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Author Topic: Trains  (Read 28522 times)

Ryan Lantzy

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Re: Trains
« Reply #10 on: December 07, 2010, 05:12:03 PM »

Dick Rees wrote on Tue, 07 December 2010 16:47

I can't even remember the brand name of the "other" electric train set I had as a kid.  It had just two rails instead of 3, very detailed rolling stock and some oil that you added to the stack to get "smoke"...smelled like a fogger.

There were three of us in town who had the same brand and we'd box our stuff up, get together at one house or another and combine all our stuff to make a bigger layout.

Fun.

PS

Google reminds me that mine was an American Flyer.

index.php/fa/34111/0/

The transformer on mine had a single lever.  Lift it to disengage, press it down into the contacts to engage.  Rotate to vary the speed.  Cool.


Dick,

The transformer pictured would have been an 18B or 30B depending on Power output.  The single lever model would have been a 15B or 16B (again depending on power output).

I think the 15B was 150W, 16B 175W.  The 18B was also 175W with two handles and the 30B was 300W.
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Ryan Lantzy
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Matt Tudor

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Re: Trains
« Reply #11 on: December 07, 2010, 05:28:45 PM »

I had a couple sets as kid. Don't know if I ever had a fully finished lay-out. For me it was one of those things that was always a work in progress and I was always changing something. Eventually, other things took my time, and when I moved out of mom and dad's house, the trains got packed up and stored. Last year my son was rummaging around a bunch of old boxes in the corner and pulled the stuff out. We've got most of my old stuff out on a board now and he's got "train stuff" on the top of all his Christmas lists.
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Dick Rees

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Re: Trains
« Reply #12 on: December 07, 2010, 05:32:14 PM »

Google Images had a picture of a 16B, but it was about the size of a dime so I went with the larger model.

On a tangent:

In "A Mighty Wind" there is a great scene with a train set.  Later in the movie the PR bimbo says, "Thank goodness for the model trains. They gave us the idea for the big ones."......or some such equivalent line.
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Ryan Lantzy

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Re: Trains
« Reply #13 on: December 07, 2010, 05:48:11 PM »

Mac Kerr wrote on Tue, 07 December 2010 14:23


I still have that set. It was never extensive, but I have every part I ever had. I lusted after that transformer, I have the slightly smaller single lever version.


Model KW?  A good friend and Lionel collector of mine has that one.

If you really want a ZW you can still get one.  I think they list for *only* $799.

http://www.lionel.com/Products/Finder/ProductDetail.cfm?Prod uctNumber=6-37921&expandBranch=0&Keywords=&Categ oryID=116&RailLineID=&CatalogId=
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Ryan Lantzy
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Lee Brenkman

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Re: Trains
« Reply #14 on: December 07, 2010, 06:14:23 PM »

Dick Rees wrote on Tue, 07 December 2010 14:32


On a tangent:

In "A Mighty Wind" there is a great scene with a train set.  Later in the movie the PR bimbo says, "Thank goodness for the model trains. They gave us the idea for the big ones."......or some such equivalent line.


Some kids who even have train sets don't connect with the "big ones" quite the same way those of us who used to ride on them, or dream of riding on them, did.

And now, for your listening pleasure:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L5YoLjYD8QE
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Dick Rees

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Re: Trains
« Reply #15 on: December 07, 2010, 07:16:21 PM »

For many years I lived close to the BN tracks in Minneapolis, using the locals and between yards shuttles as a personal free transportation system.  These were smaller engines, probably around 1K horsepower.  I had the occasion to cross through a stopped coal train late one autumn evening, climbing up the steps on the 6th of 6 3K horsepower units intending to just go down the steps on the opposite side.  These trains were mile-long coal shipments from the Montana fields heading towards Chicago.  Before I could get down the other side the engineer put the hammer down, loosing 18K horsepower all at once.  I had to grab onto a railing to keep from being thrown off.  There were just two blocks between the street where I was crossing and the next street where I could hop off and have a level concrete surface for landing rather than the rough, sloped embankment of the roadbed.  

