http://www.irwinsjournal.com/a1g/ Old fashioned web design, use Use the "Select An A1G Series..." and then the GO button to move between pages of interest. Also note another site of vintage http://davidksmith.com/postage-stamp-trains/index.htm . regards davew
My first N set (1972 ???) was Arnold/Rapido S2 in C&NW, UP boxcar, Southern gon, and C&NW caboose. Came with a very small oval of track. That track must have been Code 900, but I turned more laps than Richard Petty and AJ Foyt combined !!! Still have the cars and track, but CANNOT find that S2. My first "extra" locomotive was a Model Power RSD15 in BN. I was amazed that it sounded EXACTLY like my Tyco HO locomotives. I still have it, but it's in rough shape. No jewel case for decades, ya' know ??? My first "extra" car was an Atlas outside braced gon in ORIGINAL Norfolk Southern (red). Still have it, still use it. Next two locomotives were Atlas GP7 In BN and MiniTrix U30CG in BN. The GP7 was always a real dog, and doesn't run at all now. I'll get to it...someday !!! Why the U30CG ??? Because it was closest thing I could find to an F45 in the late '70s !!! I recently bought 2 more. LOVE these locomotives. They will lead my BN "NCL" when my Kato E8s need a rest. (Yeah,yeah...I know...go count your OWN rivets !!!) Next was an EJ&E hopper. That made me the "cool kid". I now had EJ&E hoppers in HO AND N scales !!! (I live in Joliet, IL and my grandfather retired as an engineer on the EJ&E). In '81 I got LifeLike GP18 and BL2 in CRI&P, and ConCor PA1 in BN, plus the passenger cars to go with it. All great runners, still have them all. That PA1 was my first real "pulling" locomotive. That thing can change the rotation of the Earth at 1/2 throttle !!! I really hated the swinging pilot, and I still do. But, of course, I still have it !!! AAAAHH !!! Such mammaries...OOPS...I meant memories !!!
My first were some Bman F units, which got sold off years and years ago! My oldest stuff now are some alder Atlas 2-8-2's and 4-6-2's. Which aren't DCC so sit in there boxes.
My oldest locomotive is a LL GP20. I still have it and am sure it still runs. It sits on the 'deadline' because all the handrails mysteriously disappeared. I believe the grandkids had something to do with that when they were younger. Maybe I'll see if I can take it for a spin after reading this thread
You and I had the same set -- The Yard Iron Roustabout. It was my introduction to N Scale as well in 1968, now exactly 50 years ago. As a kid, I later ruined my locomotive by brush painting it in Santa Fe. As luck had it, the mechanism survived and years ago I found the C&NW body shell at a show and was able to create the locomotive again as shown below. It actually runs pretty well; Rapido used metal parts throughout. I still have the C&NW hack, but the cars are in pieces and incomplete.
First N scale locomotive was an old 0-6-0 that I converted to a 2-6-0 cab forward with oil tender that I think was a slope back. And that was also my first bash of a locomotive. It pulled a couple of Bachmann shorty passenger cars. Cannot remember what happened to it but the next locomotives were a couple of the original Atlas RS-3s which I still have and still run excellent after a little over 30 years. Can't beat that old Kato mechanism under them.
Yep, the early 80s Atlas RS-3s by Kato were watershed locomotives. I painted a pair in CNJ and, like yours, they still run great.
I've a couple of Kato GP38-2's that see regular use on my layout. Looking to put DCC in them here soon. All my N scale from the 70's(Bachman F's and Geeps, Lima GP30's, and Model Power RSD-15's) prior to the Kato GP38-2 is resting at the bottom of a land fill somewhere in SE Ohio. And I'm okay with that. I did hang onto a Minitrix U28C that I had replaced the hand rails on. But I gave that away to a former club member that was looking for a second one several years ago.
As a kid, I thought those big ol' Atlas 86' auto parts high cube boxcars were most impressive, I'd see them on the C&NW main in my hometown in all sorts of road names moving loads to the Chevy plant in Janesville, WI. I had to have some and bought a GTW and SP. I still have them, though my railroads since have been much too small to run cars of this size.
What a fun website! I still often run my Atlas CNJ gon as pictured below on the site. Just a perfectly nice car and a prototype that I don't think any manufacturer has since produced. I never knew so many variants exist in early N!
My 1959 Chevy was assembled in Janesville. My son and I just went through there the other day during a little trip to visit cemeteries in which our and my son's wife's ancestors are buried. We also visited and got a tour of the brewery in Rockford, IL her great(X3) grandfather founded. Doug
I can't quite recall if the C&NW's train number was 599, but I think it ran daily to Janesville. All I can find at this time is a faded photo I took of it sometime in the mid '70s. Neat that your "family" brewery is still operating! So many old names are gone.
Thanks for starting this thread!! Here is my entry - Con-Cor Pa's - These are about 30 or so years old. Painted and somewhat detailed by me. I think I will be taking a new look at these - more detailing is needed. Thanks, Wolf
Just a hint of ironic humor meant George- some of these millenials may not know how to use 'old fashioned'... d
SP-Wolf, those Con-Cor PA's look great. (Santa Fe, no less). I still love to run my early 1990's era Atlas/Kato U30C's, GP30s, GP35s, SD9s. Among the best running classic N scale locos of all time IMHO. Still run great and smooth after nearly 25 years. Amazing.
My first train came as a Christmas present in 1950. It was a Lionel and I still have it. Transformer wire is toast so I would need a new transformer to run it. I assume it will run but I am not willing to run it unless I gave it a through clean and lube. For now, I just look at it and remember when I ran it as a kid on a sheet of plywood that I could slide under my bed.