My FVM NKP heritage engine showed up today and couldn't be happier. This is my third FVM ES44 and I love them. I also bought an Atlas NKP GP9 just so I could have another engine in that greap NKP paint scheme. It was also a really good deal that I couldn't say no to.
I scored 2 Cattle cars one UP and one NP, 2 Shell tank cars, 2 S P & S Box cars, 2 UP flat cars and some street lights off the bay, (all arrived and were waiting for me when I got back from vacation).
I just got the Kato CNW C44-9W Dynamic dou off of the bay. Been looking for about 4 mos. for the pair for the right price and found a set.
Purchased three Woodland Scenic prefab structures. I really like them. After painting and adding details they are nice structures.
After taking my life in my hands, on a trip to CH in Denver, I came home with 9 TCS DCC decoders. Got 10% off my purchase, which is one reason why I decided to go for it! Have a set of an ABBA set of F3's, GG1 and a 4 pack of GP60's. Train show at Forney Museum tomorrow, who knows what I may find!
A friend called me a week ago from an out-of-town flea market. She knew I did N scale, and she said a guy had a bunch of N scale “stuff” to sell for $30. I declined because I have more than enough “stuff” already and what I would like is pretty specialized. I forgot about it. Then my friend showed up with what she said was a Santa Claus package. Not from her, from the flea market vendor. He figured he would just give the stuff away. My friend said if I didn’t want it, I could sell it on eBay. My surprise package included what I would call “starter” N gauge items. Locos: Bachmann Santa Fe warbonnet F9A & F9A dummy, Model Power GP40, 3 0-6-0 tank switchers Rolling stock: 4 boxcars, 2 refrigerators, 2 stock cars, 4 tank cars, 4 cabooses Four structures, 2 “trainset” power packs, 4 turnouts, 69 track sections, 12 trees, lichen, crossing signals and gates, telephone poles. I had five hours of fun identifying things. I “triaged” into usable by me, possibly saleable, and garbage. Found a little I could use for my Santa-Fe-on-the-Texas-coast-in-the-1950s layout. I have better warbonnet Fs but can use an extra set. I found that the Swift aluminum-colored 50 foot mechanical reefer existed in 1954 and I have a Swift distribution center. A Mobilgas 3-dome tank is a little old but usable. The trove included 2 cabooses in the Santa Fe design with offset cupola, 5 windows one side and 3 on the other. One is lettered for MKT and one in Santa Fe is missing its cupola but they can be fodder for rebuilding. A common plastic 2-story house is like an old broken one I used for kitbashing a smaller house, and this one is nearly complete. Two power packs I can use for lights and accesories. This leaves 9 cars and 2 structures to offer on eBay, probably starting at 99 cents. I have lots of old trucks & couplers from MicroTrains magnematic conversions to replace missing trucks, etc. Some old boxes- for 99 cents they don’t get matched ”collector” jewel cases.
Now I just need to do a good job of correcting its flaws and detailing it and maybe then that might convince Rapido to take a good look at releasing the LRC cars in N scale.
Got a couple of small screw driver sets, from a former railroad club member. Also found another sealed 4 pack of the Intermountain Alfred Packer cars for $40. But made close to $600 in the stuff I brought to sell!! Was a good day!!
I haven’t spent any money on locomotives or rolling stock in a long time. I have been purchasing structure and scenery detail items from a whole host of manufactures and scattering them about the layout. O-Kay, I’m not really scattering the stuff about the layout, with telephone poles laying willy-nilly on top of buildings and ram shackled sheds tossed upon lakes and rivers. . .But I digress. The thing about scenery and structure detailing is that there is a critical mass involved. When you only have a tiny bit of the stuff it is virtually invisible on the layout. It is only when you pass a certain “Detail Density” that it ALL becomes noticeable. Then there is the “Quantum Physical” nature of installing detail pats, most especially trees, poles and other scenery details. It has something to do with “Entanglement Theory” whereby the installation of a single tree located in an isolated region of your layout can cause locomotives to derail on the other side of the room. Complete and total collapse of the layouts electrical system is not without probability. For a more detailed explanation of this phenomenon; ask Schrodinger’s Cat.
Several days ago, I mentioned being given a big pile of "stuff." Four or five items I can use, a few "maybes" for the scrap box, and several things to try to sell on the Bay. Sooooooooooo.... my latest purchase is a roll of bubble wrap for shipping. (Or should I make this post on "eBay Humor?"
Just received 10 (actually 10 MORE) FineNScale caboose interiors and a cradle for working on rolling stock. Should have bought this cradle decades ago !!!
Latest motive power purchase has no place being on a transition era Santa Fe layout. This LL GP-20 was a "gotta have" purchase being a model of one of my favorite engines to run during the 5 years (72-77) working as an engineer on the old Slaton Division. Its FT trucks caused it to jump into motion when moved to the first throttle position. This was a pain when mu-ed with additional units, but as a solitary engine doing local work, made it great while switching industries. This engine now lives and works the Ft. Smith shortline only a few miles from the house. Robert
Made a surprise visit to LHS. Found Athearn UPS Box Van and Atlas BN GP7. Long end forward !!! YES !!!
Got another Athearn Big Boy. They've got another on the shelf that a customer decided to not buy...I'm thinkin' about getting that one too. New ones and old ones... Cheers! Bob Gilmore
I reserved fourteen of the FVM Trinily RD-4 CMO/U.P. hoppers back in October/November and I got an email tue that they are finally shipping. And I got them yesterday, very fast shipping. These new FVM RD-4 hoppers are really nice they have new metal wheels and the detail on them is very very nice they also have a body mounted MTL coupler.
For some reason I can't upload pics. But if you go on ebay you can check them out they are also available at most online hobby shops also.