By the time I'd been on the train for those two blocks it was going fast enough that I had to hit the ground running in order to keep from going face first onto the street.  The application of and feel of that much horsepower under my feet has left me with a lasting impression and kept kindled the desire to turn that handle and drive those engines down the track.  Thunder in your hands........  
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Ryan Lantzy

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Re: Trains
« Reply #16 on: December 07, 2010, 08:42:17 PM »

Dick Rees wrote on Tue, 07 December 2010 19:16

For many years I lived close to the BN tracks in Minneapolis, using the locals and between yards shuttles as a personal free transportation system.  These were smaller engines, probably around 1K horsepower.  I had the occasion to cross through a stopped coal train late one autumn evening, climbing up the steps on the 6th of 6 3K horsepower units intending to just go down the steps on the opposite side.  These trains were mile-long coal shipments from the Montana fields heading towards Chicago.  Before I could get down the other side the engineer put the hammer down, loosing 18K horsepower all at once.  I had to grab onto a railing to keep from being thrown off.  There were just two blocks between the street where I was crossing and the next street where I could hop off and have a level concrete surface for landing rather than the rough, sloped embankment of the roadbed.  

By the time I'd been on the train for those two blocks it was going fast enough that I had to hit the ground running in order to keep from going face first onto the street.  The application of and feel of that much horsepower under my feet has left me with a lasting impression and kept kindled the desire to turn that handle and drive those engines down the track.  Thunder in your hands........  


While I like diesel-electrics, nothing fascinates me quite like steam.  The interesting thing is that it took nearly 50 years for diesels to catch up to the most powerful steam locomotives ever made.  

Consider the UP Big Boy.  A 4-8-8-4 arrangement, the whole shebang weighed in at over 700,000 lbs.  I think the side-rods weighed several tons.  At cruising speed, they went back and forth 11 times a second.  The forces there are tremendous and the fact that these were designed, built, maintained, and operated with no aid from computerized digital electronics is simply amazing.

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Ryan Lantzy
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Dennis Wiggins

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Re: Trains
« Reply #17 on: December 07, 2010, 09:07:30 PM »

Bob, I'm warning you. Stay away from new technology!  It is not fun! Laughing

A~C rules as you do not have to worry about polarity.  I still run old school O-27 and O-gauge.  It amazing how much enjoyment you can get out finding an old engine and bringing it back to life.  Most O-gauge cars need only scraping the crud off the wheels and oiling the axle ends.  Cleaning is optional, as dirt adds to the realism (at least some people think so).  

I am preserving a 6037 caboose that still has sawdust on it from my Dad's wood shop.  It looks great on the end of a string of flat cars with logs.

Yes, this is my other obsession.

-Dennis Wiggins
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Dick Rees

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Re: Trains
« Reply #18 on: December 07, 2010, 09:12:15 PM »

Most of my experience with steam has been with stationary engines.  I've seen a bunch of steam tractors at antique machinery shows and once had the pleasure of travelling on a steam launch on a large lake in northern Sweden.  The torque is amazing.

A couple of years ago I picked up a nearly mint copy of the "Enginemen's Manual".  From the title plate:

Intended for the Engineer, Fireman or Mechanic who wishes to extend his knowledge of the Locomotive or Air Brake.

Questions and Answers for Instructions and Examinations

by W. P. James

W. P. James Publishing Company
Louisville, Kentucky
1917

It is essentially a complete manual for the operation and maintenance of steam locomotives.  Great reading.......  

Edit:

Just "googled" the book.

http://www.amazon.com/Locomotive-Enginemans-Manual-W-P-James /dp/0981652689

Used paperback re-issues going for nearly $40.  Wonder what a pristine original's worth........???
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Adam Whetham

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Re: Trains
« Reply #19 on: December 07, 2010, 09:37:16 PM »

Anyone around the ND/MN/WI area, if you get the chance to get away to go here I highly recommended the Western Minnesota Steam Thrashers Reunion.

It was something my brother and I looked forward to every year growing up. I had an HO train set that I lost in the flood up here in 97 and just never did replace.

I loved the Train the have on the grounds along with all the stationary engines.

I haven't been able to go for a few years, but next year I'm planning on surprising my dad by getting up early and spending the whole day down there with him.

http://photos.rollag.com/main.php?g2_view=core.DownloadItem&g2_itemId=4812&g2_serialNumber=2
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