hello all, I am no train hobbiest, but i recently picked up a used bachmann hawthorne setup. I only got it because it came with my favorite NFL team plastered down the sides, and i thought that was cool. The problem is, that although i am not a train enthusiast, i am a tinkerer (sp?) and i cant leave anything alone. Ive modified every vehicle ive owned, spent years in the RC hobby, and build random stuff in the garage for fun. So once i got this set, i had to start researching, which landed me here. Hopefully i can find the answers i seek. Thanks for having me!
Welcome aboard! You may find you like model trains more than you initially thought, and a lifelong hobby could develop. Even if not, we all like trains and you're welcome to ask your questions, post some photos, and enjoy the discussion.
Hi Blake, welcome. The Model Railroad Museum in Gulfport, MS was donated a Hawthorne Christmas set. My partner and I are creating a 28'x6' exhibit with it. It's a well designed set with good locomotives, rolling stock, buildings, and track. I'm sure you'll have fun creating a super layout. We sure have.
I set it up on the kitchen island in a big 4'x4' circle just to test everything out. Originally the locomotive was slipping and would barely pull the setup (one unpowered engine and two of the long person carriers) I took it apart and found the driveshaft couplers to the motor was not fully seated. I really wish the engine was powered as well. I also had a heck of a time with the stock couplers. Some were bent from the previous owner, but they would not stay connected, unless i snapped them closed, then getting them open again was a pain in the fingertips. Ive already replaced them all with Kadee #5s lol.
It seems, at least from the swapmeet area, that most of you are into N scale? i only have HO stuff right now. This all started around christmas. My moms husband brings out a train set from when he was a kid. It was a marx penn central set with the dumping log cart. It had not ran in over 20 years! We spent probably 3.5 hours cleaning track, oiling hubs, setting up the terminal, track, leg, dump station, and trying to free up the reverse switch. We got it running and smoking like new. We then set up the christmas decor around it and it was the centerpiece of christmas dinner. He then brought out this tiny pocket train, ive never seen one like it before. He said it was given to him by a long time train engineer, and it was a gift to him from the company. I need to get pictures. Thats what got me looking for my own train set.
Blake, that's a neat train. Great that your Mom's husband got it running so well. I didn't realize Marx lasted into the Penn Central era. Thanks for sharing. BTW, we're not mostly in N Scale. We're all over the place. Check out the HO forum. We're happy to give advice, even if you didn't ask for it. LOL
Wow, a Marx man. That's all my parents could afford when I was a kid. I ended up with miles of track, spread all over the house, never nailed down because it was modified often. I even ended up with one of their plastic Hudsons. Everything disappeared when I went off to college.