Who likes to occasionally dig out an old locomotive or two and run them? Being in N scale for a long time, I have some old Model Power, Life Like, Bachmann locomotives that I like to run around a bit with the old Rapido couplers, which I still have old freight cars I can pull with them. What is your favorite old locomotive you still run? Mine is a Con Cor Conrail SD40-2 that my wife bought me for Christmas, but also a Model Power GP40 in the Chessie GM50 gold paint scheme she bought me for my birthday before we got married.. The Chessie GP40 doesn't run that great, but coupled with a few others you can't tell.
Mine is the very first locomotive I ever purchased. An Atlas/Kato GP-30 in Rio Grande paint. Still runs like a swiss watch and has a decoder in it as well.
I guess my favorite N scale locomotive to get out and run would be my original Atlas E8 I got in November of 1967. However, my favorite 9mm locomotive is my original Treble-O-Lectric F7 (really an FP7) (OOO scale) I got for Christmas of 1962. Also, I don't really just get my old locos out every once in a while. I regularly run them. In fact, my current main interest is working with my Treble-O-Lectric equipment and acquiring more. Doug
My first two locomotives, to be honest, were both wrecked by my damn fool self in attempts to repaint or customize when I was a youth (13/14?)... I still have parts of them and their shells, and they'll me memorialized in the yard/workshop of my layout someday. Of course, the first train set I ever bought, I finally tracked down a perfect boxed version! It's quite special to me. Someday, I might buy a roll of green grass and build an identical layout to my first... just for fun. I had used putty to secure the track! 22 years ago. Wow. Here's a blog post on finding my first locomotive once again... it's a decade or so old, but might be worth a read... https://huntershobbies.wordpress.com/2009/12/11/a-gift-from-a-christmas-past/ And a later post when I found the whole set! https://huntershobbies.wordpress.com/2011/03/28/kid-in-a-candy-store/
Like y'all, I have a bunch of old N as well and enjoy running it, including my Kato/Con-Cor PA's (I painted them in LV Cornell Red 35 years ago), my Roco/Atlas FA-1s (a pair in L&NE 35 also painted some years ago) and any number of the excellent Kato/Atlas units from the early '90s. I also run a lot of rolling stock from the '70s and '80s. My eyes aren't what they once were, so the lack of exquisite detail doesn't matter and these all evoke happy memories from days that don't seem so long ago. This is the engine terminal on my layout in the summer of '78. I mowed a lot of lawns and shoveled a lot of driveways to buy trains, and garage sales too were often a source. The cool thing about being young is that your imagination fills all of the gaps of modeling imperfection seen by adult eyes. I kind of miss those times.
Great looking layout, Hardcoaler. The roundhouse and all those locomotives is a terrific centerpiece. And, speaking of the imagination thing, you should see some of the structures and other odds and ends I made for my Treble-O-Lectric trains when I was 10/11 years old. But, as you say, the gaps were filled and they were just as realistic to me then as anything ever since. If the old Atlas/Rivarossi steamers didn't exhibit Zamac deterioration (I call it "Zamacitis") within a few short years, they never would and last indefinitely. Doug
It is rather sad that my locos of the Kato C44-9W era seem fairly new to me but they are 20+ years old. Time really does seem to disappear faster, the older you get. Doug
So very true. Of late, I've found myself thinking more and more about what to do with the railroadania I've collected over the years. I recently spent a day railfanning with the son of a very good friend and passed some books, an employee timetable, magazines and a few N cars to him. When I was young, anything railroad was of great interest. He's a sharp young man and is appreciative of these things. Several years ago, I gave some old maps and Official Guides to a young fan who seemed disinterested in them even after I explained what a treasure trove they were for historic reference and line research. Perhaps some day he will understand that our hobby can encompass far more than Tier 4 GEVOs.
I still put the old Atlas 0-6-0 on the layout, turn the power most of the way up to get it to go. I also have an old Minitrix H-12-44 that I'd like to remotor. Both units define hurky-jerky.
I never owned the Atlas 0-6-0, but the Minitrix FM is a good runner and pulls well. If you wanted to take the time dismantling and cleaning it (which is not difficult), you'll likely have success. Mine is the AT&SF model.
My oldest N scale locomotive is my AHM / Lima New Haven F7 + Train Set that I received as a Christmas Present in 1970. Next in line are my Minitrix U30CG in BN paint, Life-Like GP-7 in C&NW Paint and a Bachmann 0-4-0 and 0-6-0 both PRR swithers. The last of my Pre DCC ready N scale locomotive collection would be my Kato GP38-2 I purchased in 1989 and Kato SD40 purchased in 1998. From time to time I do run these locomotives just to see if they still run, but most of the time they sit in their boxes. I have the ability to switch my layout from DCC to DC, but I usually leave the layout setup for DCC as I enjoy how well the newer locomotives run on DCC, some even have sound. This thread was a nice walk down memory lane and it's neat to see guys still collecting and running Treble-O. I know of one guy who's passion is collecting Aurora Postage Stamp trains. This is why I hold onto my older stuff, for the nostalgia of how far N scale has come in my lifetime.
I have traded away or sold almost all of my older power. I am about to sell some more of it. I am truly amazed at what people will pay on FeePay for this older stuff. The only things that I will not sell are an Atlas/Kato GP-9 and an old LL GP-38; those were gifts from my brother. The GP-38 is far out of my era, but I will not sell it. I also have two C-C/RR USRA heavy Pacifics that I run from time to time.
Here is my current Treble-O-Lectric stuff set up on the same old mahogany table I set up my original Treble-O-Lectric on back in 1963 in the same room. It includes the Montgomery Ward two-level layout available in 1963-64, way in the back. This is identical to my original one I gave away years ago. I just extended the track from that layout toward the front. I just added a little more track. I have been going nuts, buying more of it, lately. Doug
I have a soft spot for the Minitrix F9 (Santa Fe) which I bought in the early 1970s - an excellent runner for its day.
That is SO cool Doug. I love seeing this sort of thing and easily understand your joy in collecting and operating it.
My home layout is DC and ATLAS a1g , I keep my few dcc locomotives for my club layout.. the members cringe when I show with a a1g or a non dcc locomotive. Tom