Nah. She saw me looking at all that stuff and suggested I order them and she would pay for them as xmas presents!! Yes...she is a keeper . .
So some packages finally came on the very same day I went out to the Kato store in Shinjuku: At the store I picked up decoders and interior lights to finish my Metra coaches and a new shell for my DE10 locomotive to update it to the current paint scheme. In the mail 2x GHQ cars and 3x PWRS WC covered hoppers, 2x PBR boxcars (a little old for my era, but I was missing my college days when I bought them). And the last ethanol tank cars came in, bringing my total up to 57 cars. I don’t have room for that on my 2’x5’ layout but “someday” these will all run around my basement empire as part of a unit train to/from an ethanol plant or a fuel terminal. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
A little Christmas present from me to me, a Trainworx Illinois Central Flexivan. This will go in my Illinois Central passenger train, I'm always excited to add cars to it!
I ordered 4 decoders for my Kato freight locomotives. 3 SD70ACe’s and one ES44AC, and they all use the same decoder. Cool… TCS was not available but Digitrax was so I got that.
The last self present came today. Another book 'Digital Command Control for Railway Modellers' by Nigel Burkin. It covers American and English systems and is a lot thicker. Also I downloaded an upgrade for a program to allow viewing CDs but it still doesn't work. Quits about have way through. So I put it in the CD player connected to the TV and watched the whole thing. Most of the last part was about finish and details. I was also informed a replacement computer should be available by Friday. So, hopefully I'll be better off. Now watching my work piling up and checked the tools. A white end of year.
3 DVD's on installing N Scale decoders. Also picked up Illinois Central Trainworx Mark IV Flexi-van car and 2 Flexi-van trailers, Micro-Trains 10 pack of 1015 body mount couplers, also Gold Metal Models stirrups for cab type locomotives.
Alright that's the second time Flexivan has been mentioned. Is that a picture of one up above and the purpose of it? Sorry, never heard of it?
Flexivans were early intermodal equipment. Basically a trailer box that could be removed from the chassis and transported via rail on a flat car. They were the early versions of the containers we see today.
Well now that I know what a Flexivan is, very nice rolling stock Don't get me wrong it was cool before I knew what is was And extremely nice scenery in that image!
Found and ordered a Kato Santa Fe 4-4-2 "Regal Spa" Transcontinental sleeper, to go with my Kato Broadway Limited passenger set. The ATSF car is listed, but interestingly, the Massillion Inn, from the Broadway Limited 4 car add on set, is not listed, or found! At least that I could find! Probably sometime next week before I actually get it.
Pie39, That is a really nice photo of the IC Flexivan and the scenery is great too! Did you use a cell phone for this great photo? - Tonkphilip
There used to be an NYC-made movie on the Flexi Van, but I can no longer find it. Here's another video but not as detailed. Check it out at 9:10 in. The video overlooks an activity that added labor to the process -- the requirement for the "Commado Truck" operator to deploy a pneumatic (hydraulic?) pike to complete the trailer's rotation onto the flatcar and to pull it free as well. The guy in the video wearing white lab coat quit the next day. <g>
Just got the two drive gear sets for the older Bachmann Doodlebug that has the crappy 'white' gears that crack. I recently converted one of the three I have to DCC ( HERE ). One is the later one with factory DCC. The two earlier ones seem to run ok but when I had the one apart I didn't check the gears closely so not sure that they might not be cracked. I really like the Doodlebug, especially sine I found out the UP had one operational for sure in Kansas ( HERE ). So I figured that a pair of gears was fairly cheap insurance to insure they would have good drive gears. Only question is how will they hold up. More info from James about the Doodlebug and the gear problem ( HERE ) and ( HERE ) and how to order them on Shapeways ( HERE ). Sumner
So how did they spin it around. Somehow they lowered it after it was spun around? Dang, now I want a working Flexivan on my layout. Where you get one? That was cool @Hardcoaler . I watch TCM a lot and love these old black and white reels, etc... Think it was shown in a movie theatre, maybe?
Just got some EZ-line for modeling power lines, playground equipment and hopefully the last order of soft white pico LEDs (40) I'll ever need.
Trainworx just released a new batch of roads and trailers to go on them. Just search "trainworx flexivan". I got a couple of the Santa Fe with trailers from a previous release and they are fantastically detailed. They are long buggers though so be aware of that. The place where you got your CB&Q E5 has several burlington trailers in stock and if you search on duckduckgo for "trainworx flexivan burlington car" those can still be found elsewhere.
These movies were shown at industry meetings, investor conferences and shipper's gatherings to promote the railroad. Producer Carl Dudley of Dudley Pictures made a bunch of similar films for various roads in the post-war period. They're corny, but they nicely preserve an era of hope that later turned to despair for numerous roads in the east and midwest.
