Bought an AMTRAK Phase VI Genesis and four car set. Although I usually model the 50s and early 60s, I already have some BNSF locos and covered hoppers so I thought AMTRAK would be a good addition. "Back to the Future".
Yep... sounds familiar to me... getting sucked into the future... from the 1940s-1960s into the 1970s-1980s. I got early PH-I Amtrak. Sent from my SM-J737T using Tapatalk
Purchased a bunch of scenery material, some Chooch concrete tunnel portals and lightweight spackle, lots of spackle.
CMW DRGW high-rail work trucks coming for me too... along with a few tractor trailer rigs. Sent from my SM-J737T using Tapatalk
So here is my haul I promised above. I finally got a TGV Thalys! Original scheme minus the display track... sounds good right? Well I’m pissed at this guy. He said in his listing it was missing the pantographs, which is no big deal, they can be replaced easily enough, but it’s also missing a coupler, the circuit board retainer, the diaphragms on both cars so the shells won’t stay on, both nose cones are broken, the light pipe is missing on the trailing car... oh I can go on quite a while over this. It should have been sold as junk, parts or repair, not as good used. BTW, they look much better than when I got them, I put the bodies back together correctly, only 1 was assembled right. And here is the 1/2 of the order... since the other half is the same model, just pretend I have 2.
Sorry to hear that about the Thalys. I would file a complaint with eBay/PayPal. If one were to give him the benefit of the doubt, let's say he didn't realize all those defects, he should offer to a) full refund if you send it back or b) give you some money back. Send him a list of what's wrong and see what he says. Keep us posted and good luck!
I think he realized as one of the nose cones had a piece of tape holding it on, and the pics turned the locomotive in a way that prevented you from seeing the diaphragms missing or the couplers too.
Regarding the car discussion a few pages back - what is an x3? Last year my 2005 Prius had about 195k miles and was needing replaced. There is a local wrecking yard near our neighborhood and the guy who runs it also sells used cars. He advertised a 2011 Prius with only 67k miles he had repaired wreck damage (new hood and windshield) and was only asking $5995 for it. I had an insurance payout when a lady opened her car door in town suddenly as I drove past in my 2005 Prius, ripping the mirror off and damaging the 2 passenger side doors. She claimed it was my fault which was a lie because she threw open her door after the front of my car had passed by so no warning. Plus she did do what she was taught as a little girl - to look both ways first! It took 1 1/2 years for an arbitrator to find her at fault. After replacing the mirror and damaged doors I had $2500 left from the claim. Sold it for $1500 to the wrecking yard guy. So I had $4k to put toward a replacement car. In the end I replaced the 2005 with 195k miles with a 2011 Prius in nice condition and only 67k miles for about $2k + license/reg/taxes. It's good not to have car payments. BTW, as a result of that accident with the middle aged ladie damaging my Prius, I got a dash cam because people in accidents lie through their teeth frequently. Dash cam footage establishes the truth in many cases proving the liars wrong. My wife and I were needing a car so her son will be able to get a job and have a car to get there. My sister had a 2011 Accura RDX with 114k miles on it she said needed about $3k in repair work. She gave it to us as a gift. We believe we can get the repair work for close to half the estimated (some shops are a rip off). So it looks like we will have that 3rd car we need for maybe $2k. Her 2011 Toyota RAV4 has over 130k and will go to her son. The nice thing is the Acura has a backup camera and heated seats and my wife has lingering injuries from being rear ended a couple years ago in the previous RAV4 (totaled) so it will be a help to have those features for her neck and back. We appreciate my sisters generosity. Back to train stuff. I decided to order the TCS wifi throttle combo deal which saves $50 off each on both a UWT-100 and UTW-50 throttles that operate with popular DCC systems via a wifi adaptor. I have an older Digitrax Chief system with a DT400D throttle but don't want to sink any more major money into Digitrax as I find the operation less than intuitive. With the TCS throttles, which are easier to use, I can use my existing system but not feel compelled to spend big bucks on newer throttles like this one which someone noticed the feminine shape and made this image.: All I need now is the wifi adaptor.
One of the biggest advantages I see in the Digitrax system is the backwards compatibility. There are very few of Digitrax's legacy stuff that wont work on today's systems. If it will work on the Loconet it will work with whatever command station you are using. This even includes things like the BT-1 and the UT-2 but you will be limited with those throttles to 2 digit addresses... but they will still work! For your DCS100 you can simply buy a LNWI and get your throttle access that way, or a PR3/4 or a Locobuffer USB and get your throttles through a WIFI link and JMRI.
I have always known about the Digitrax backwards compatibility feature, but for me the key strokes for consisting etc. have never really "clicked" for me. I would have to use cheat sheets which isn't ideal. For some years I have strongly considered replacing it with a NCE system, but now with newer systems taking advantage of wifi etc. there are DCC options which offer more cross system and cross brand compatibility. Yep, I know about the LNWI which is why I've decided to go for TCS UWT-100 and UWT-50 to allow them to work with my Digitrax system, at least for the near term. TCS is coming out with their own command station probably within the next 12 months. It appears that long-term, some of these "old school" proprietary DCC systems like Digitrax, NCE and Lenz etc. may slowly be taken over by open technology systems like TCS, unless they modernize and develop their own, more open ended systems.
When it comes right down to it, if you are running WiFi throttles and JMRI, there's not a whole lot the command station has to do. I run a Pi SPROG 3 on a Raspberry Pi computer to run trains and program locomotives using JMRI, which serves a free WiFi throttle app on my smartphone. You can do the same thing with a SPROG 3 and your existing PC/laptop. The SPROG "command station/booster" is no bigger than a pack of cigarettes. JMRI (and the computer it is running on) can also talk to a Loconet or other interface for layout status and control.
My new haul... club member is also the owner of a hobby shop, and sold me some new cars today. I am also going to acquire a 2004 Avalanche from him for a song and a dance . But it needs a transmission. Thankfully I know how to swap those out!
A few years ago I was able to get a first look at the Scale Trains C39-8's at the Altoona N scale weekend, they are great looking models. As far as the "Nothing Special" railroad, I'll keep my comments to myself
Just received an early Birthday present, a Conrail U23B. It has already been placed into service on The Long Valley Branch.
Hot 5 LHS shops today, I told myself I wasn’t gonna buy any more N scale rolling stock. Couldn’t resist the Amtrak consist. Now I need two more locomotives. I also picked up supplies for the modules. I need to hit one more LHS. I need one more set of tunnel portals.
Yep, that'd be me too -- after 50 years, I guess I can finally accept Amtrak. When I get my new layout underway, I'd like to find a Kato Amtrak F-40PH and two or three Kato Phase 1 Amfleet cars to create the Pennsylvanian, a nice and simple vest-pocket passenger train. I shot this at Horseshoe Curve in May 1981: