventoried and removed, took 4 of us both days....HUGE pile of lumber in the driveway for the idiot realtor to remove).
Other was oh, 30X16? massive three rail, featured once in CTT......had two days.....took 4. Have before and after photos somewhere.
Both were fully removed to bare carpet.
As soon as these chemo effects are gone, probably gonna pull track and switches off mine. If they approve next treatment tomorrow morning, looking at 7 months of liquid radiation, never know which side effects I'll be blessed with.

[healey36]

Liquid radiation...never heard of that but it sounds awful. Hopefully it's better than straight up chemo. I would say something like "I feel for ya", but that would ring hollow as I can't even imagine the grinder you've been through. Hopefully this next regimen provides some encouraging results.

[ScaleCraft]

Liquid radiation...never heard of that but it sounds awful. Hopefully it's better than straight up chemo. I would say something like "I feel for ya", but that would ring hollow as I can't even imagine the grinder you've been through. Hopefully this next regimen provides some encouraging results.

Just failed docetaxel infusion chemo, made it to 5 cycles....6 may very well have killed me.
Been "done" almost two weeks, still not walking well.
New shxt is Pluvicto, every six weeks, max of six sessions.
2-3 feet away from adults for 2-3 days. Kids, same distance, but 7 days.
Driving Miss Daisy. I get to sit in right rear seat while my wife drives.
This is the last APPROVED bullet in their arsenal.